Title: In the End
Series: Lifetime #3
Author: Ariadne Wayne
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 20, 2017
Blurb
The time has come for Finn to find out the truth about his father. When he seems to take it in his stride, Matt, Ella, and Sam are relieved. But nothing’s that simple when you’re seven years old.
Sam’s love life has been on hold while he gets to know his son. Meeting single mother, Natasha, rocks his world. She’s not had an easy life and he has to navigate through her past to make her see a future. The one thing that scares her, Sam’s guilty of. Love’s never easy, especially when there are secrets involved.
The last book in the Lifetime series features a boy finding out about his father, a father falling in love, and the last wedding you’d ever expect on the farm.
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My Review
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
I love a good redemption story. For me, a sign of a good author is when they can take a character that I do not care for and make love them. Sam is one of those characters that I did not like. But ever since In a Lifetime, he's been slowly creeping his way back onto my good list. Then after he helped out Vanessa in In a Heartbeat I knew that I was ready for Sam's story.
It's been seven years since Finn was born and while Sam has been visiting Matt and Ella for a couple years, his true identity is still a secret. But his visits have allowed Sam to form a relationship with Finn and that means the world to him. He has also been repairing his relationship with Matt. The two of them were once the best of friends and every now and then, shades of that appears.
My smile spread into a grin. “I’ve met someone.”
“It’s about time. What’s she like?”
There weren’t enough words to describe Natasha. Any attempt would be pathetic. “Amazing. She’s a single mum with a little girl about Finn’s age.” I let out a breath. “It’s been a week, and I think I’m in love.”
“I’ve heard that one before.” He reached out and gripped my shoulder. “I’m happy for you. I hope it all works out.”
“Yeah, me too.” I swallowed. “I’ve not felt a connection like that since …”
Matt’s expression grew serious. We hadn’t really discussed my relationship with Ella; it never felt right with the man who was now married to her. “Dude, that’s awesome. You and Ella had such a spark when you first met.” A grin curled his lips. “Of course, I was more like the TNT to your sparkler.”
I shrugged his hand off, and chuckled. “Bro, that is such a shitty thing to say.”
“I’m only saying it because I love you.”
I shook my head. “Things are almost back to normal with us, aren’t they?”
He nodded. “They’re getting there. I try not to talk about my relationship with Ella, and I think you try not to talk about your relationship with her, but other than that I think we’re doing fine.”
“I’ll do you a deal. You can tell me whatever you want and I’ll do the same, but the past stays in the past.”
Matt’s shoulders shook as he laughed. “Deal.”
I shrugged. “We’re smart. We’ll make it work.”
“Are you heading back to Auckland now?”
“I’ve got a date with my girls.”
He lifted his chin. “Enjoy.”
“See you next weekend.”
“What? I gotta put up with you next weekend too?”
I laughed as I walked back to the car, feeling more settled than I had in ages. At home, Natasha and Paige were expecting me. Here, I had Matt back, and having my best friend by my side after so long was wonderful.
For the first time in a long time, I looked forward to going home.
Natasha is a single mom who escaped an abusive marriage. Her daughter goes to the same school that Sam works at and one day a broken grocery bag brings the two of them together. They are both intrigued by the other person, but their pasts make them hesitant to get involved. But a chance meeting at a pub changes everything. Natasha and Sam end up spending the evening together and before the end of the night Sam is absolutely smitten with her. From there things move pretty quickly (if the above excerpt didn't give that away already) and they find themselves in a pretty serious relationship.
God, I loved this book so much. So many wonderful things happened that made me so ridiculous happy. We get plenty of Ella and Matt (*sigh* Matt *sigh*) and their adorable little family. They are still living their happily ever after out on the farm and have no problem welcoming Natasha and Paige into their family. Then there's Vanessa who is as sassy as ever and made me laugh every time she showed up.
But most of all, with every little thing Sam did, whether it was spending quality time with Natasha and Paige, having a nice moment with Matt and Ella or being a friend/father to Finn, it was obvious that Sam was a changed man. I'm so glad that Ariadne wrote Sam's story. I didn't think it was possible, but she made me a Sam fan. (Don't worry Matt! You're still my #1 man. ❤)
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Author Bio
Ariadne Wayne is the alter ego of Wendy Smith. She loves books and lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband and two children. Having always had a prolific imagination she now writes the words down instead of storing them in her head where she can't share them. When she's not writing she works in Telecommunications, frequently banging her head on the desk with the random things that can happen to the ordinary phone line.
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