From New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels comes a new second chance standalone love story.
At eighteen, I walked away from Willow Creek Valley for good. I was young, scared, and stupid, and it cost me the love of my life—Grayson Parkerson.
Fourteen years later, a crash sends me back home to recover.
Back to where we met, fell in love, and planned a future. The one he’s now living as a single dad to his daughter. Working at The Park Inn together gives us a chance to reconnect, and seeing him with his little girl makes me long for the days when he was mine. One look in his gorgeous blue-green eyes, and it’s like I never left. One kiss, and my world is upside down. One night together, and I know without a doubt, in his arms is where I belong.
I’m not the girl I was—intimidated by his wealthy family and desperate to escape our small town. I can imagine a new life for us here.
But he’s learned to guard his heart, and trust won’t come easily.
How can I convince him to give first love a second chance?
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes and Corinne does it really well! We met Jessica in Corinne's previous book Stay For Me and I was very excited to read her story.
After being away for many years, Jessica finds herself back in her hometown. She's injured, but healing, and trying to figure out what to do with her life. and it doesn't take long before she comes face to face with her one true love, Grayson. If you read Stay For Me, you will remember that he was the one Jessica was thinking of when her life was in danger. So to be in the same town again gives them both a chance to right the wrongs of a past.
I enjoyed this book. I liked both Jessica and Grayson and I loved Grayson's daughter Amelia. She was hilarious and had a knack for lightening the mood at the right moments. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series. Throughout the book we meet Grayson's siblings and they are all pretty great. I can't wait to get their stories as well.
About Corinne
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Corinne Michaels is the author of ten romance novels. She's an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife.
After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.
Growing up with an adoring father for a boxing legend isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It looks more like hospital visits, bloody noses, and cracked ribs.
Isla Slade now works as a physiotherapist, helping athletes heal their bodies. Except for boxers. She has no interest in reliving the stress of her teen years. Dating someone in the boxing world? She’d rather snort wasabi powder.
Until she meets Preston Church.
Preston manages heavyweight boxing darling Brick Kramarov. A brute who’s built tougher than his name, with a cocky attitude to boot. She wants nothing to do with either man, but her father begs her to help them prepare for a huge Vegas fight.
She doesn’t expect Preston to recite romantic poems and slowly break her resolve. His fascinating mind gets under her skin, even if his star athlete reminds her how much she hates boxing.
Too bad it’s Brick coaching Preston how to woo Isla, falling for her from the sidelines. Once she finds out, she’ll have to decide if she can risk loving another man who puts it all on the line for the knockout.
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
I really liked this book! Isla got on my nerves a little bit, but overall I liked her. For me, this book is all about Eric. I love a cinnamon roll and Kelly had given us a doozy in this book. Eric, aka Brick, the brutish boxer is quite the character. We learn very early on in this book just how different he is from boxer persona and it delighted me!
I will say that the synopsis is a tad misleading because I feel like it makes it seem like Isla and Preston are the main couple, but that's not the case. It's made very clear from the moment they meet that Isla is interested in Eric, but Preston ends up playing a big part of the story.
I'm such a huge fan of Kelly's books. They are funny and heartfelt and always make me feel good. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
About Kelly Siskind
A small-town girl at heart, Kelly moved from the city to open a cheese shop with her husband in northern Ontario. When she’s not neck deep in cheese or out hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot bunnies bouncing around in her head. She laughs at her own jokes and has been known to eat her feelings—gummy bears heal all. She’s also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee hours of the morning.
Olivia Brent has one summer to save the dairy farm she just inherited.
But there’s one problem, and it’s not her lactose intolerance. Jake Milovic.
The brooding farmhand has inherited exactly fifty percent of Brent Farm, and he’s so convinced the city girl can’t work the land, he bets she can’t save it in a summer.
Determined to prove him wrong, Olivia accepts what might be the dumbest wager of her life.
His strategy to win seems simple: follow her around, shirtlessly distracting her between bouts of relentless taunting. And it’s effective—if his dark eyes and rare smiles aren’t enough to sidetrack her, the sweaty, rolling topography of the manbeast’s body would do the trick.
What they don’t know: they’ll have to weather more than each other.
Mysterious circumstances throw the farm into disarray, and with the dairy farm in danger, Olivia and Jake have to work together. But when they do, there’s more to fear than either of them imagined.
Because now their hearts are on the line, and the farm won’t be the only casualty if they fail.
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
This book was a lot of fun. This is Staci's first time writing a small town romance and she knocked it out of the park! It was clear that she did her homework, so when you read about the every day workings of the farm, it was very realistic/believable. While I was reading I could picture everything that was happening.
I was a little worried that Olivia would be written as someone returning to the farm and lots of embarrassing mishaps would ensue. Of course there were some since she had been away from the farm for a long time, but it wasn't overkill and she had no problem turning them into something positive for her overall goals.
There are plenty of laugh out loud moments in this book, but there are also some sweet, poignant moments. Both Olivia and Jake have lost someone very special to them and they have to learn how to navigate the grieving process. So while I consider this to be a fun story, it is also a story about healing.
TW: death of a loved one
Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife, though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey. When she's not writing, she's reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.
Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel…even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit.
Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another.
But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.
Told in alternating timelines, THE THINGS WE LEAVE UNFINISHED examines the risks we take for love, the scars too deep to heal, and the endings we can’t bring ourselves to see coming.
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
Rebecca Yarros is an evil genius. I sat down on a Sunday afternoon, totally prepared to read a few chapters and hours later I found myself sobbing while I finished this book. While I read a lot, I can't remember that last time I read a book in one afternoon.
I won't go into any details because I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I loved how the story went back and forth between Scarlett and Georgia's stories. I was equally engrossed in both, especially Scarlett's. Hers is more of a classic love story that will have you swooning all over the place.
Do yourself a favor and go buy this book. I'm not going to say that you will cry, but it's an extremely emotional read so maybe take some precautions. Make sure you have some tissues handy and a bottle of water to stay hydrated. And if there are other people in your house, maybe give them a heads that they may find them crying uncontrollably.
Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, chocolate, and Paleo. She is the author of the Flight & Glory series, including Full Measures, the award-winning Eyes Turned Skyward, Beyond What is Given, and Hallowed Ground. Her new Renegade Series features Wilder and the upcoming Nova, and is sure to keep your heart pounding. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to hers for fourteen years.
When she's not writing, she's tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in some guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with the hottest Apache pilot ever, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, an English bulldog who is more stubborn than sweet, and a bunny named General Fluffy Pants who torments the aforementioned bulldog. They recently adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, and Rebecca is passionate about helping others do the same.
Eastern Lights, an all-new moving second chance romance and second book in the Compass Series from bestselling author Brittainy Cherry is available now!
I once met a man on a cold Halloween night. He dressed as a superhero, and I dressed in red. For one night, I was his break from reality, and he was the temporary fix for my broken heart.
Two years later, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to become a senior editor at one of the biggest magazine companies in the world. The only catch? Nail an exclusive interview with New York's finest bachelor: Connor Roe.
To the rest of the world he was becoming one of the wealthiest men in New York City. To me, he was simply my once upon a time superhero.
My job was to get an exclusive interview with New York's hottest bachelor. Never in my life did I expect him to want an exclusive with my heart, too.
The only problem with my growing feelings for him? I was set to marry his new business partner.
Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
I absolutely LOVED Connor and Aaliyah's first meeting. It's Halloween, they are in costume, and agree to not learn each other's real names. They hit it off right away and decide to go on an adventure, but also agree to part ways after that night. While I was reading, I kept thinking "No, don't go through with it!" because I loved how much chemistry they had. Going their separate ways just felt silly.
Brittainy really knows how to write an emotional story. Every time I read one of her books, I have to make sure I have tissues nearby because I know that I will cry at some point. I knew that Connor and Aaliyah's paths would cross again, but I was not prepared for the story that was to follow once they did.
This book kept my attention and I could not put the book down. It even had a plot twist that I didn't see coming. And I would have given it five stars, but there was one aspect of the book that bothered me.
EXCERPT
Aaliyah
His playful look shifted a bit as he looked my way and nibbled on his bottom lip. “So there was a recent breakup.”
“He broke up with me about five weeks ago.”
“What an ass.”
“Yeah, but I love him. I wish I could say past tense, but here we are. My roommate Sofia said the best way to get over a man is to get under another one, but I can’t even consider that right now. The last thing I want to do is sleep with someone else.”
“Plus, sex wouldn’t fix a broken heart and—holy shit!” He clapped his hands together and hopped up from the ground to a standing position. The grin on his face was so big, but I didn’t understand what caused his sudden shift. “I got it, Red! I know what we can do to help you.”
I arched an eyebrow and stood. “I’m confused.”
“I know, I know, and you’re going to think I’m crazy—which, maybe I am—but here’s the deal: You can’t bang your way out of a heartbreak. That’s not how love works. Love isn’t a physical connection; it’s an emotional one. Plus, after breakups, people replay the good memories over the bad in their minds and start thinking they somehow failed, when, in reality, the bad probably always outweighed the good. You simply held the good tight in your grip because it was few and far between in the end. Otherwise, the good would’ve been enough to keep you together.”
I hated that he was speaking facts. Over the past weeks, all I’d done was replay all the good times Mario and I had together. My mind was stuck on a loop of moments that meant the world to me in my past relationship.
There were only a handful of good memories, yet I simply played them on repeat, making them feel bigger than they already were. Mario was a master at doing the bare minimum, and I celebrated that fact as if he was a god. It wasn’t his fault he gave me mediocre love. It was my fault for accepting it.
“So what’s your point?” I asked.
“Do you believe in destiny?”
I chuckled. “Don’t tell me you do.”
“I think everything happens for a reason, even if the reasoning isn’t clear as day right away. Maybe that’s why we met tonight, Red, because we were meant to. Maybe I had to get socked in the eye and whipped with a lasso because we were supposed to cross paths so I could help you get over your ex.”
“How?”
“The best way to get over a love is to find a stronger connection with another person. So, I present to you, your Halloween love story.” He took a bow as if he was making any sense at all.
I stood still, confused as ever. “Am I missing something?”
“Clearly, because you’re looking at me as if I’m having a mental breakdown—which, I mean, is probably accurate.” He cleared his throat and stood taller as he smoothed his hands over his chest. “I’m asking you to fall in love with me.”
I snickered. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Give me the chance to make you fall in love with me before the sun comes up in the next”—he glanced down at his phone—“five hours or so. It’s just past midnight. Give me those hours to make you fall in love with me. Then we’ll end the love story on a good note. No tragic heartbreak, no hard moments or relationship struggles. No cheating or scandals. Just two people who fell in love, then life or, in our case, morning made them say their goodbyes.”
“You really think two people can fall in love within five hours?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and held his hand out toward me. “Want to try?”
I should’ve said no. I should’ve laughed off his crazy idea and ended the night right there on the rooftop, but I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to be alone. But most of all, I wanted more time with Captain, even if only a few more hours. Even if there wasn’t a real chance of me falling in love with him but just a chance of more time to feel happy.
Happy.
I felt happy.
I hadn’t even known how much I’d missed happiness until it found me that night.
So, I did what any insane girl would’ve done. I took his hand and agreed to the idea of falling in love within the next five hours.
He clasped my fingers with his and pulled me in close to him. It was the closest we’d stood since meeting, and the way he looked down into my eyes caused the butterflies to intensify. He had to be well over six-foot-two as he hovered over my five-foot-eight frame—and that was with heels. The way he looked at me made me feel important, as if he was going to give this crazy plan of his all that he had.
“Knock, knock,” he said, with the goofiest grin known to mankind.
“Who’s there?”
“Will you fall in love with?”
“Will you fall in love with who?”
“Me.”
Author Brittainy C. Cherry is an Amazon #1 bestselling author.
She has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing.
Her novels have been published in 18+ countries around the world. Brittainy lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her fur babies.
