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BOOK REVIEW – We Own Tonight by Corinne Michaels

BOOK REVIEW – We Own Tonight by Corinne MichaelsWe Own Tonight by Corinne Michaels
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From New York Times Bestseller, Corinne Michaels, comes a sexy new STANDALONE romance novel.

I’m not a one-night stand kind of woman. I’m especially not the woman who has a few drinks at a concert and ends up in bed with my childhood celebrity crush, Eli Walsh.

However, that’s exactly where I find myself.

What’s a girl to do after a drunken mistake? Run. I grab my clothes and get away from the powerful, irresistible, and best-sex-of-my-life superstar as fast as I can. His gorgeous green eyes, rock-hard body, and cocky smile have no place in my world. My life is complicated enough.

Someone forgot to tell him that.

Eli is relentless. Pushing his way into my heart, wearing me down, proving he’s nothing like I assumed, and everything I need. But when my world shatters to pieces, he holds the broken bits together. Unwillingly, I fall desperately in love with him.

He made me think we’d have forever . . . I should’ve listened when he said we could only own tonight.

Review:

“It’s not a line. It’s you. I can’t explain it, but you’re all I think about. The way you hide your face from me when you’re unsure of yourself. How your smile makes my heart stop, and how even now, with speckles of paint on your face, you take my breath away. Don’t you see? I tried to stay away, but I keep finding myself back here.” 

Mmm I am very torn on this book. I finished it last night and have since decided on rating it a 3.5. The tricky thing about these books and these characters is that while there were a lot of *different* aspects for me, there was also a lot of run-of-the-mill plot points and characteristics, too. There were times that I was tearing up and had giddiness fizzing up inside of me..but then other times were I found myself skimming through cheesy lines and the steamy scenes—which is never a good sign lol. It was in no way bad, but I wouldn’t say that I would consider it a great romance either by any means.

I tell myself, and everyone else, that there’s nothing here, but when he’s close, I can’t pretend. Eli breathes life into a heart that was deflated.

We start the generic plot line with there being a famous musician, Eli, who was/is still part of a boy band that was huge back in the day and who currently is doing a reunion tour with the rest of his band members. Other MC, Heather, is dragged to the concert by her best friend (thought it isn’t that much of a hardship because she’s had a HUGE crush on Eli since the band was first popular. Of course, the group of girl friends have front row tickets and OF COURSE the two lock eyes. She’s called on stage, serenaded by Eli, and is asked to join him backstage….we can all guess what happens. Sexy times and then she runs from him. WHICH NEVER HAPPENS TO THIS SEX PANTHER! Lol but really. Obviously the fact that she ran piqued his interest enough for him to chase after her and I think we all can guess what happens after….the pursuit.

As I’m typing this I realize I’m making it sound worse that it was but you know, it did take me an abnormally long time to finish so I guess there were some parts that really just didn’t rub me the right way *shrug*.

Being vulnerable is a scary thing. It’s hard to give anyone, let alone Eli, unfettered access to my biggest fear. I’ve been alone for a long time, and I’ve learned to handle it. This, though? I have no idea how to handle. Having a taste of Eli’s affection is enough to make me an addict.

The biggest part of this book that was different to me (based solely on the romances that I normally read) was their ages. Both of them were either late thirties or early forties and had obviously *lived* more than me. They had seen a divorce, a failed engagement, and just weren’t immature and dealing with issues that I normally see in the books that I read. There was also a pretty unique storyline about Heather taking care of a sister with Huntington’s and maybe another illness of some kind. I loved seeing how nurturing Heather was and it completely made sense why she was as vulnerable as she was. Other things going on with Eli, along with that older age also made it realistic that he was as sweet and as caring for her as he was. I mean, yeah it all happened so fast but they also weren’t in the beginnings of figuring out who they were as adults. Like I said, I understood it BUT there were also many times where their words of passion just kind of had me rolling my eyes. I love my husband with all of my heart and he is 100% my soul mate and I am a HUGE romantic BUTTTT there’s no way in hell I could imagine us having those conversations together lol. Too too much.

Now don’t go reading all of this and dismiss this book. It is good. It does touch on subjects like illness in the family and how hard and demanding being a caretaker can be. (I had an uncle who had Down Syndrome that lived with us for three years after my grandma died and I saw firsthand how much of a toll it took on my mom, even though we LOVED having him with us). The writing was good and the dialogue was well written, it just overall wasn’t my complete cup of tea!

“More. I want more.” 
“And what if you realize I’m not worth more?” 

He shakes his head. “What if you’re worth it all?”

COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY – Kiss Collector by Wendy Higgins

I am SO excited for the cover reveal of Kiss Collector!  In case you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of Wendy Higgins.  I first fell madly in love with The Sweet Trilogy, then her Eurona Duology and lastly her Unknown Series.  So when I heard about this book?!  Sigh.  It sounds soooooo adorable.  So check out the gorgeous cover below, see what this book is about and enter a fabulous giveaway!  Enjoy!

KISS COLLECTOR 
from HarperTeen and Wendy Higgins
YA Contemporary Romance
Coming December 18, 2018
 
Blurb:
When seventeen-year-old Zae Monroe gets cheated on by the only guy she’s ever loved, then watches her parents’ marriage crumble, she decides to forget about relationships and turn the tables on the boys of the world. It’s time to take what she wants, and what she wants are kisses. Athletes, musicians, poets, and bad boys—their lips are all on her agenda, and it’s time to collect. 
 
Zae proposes a contest with her friends to see who can kiss the most boys during spring break. But what starts as a harmless competition leads to a downward spiral she can’t seem to break free of. As family, academic, friend, and guy drama come to a head, Zae is forced to face the reasons behind her boy angst, and starts to wonder if she was wrong about the male race…or at least some of them.
 
 
About Wendy Higgins:

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NY Times bestselling author of the SWEET EVIL series from HarperTeen, the high fantasy duology THE GREAT HUNT, her independently published Irish Fantasy SEE ME, and her indie NA science fiction UNKNOWN trilogy.
After earning a Creative Writing degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, Wendy taught high school English until achieving her dream job as a full-time writer.
Wendy lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her husband, daughter, son, and little doggies Rue & Nessie.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 
Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW – About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis

REVIEW – About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill ShalvisAbout That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5)
by Jill Shalvis
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When love drives you crazy . . .

When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with the unique finder-and-fixer skills who can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.

the best thing to do . . .

No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.

. . . is enjoy the ride.

As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.

Review:

About That Kiss is my new favorite Jill Shalvis book!  The characters captured my heart, the sexual tension between the two of them was scorching hot, and I could not put this book down.  I loved that there was a fabulous group of friends, an intriguing mystery, and scenes that made me have tears in my eyes.  About That Kiss was such a huge win for me!  If you haven’t read this series yet, you can jump in anytime.  Each book can easily be read as a standalone, which is always an added bonus!

“What kiss?”
He gave her a get real look.
“Oh, that kiss.” She shrugged nonchantely as she reached for her water bottle. “I barely remember it.”
“Funny,” he said in a voice of pure sin. “Cuz it rocked my world.”
She chocked on her water, coughing and sputtering. “The mirror’s still not for sale.” she finally managed to wheeze out, wiping her mouth.
I rocked his world?

One night, Joe and Kylie ended up sharing a passionate, smoldering kiss.  But afterwards, Joe never attempted to contact Kylie because he’s not a relationship type of guy.  And Kylie had no plans of letting Joe’s lack of actions hurt her heart.  But when something sentimental got stolen from Kylie, she knew that Joe could track it down. He worked for a security company and this was his area of expertise.  Yet what started off as a simple search, ended up being something more than either one of them could have imagined.

He grinned.  She was teasing him, and for some sick reason he loved it.  “You’re also not all that nice,” he said.  “And I really like nice.”
“Uh-huh. I bet ‘nice’ is right up there on your list next to, let me guess…a good personality?”
He laughed. “So young and yet so cynical.” he tsked, enjoying the hell out of himself. “You’re assuming the worst of me.”

While Joe was the one working the case, and wanted to keep Kylie safe, Kylie embedded herself into every part of the search.  So they ended up spending a lot of time around each other, and I found my heart melting.  I loved that we got to watch them slowly learn more about each other.  But their interactions weren’t always easy, so fireworks were definitely guaranteed!  You see, there was still a lot of tension from that last kiss.  And then there was an intense, sexual chemistry between the two of them.  It was so much fun watching their slow burn romance play out.  And I loved that slowly overtime, a true friendship started to emerge between the two of them.

She was an irresistible dichotomy of sweet charm and heart-stopping sexy, and she threw him off guard with every look, be it a smile or a glare. In fact, he kinda liked when she gave him dirty looks, which meant he was seriously losing his shit. And he never lost his shit.
Never.
Yeah.  He was royally screwed and the thing was even knowing that, he didn’t want to walk away because he enjoyed her so much.  How crazy was that?

I have to let you know that I absolutely loved Kylie and Joe.  Kylie was smart, stubborn, amazing at her job, honest, had the hugest heart ever and was so much fun!  I loved all of her little quirks and she was someone that I would have loved to have as a friend.  But one of my favorite things about her was how she brought Joe out of his shell.  And that’s because Joe was jaded and kept so many parts of himself hidden, because of his past.  Yet he had this loyalty, endurance and trust that was so beautiful.  He was such a hard worker and such a wonderful brother and son.  Ohhhh and I loved that he was very protective of those he loved.  So while the two of them were very different from each other in certain aspects, other times they resonated with one other.  They way they meshed together was breathtaking.

Vinnie trotted off toward the kitchen, stopping just short of the doorway to lift his paw and poke at the air.  When he was sastisfied that he wasn’t going to encounter a glass door, he happily made his way to the water bowl.
“What was that?” Joe asked.
“He has trust issues.”
Joe let out a low laugh.  “Well, at least we know where he gets them from.”

But there was so much more in this story that I fell for.  I Ioved Kylie’s adorable little dog, Vinnie.  He added so much heart and playfulness to the scenes!  And I loved this fabulous group of friends that this series revolves around.  They feel more like family to me and I loved seeing what they were up to!  So now I’m left beyond ecstatic for the next book in this series.  It’s going to be about Joe’s little sister and one of his coworkers, Lucas.  I already like the both of them so much and I can’t wait to read their story!  So yes, I absolutely loved this book and can’t recommend it enough!   

PS When Vinnie finally learned to fetch?!  Oh my gosh, I was laughing SO hard I had tears pouring down my eyes lol!!

*Book was kindly provided by Avon Books in exchange for an honest review*

Buy Links:

Amazon | B&N | GPlay | iBooks | IndieBound | Books-A-Million

 

Excerpt:

[scroll-box]

Joe studied her. “I asked you once before, but now I’m going to ask you again. Is there something going
on between you two?”

She tossed up her hands. “Why do you both keep asking me that about each other?”

His eyes narrowed. “I thought nothing was going on.”

“And before today, I could’ve passed a lie detector test on that,” she said.

“What happened today?”

She paused. Not because she had anything to be ashamed of, but because she wasn’t quite sure what
had happened.

“Kylie.”

She sighed. “It’s nothing.”

“Try again,” Joe said and gave her the very male universal go on gesture.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He . . . finally made a move on me.”

Joe didn’t budge. Not a blink, not a muscle twitch, nothing, but she could’ve popped corn off the electric tension coming off him.

“Describe ‘made a move,’ ” he finally said.

She crossed her arms. “And again, how is this relevant to my case?”

He just gave her that careful stare again and she thought wow, those eyes of his should be registered as a lethal weapon, because she found herself opening her mouth and spilling her guts. “He kissed me.”

“He kissed you.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Do you know that you often repeat what I say?”

“What kind of a kiss?” he asked.

She was momentarily bewildered. “I don’t know. It was a kiss. A normal kiss. A nice kiss.” She cocked her head at him. “How many kinds of kisses are there?”

He just looked at her for a long moment before coming toward her. He backed her to the wall and pressed his big hands on either side of her head.

“There are many kinds of kisses,” he said.

Her breath had backed up in her throat, where her heart had lodged, pounding wildly. “S-s-such as?”

“Such as this one.” And then he leaned in and covered her mouth with his.
At the touch of Joe’s mouth, Kylie’s brain stopped being capable of rational thought. His tongue gave a knee-weakening stroke against hers and she let out a shockingly needy moan as she clutched at him, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt at his chest. Only when he’d thoroughly plundered and pillaged and left her boneless did he lift his head and
look into her eyes.

“Wow,” she whispered, fully aware she was still holding on to him like he was a lifeline, but the bones in her legs had liquefied. “I mean . . .” She shook her head. “Wow.”

He nodded. “Yeah. So to be clear, that wasn’t ‘a normal kiss’ or even ‘a nice kiss.’ It was a ‘wow’ kiss. Any questions?”

“Just one,” she said softly. “Can I have another?”

Joe didn’t have to be asked twice. His mouth immediately descended again, his fingers sliding into her hair to change the angle of the kiss to suit him. It was a controlled, alpha thing to do, but she had only one thought—nothing about the usually carefully, purposely leashed Joe was in control at the moment.

And she liked it.

She had no idea how long they went at it because she was in absolute heaven. Who knew that the man could use his preferred silent mode to communicate in a way that she finally approved of?

Only when she was completely breathless and about to strip him down to his birthday suit did she manage to pull back.

“Any more questions?” he asked, also a little bit breathless, which was more than slightly gratifying. Dumbly, she shook her head. His eyes softened and he gently he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. “And FYI? Gib’s an idiot.”[/scroll-box]

 

About Jill Shalvis:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumbler | Goodreads

 

TOP TEN TUESDAY – Favorite Hate to Love Romances

Top Ten Tuesday.13

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
This week was a Love Freebie!  So we chose a topic that we are all obsessed about…… hate to love romances.  We are sooooooo addicted to those.  So here are 13 of our Favorite Hate to Love Romances…….

 

Jen’s Review
Chelsea’s Review

Jen’s Review

1. Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas
Amazon * Goodreads
Jen – This book was both scorching hot and utterly heartbreaking.  Misha was brutal to Ryen, he was hurtful, mean and viscous.  BUT I more than got why he acted that way to her.  So it was impossible to be upset with him.  This is definitely one of my top favorite hate to love romances!!
Chelsea – I don’t know that I’ve read a more ‘hate’ to love romance ever-the vehemence with which Misha hates Ryen is breathtaking…and it makes you fall all the harder.

2.Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Amazon * Goodreads
Daemon’s feelings towards Katy are a conundrum and you will feel as though you are suffering from whiplash. One moment his words are lashing out at her, and the next moment he is being his sexy, intoxicating self.  I wanted to kick and punch him, but heaven help me because I fell for him hard.


Jen’s Review
 
Jen’s Review

3. Good Girl by Lauren Layne
Amazon * Goodreads

Noah was hurtful to Jenny.  He was the biggest jerk.  Actually, jerk is too nice of a word.  He was the biggest asshole.  Yet Noah completely deserved my love….you’ll find out why.  Annnndddddd – Who knew pink zip ties could be so sexy?!?!?!

4. Anew (The Archers of Avalon #1) by Chelsea Fine
Amazon * Goodreads
Tristan completely won over my heart and soul. His dark, sarcastic humor was intoxicating. His selflessness and bravery was endearing. But even though he was cold and standoffish to Scarlet, I couldn’t get enough of him. Tristan was everything I love, and so much more.


Jen’s Review

Chelsea’s Review

5. Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee
Amazon * Goodreads
They’re enemies.  His kind has destroyed her world.  And even though Raffe is a creature who could decimate Penryn in a second, she stood up to him.  Oh my gosh…..I just loved how their relationship evolved as this trilogy progressed!

6. Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1) by Morgan Rhodes
Amazon * Goodreads
Ahhhh my favoritessss-Magnus really doesn’t like ANYONE…but he begins to find he has a soft spot for the girl with golden hair and blue eyes-but she hates him, too! 


Chelsea’s Choice

Chelsea’s Choice

7. The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
Amazon * Goodreads
I’mmm not sure what went on here…but Cardan is one intense dude. He had me guessing from beginning to end.

8. Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland
Amazon * Goodreads
AGHH the feelssss. I can’t say anything…but by this being on the list, I hope my feelings are clear ;).


Chelsea’s Review

Arielle’s Review

9. Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake
Amazon * Goodreads
I loved this book so very much, that much is no secret-Arcus and Ruby had heat from the moment they met…and the fact that he hated her at first sight only helped that matter 😛

10. From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
Amazon * Goodreads
IVAN LUKOV. Guys. He is….so good. The verbal sparring that went on between him and Jasmine was HILARIOUS. Oh man I was dying so many times laughing because of the horrible crap they said to each other..and his nickname for her. Lol, sigh.


Arielle’s Choice
Chelsea’s Review
 
Arielle’s Choice

11. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Amazon * Goodreads
Chelsea – Joshua and Lucy were forced together in one of the most competitive ways…in the same office. The tension between the two is high…but their chemistry is off the charts. I can’t even DEAL with how cute their ‘enemies’ to lovers relationship is ♥♥.️️

12. Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren
Amazon * Goodreads
It was an interesting take on the hating to loving trope because they had met BEFORE the chaos started and really hit it off. So that spark was there the entire time, even while the fighting commenced. Their prank war was HILARIOUS. I have not laughed out loud so many times at a book in quite awhile which was a relief after the emotional roller coaster that was ACOWAR.


Arielle’s Choice

13. The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
Amazon * Goodreads
I mean, this one isn’t a typical hate to love, but they’re legit enemies at first soooo–it counts, right? 😂.

 

So these are our Favorite Hate to Love Romances. Have you read any of these books already? Or are they still on your tbrs too? If not, then what book is your favorite hate to love romance?

 

BOOK REVIEW – From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

BOOK REVIEW – From Lukov with Love by Mariana ZapataFrom Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.

After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.

But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.

Including Ivan Lukov.

Review:

My mom had always warned me that some people would always be eager to believe the worst. That was the unfortunate and shit truth. But I knew who I was and what I did. I couldn’t find it in me to regret it. At least most of the time. Maybe life would have been a lot easier if I’d had my sister’s sweetness or my mom’s personality, but I didn’t and I never would. You are who you are in life, and you either live that time trying to bend yourself to make other people happy, or… you don’t.

THIS BOOK. *incoherent mumbling* INSTANT TOP FIVE FAVORITE ROMANCE OF ALL TIME YOU GUYS, NO JOKE. I feel like I should apologize in advance for the number of lengthy quotes that will be in this review but if we’re being honest, I had WAY more highlighted and these were the ones I felt like I couldn’t live without. If you don’t end up wanting to read this book solely based on the quotes themselves…..then you must not have a heart, lol. But really.

But I wanted to win. I wanted this. I’d always wanted it. I’d bled for it, cried for it, bruised for it, had broken bones, had concussions, pulled just about every muscle in my body, never made friends, never went to a single school anything, never loved anyone, ignored my family, all for this. For this love that was greater than just about everything and anything I had ever known. For this sport that had given me the confidence to know I could get up after every fall I’d ever take.

I don’t even know where to begin here. I feel like this entire review is just going to be word vomit and fangirling and I am entirely alright with that so without further ado, I’ll dive right in. 

This book is about Jasmine Santos. Jasmine is a figure skater with hardcore determination. When we first start the book she’s in a bit of a slump. Her partner of three years ditched her without saying anything and because of her smartass/hardass mouth, she’s inherited the stigma of being hard to work with. Enter Ivan Lukov. Long-time enemy of Jasmine, total babe, world-champion pairs skater, and brother of Jasmine’s only friend (other than her family). It turns out that this tool of a guy (lol he’s really not tho) and his trainer want Jasmine to be the new half of his pair’s team and she’s just desperate enough for a win to agree.

Was I dying? Was this what having you heart broken felt like? Because if it was, I was sure fucking glad I’d never fallen in love before because goddamn. My God.

This was my first book written by Zapata so I really didn’t know what to expect going in other than seeing that it had a good rating already. What I did not expect was to fall so deep in love with these characters and their story that I would be fully immersed for a solid two days.

I’ll start with Jasmine since this book is about her. Right off the bat I loved her. She is so tough and BA and her inner monologues seemed to be pretty similar to my own sometimes (I’m a bit of a potty mouth so if you don’t like strong language, parts of this book might not be fun). You can tell she is SO passionate about figure skating and about her family and all of the sacrifices that she has made/ they have made for her throughout the years. Sometimes she can almost be too stubborn but I never got sick of it. For me, she was too real, too honest to ever dislike. Watching her go through the transformation that she did from cover to cover was incredible. I was so happy for her by the end when she realized that if she was going to win, it was going to be because she finally, truly believed in herself. Ugh what great character development.

“Is that a French bulldog?” We were already on the road and heading toward the nearest major freeway when Ivan nodded, his eyes on the rearview mirror. 
“Yes. The diva in the back is Lacey. She’s in time-out. I should’ve left her at home, but she can’t be in the car with anyone else other than Russ, and today’s his day for a ride.”

WHICH BRINGS ME TO IVAN LUKOV. Guys. He is….so good. The verbal sparring that went on between him and Jasmine was HILARIOUS. Oh man I was dying so many times laughing because of the horrible crap they said to each other..and his nickname for her. Lol, sigh. Really though, I also loved watching his journey, or at least the journey of Jasmine (and us as readers through her perspective) actually discovering who Ivan was as a person. He seems like such a stuck up, pretty boy at first until more of Jasmine’s walls get broken down and we see glimpse of this other Ivan. One that takes care of people when they’re sick and has five rescue pets that he treats like children (omg that part made die it was so cute). He is basically everything and to top it all off, is also the reason that Jasmine is able to have faith in herself—because he has an unwavering faith in her. It’s beautiful.

And after a beat, then five, I said, “We’ll win.” 
His gaze went even more intense as he said, with no hesitation, “You’re goddamn right we will.” He pressed his mouth, so quick, so hard against me, I didn’t have a chance to react until he pulled back an inch and said, hoarsely, his fingers threading through the damp hair right above the nape of my neck, “I’ll drag you back on the ice if I have to, Jasmine. I swear on my life.” Something about his words made me shake on the inside. Maybe it was the conviction. Maybe it was the anger. The passion. The reality that he wasn’t leaving me any room to not do what he said. Mostly though, it was something else completely. I loved him. I loved this man so much that losing him was going to break my cold, dead heart into so many pieces I was just going to have to stick them in the same box I kept my dreams and carry it around with me forever.

My other favorite part of this book was the Santos family. I come from a really close family myself and always love to read about other families that have close and hilarious dynamics such as this one. They all loved each other so much and meant so much to one another. I just about sobbed when Jasmine and Ivan were talking about how every family member has a specific favorite white Jasmine love them all equally, the good and the bad parts. I’m having a daughter (my first baby) mid-April and while the thought of being a mom is kind of scary, I know as long as I do my best to make sure that she knows that she is always loved and supported like Jasmine’s mom did with all of her children, then I know that I’ll be doing something right.

This was my partner. This was more than my partner. He was my other half. And the only thing I could do to thank him for this gift he’d given me, this knowledge that he thought I was invincible, was to make sure we won. I’d give him the thing he had wanted me for in the first place. I’d give him my fucking all.

So here it is. I honestly could probably go on to fangirl about this for another few thousand words but I hope you don’t need more to convince you. ESPECIALLY SINCE THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING UP. It’s relevant and just a damn good book. I honestly can’t wait to reread it again someday.

 
 
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