Tag: New Adult (Page 37 of 47)

Synopsis:

Sometimes dreams aren’t meant to be chased. Sometimes forevers change with one regret. But when it’s worth the fight—we always wind up back where we belong. Mia and Declan have struggled through infidelity, guilt, and betrayal. Declan wasn’t too proud to lay his heart on the line and show Mia that she is his everything, but can these two find a way to get past all the hurt, to heal old wounds, and get back to good?

I’ll do all I have to do to find my way back to you...

Review:

***3.75 stars***

**Spoilers if you haven’t read Man of My Dreams (Dreams #1)**

Sometimes it only takes one decision to forever change the events in your life. Hearts are broken, trust is lost, and love can be hard to find again. Mia and Declan nearly destroyed their relationship. But in Man of My Dreams, the epilogue showed us that they finally got their happily ever after in the future. But how did they get there? This book is the bridge that leads them to that happy future. Because after the mess they both created, they have a lot of work to do. Nothing can be swept under the rug, and they are still bound to hurt one another when all of the truths come out. But step by step, we get to watch Mia and Declan become the power couple they used to be.

Grace – The makeup hides the subtle imperfections on my face, but I’m not sure there’s anything fit to mask the flaws that mar me deep within. I hush the nagging voices in my head and tell them to take a hike. I want to enjoy this day.

Back To You starts right off where Man of My Dreams ended. Declan finally won Mia back by serenading her, she said goodbye to Noah, and they are on their way to the hospital. They have been thrown back into their lives full force and they haven’t even had any time to heal. After Declan has to take another trip to Hong Kong, he decides they desperately need to have some alone time. He books them a house on the beach for a week of healing and strengthening their love.

Declan – “You don’t think it fucking killed me to watch you pretty yourself up for another man? Or to play babysitter for you while you did God knows what with him? It was torture. It was infuriating. It broke me, Mia.”

Grace used to be so strong and determined. Now her past actions continually haunt her, and she is unsure and afraid of her future. The pain is so deep that she honestly doesn’t know if they can get past it or if they will have a repeat in their future. Maybe I’m wrong for thinking this, but I am actually thankful we got to see this side of Grace. She made my heart hurt for all of the pain she inflected upon Declan. Declan threw more than his far share at her, but for some reason I was able to forgive him easier. That could have something to do with the fact that I loved him in this book! My anger at the hurt that he caused her over the years subsided and I got to see all of the wonderful sides of him. We get to see the swooning, sexy Declan in full force! His actions and words were adorable, and I thank Grace’s lucky stars that he woke up his wife and won her back.

Grace – If I’ve learned anything this year it’s that you can’t live in regret or wonder ‘what if’ without it eating a hole into the marrow of your existence. It took a lot of heartache and too many mistakes to learn that lesson. But I have to believe that the heartache portion of our story is over. This story needs to continue with a pretty song and a love stronger than steel.

This was an adorable tale about finding love again. It was sweet watching Grace and Declan rekindle their love and work through the steps to fix their marriage. Now I’m just left wondering, we will ever get to hear about Noah’s happily ever after?

**ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**

Synopsis:

Mia Murphy may be married to the man of her dreams. But the man in her dreams is the one that got away—her high school crush.

Mia has the life everyone envies. A white picket fence, two adorable daughters, and a hottie husband who stole her heart in college with the strum of his Gibson and his sexy baritone. But when forever becomes monotonous for this perfect couple, their faith in each other is tested.

For Declan, long trips away from home because of his demanding job cause him to find comfort on the road. For Mia, the recurring dreams of her old flame and the shock of her husband's infidelity send her running into Noah's arms at their ten year high school reunion.

Will Mia abandon the alluring pull of the past for her picture perfect future or will the man of her dreams be replaced by the man in her dreams?

Review:

***3.75 stars***

Man of My Dreams was a charming book about putting the pieces of your shattered life back together while on the path to self-discovery. This book made my heart happy, hurt and ultimately completely conflicted. It toyed with my emotions and my feelings for the characters. I kept vacillating on what a happy ending would be for Mia, and I never do that! But being bombarded with questions, doubts and memories left me swimming in a gray area where the answer to a happily ever after are not as easy to figure out as one might think. What happens when you still fantasize about the one that got away? How can you not second guess everything when the monotony of day to day life drags you down? And who doesn’t feel lost when you find out that your sexy, sultry husband has cheated on you? Welcome to Mia’s world.

And there it is…hello reality. Little girls, ass wiping and breakfast at… six forty five! “Girls, are you joking? We need to go back to bed for a little while, Mommy’s tired.” And she was just about to get off to her high school crush.

Mia’s life is extremely predictable. She is a stay at home mom and married to Declan, the man she fell in love with while at college. She is still enamored with her sweet, sexy husband but things feel off. Mia wasn’t imagining things because she learns that her husband has cheated on her. While stumbling through the after-shock of the betrayal, Mia receives an invitation to her 10 year high school reunion. All of her thoughts float back to Noah, her high school crush. She still has sexy dreams about him and has never been able to give up on the ghost that could have been her and Noah. Mia has to seize the opportunity to come face to face with Noah. He just has to be there!

But holy heart failure Batman, it’s Noah Matheson! I never got closure. Hell, I never got an opening! This is absurd. I’m not a lovesick girl anymore. I’m a twenty year old woman in love. There’s a difference. And what I have with Declan is the real thing. The crush I had for Noah, whatever I thought I felt for him is – Holy crap, he looks good!

Usually I love and hate my characters so vividly that it’s nearly impossible to change my feelings towards them. That was definitely not the case in Man of My Dreams. The words easily toyed with my emotions and manipulated my feelings towards Mia, Declan, Noah and even her best friend Grace. I was distraught and lost for the chapters that I disliked Grace. And I was shocked and dismayed that I could be switched from Team Noah to Team Declan and then back again in a blink of a chapter. The chapters continually flowed from present to the past and while that may seem dizzying, it didn’t feel that way in the least bit. I enjoyed all of the different glimpses into their lives. Just when you think you are on Team Noah we travel back to Declan being so sweet and amazing that I can’t help but sigh out loud. Honestly, it was perfectly orchestrated and it had my full attention.

Is it crazy that thinking of sex with another man makes me want to jump my husband’s bones? Something’s wrong with me.

While I enjoyed the characters, storyline and tone of the book, I struggled with the some of the spoken dialogue. Mia was feisty, determined and her internal thoughts were so much fun to listen to. There were countless times that I couldn’t hold back a smirk or a smile from her internal ranting. But it seemed as though Mia would go off in her head, collect her thoughts and what came out of her mouth was just too perfect. I wanted that fire that lived inside of her to come spewing out. A few times it did, but it wasn’t near enough. And it felt the same way for the few chapters that we were in Declan’s head.

I watch the two kids dangle off of him like monkeys as if I’m a stranger. Is that what I’ve become – an outsider to their relationship with their dad? The thought is so damn unsettling I have to grip the steering wheel, close my eyes and count to ten.

This book also contained little hidden treasures of 90’s music references. I HAD to play the songs that were brought up while I was reading that section of the book, and I normally hate listening to music while reading. I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic since Mia and I are similar in age. And I loved Mia even more when she stated that she hated Chumbawamba lol. I hated that song back in the day and I still hate it now too! Overall, Man of My Dreams was an entertaining read that touched me and had me smiling in the end.

***ARC was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***