Throttled (Wild Riders #1)
   by: Elizabeth Lee

Publication Date: Aug. 29, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received via the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 215 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Reid Travers knows how to win. Becoming Motocross royalty was always the plan, and he was willing to make sacrifices along the way to reach his goal. Sacrifices he thought he could live with until he returned to the small town where he grew up and learned to ride, and, more importantly, where he fell in love.

When fate sends Nora Bennett back into his life, he takes one look at her and realizes that he made a huge mistake breaking up with her seven years ago. Now, he'll do whatever it takes to win her back. As Reid sets out to earn her forgiveness and convince her that the guy she's dating is not the one for her, Nora finds herself torn between what her head is telling her and what her heart wants.

It's a race he never expected to be in, for a girl he can't stand to lose again.

  

 

 

I am so excited to help spread the word about Elizabeth Lee's latest novel, Throttled! I love that it was a surprise release for many and she did a great job of keeping this book under wraps. I really enjoyed this first book in her new series and I am already ready to get my hands on the next book! Not only did I fall for Reid and Nora, but I completely fell for Reid's brother, Hoyt, his best friend Brett, and Nora's sister, Georgia. I am really hoping we get to see them again soon in the next book!

 

I was looking forward to reading another book about motocross, as I've only read one or two before and it is definitely something that interests me. There's so much freedom in this sport and I love the thrill of the ride. It can be dangerous but there's this elation that comes from riding in the wind and being completely in control of your own destiny. My one wish for this one is that we got a bit more of the motocross aspect. I would have liked to see Reid in action on the professional circuit, but the book focuses more on the second chance romance between him and Nora.

 

I was beyond irritated that Nora had a boyfriend for half the book though. I wanted Beau to go away and better yet, I wanted him to show his true colors so Nora would finally see him for the jealous douche he was. Nora really struggles with her feelings for Reid and I understand that. He left her once and she had her heart broken, so it's no surprise that she would be reluctant to hand it back over to him like nothing had happened. I do think she should have ended things with Beau earlier, as she was already starting to question their relationship and if it was really what she wanted. I do know Reid complicated things for her with his sudden reappearance into her life, but the sexual tension that simmers between the two almost killed me. However, I did notice that for as much as and as strongly as Nora resisted Reid, she jumped back into things with him pretty quickly. I guess I thought she would have taken it a bit slower than she did.

Reid left the town of Halstead to pursue his racing dreams and when he did so, he had to leave the girl he loved behind. Now, he is back and has earned great success as a motocross rider. He immediately comes face to face with the girl he left and he realizes that as much as he loves riding, he made a mistake in letting her go. Now, he is determined to win her back and he isn't going down without a fight.

 

I really liked the idea of Georgia and Brett together, so I am holding out hope, Lee writes their book. I feel they would complement each other really well and would help the other confront some of their fears and things they've been going through.

 

This was a sweet second chance romance and while I wish Nora would have ditched Beau a little sooner and that there was a bit more motocross, I did really enjoy this one. I can't wait for the next book!

Spend the Night (The Complete Series)
   by: Elizabeth Lee

Publication Date: Mar. 4, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided via the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 261 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3/5 stars

Welcome to The Wellesley-Crawford...

Hannah Wellesley has spent her entire life running the halls of her family-owned hotel, the infamous and opulent Wellesley-Crawford. Noted as one of the city's richest, most luxurious hotels in Chicago, the WC is what Hannah has devoted her life and career to.

The hotel’s Annual Masquerade Gala is the event of the year, but this year Hannah’s evening involves more than just handing out masks. After a mysterious rendezvous in a secluded stairwell with an irresistible and unidentifiable man, Hannah becomes consumed with discovering the identity of her masked lover. Just as she’s about to give up the search, two men blow back into her life with drastically different intentions. They both have secrets and uncovering them will lead Hannah down a darkly dangerous path.

Drawn to both of the intriguing bachelors, she’ll have to determine which one is after her heart and which one plans to do her deadly harm before it’s too late.

The complete Spend the Night Collection - Episodes 1-3

 

 

I'm not really a fan of serials, but when I saw the opportunity to read this one in its entirety, I jumped at the chance. I have enjoyed what I have read by Elizabeth Lee thus far, so naturally I wanted to give this one a try. I was left with rather mixed feelings when it was all said and done. I enjoyed it, but struggled with a lot of the heroine's actions, as well as some of the other elements in the story.

 

Despite my mixed feelings, I couldn't seem to stop reading. Lee's writing style is infectious and I'm not sure I can pinpoint exactly what she does so well. I was intrigued by the plot of this one and thought it was interesting how the book was sporadically divided into a mysterious male's POV. Even though, I was able to figure out the men in this one, there were still twists and turns I didn't see coming, which I appreciated.

 

One of my greatest struggles was with Hannah's character. She is seduced by a man in a darkened stairway, having no idea who he is. My first instinct was to yell at her for being so careless- not to mention reckless with her life. I know it was meant to be seductive and sexy, but I couldn't make myself see it that way. Eight months go by and she doesn't ever find out who the masked mystery man in the dark is. She is still haunted by that night and the feelings he ignited within- even going so far as to believe him to be her soulmate. Again, the romanticism of this didn't quite work for me. Just because a man offers you good sex doesn't make you soulmates. Those things aside, Hannah wasn't a horrible character. She is a Wellesley and she has obligations to her family's hotel. With her grandmother stepping down, it is up to Hannah to stand up and prove her legacy. She is damn good at her job and running the event planning side of things, so I had no doubt she would do a great job. However, things are not so cut and dry, especially when her childhood friend Trent Crawford comes blowing back into her life.

 

Oh, Trent. Where do I start? I had a very love/hate relationship with Trent. I really liked the glimpse of their past we see through Hannah's eyes and he seems like a really sweet guy. The Trent we meet is anything but. He's sexy, arrogant, and a bit heartless. I did not like the way he treated Hannah after their being intimate with one another and the way he made her feel after that really frustrated me because things with Trent aren't as they seem. Hannah spends the book torn between hating him and swearing not to let him affect her, and caving whenever he says a few sexy words. She can't resist his pull, which infuriated me because of how hot and cold he was. We do find out why this is towards the end of the book and while I understand his motivations for being this way, there wasn't quite enough to redeem him for me.

 

There is a bit of a love triangle in this one. While Hannah is trying to fight her affections for Trent, she is interested in Carter, the new chef for the hotel. Carter is sweet, polite, and kind- everything Trent is not. He wants to court and woo Hannah and has become enamored with her after their meeting at the Masquerade Ball. Hannah begins to hope and wonder if Carter was the masked man who swept her off her feet that night. I wanted to like Carter, but despite all of Trent's issues, Trent had more depth to his character.

 

Lee adds a bit of suspense to the plot and some of it was definitely creepy, including getting a few short snippets of a mystery man's POV. She is purposefully ambiguous with the details, but he definitely makes your skin crawl and warn you that there are dangerous times ahead. I applaud her for this technique, as it really upped the tension level of the suspense and intrigue.

 

Overall, this wasn't my favorite of Lee's books, as it had so many elements that do not appeal to me personally as a reader. I just couldn't feel the connection between the characters when it was riddled with so much drama and angst and I couldn't fully immerse myself in separating reality from fiction when Hannah's character made so many reckless decisions.

 

 

Welcome to the review tour for Finding You, by Elizabeth Lee. Be sure to click the banner to follow all the reviews along the way!

Finding You (Escaping #2)
   by: Elizabeth Lee

Publication Date: Oct. 20, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received from Wordsmith Publicity in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 194 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Being the wild child has worked for Mallory Vandaveer for most of her life. She’s the good time girl, up for anything–and everyone in her small town knows it. But when her sister came home after years of being away, long hidden secrets came out. Turns out, Mallory isn’t who she thought she was. And now everything starts to feel like a lie. In order to figure out who she is she’ll have to set out on a journey to find the one man who holds the answers.

Everett Boone is in hiding. Hiding from his past and the press and the demands of a career he put on hold after tragedy struck. When a young woman with secrets of her own blows into town and rents the apartment next to his, he’ll have to face the past he was trying to escape in order to understand his feelings for her.

They’ll both have to dig deep inside themselves to discover whether or not they’re capable of being enough for one another. Finding the person you’re meant to love isn’t the problem. Sometimes the hardest person to find is yourself.

 

 

Upon finishing Escaping Me, the first book in the series, I could not wait to get my hands on this book! I instantly loved Mallory and her spunky, tough as nails attitude. She has had quite the bomb dropped on her in the previous book and now she is leaving town to hopefully get some answers in Charleston. Mallory is just one of those heroines that you can't help but envy. She goes after what she wants and doesn't let fear keep her from doing new things and taking chances.

 

She is taking quite the chance in renting an apartment above a welding shop and keeping her true identity a secret from both the shop owner and her new next door neighbor. She wants to make sure she's doing the right thing and will be well received before she goes in guns blazing, which I get. I do think Mallory should have fessed up a lot sooner than she did though. Her withholding this information certainly causes problems with her sexy neighbor, Boone, who she finds herself falling a lot harder for than she ever thought.

 

Mallory is a no strings kind of girl. She doesn't do relationships, after being burned by them in the past. She has not had a strong father figure and just feels the men in her life haven't been there for her in a lasting capacity. Everett Boone is a complete jerk to her in the beginning, not wanting to have any kind of contact with the beautiful new girl. He has been living his life under the radar for a few years now, wanting to escape the spotlight after a personal tragedy.

 

Boone is determined to keep Mallory at arm's length, but her free spirit and her flirty, fun attitude draw him right in and really makes him rethink his desire for solitude. She works her way into his life and eventually into his heart. Both of them agree to keep things casual, but find that's not really what they want at all. Mallory likes spending time with Boone and vice versa. They have incredible chemistry together and I liked watching them slowly open their hearts to one another after they swore they wouldn't.

 

I absolutely love that Boone is a former golfer! How awesome is that! I don't think I've read any books where the athlete is a golfer, so it was definitely awesome to read about a different sport for once! We really don't get too heavy into the golf scene in this book though. I did like seeing the parts we got though! 

 

We get plenty of Whitney and Cole for those of you that have read the first book in the series. They also have some big things going on in their lives, so I was glad that Lee touched base with them. They are so supportive of Mallory and I'm really glad she had them in her life.

 

Vince was another really great character too. He is the owner of the welding shop below and really acts as a father figure to Mallory. He is very protective when it comes to Boone discussing having something more with her. He is also good to Boone and the two are very close as well.

 

I am excited for you all to meet Mallory and Boone. They are both trying to find their place in the world, overcome tragedies and obstacles, as well as deciding what they want from one another. A beautiful story of love, acceptance, and taking chances- Lee's writing will captivate you and have you begging for more!

 

 

 

 

Amazon | B&N

All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere – she couldn't.

He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her.

Here's the thing they quickly found out – sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Born and raised in the middle of a Midwestern cornfield (not literally, that would be weird), I’ve spent my entire life imagining stories. Stories where the right guy always gets the right girl, first kisses are as magical as they are on the big screen and anything is completely possible if you believe.

 

Although this journey began years ago, it recently took on a whole new life. After years of devouring hundreds of Romance, YA and New Adult novels, I had an epiphany... I should write a book. And I did it!

If I’m not reading, writing, enjoying drinks with my amazing group of girlfriends or chasing around a sarcastically funny kid, I’m probably watching television shows that were created for teenagers, while my husband teases that I’m too old to watch them.

Connect with Elizabeth:

 

Website: http://www.elizabethleewrites.com/

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethleewrites

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elwrites

 

Escaping Me (Escaping #1)
     by: Elizabeth Lee

Publication Date: July 30, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: Purchased for Kindle
Page Count: 402 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere – she couldn't.

He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her.

Here's the thing they quickly found out – sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.

 

 

“I’m backwoods, baby. The sooner you figure that out, the better off we both will be.”

 

I've been meaning to read this one for quite some time now. Everyone was just raving about a guy named Cole Pritchett and I had no idea why! The above quote sums Cole up perfectly. Not once did he ever make himself out to be anyone other than who he really was at heart. Meeting a girl like Whitney Vandaveer was never in the cards for a good ol' boy like him. Whitney is the complete opposite of Cole in so many ways. Where he's rugged and a bit rough around the edges, she's polished and refined. Having lived with her lawyer father and step-mother, Whitney is used to her father making decisions for her and doing what he thought would be best. It isn't until she finds her boyfriend cheating on her that she decides something needs to change.

 

Whitney may be a bit uptight to start, but I loved seeing her grow a backbone throughout the novel. She really becomes her own person and says the hell with what everyone else wants- it's her life and she's going to take control of it! Cole definitely has a lot to do with this change in Whitney. She likes who she is with him and doesn't feel that constant pressure to be perfect. He likes her the way she is, even though it definitely took a bit for him to let her in. He blows her off and gives her the cold shoulder to start, but Whitney doesn't let that deter her. She doesn't really know anyone but her mom and her sister now that she's finally come back to her hometown and neither does Cole, being the newcomer. She suggests the two become friends, but it's clear they are entirely too attracted to one another to do so.

 

Whit and Cole have such incredible passion together. Their physical relationship is explosive and hot and Lee has written some very sexy, steamy scenes for them. They do let their jealousy get the best of them at times though. Whitney has only had one boyfriend prior to Cole, so it's natural she would be on high alert, especially after he treated her the way he did. Once Cole and Whitney start dating, Cole really struggles with not being good enough for her and he lets that plague his thoughts more often than he should. He knows the summer is coming to an end and he doesn't know where his and Whitney's relationship will go. Both of them are falling hard for one another, but with all the obstacles between them (new opportunities, college, etc.) will their relationship survive or will it crumble because things aren't simple like they were before?

 

I really liked Mallory, Whitney's sister. She is laid back and easygoing, not taking crap from anyone. She lives life to the fullest and is all about having fun and taking things a day at a time. She's one tough girl and doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve. I'm really excited that Lee is continuing the series with her story! Mallory finds out some pretty life-altering news in this book that will play a big part in her upcoming book.

 

My only hang up with this book was that it felt a bit long for me. I was still engaged, but I did think there were some scenes that weren't necessary to move the plot along. I love Lee's easygoing, fun writing style. She does a great job with her character development and I love the relationships between her characters. Whit, Cole, Mal, Zeke, and Leanne are all really enjoyable characters so it was easy to fall into their world and want them to find happiness.

 

We are so excited to share the cover for Finding You, from Elizabeth Lee, along with an excerpt. Take a look at the cover and excerpt, and be sure to let us know what you think!

Title: Finding You

Author: Elizabeth Lee

Age Group: NA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Scheduled to Release: October 7, 2013

 

Goodreads

 

Be sure to sign up for all the Finding You events here!

 

 

Being the wild child has worked for Mallory Vandaveer for most of her life. She's the good time girl, up for anything--and everyone in her small town knows it. But when her sister came home after years of being away, long hidden secrets came out.

Turns out, Mallory isn't who she thought she was. And now everything starts to feel like a lie. In order to figure out who she is she'll have to set out on a journey to find the one man who holds the answers.

Everett Boone is in hiding. Hiding from his past and the press and the demands of a career he put on hold after tragedy struck. When a young woman with secrets of her own blows into town and rents the apartment next to his, he'll have to face the past he was trying to escape in order to understand his feelings for her.

They'll both have to dig deep inside themselves to discover whether or not they're capable of being enough for one another.  Finding the person you're meant to love isn't the problem. Sometimes the hardest person to find is yourself.

 

Excerpt

 

“Looks like she's back,” Vince said as we pulled back up to the shop the next afternoon.  He pointed at the two trucks parked along the street.  She waved at us from the bed of one of the trucks as she she handed down boxes to someone.  Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail that barely brushed her shoulders as she turned her head to talk to whoever was helping her move in.  Why did she have to be so damn cute?  Couldn't have been a dude or some homely girl that moved in next me, could it?  That would have been asking the universe to cut me a fucking break and that had never been the case before.  Why would it start now?

“Looks like she is,” I breathed.  A part of me was kind of hoping that she wouldn't come back. Another part, the one that hoped she did, was taking notes on how great she looked as we approached.  She smiled that excited, nervous grin that she had when Vince told her she could have the apartment. She had a certain look about her that reminded me of Audrey.  The Audrey from before we hit it big.  The one that just wanted to grab life by the horns.  The one that didn't let the pressure get to her.  Like the old Audrey, she hadn't yet been tainted.  She was naïve and unassuming, at least from where I was standing.

“Need some help?” Vince offered up about the time I saw her helper step out from behind the truck.  He was around the same height as me, which is where our similarities ended.  This guy had muscles in places I didn't even know were possible, and I was an athlete.  On top of those muscles he had tattoos and a look on his face that said “back the fuck off.”  Or he did when he was looking at me anyway.  Judging from his appearance, I guessed I wouldn't have to worry about him recognizing me.  He didn't look like an avid golf fan.  No, this guy was country, not country club.  All the more reason for me to keep my distance from her.  The last thing I wanted to deal with was an overprotective boyfriend.

When he turned his attention to Vince his demeanor seemed to change.

“I think we've only got it, but thank you,” he said politely.  “I do have one favor to ask though,” he added, looking up at my new neighbor who appeared to be concerned with the next words that were going to come out of his mouth.

“Sure,” Vince answered, resting his arms on the back of the truck.

“Keep an eye on my girl here,” he nodded up at her.  “She tends leap before she looks, if you know what I mean.”

“I do not,” she spouted.  “I'll be just fine.  I'm a big girl.”  The way she popped her hand up on her hip and practically stomped her foot caused everyone of us to crack a smile.  She hopped down out of the back of the truck and shut the tailgate.  “Thanks for your offer, Vince, but this is the last load to go upstairs.  Come on, Cole,” she urged, seeming to have better places to be.

“Vince, was it?” Cole extended his hand.  “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Vince replied.  “We'll keep an eye on her.”  Cole nodded, pleased with Vince's words.

“Didn't catch your name,” he said turning to me. 

“Boone,” I replied, thrusting my hand out to meet his.  I wasn't scared of this guy.  Sure, he could have probably kicked my ass all over the street, but he had no reason to worry about me.  I wasn't interested in his girl.

“Not going to have to worry about you getting her into any trouble, am I?”  He raised up, his broad shoulders casting a shadow over me.  His hand squeezed around mine in warning.

“Nope,” I said, matching the pressure of his grip.  “Not going to have to worry about me at all.”  I feel myself rising up to gain an inch on him.  “If she's getting into any trouble she'll be doing it all on her own.”  Which I didn't doubt.  As sweet and naïve as she appeared, I could tell from our brief encounter that she was a spitfire.  Cole didn't need to worry about me one bit, but he moved toward me nonetheless. This guy wanted to stand toe-to-toe, I was game.  It'd been a while since I felt an adrenaline rush.  I used to get them all the time—teeing off on the first hole of a major, sinking a putt to seal a double birdie.  This was a different kind of rush, but I'd take it.  It was good to feel something other than guilt for once.

“Good.” He finally broke the tension with a chuckle.  “I'll see ya around, Boone.”

“Yep.” Guess he'd be back to visit.

 

 

Escaping Me, a companion to Finding You

 

Title: Escaping Me

Author: Elizabeth Lee

Age Group: NA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: July 30, 2013

Goodreads  | Amazon  |  BN

 

All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere – she couldn't.

He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her. Here's the thing they quickly found out – sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.

About Elizabeth Lee

Born and raised in the middle of a Midwestern cornfield (not literally, that would be weird), I’ve spent my entire life imagining stories. Stories where the right guy always gets the right girl, first kisses are as magical as they are on the big screen and anything is completely possible if you believe.

Although this journey began years ago, it recently took on a whole new life. After years of devouring hundreds of Romance, YA and New Adult novels, I had an epiphany... I should write a book. And I did it! If I’m not reading, writing, enjoying drinks with my amazing group of girlfriends or chasing around a sarcastically funny kid, I’m probably watching television shows that were created for teenagers, while my husband teases that I’m too old to watch them.

 

Connect with Elizabeth:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

 

 

 

 

Welcome to my stop on the Where There's Smoke blog tour hosted by InkSlingerPR!

Today I am excited to share my review as well as a giveaway with you all!

Where There's Smoke
    by: Elizabeth Lee

Publication Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by InkSlingerPR in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 230 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

There is something to be said for letting go. Ryland Roberts knows that better than anyone. He'd let go of his ambitions, of his family and—most of all—of her. He'd perfected the art of putting his past behind him and accepted the fact that the town he wanted to leave in his rearview was the place where he was going to live out his days. But sometimes the past doesn't just go away. Sometimes it comes back to haunt you.

Piper Jameson convinced herself that she left for all the right reasons. She'd saved people by leaving—made sure that they weren't tainted by her rebellious ways. When her little sister asks her to come home and say goodbye to their ailing mother, she's forced to see that things aren't always as they seem. The people who she'd left behind might not have been saved at all.

In the amount of time it takes a bullet to travel from point A to point B, Piper and Ryland will have to put their feelings for each other aside and make a choice. Forced on the run with Piper's sister, they begin to understand that the future they thought was gone was never really lost.

 

 

 

 

When I first heard this was a romantic suspense New Adult novel, I was like heck yeah! I love when authors branch out with New Adult. Elizabeth has done a great job of creating a story that will suck you in and keep you on the edge of your seat for our characters, but she also has done a stellar job of balancing out the romance and bringing the swoon!

 

Pacing: I felt this was really well-paced. While it was somewhat predictable (for me anyways), there were a few twists I didn't see coming that really broke my heart. Especially the one at the end that left my jaw hanging open. It's not quite a cliffhanger, but it does leave you unsettled and ready for the next book. I liked Ry and Piper's relationship and I felt it progressed at a good speed. These two have some serious history as well as harbor some serious hurt and regret towards one another.

 

Storyline: Piper Jameson has always been a bit of a wild child. Falling in love with the ambitious, good-hearted Ryland Roberts wasn't something she planned, but also something she couldn't help. Everyone knows Piper isn't good enough for someone like Ryland, but the two are young and in love and Ryland doesn't care what anyone thinks. He sees the good in Piper and falls for her spontaneous, outgoing personality. However, after one fateful night, Piper and Ryland's lives are turned upside down and now six years later, are reunited again.... and it's not a happy one. Piper had her reasons for leaving Truitsville, reasons that Ryland doesn't know about. She wants to tell him the truth, but she can't seem to bring herself to. Ryland is bitter, angry, and still heartbroken over losing the one girl he would do anything for. He has taken it upon himself to watch out for her younger sister Hadley after she left and now that she's reappeared back in his life, he has all of these feelings and emotions he thought were long dead rise back up to greet him.

 

However, as events unfold and they realize that things in Truitsville are worse than they ever knew, Piper and Ryland will have to push aside their confusing feelings for one another and focus on protecting the one person that still links them to one another.

 

Characters: As I said above, Piper has always been rather wild. After her mom married her step-father, the police of chief, it became clear that Piper was the troubled one and Hadley was the perfect daughter. Piper has been constantly told she's not good enough for someone like Ryland and eventually she starts to believe that to be true. She feels responsible for what happened to him after she left and she thought by not contacting him, she was doing him a favor. She wants to see him successful, married to a good woman, and happy. She has no idea that her leaving him would break him and her good intentions were all for nothing. After 6 years of being away and realizing the truth, she still feels she's not good enough for him and really wages an inner battle of whether or not she should open up to him and tell him the truth about everything. With the anger he feels and shows her, she's afraid it just might be too late for them.

 

Oh Ryland. He's adorable. He fell in love with a girl only to have his heart broken and his life completely thrown off track. The people he needed the most abandoned him and he is left a bitter, angry shell of a man. He tries not to let himself think of Piper, though every time he sees her sister Hadley, it's a reminder of the girl he loved and lost. He is less than thrilled when he finds out Piper will be coming back to town. He refuses to let himself think about everything they shared when they were younger. However, her return is not something he can avoid and as much as it hurts him, he will be there for them while they deal with their mom's illness.

 

I really like the moment Ryland owns up to his feelings for Piper and vows to fight for her. He won't let her go without a fight and his determination to keep her with him is really sexy and endearing. The two are older now and have made mistakes that they can't change. They can however, work towards a new future- provided they can make it through the chaos that they find themselves in the middle of.

 

I really liked Hadley, Piper's sister. She's a sweet girl who has lived through hell and my heart just ached for her. She tries to be strong and pretend she's not affected by what happened, but there's no way she can NOT be affected. The ending really threw me and I felt my breath literally leave my chest upon those final words. I am both looking forward to and fearing the next book, which will be from her point of view. Hadley has a lot to work through and I hope that she can and will be stronger because of what she's had to endure.

 

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. Even though I was able to predict some things, that doesn't mean others will. There were a lot of 'oh shit' moments for me, as well as tender, sweet ones that left me with a big grin on my face. I really enjoyed Ryland and Piper's characters, as well as their romance. I'm a fan of second chance romance stories, even though they hurt my heart because I hate seeing the characters in emotional pain! Where There's Smoke is an intense, fast-paced read that will leave you ready for more!

 

When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand.  Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination!  Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that!

 

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