The Secret isn’t as secure as Derek’s team originally thought it was, and a person on the inside of Alexander-Knight is set on exposing him, breaking him, and taking away all he holds dear.
Refusing to let anyone suffer for his crimes, Derek takes matters into his own hands. He’s exposed, he’s defenseless, but his friends are determined to save him.
A STAND-ALONE, ONE TO HOLD NOVEL. Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
The muscle in my jaw clenches hard, but my voice stays calm. “Open the door, Melissa.”
“No.”
I step back ready to snap that chain with a swift kick, when she pushes it closed and the noise of that f**king deadbolt sounds again.
“God dammit!” I shout as I shove my key back into the lock. I’m turning it open when I hear scraping noises on the other side. This time when I push against the wood, it doesn’t move at all.
Resting my forehead against the door, I take another deep breath, fighting for control. “Please let me in.”
“You promised!” She yells from the other side. “You looked in my eyes and promised.”
“Baby, I didn’t know how serious this was.”
“I won’t hear any more lies from you. Take your shit and leave. It’s over.”
She’s crying now, and all semblance of control I had is gone. This is not happening. Stepping back, I hit the door with my shoulder as hard as I can. A low growl escapes my throat on impact. The door doesn’t budge.
“Open the door,” I repeat.
Again, she says, “No.”
Stepping back, I kick it with the sole of my foot. The doorjamb shudders, but it doesn’t give.
“Don’t make me call the police,” she shouts from the other side.
That nearly sends me into a rage. My shoulders are rapidly rising and falling as I step back and survey this situation. The woman I love has thrown me out and is now threatening the cops on me. Am I having some kind of f**king bad dream?
The only possible way I might get in the house comes to mind. “I want to see Dex.”
She’s angry, yes, but if we can look at each other, talk it out… Maybe she needs to yell at me. I can listen, hear what she needs to say, and everything can go back to normal.
“I’ll talk to my mom. We’ll work out a schedule for you to visit him.”
My fist is pounding on the wood before I even realize what I’m doing. This is f**king idiotic, and I need to get on the other side of this f**king door and hold Melissa in my arms.
“Stop it!” I can hear the break in her voice, and it rips me apart. “You’re scaring Dex.”
Breathing hard, I rest my head against the wood again. Looking to the side, I can see the cracks that have formed around the doorjamb from my attempts to break it down. Sound filters through the spaces easily. The noise of my Melissa crying is just on the other side. I can’t take this.
“Melissa.” This time I’m pleading with her. “Please open the door.”
“No.” She says softly, between sniffles.
My heart is twisting in my chest. “What do you want me to do, baby? Just tell me what to do.”
“I want you to go away.” Her voice shakes as she says the words.
“I can’t do that.” I’m breathing hard now. “I love you.”
“Not enough to keep your promise.”
“I love you more than enough.” Gripping the wooden frame, I fight my emotions. “Let me in.”
“I’m done talking. Take your bags and go.”
Noises on the other side sound like Dex whining. I hear her go to him and attempt to soothe him. Stepping back, I look at the windows and consider breaking one of them. For several long seconds, I visualize myself doing it. I look around the perimeter and see every place I can force my way inside, go in there and gather her in my arms, make her stop saying these things.
But I don’t. It would scare Dex, it would anger Mel… It would only make things harder for me.
Instead I do what she asks. Ice is in the pit of my stomach as I pick up my duffel and the largest suitcase and carry them to my car. Popping the trunk, I put them inside and go back for the remaining two.
Tia Louise is the Amazon and International Bestselling author of the ONE TO HOLD series.
From “Readers’ Choice” nominations, to picking up USA Today “Happily Ever After” nods, to winning a 2014 “Lady Boner Award” (LOL!), nothing makes her happier than communicating with fans and weaving new tales into the Alexander-Knight world of stories.
A former journalist, Louise lives in the center of the USA with her lovely family and one grumpy cat. There, she dreams up stories she hopes are engaging, hot, and sexy, and that cause readers rethink common public locations…
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or publisher.
Prologue
Natalie
“Oh, Chloe, if you’d like to come out, please wait until your Daddy gets back,” I insist, holding my belly as another Braxton Hicks contraction hits. I grip the dresser and try to breathe through it. It seems like they’re coming more frequently.
Once it passes, I try to finish what I came in here for. Aaron is away, but I want the nursery done so we can enjoy the next few weeks once he returns. I walk around what will be her room, putting a few more of the pretty pink dresses in the drawers. Aaron and I have fought about the vast array of pink things that are now strewn around the house—he hates it, I love it.
He insisted we paint her room in camouflage. Brown, green, and black camouflage for a girl? No. I almost sent myself into labor with that argument. I got home and he and Mark were drawing it out on the walls. I launched various household items at Mark while throwing him out of the house. My husband found out shortly after how much he could suffer by my hands. I may not be a SEAL, but you don’t mess with me either. In the end, I won with purple walls and the sheer netting around her white crib.
“Daddy’s going to love this room, Chloe. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees the pretty butterflies.” Needing to take another break, I sit in the rocking chair and rub my stomach. It soothes me knowing she’s in there. I can protect her—it’s my job. I love being pregnant and it’s a miracle we were able to conceive her. I’ve already told Aaron I want to try for another one as soon as she’s born. I close my eyes and sink, allowing the world to fade away.
I imagine holding her in my arms, sitting here in this chair, soothing and kissing her. I picture Aaron with her asleep on his chest as she gets to hear his heartbeat. She’ll own his world and have him wrapped around her finger.
Knock, knock, knock.
I hear the door, but it takes me a few seconds to get out of the chair.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
They bang louder this time.
“Coming!” I yell at the door. Jeez, give me a second.
Waddling to the door takes me a minute since I’m the size of a whale.
I open the door and see Mark Dixon, Aaron’s boss and close friend. He works at Cole Security Forces with Aaron and served with him for years. His head is hanging low and when he looks up, his eyes are full of sorrow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Lee,” he chokes on the one syllable of my name. The one Aaron uses. Something is definitely not right.
“What happened?” I ask again as I begin to shake.
Tears fill his eyes and I know. I know my life is never going to be the same. I know everything I’ve ever feared is about to come true because Mark doesn’t cry. Mark wouldn’t be at my door if something weren’t really, really wrong. “It’s Aaron.”
My heart stops beating and the world I live in ceases to exist. “Don’t,” I beg with tears blurring my vision and my breath accelerating.
This can’t be happening.
“Please, don’t, Mark. Please,” I beg him again, because once he says it…but I know it’s futile. It doesn’t matter because he can’t stop it. It’s already happened.
“Natalie, I’m so sorry.”
The dreaded words that every military wife fears. Only I wasn’t supposed to have to worry about this anymore. We were done. We got out. I wasn’t supposed to ever fear this again.
Please, God, don’t take him from me. Please!
“But, I’m p-pregnant. I’m having a baby,” I stammer as if that will somehow make none of this real. “He said he’d be back. He said he…” I trail off as it becomes difficult to breathe. My hand flies to my mouth to stifle the scream about to escape. Everything goes colorless.
“It was an IED. I’m sorry,” Mark says as his eyes glimmer with unshed tears.
I fall.
But he’s there, cradling me in his arms. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“No. No. No.” Mark holds me as I sob clutching my stomach. “You’re lying,” I hiss, tearing myself out of his embrace.
“I wish I were,” he says as I struggle to get up.
“It was a mistake. He’s having a baby. He said it was a simple in and out!” I scream and throw my hands against his chest. “You’re lying!” I scream, even knowing it’s not a lie.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry!” My sorrow turns to hatred. I hate him. I hate everyone in this moment. I hate Aaron and everyone who was there. I hate this house and everything in it. I hate the air that he no longer breathes. Hate consumes me. Hate smothers me. “Get out!” I yell and push against his chest. “Get the fuck out of my house! Aaron will be back in a few days and then we’re going to get ready for our daughter to be born.”
“Please,” Mark beseeches and I refuse to look at him.
This isn’t happening because Aaron’s alive.
He’s not dead. How dare Mark lie to me.
“He’ll be back. He wouldn’t leave me. He promised.” Aaron wouldn’t lie to me. He never does. When he left for missions, he would always say goodbye like it could be our last. But this time he kissed the tip of my nose and said, “Now don’t have that baby until I get back.”
“Can I call someone? Your mom?”
“No, you can’t call anyone because he’s not dead! Go get him, Mark! Go get my husband and bring him home.” I step back pointing my finger at him. “You all promised. He promised.” I clutch my stomach as a sharp pain radiates, but it’s nothing compared to the agony sitting on my chest. Tears flow relentlessly as I struggle against his hold. “He promised.”
“I know he did,” Mark says as he holds my head against his chest.
“He lied.”
My life is gone.
My heart is dead.
I’m a widow at twenty-seven.
*****5 HEARTFELT STARS*****
As I sit here writing this review, I must admit that I am still fully under the charming, effervescent, and simply fantastic spell of Consolation. It’s only March, but I already know that this book will be one of my favorites of this year.
It was that good. It was that enthralling. It was that amount of everything that makes a book something truly wonderful.
Consolation is the first book in The Consolation Duet, and it is the third book I’ve read by Corinne Michaels. I absolutely loved her other two books to pieces, and Jackson Cole practically melted me, so clearly it wasn’t a stretch that I was going to love this one, although I have to say that I think I loved me some Natalie and Liam just a smidge bit more. (But don’t tell Jackson Cole that, because then things could get awkward, and that’s just unnecessary.)
Consolation tells the story of Natalie and Liam, two people who never thought they’d end up where they are. She’s a young widow with a baby, and he’s her deceased husband’s best friend. They’ve got one serious connection going on, and Consolation follows their remarkable characters as they try to make sense of all that’s happening. Consolation was definitely an emotional read with so many ups and downs, but that’s just part of what made me love it so much.
What I absolutely loved about Consolation:
The immense level of emotion. The first thing that struck me when reading this book was the level of emotion that I felt almost instantly. Corinne Michaels throws you right into the thick of all of that emotion and feeling, and that is exactly what needed to happen for Natalie and Liam’s story. Experiencing that level of emotion just helps you get it all. It also allows you the extraordinary chance to really experience what Natalie and Liam are, making all that they go through that more real, that more intense, and that more emotionally powerful. This book will blow you away with how much feeling it has on every page, and it’ll give you every varied and thoughtfully crafted emotion under the sun, which you will love getting to experience.
Natalie’s magnificent journey. Natalie is put through the wringer with what she experiences in Consolation, and the instant you meet her your heart will go to her. You will love her, feel for her, and simultaneously want to hug her. Natalie’s story is filled with heartbreak and some serious pain, and your heart will break for her, but one thing about Natalie is that she has more strength than even she realizes. You will feel that strength as you get to know her, and it will bring out the most outstanding things in her. Even in those moments when she is vulnerable as all get out and has her doubts and questions about how she’s going to get through it all that strength emanates from her in the most breathtaking way. You will just be in awe of where Natalie starts to where she ends up through her amazing journey in Consolation.
Liam’s heart melting self. I think Liam just about melted my heart over the course of Consolation. He was honest and raw and he had a heart of gold that just made me fall more and more head over heels in love with his character. I was pleasantly surprised that I got a chance to read his perspective in Consolation, and that honestly made this book for me because it allowed me the chance to understand exactly where he was coming from. Liam is in such a tough position because he’s falling for his best friend’s widow, but I promise you will never doubt the heartfelt feelings coming from him. Liam just stole my heart with what he thinks and feels for Natalie. You will not doubt an ounce of what he has for her, and the level of vulnerability that man exuberates repeatedly will just melt you.
Banter galore! While this book has a lot of heavy, it also has a heavy dose of some utterly fantastic banter. Liam and Natalie can really go at it, and I was cracking up at the charming and hysterical banter those two had. That banter will make you smile and laugh, and it brings such a level of fun and humor to this emotionally charged story. It really is just the best, and it helps showcase the wonderfully dynamic and strong willed personalities of Liam and Natalie.
The way Natalie & Liam come to be. Natalie and Liam definitely have a unique story. They’ve known each other for ages, but have only recently come to feel the way they do because of circumstances beyond both of their control. Reading and experiencing how Natalie and Liam’s relationship develops over the course of this book is simply amazing. It’s superbly developed and written, and it just makes sense. All the hesitancies, the questions, the back and forth, the doubts, and everything in between that Natalie and Liam share seem exactly as they should. The connection and just pull that Natalie and Liam have towards one another is a force unto itself, and it just heightens everything that’s happening between them.
The huge OMG moments. This book has some serious OMG moments. I freaking yelled at my Kindle when I was reading this book. A few times. I also think I gasped more than once, because there were MANY moments that I did not see coming. Moments that shocked me. Moments that had me reeling and thinking and wondering what in the world would happen next. And holy all get out, THAT ENDING, but that just makes me all the more ready for the conclusion to this beautiful duet filled with all those huge moments.
The best friends you could ask for.What I’ve loved about all of the books by Corinne Michaels is the supporting and authentic friendships she creates with her characters. The love and connections they all share will just make you happy to read. In Consolation, I loved getting the chance to spend time with the characters I’ve come to love from her other books, while getting to know new characters more. Reanell in particular was a gem, and I loved her little spunky self something fierce! This author develops and brings these distinctive characters to life in such a fabulous way that makes you want to spend as much time as humanly possible with them all because they are all just that fun, and that endearing, and that important.
A man with a baby. I repeat: A MAN WITH A BABY. One of my favorite aspects of this book was getting to see one Liam Dempsey navigate the new waters of possibly starting a relationship with someone who had a child. Reading that man as he interacted and got to know Aarabelle, Natalie’s daughter, just about stole my heart. Literally. Nothing sells me more than a man who loves a child, especially when that child isn’t actually his. The love and care and just heart that Liam has for that little girl had me practically swooning all the time, and coupled with many moments of man with a baby humor, I was just more and more in love with Liam and Consolation.
The level of realness. I can’t say enough how real this book felt as I read it. I didn’t feel like I was reading it, I felt like I was living it. I’m not married to someone in the military, but this book showed me a glimpse of what that’s like. I’m not a mother yet, but this book made me feel like a part of me was already. I’ve never lost my husband, but this book allowed me the chance to see and experience what a life changing event like that is, and all of the repercussions an event like that holds. That is a true testament to Corinne Michaels and her writing because she created all of that. All of the emotion. All of the vulnerability and feeling. All of the ups and downs and realness and flaws that goes along with this story. She created it all, and she did it in such a beautifully breathtaking way that allowed me the exceptional chance to get all of that and more.
Consolation by Corinne Michaels was an enthralling read that gave me Liam and Natalie’s passionate, emotionally laced, and heart pulling story. I immediately connected with them both, and reading these two try to make sense of what they were feeling and thinking was just terrific. When you read their story in Consolation you will fall in love with their characters and all that they go through together, and you’ll be more than ready to see where the road is going to take them.
Corinne Michaels has written and created another story that I could get lost in, and I am just thrilled with what I got to experience in this book with Liam and Natalie. I got to see and understand those characters to their core, and my heart just went to both of them. This book and its events pushed them and in turn pushed me as the reader in the best ways, and that push exemplifies all that is outstanding about Consolation.
Consolation is a book that will give you so much. It’ll give you a story that will pull you in from the first word to the very last. It’ll give you two dynamic characters who’ll enamor you with their many authentic and remarkable qualities. It’ll give you events that will leave you feeling everything under the sun, and it’ll give you a reading experience you will just want to relish in again and again because it’s just that good.
Corinne Michaels is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s 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.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
It doesn’t matter how many times I say it or how many different names I give it, it still means the same thing. One of these days I’ll be nothing but a passing memory, a familiar face in a forgotten photo. But there’s three things I need before this life of mine ends . . .
I need to tell him I love him more than life itself. I need to feel the strength of his arms wrapped around me just one more night. Most of all, I need him to forgive me.
Eight years ago I broke the heart of the only man I’ve ever loved and today I’m moving home in hopes that he’ll let me put it back together. I’m not sure how many breaths I have left, but I’ll use each and every last one fighting for what I destroyed.
My eyes catch on a formation and I sit up, squinting, trying to figure out if I found it. I look at Levi and smile. “There, it’s right there.” Closing one eye—because everyone knows that helps you see better—I point to the stars and trace my finger around Corona Borealis.
“No way.” Levi sits up and leans toward me so the sides of our heads are touching. “Well, I’ll be damned.” We both turn to look at each other at the same time and our noses nearly touch. His smile slowly fades as his eyes drop to my mouth. The air around us grows thick and my heart hammers inside my chest. I want so badly to grab the back of his neck and yank him to me, but I refrain, knowing this is a step that he needs to take.
To my dismay, he clears his throat and backs up, putting space between the two of us. “Um … so … what do you want?”
“What do you mean, what do I want?” I ask, still too caught up in the moment to fully comprehend what he’s talking about.
“You won. So you get to pick your prize.”
“Hmmm.” I flop back down on the ground and tap my bottom lip with my finger. What do I want? “Nothing. I don’t want anything.” I look to the sky and then back to Levi. He lowers himself to the ground and looks over at me.
“Nothing?”
“Nope. This is perfect.” Our eyes stay locked for several seconds, but the connection is too intense and I have to look away or I’ll physically melt. “I’m just glad we got to spend some time together, just you and me. It’s been really nice, Levi. So this is it. You’ve already given me what I want.” I take a deep satisfying breath, chancing a quick glance back at him. He’s grinning from ear to ear, and I swear that his smile alone could light up the darkest of nights. His features have softened, his eyes are sparkling with happiness, and I’m glad it’s directed at me.
“Okay.” His warm voice evaporates into the evening air and I sigh, knowing that right now, in this very second, everything has changed. We seem to have found our footing again and some sort of peace, and I can only hope that it will grow from here.
K.L. Grayson resides in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO. She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man. Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer. She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order.
When I was fourteen years old, I killed for the first time. That day I learned cruelty wasn’t only within the walls we had just escaped.
It hasn’t been easy growing up in the middle of a war. A struggle to find shelter. Fighting to protect our bodies against the corruption of the streets. Nobody cared about the street kids who had to beg and steal to eat.
We are the Portland Street Kings – A family forged through loyalty not blood. To get through this life of broken dreams alive, we’ve become hard, uncaring and merciless. We do what must be done to keep our family safe, we will harm those who stand against us.
We have it all, feared and respected by those on the streets. Then she collided into my world, and with her came demons from my past, back to haunt us all.
Evie is an Australian author whose passion for reading lead her into writing. Evie spends her days writing angsty, heartbreaking love stories and creating happily ever afters. When Evie isn’t writing you can find her reading or spending time with her husband and two children.
Evie released her debut novel You Loved Me At My Darkest in August 2014 and it was quickly followed by Book #2 You Loved Me At My Weakest which released in November 2014. Book #3 You Loved Me At My Ugliest will be releasing mid-2015.
Evie has another series called the PORTLAND STREET KINGS coming soon.
Book #1 in the series is called COLLISION and will be releasing 13th March 2014.
Raised on fairytales and dreams of true love, Arden Winger left for college with a smile on her face and a happy, hopeful heart. Fast-forward seven years and that small town is behind her, but not the baggage she’s been carrying since she left.
Just a city boy…
It’s not that Exton Alexander had anything against relationships—he just never had the desire to try. Not necessarily jaded, Exton considered himself a realist. Little did he know, the one woman that would change everything was about to rock his world. This Alpha male knows the second he lays eyes on her that Arden is special– now he just has to work past her defenses.
Opening the door, I find Dante and Sabrina on the other side. Swinging it wide, I smile broadly as I gesture for them to come it.
“Exton’s been out all day at a production meeting, but—“
“We need to sit down and talk.”
I’m shocked by the serious expression on Dante’s face, but instead of questioning him, I follow as he leads me into Exton’s living room. Dropping down on to a chair, I wait for him to fill me in. As Sabrina takes a seat on the arm of the chair and sets a reassuring hand on my shoulder, my stomach sinks. Something is wrong.
Raking a hand through his hair, Dante lets out a frustrated sigh. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to give it to you straight. Exton’s been arrested for assault. He’s in jail.”
Jumping from my seat I cry out in shock. “What the hell are we doing sitting? We need to go get him out!”
“There’s nothing that we can do until tomorrow,” He answers. “His bail hearing will happen in the morning. I need you to pack so that we can be there.”
Looking over at Sabrina, I try to comprehend what’s going on. “I don’t understand—what? Why would we need to fly?”
“That would be because he’s being held at the Small Towne police department.”
*****5 Fantastic Stars*****
Strictly Temporary Volume 2 was everything I was looking for in the conclusion of Exton and Arden’s story. The minute I began their story in Volume 1, I wanted more, and let me tell you, Volume 2 delivers on every single thing you could want from those two.
Arden and Exton have such a fierce and powerful connection with one another that you feel the instant you begin their story, and this chapter of it just exemplified all the passion and feeling that accompanies them on every page. You will believe in what they share when you read this, and you will be fighting right along with them for everything to work out.
What I loved especially about this story was that it gave me some of Exton’s point of view. I absolutely loved that because that man is so dynamic, and stepping into his head was nothing short of wonderful. Getting his point of view, learning more of his past and what led him to the present of the book, and his side to the story just made me fall more and more under his spell. It also showed and exemplified everything he felt for Arden. You could just feel the passion and fierceness and devotion that that man had to Arden, and that just made him golden in my eyes.
Arden was a female character that I just connected with the moment I met her on the first page of this story, and I continued to just love her character as I read this part of her story. Arden’s character just screams authenticity. She’s so real, and all of the doubts and emotions and questions she has because of her past just made me connect with her character so much, because I understood exactly why she felt the way she did. Arden is also such a dynamic and strong female character, and I have mad respect for her after reading and experiencing what she goes through and overcomes in this story.
I especially loved that along with Arden and Exton’s magnificent story, I got a story with a ton of meaning behind it. This story and these characters touch on so many meaningful ideals, and I loved that along with one heck of a love story I got more meaning than you can shake a stick at. That meaning just embodied this story in the best way, and it made me love these characters more for the meaning behind everything they did and who they were.
Strictly Temporary Volume 2 gives you so much. It gives you Exton’s side of past events and shows you what was going through his head at some very crucial points in the story. It continues the story that I so adamantly fell in love with in Volume 1, giving you the passion, heat, and connection that just defines Arden and Exton in the best possible ways. It also gives you one helluva story that will keep you dying for more.
More of their fantastic and mesmerizing story. More of Arden and Exton and their wonderfully distinctive selves. More of just everything that makes this book the phenomenal thing it is.
This story had everything I’ve come to love and expect from a book by Ella Fox. It was just the right amount of flaming hot that brought the connection of the characters to life. The characters are sexy and memorable and perfectly distinctive and charming. The story itself is enthralling and filled with just the right amount of everything, from heat to love, from doubt to truth, and it kept me fully hooked in from start to finish.
I absolutely love this author’s writing and her ability to give me a story that I simply can’t get enough of. Her books just continue to give me characters and stories that I love immensely, and I cannot wait to get my hands on more!
When she’s not writing, Ella indulges the gypsy in her blood and travels the country. Ella loves reading, movies, music, buying make-up, reading Tmz, Twitter and pedicures… not necessarily in that order. She has a wild sense of humor and loves to laugh. Her favorite thing in the world is hanging out with her family and watching comedy movies.
But my husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I reach for Liam.
One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he’s just the consolation prize.
Corinne Michaels is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s 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.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
I’ve never really been included. I’ve never felt like I truly belonged. But then again, how could I? Living on this island, I’ve seen and heard too many things. Lies. Secrets.
“Lies I’ve been forced to tell and secrets I’ve been forced to keep. They keep me locked to myself.”
They’re the reason I stand on the edge of the horizon and watch from afar. Other people’s lives have evolved, but not mine. It’s exactly the same. Day after day, the sun rises, and every time its rays penetrate my skin, I’m reminded that no matter how desperately I don’t want to be, I’m trapped. I want to live. I want to breathe. I just want to be . . . free.
Elle Summers
If I had my way, I would have walked off the catwalk and straight out of the public eye years ago. Never-ending contracts and obligations have kept me prisoner until recently.
“Now it is fear that has me trapped and running from my life.”
I’m now hiding in a tiny beach cottage in my mother’s hometown, praying no one will find me. No one understands. The demands, lack of control, threats … I just want it all gone. I want to escape. When do I finally get to be me? Free.
With one foot in front of the other I start running. Over the dunes and into the sand, I push as hard as I can. With tears streaming down my cheeks, visions of the fire play out before me. Gasping for air, the smell of smoke fills my senses. I didn’t notice it before but now it is so strong I almost gag. Wiping my nose with the back of my hand, I desperately try to find some fresh air. But no, there it is again, that smell. It’s on my skin. It’s like it isn’t just following me, but now permanently a part of me. Charging into the water, I dive under into the silence. My hands run over my arms, my face, and through my hair. I’m frantic and I have to get rid of the smell.
Washing up on to the shore, I curl up into a ball on the wet sand. My heart is broken for Beau and I’m so afraid. So very afraid. He’s the one and only person who has ever shown me love and the thought of losing him paralyzes me with fear. My sobs are still silent. I’ve been taught not to make a sound. But they hurt so much. Without a voice, I mouth his name over and over again. I just want Beau. I need Beau. He’s the only one who can make this all better, and make everything about this dreadful night disappear.
But he isn’t here and he can’t be.
With my eyes pinched shut, the smell of smoke in my nose, and the feel of a nonexistent heat against my skin, I know. I know it with a certainty that has robbed me of my voice and permeated itself into my pores that, no matter what, everything about this night will be . . . unforgettable.
*****5 Heartfelt Stars*****
I am an ending person. That’s my favorite part of a book because I love that end result. It’s honestly why I love reading series so much, because if I get a phenomenal ending, an ending that just leaves me breathless and so totally in love with what I’ve just experienced, it makes me love that series and that ending book even more.
Unforgettable Sun was an extraordinary ending to The Hale Brothers Series by Kathryn Andrews. I don’t think I could’ve asked for anything better, and while I am so sad this series is ending, I could not have asked for a more perfect book to close out this series of unforgettable books.
This last book and Matt and Elle’s story just reiterated once again why I love this outstanding series, and why it is assuredly one of my all-time favorites. Each book that I’ve read in this series has completely blown me away with the level of emotion and feeling that flows from the page, the extraordinary characters I met that I won’t ever forget, and their thoughtfully developed stories that pulled me in every single time I read them.
Matt and Elle’s story in Unforgettable Sun is simply unforgettable. I’ve been dying to get my hands on Matt’s story since I met him in Drops of Rain, and I was completely enamored by him in this book. Then to top it all off I got Elle’s character, and she is just one of the most authentic and endearing characters I think I’ve had the chance to read.
I adored them both, and reading their story and experiencing all that they go through was nothing short of amazing.
What was truly unforgettable about Unforgettable Sun:
Getting into Matt’s head. Matt’s character has always intrigued me, so I was beyond ready to get into his head and learn more about him. I was just enraptured by him throughout this entire book. Knowing his thoughts and feelings, and experiencing what he’d been through just made me care for and love his character more. It also broke my heart at times to read that darkness he faced, and reading his struggle made me want to reach in and make it better for him. But seeing how Matt handled that struggle, how he attempted to overcome it and fight through it just made him so remarkable to read.
The realness of Elle. Elle was a character that I just instantly connected to. She felt so real to me, and Kathryn Andrews creates her in such a way that just makes her come to life. Elle just screamed authenticity, and I found her character to be so relatable and easy to love. I also could not get enough of how strong she was, because like Matt she faces some pretty heavy things, but through it all she gives it her all to be exactly who she wants to be. I just loved how Elle faced and persevered through everything, and there was just such a vibrant beauty to her both inside and out.
Thatserious connection. Matt and Elle have a serious connection that sparks off of the page, and you will feel that the instant they meet. That connection builds and grows immensely over the course of their story, and it just heightens and solidifies everything they are feeling and experiencing together. You will feel the enormity and pull of their connection when you read their story. It will pull you in like a moth to a flame, and there’s no way you won’t feel that amazing and spark filled connection they share.
Exposing the past. Both of these characters have past and present darkness that they’re facing, but getting to know Matt’s past and what was haunting him just left me speechless. I had always wanted to know what was haunting Matt, and what led him to being the way that he was. What he goes through and what he had to experience just hurt my heart and made me so angry for him because of what he faced day in and day out. Reading Matt expose his past, being that vulnerable, and then in turn actually attempting to overcome it just left me in awe of him, and when you find out all he’s gone through I guarantee you’ll feel the exact same way.
All that fight. There is so much wondrous fight in this book. Matt is fighting the darkness from his past that haunts him every day. Elle is fighting the negativity that surrounds and permeates her world, while also fighting against a very real kind of danger. Matt is also fighting against the feelings he just knows to be true, and Elle is fighting to help him realize that what they’re feeling, what they could have is something exceptional. Something unforgettable. Reading all that fight just demonstrates the shear tenacity of these characters, and that determination just defines this book and them in the most amazing way.
More time with my favorite set of brothers. So I love me some Hale Brothers. A lot. I’ve loved every book in this series because I’ve loved each of those brothers for the dynamic and distinctive people they are. Unforgettable Sun really just illuminates the depth of love these brothers have for one another. Those boys stole my little heart, and I think each of them are always going to have a little piece of it because they’re just that spectacular and heart melting. They really are the best and this book gives you another little fabulous taste of them all.
Emotions and feelings galore. Kathryn Andrews knows how to create a story with so many varied and thoughtfully crafted emotions and feelings. They flow throughout each of her books, and just make them the magnificent things that they are. When I read Matt and Elle’s story I not only had the chance to step into their dynamic heads, I got to feel and experience and live everything they were. You feel their heartbreak, their pain, and their hurt. You also feel all their vulnerability, but you also get to experience their hope and fight and just all the amazing things that make them who they are. Having that kind of a connection and the chance to experience what they do with that level of emotion was extraordinary, and it just made me connect to Matt and Elle even more because of their fantastically layered and emotional story.
The theme of being free.This book is all about being free. Being free of the past and the darkness it entails, free of other people and expectations, and just being free to be who you are. Being free to follow that sun, that light, and that happiness. Matt and Elle are both seeking that feeling of freeness, and the journey you go on with them as they push to be free is nothing short of wonderful. Kathryn Andrews adds that theme of being free into this story in such meaningful and beautiful ways, and I promise you are going to be enthralled by their journey and fight to be free.
That ending! Now I’m not telling you how this book ends, but just know that the ending for this book, for this series was everything I wanted and needed it to be and more. It will satisfy you, it will blow you away, and it will do everything in its power to make your heart oh so happy. Matt and Elle’s story is one helluva journey, and it provides the most superb ending to a phenomenal series.
Unforgettable Sun and Matt and Elle’s story exemplified everything that makes a book exceptional for me. Their story gave me the opportunity to feel with them, connect with them, hurt with them, and love them for everything they were and were trying to do. I wouldn’t trade that experience in for the world because it allowed me the chance to truly connect to two authentic characters and their utterly breathtaking story.
Every book in this series has given me so many things. This series gave me the chance to spend time with 3 dynamic and captivating brothers with some seriously dark and twisty pasts, as they fought for that light they so truly deserved. It also gave me three beautifully written stories that exemplified what it means to give it your all in order to end up exactly where you need to be. This series gave me 3 unique and mesmerizing reading experiences that gave me it all.
This series gave me everything. Unforgettable Sun gave me everything. Matt and Elle gave me everything.
This book is just another shining example of Kathryn Andrews’ phenomenal writing and storytelling, and as much as I wish this wasn’t the end, what she gave me within each of these books is something I will truly never forget.
OVER TEN YEARS ago my husband and I were driving from Chicago to Tampa and somewhere in Kentucky I remember seeing a billboard that was all black with five white words, “I do, therefore I am!” I’m certain that it was a Nike ad, but for me I found this to be completely profound.
Take running for example. Most will say that a runner is someone who runs five days a week and runs under a ten minute mile pace. Well, I can tell you that I never run five days a week and on my best days my pace is an eleven minute mile. I have run quite a few half marathons and one full marathon. No matter what anyone says . . . I run, therefore I am a runner.
I’ve taken this same thought and applied it to so many areas of my life: cooking, gardening, quilting, and yes . . . writing.
I may not be culinary trained, but I love to cook and my family and friends loves to eat my food. I cook, therefore I am a chef!
My thumb is not black. I love to grow herbs, tomatoes, roses, and lavender. I garden, therefore I am a gardener!
I love beautiful fabrics and I can follow a pattern. My triangles may not line up perfectly . . . but who cares, my quilts are still beautiful when they are finished. I quilt, therefore I am a quilter.
I have been writing my entire life. It is my husband who finally said, “Who cares if people like your books or not? If you enjoy writing them and you love your stories…then write them.” He has always been my biggest fan and he was right. Being a writer has always been my dream and what I said I wanted to be when I grew up.
So, I’ve told you who I am and what I love to do . . . now I’m going to tell you the why.
I have two boys that are three years a part. My husband and I want to instill in them adventure, courage, and passion. We don’t expect them to be perfect at things, we just want them to try and do. It’s not about winning the race; it’s about showing up in the first place. We don’t want them to be discouraged by society stereotypes, we want them to embrace who they are and what they love. After all, we only get one life.
In the end, they won’t care how many books I actually sell . . . all that matters to them is that I said I was going to do it, I did it, and I have loved every minute of it.
Find something that you love and tell yourself, “I do, therefore I am.”
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or publisher.
Aarabelle sits in her highchair as I feed her dinner. She’s growing so fast. Already she’s eating cereal and a little baby food. Soon she’ll be crawling and I have no one to celebrate with. Her father will never see these milestones and it breaks me apart.
“You should really lock the door,” Liam huffs as he throws his coat over the chair.
“But then I’d have to get up to let you in,” I state matter-of-factly and go back to feeding the baby, trying to put aside my worries. The fact is…this is reality. I have to deal with it.
“Uh huh. Hey, Pumpkin,” his eyes alight as he crouches down by Aara. It’s adorable hearing grown men use a baby voice. It gets a little softer and higher pitched.
The corners of her mouth lift and she throws her arms in the air when he gets close. My heart sputters seeing how happy she gets seeing him. Liam kisses her head and she giggles.
“At least someone is happy to see me,” he says playfully.
“I’d be happy if you brought me a present,” I joke.
He laughs and goes into the pocket of his coat. “Just so happens I did, but since that’s the only way you’ll be nice, I’ll hold on to this until you’ve earned it.”
Practically leaping out of my chair, I rush over. “What is it?” I try to peer around his back as he holds the mystery item.
Liam’s lips curl as he sees how much I want this. I don’t even know what it is. Jeez, I’m an idiot. “Nope. We eat first, then maybe you’ll get it.”
“Watch, it’s a freaking Pez dispenser or something stupid.”
“Guess you’ll have to be nice to find out.” He shoves the item into his back pocket and I fight the urge to reach and get it. “How was work?”
We spend the next thirty minutes going over my day and Jackson’s return. Liam never mentioned that they spoke, but he’s surprised to hear he’s in Virginia. After we finish the pizza, Liam somehow convinces me we should watch a movie. I get Aarabelle to bed and come down to find him sprawled out on the couch.
“By all means, make yourself comfortable.”
Liam pulls his beanie higher on his forehead and his eyes glimmer with amusement. He sits up and puts the TV on. “I picked the movie.”
“What?” I ask with mock incredulity. “It’s my house. Why do you get to pick the movie?”
“Ummm, I’m the guest.” He shrugs as if this should be an obvious answer.
I groan and lean back. “What crappy, shoot-‘em-up movie do I have to endure?”
But my husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I reach for Liam.
One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he’s just the consolation prize.
Corinne Michaels is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s 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.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
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