Second Christmas (A Second Chances Epilogue) by DL Roan

In the words of DL Roan:

HEAT WARNING: Contains three sexy cowboys who are still very much in love with their wife, love making love with her--together--and spare no details when doing so...every chance they get. Grey still has a dirty mouth, but thanks to Gabby's efforts, tries to keep it clean in front of the children. It doesn't always happen. Recommended for adult readers only.

Join your three favorite cowboys for a very special Christmas holiday. Meet the newest members of the McLendon family, catch up with all your favorite characters from DL's 'When Seconds Count' collection, and get a sneak peek at all the fun and excitement in store for their future.

This is not a standalone. Second Chances must be read first to fully appreciate the context of this book.

Kota's Review

Do you love your Cowboys?  Do you love them when they are all hot and sexy?  Do you love them when they are sweet and romantic?  Do you love them when the hot and sexy, sweet and romantic cowboy has brothers?  (you read that right they come in multiples)

Have you met the McLendon brothers?  Grey, Mason and Matt are three gorgeous brothers, inside and out – I mean really, could they get any more perfect?  Have you read Second Chances by DL Roan, because if you have, you would know just how perfect I am talking about.  If you haven’t – what the heck are you waiting for?  Here, let me help you with the Amazon Link… just click here... you know you want too!

Ok so, let’s assume that you have met the McLendon’s, so you know right that they love their woman…  yep woman, one woman…  she is the right amount of sass and sweet to keep these boys in line.  Welcome to DL Roan’s little patch of ménage.  This epilogue is the picture perfect end to the McLendon’s story from Second Chances.  DL Roan has given us that happily ever after as a gift, the gift that gives you a little bit more of the story and the characters than the standard epilogue offers.  A gift in the form of an Epilogue Novella perfectly timed for this festive season.

See what Grey, Mason, Matt, Gabby, the twins and the ever loving mother McLendon, Hazel and her handful of older McLendons have been up to since the end of Second Chances.  Here you will find surprises, laughter, tears and a realism that is often lost in the art of erotic storytelling.

DL creates an environment and relationships that have you laughing, crying and maybe squirming in your seat a little (I mean those cowboys are hot….ok) along with the characters. 

This is ultimately a fun and happy story, with some drama thrown in for good measure.  We are reintroduced to some of the great secondary characters from Second Chances, and you may even see a snippet of life for our favourites from Second Nature, and the seed is planted for some possible spin off characters…

Grab your copy… and have yourself a very merry Second Christmas with the McLendon’s.

This rates as a 4 ½ star read, because well…  it was just too short… which also left me asking questions, wanting more and….  Ehhhh just a bit frustrated…
if you know what I mean ;)  

About DL Roan

Contemporary Erotic Romance Author of super sexy, Alpha-licious novels.

After years of schlepping for the corporate world in an endless rotation of tasteless cube farms and cold coffee, DL Roan decided to give a little attention to the sexy voices inside her head and begin anew. Whether it's menage, action-adventure, passion-filled suspense, sexy cowboys, assassins or angels, DL's novels are sure to keep you on the edge of the page reading long into the night.

Links

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Books by DL Roan

Shattering the Darkness Series by Jessica Spoon

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Synopsis

Harper Reagan has been through everything a woman could possibly go through. Losing her parents and entering foster care, only to be abused by her foster father. Running away at fifteen, she enters the world’s oldest profession to survive. And survive she did. 

Barely...

If you call abuse, counted as property and tortured to no end surviving then that was what she did…survived. Her life was spared, but at what cost. Long ago Harper had died. Today, due to those decisions she made, she is left existing with no choice to do anything else. Staring the devil in the face daily for as long as she did, left its mark and pain behind for her to live with forever.

The pain of that survival scars her deeper than any physical wound she's ever received. 

Harper is finally living a better life and has a great business, friends, and a home finally her own. She will do anything to keep her past hidden, including jeopardizing her only chance at love and a truly good man.

Breccan Caldwell is everything Harper doesn't deserve. He's gorgeous, successful, caring and a true gentleman.

Can Breccan show Harper who she truly is? Or will he be pushed out by the darkness she allows herself to be consumed with?

 

Kota's Review

Darkness Deserved is book 1 in the Shattering the Darkness Series by Jessica Spoon.  The title of the book and the series are aptly named.   In Darkness deserved we meet Harper Reagan.  She is a fiercely independent woman who is predominantly a solitary creature with the exception of her two best friends. Harper is a business woman, who knows exactly how to survive, and how to protect her heart, and those around her.  Harper is one of the strongest female characters I have read about for a long time.  

Harper’s life has been a constant of betrayal, abuse and trauma.  After the death of her parents, her life become one that was lived parallel to her existence.  Dissociating in order to survive, being taken advantage of and led into a life of soul destroying actions, kept the essence of Harper safe. Its this essence of Harper that we see and learn about thanks to the love and support Nicco has offered her.

Nicco is like a father and primarily Harper’s saviour.  Their relationship knows no bounds in its commitment to one another.  

Circumstances are such that Harper meets Breccan Caldwell.  Breccan is stereotypically the millionaire boyfriend with Alpha tendencies that we all love to read about, but Breccan is so much more than that.  The compassion and patience that he shows, mixed with pure lust, love and desire to protect demonstrate how perfect he is for Harper.

As the title implies, Harper believes that Darkness is her cross to bear and in Darkness Deserved this is Harpers story to defend her viewpoint, and our opportunity as readers to know without a doubt that she is deserving of so much more.

Ms Spoon has written a tale that is as heart breaking as it is uplifting.  The trauma that Harper has experienced continues to be very real, and the scenes where we learn about these experiences break your heart, they may also have had me ready to kill or at least kick arse on young Harper’s behalf.  Ms Spoon has written a story that captures you, heart and mind – and I was on edge waiting to see how it would all end.  There is steam in this story to – you wont be disappointed with Harper and Breccan, but it is the emotional elements that really stick.  The message that beauty is only skin deep is never more clear when you see past Harpers physical beauty into that of her soul.

This story of survival and love resonated with me, and I truly enjoyed the journey.  It came to an end, and I was really lucky that Ascending Darkness was waiting for me when I turned the last page.

This story must be read in order, please do not do Harper’s story a disservice by cutting straight to Ascending Darkness.  The scene must be set for the story that follows.

Excerpt

Darkness Deserved

Friday night at the bar was busy. Every table was full all night and the bar was packed as well. I couldn’t have been happier. It was ten o’clock as I was making my rounds through the crowd checking tables and helping Emma, Beth and Mya, my waitresses, out. 

I had just finished setting down a round of shots at a table full of sorority girls and turned around to go back to the bar, when I felt a tingle start at the top of my head and move toward my groin. When it settled and my clit began to throb I just knew. I knew it was my Adonis.

Here at last.

Dammit.

I was hoping I could just go through life without this temptation. It’s okay Harper. You wore your big girl panties tonight so quit being such a fucktwat and grow a pair. I make my way to the bar as if I notice nothing and set the tray down for Mark and Rory, my bartenders tonight.

I head towards the end of the bar to take care of some orders I need to make, when I feel his presence beating against me from behind. It’s like he already owns my body. My skin begins to tingle, my heartbeat speeds up, and my breathing becomes shallow as I try to control it. I can feel the vein in my neck throbbing relentlessly. On the outside I know I appear composed and nonchalant, but inside- inside- I feel ready to burst. 

I just want Adonis to grab me, throw me on the bar and fill me as I know only he can at this moment. He brings both arms around me so that his hands are resting on the bar and he has me trapped between it and himself. He leans in and I can feel his breath wash over my exposed neck. I inhale his scent: soap, Armani and Adonis. God, I want him to bend me over. A million different scenarios run through my mind of how to close down the bar so I can please this man.

And that’s when I stop and ice runs through my veins. I spent four years pleasing men. I was not going down that path again.

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Synopsis

The repercussions of Harper’s past meeting her present have left her breathless and lost. She continues to fight an internal war with herself. Can she let the love Breccan has offered into her life? Or was she right to push him away for his own good?

As Harper struggles with this internal battle, will her past find her and tear down everything she has built?

Will Harper ever find her happily ever after?

Read the conclusion of the Shattering the Darkness Series.

Kota's Review

Ascending Darkness picks up where Darkness Deserved left off.  Harper’s life has turned for the better, well at least for her pleasure.  But has her lapse in judgement affected her safety and that of those she loves the most?

In this story, Harper’s past starts to catch up with her and in order to keep her loved ones safe, she must battle with herself.  Does she expose herself and become vulnerable to her family or does she stay closed off and run the gauntlet between her past and the potential horrors that await?

Ms Spoon does not disappoint with this story, it is full of angst, action, karma.. oh and a good dose of Alpha and romance.

The rollercoaster that unfurls throughout this story keep the pages turning.  This story completes the series, but for me – it was a case of too perfectly.  I also found that this installment lacked a little of the emotional connection that I felt with Darkness Deserved.  Now that is not to say this was disappointing – not at all – I thoroughly bonded with these characters and loved the storytelling.  It was more a case of I personally felt the benchmark was set very high throughout Harper’s journey in book one that it was hard to match the connections within book 2.

The secondary characters in Ms Spoon series, are very clearly loveable or completely hateable.  There is very little room for grey when engaging with these characters. 

This story is dark, sad, hopeful, and steamy…  I really enjoyes when Harper and Breccan’s story took us.  

4 stars for this installment – I can’t wait to read more of Ms Spoon’s work!  Oh and I must get my hands on Duncan Peters….  Because he seems like a stand up kinda guy ;)

Excerpt

Ascending Darkness Prologue

It’s been years since I lived and breathed this way. Years since I had to wonder what would happen next. I’ve been lucky; living the good life and having whatever I wanted. I suppose I couldn’t really have it all; too greedy. It was never about money, though…. 

It was about being out of this life, having something more.

Living.

I don’t know if Nikko and Breccan know yet what has happened, or if they can even do anything about it. I imagine they will try and I hope they succeed, but how in the hell are they even going to find me? I don’t even know where I am or how I got here. How can two people that weren’t there do anything about it?

I look around the mostly dark room. The walls are a grayish color which looks to be from stains to the once white walls. The carpet is dark, almost a greenish color. There is a small bed in the corner with a table and a lamp that hardly sheds any light in this room. It smells musty in here, like a cemented basement. 

Maybe it is a basement.

I was unconscious when they took me and woke up in this room. 

I sigh and sit up on the bed so that I am facing the door. My hands are still tied with nylon rope and my wrists are raw, so it hurts to move them too much.

The door starts to open and I watch.

He walks in with the same grimy smile he always had. 

I hate you!

He walks closer to the bed, looks down at me and says, “Hey, babe. You’ve been busy. Looks like it’s time to pay your dues. Pants off. Now.”

Meet the Author

 

Jessica grew up in a small town in Southern Iowa. She went to nursing school and became a nurse only to realize her passion was in writing and reading. She loves to spend her time with friends and is very close with her family. It took her a long time to realize she even had a joy of reading. Once having declared there was no point when the books always became movies. At twenty four she discovered how wrong she was and became obsessed with reading and made up for lost time by doing it nonstop. She began writing when dozens of ideas kept flowing through her mind that she knew she had to get out.

Miss Taken by Cleo Scornavacca

Synopsis

Love........................The Ultimate Loss of Control

Rain and Raven Medici are identical twins. Although they come from a loving close-knit family their childhoods couldn’t have been more different. Raven went to school and was exposed freely to the outside world. Rain on the other hand was born with a blood disorder and denied many normal childhood experiences. 

Once grown, Raven becomes a lawyer at their dad’s firm Kane & Medici in NYC.  Rain along with her only childhood friend Tommy Cont, builds a very successful business as professional photographers. Traveling between Europe and Manhattan, and enjoying a world that was kept from her, Rain vows never to be controlled again.   

Dominick Kane is a product of his upbringing. He’s powerful, self-assured and knows he can achieve anything he desires. Nothing gets in his way. There is only one thing he has ever failed at. A relationship with his father Vincent Kane. Upon his father’s death, Dominick vows revenge. The events he sets in motion put him on a collision course he himself will be unable to control.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Dominick kidnaps Raven as part of his plan for revenge.  Only to discover afterward, he has taken Rain by mistake. Rain knows she can never survive being confined again. So she strikes a bargain with the devil and agrees to help Dominick get back what he feels rightly belongs to him. His father’s share of Kane & Medici.

Dominick decides to use the strong attraction growing between Rain and himself to control her in every way imaginable. Too bad no one ever taught Dominick you can’t control the heart. Nothing could have prepared him for the effect Rain would have on his. 

Will this plan of revenge turn into unconditional love? 

Or will Dominick and Rain’s need for control ultimately destroy them and any possibly chance for a real future together.......

Kota's Review

Miss Taken is Rain Medici’s story, well part of it anyway.  Rain is a photographer, in business with her best friend Tommy.  Rain’s father is a partner in an extremely powerful and profitable law firm. Rain is also a twin, her sister Raven works for her dad, and has quite the reputation in the court room.

Meet Dominick Kane, a ruthless lawyer who wants what ‘rightfully’ belongs to him, with a plan for how to make it happen.

Rain has led a very sheltered and protected life due to a childhood illness.  She has been controlled for so very long, that as an adult she chooses not to allow people to control her.  Until she falls prey to Dominick’s revenge plot.  Can Rain and Dominick find a mutual understanding to both get what they want?  Where does Raven fit into this story?  What about the best friend Tommy?  What secrets are hidden behind the walls of law firm Kane & Medici?

Miss Taken is Ms Scornavacca’s debut story.  It is an easy read, and while the plot dynamics are quite complex, there appears to be a simplicity about them.  I found the story engaging – a little unbelievable at times, but still engaging.  The characters have potential.  I struggled with the relationship between Rain and Tommy, and the readiness for each of them to abuse (for lack of a better word) it.  The dynamics between all the players kept me thinking that there is so much more lying just beyond this story.  Miss Taken ends with a cliff hanger.  It is one that became a little predictable, but still has you wondering what it all means.  

Will Rain stand on her own, and take advantage of all that is before her?  Will she forgive Dominick and find her HEA with him?  Will Dominick ever ‘get it’ and will he forgive Rain when he learns her secrets?  Will Tommy ever man up?  So many questions at the end of the story, Will book 2 be the one to answer them all?

This is not an unenjoyable story at all.  While there were elements that seemed unrealistic for the most part it flowed.  I did find it a bit chaotic at times.  I felt the back and forth between Rain and Dominick and the choices Rain makes a little challenging as a reader.  

I think Ms Scornavacca has the potential to grow as a writer, and book 2 has the potential to truly explore some of these more complex character traits and relationships that are simmering underneath.  I look forward to seeing where she takes the story, and hope it diverts from the predictable and delves into devious.

I am rating Miss Taken a solid 3 ½ hearts.

3 and 1/2 hearts for Miss Taken

Buy the Book

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Night Owl by M. Pierce with Giveaway

Title:   Night Owl (Book #1, Night Owl Trilogy)

Author:   M. Pierce

Genre:   Contemporary Erotic Romance

Paperback Release Date:   July 1, 2014

Synopsis

"Tautly written, complex, and vibrating with a dark sensuality that will have you at once blushing and anxious. You'll think you have this book pegged . . . but you'll be wrong."—Christina Lauren, New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling authors of The Beautiful Bastard series

From bestselling ebook author M. Pierce comes the first novel in a provocative erotic trilogy where an anonymous online writing partnership turns into an uncontrollable, passionate obsession

At twenty-eight, Matt Sky has the perfect life. He has a beautiful girlfriend, a massive inheritance, and four national bestsellers -- all penned under his airtight alias, M. Pierce.

At twenty-seven, Hannah Catalano is a train wreck. Her boyfriend is a deadbeat and her job is abysmal.

Matt and Hannah meet online as writing partners. Their relationship is safe, anonymous, and innocent...

Until Matt sees a picture of Hannah. Hannah's picture sparks an attraction Matt is powerless to ignore. When circumstance brings Matt and Hannah together, the strangers begin a love story that's passionate, poignant, unforgettable, and unstoppable.

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Excerpt

Panic set in as I listened to the ring. 

            I'm about to talk to Matt. 

I'm about to hear his voice. 

I don't even know this guy. 

What the hell am I doing? 

He could be a psycho stalker. 

We shouldn't cross this line. 

I can hang up. 

I can hang up now. 

Yeah, I'm going to h—

            "Hannah?" 

            I swallowed and slid down the bathroom wall.

            "Hannah, is that you?"

            Matt's cool, clear voice swirled in my ear. It was distantly accented—New Jersey, maybe New York—and a little husky. 

He sounded sleepy.

            He sounded sexy as hell.

            I had the overwhelming urge to ask him to keep saying my name. Hannah, Hannah, Hannah. Help me come. Warmth bloomed between my legs.

            "Okay then." He laughed softly. I felt my reason melting at the sound. "We'll play the one-sided conversation game. I'm Matt, it's nice to—" Again, he broke into quiet laughter. His voice was rich with amusement, but not warm. He sounded contemptuous. He sounded ready to laugh at anything, simply for the pleasure of laughing with his silky voice. 

I couldn't help but picture the devilish eyes that must have accompanied that voice. 

            Green eyes, I decided. Dark green, secretive and deep like a forest.

            "I was going to say it's nice to meet you," he went on, "but I guess we've technically met online. Now we're meeting on the phone. Maybe…" He trailed off. I heard some shuffling. "God, if this is you trolling me Nate, I swear I'm going to break your fucking—"

            "Hey! Sorry, I—" I scooted over to the bathroom door, opened and closed it, then sat back against the wall. Brilliant. Sorry, I was soaking my underwear while I listened creepily to your voice. "—sorry, yeah. I had to go in the bathroom. My sister is asleep."

            Matt was silent for a moment.

            "Is that why you're whispering?" he said.

            "Yeah. She's really tired. We're at a motel, we just stopped. Pretty sure the wall between this bathroom and her bed is a piece of plywood, so."

            "Well… damn. I wanted to hear your voice. I mean, your regular volume voice." He chuckled. "Do you think you could risk a few words? I'll deal with your sister if she wakes up."

            I smirked, imagining a conversation between my hotheaded sis and this glib personality.

            "I think that would be a bad idea. But, um. Sure. What  should I say?"

            "With your normal voice? How about, the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." 

            "Okay." I cleared my throat. I was suddenly painfully self-conscious about my voice. "Um. Okay. The… the quick brown fox—"

            Laughter exploded on the line. It was loud and sharp, nearly cruel. 

            "Oh… my god Hannah." I heard a clatter, then some scuffling. "Oh fuck. You were really saying it. The quick… brown fox… oh god." Matt dissolved into laughter again.

            I glared at my knees.

            "What's so fucking funny?" I whispered. 

            "Hannah. Hannah, I'm sorry." 

            I heard him take a few calming breaths.

            "Okay," he said. "I'm sorry. Ignore me, seriously. I have a weird sense of humor. That… that struck me funny. You have a lovely voice. Go figure."

            Go figure? What did he mean by that?

            "Look, is there a reason you wanted me to call, or were you just looking for some late night entertainment?"

            "Pretty sure this classifies as early morning entertainment, Hannah."

            "Okay. Well whatever. Look, I'm not sure why I—"

            "I can't stop thinking about you."

            His words stopped me cold.

            His words, and something in his voice. Honesty. 

            "What we did," he continued. "Or what you did to me…"

            My throat went dry. What I did to him. It should have grossed me out, the thought of a stranger beating off to a few details about my body, but it didn't. It intrigued me. The heat between my legs pulsed. 

            "You know what I'm talking about," he insisted. An edge came into his voice at the slightest provocation.

            "Y-yeah," I managed. "Yeah."

            "You enjoyed it."

            "Yeah."

            "You said you wished I were pounding into you."

            "Yeah…"

            I couldn't believe this smooth-talking stranger was dictating to me how I felt. 

            I couldn't believe I was blindly agreeing. 

            And I couldn't believe my considerable vocabulary had suddenly been reduced to "yeah."

            "Hannah, you made me come so hard. And I did it again, thinking about you. Let me return the favor."

            His words hung in the silence between us.

            Return the favor. Help me come.

            "Yes," I whispered. 

About the Author

M. Pierce is the bestselling author of Night Owl, book one in the erotic Night Owl Trilogy. The author lives in Colorado and owns a rabbit named Laurence.

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Giveaway

- LELO Elise 2 - http://www.lelo.com/index.php?collectionName=femme-homme&groupName=ELISE-2

- 3 signed SMP Night Owl paperbacks

- 1 signed original/indie Night Owl Paperback

- 4 sets of signed bookmarks

- 3 Night Owl Ebooks

- 2 Last Light Ebooks (delivered on release day)

- Oh Whimsical Me Night Owl bracelet (with original cover)

- Oh Whimsical Me Night Owl bracelet (with new ebook cover)

- Night Owl Inspired Necklace

- Night Owl bottle cap magnets (set of 4)

- Night Owl Trilogy Bookmarks & Night Owl paperback cover magnet

- Night Owl Trilogy ribbon bookmarks (set of 3)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last Light (Book #2)

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After Dark (Book #3)

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The Flowering Series by Sarah Daltry

Introducing Sarah Daltry's Flowering series, a contemporary New Adult series about finding yourself through love. Please find the synopses and trailers for each of the six titles below. Reading order is suggested in the order the books were written, but no book has a cliffhanger and each can be read independent of the others. The titles are Forget Me Not (Lily’s story), Lily of the Valley (Jack’s story), Blue Rose (Alana’s story), Star of Bethlehem (holiday novella), Orange Blossom (one year later), and Ambrosia (the conclusion).

Series Trailer

Buy Links

Amazon, Apple, All Romance, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords

Forget Me Not (Lily's Story)

This is a coming of age story, but it isn’t always sweet and innocent. If dirty talk, bedroom toys, and threesomes offend you… this is not your book. “No one tells you when you start school just how homesick you will be, or how hard it will be to start life over with no direction and no friends or family. No one says that becoming your own person is terrifying.” I never wanted anything but Derek, my brother’s best friend. When I chose a college, it didn’t seem to matter that he would be an hour away. We could survive it. After all, we were in love. But almost immediately, things change between us. I blame myself. Maybe I’m just not sure how to be a girlfriend and independent. Life seems to be getting away from me – and then there’s Jack, the guy down the hall. He’s rude and vulgar and my parents would be shocked by him, yet every single time I see him, I feel like I’m being pulled toward him. It’s physical, sure, but there’s something in Jack’s eyes – and I want to know him. I know I don’t always make the right choices, and I’m the only person at fault when everything falls apart. How do I tell Derek, the guy who was supposed to be everything, that I don’t feel like fighting for him anymore? And do I run to Jack, when I know his past is way too much for me to handle when I’ve just turned 19? Finally, where do I end up in all of this? Can I be more than just someone else’s idea of what I should be?

Lily of the Valley (Jack's Story)

Jack’s story isn’t pretty. He’s suicidal, depressed, and he uses meaningless sex and alcohol to survive. However, the story is about finding light in the darkness, but sometimes the road there isn’t always easy to walk. “No one tells you about pain. They tell you that it hurts, that sometimes it’s consuming. What they don’t tell you is that it’s not the pain that can kill you. It’s the uncomfortable numbness that follows, the weakness in your body when you realize your lungs may stop taking in air and you just can’t exert enough energy to care. It’s the way taste and color and smell fade from the world and all you’re left with is a sepia print of misery. That’s when the shift starts – the movement from passive to active. I fall asleep, hoping that the morning will bring back the pain. At least the pain is a thing.” I’m a plague, a cancer. My mom is dead – and my father is in prison for it. I survived high school because college was my way out. I needed to escape, to get away from my family and the people who tortured me, but it hasn’t grown any easier. I don’t pretend that I’m a good person. I drink far more than I should, and I use my best friend, Alana, because together, we thrive on destroying each other – as well as the parts of us we hate. I don’t believe in love, but sex is fun and it also makes me feel something. The morning I see Lily, the beautiful princess who smells inexplicably like strawberries every time I see her, I realize I’m in trouble. I should hate her. I want to hate her, because the alternative terrifies me. However, as she continues to crash into my life (often literally), I can’t avoid feeling something that is the one thing I swore I would never feel. I can’t fall in love, because people like me don’t live in a world where love saves anyone. She just won’t go away, though, and I don’t know if I can keep running. The voices and the darkness hover over me and they threaten to bring me back to the safety of my hate, but the stupid scent of strawberries lingers on the horizon, as something like hope.

Blue Rose (Alana's Story)

Warning: This book deals with topics of abuse and may trigger reactions in people who have experienced those things in their own lives. It remains a story about healing, but it’s not always an easy journey. “Four. My life has been shaped by four people. Four men, to be more specific. My father, my stepfather, my best friend, and my boyfriend. The first two shaped it in horrible ways, but what I am, who I am, is all because of four men.” Over the last twenty years, I’ve learned how to keep secrets. It doesn’t really matter, since everyone already seems to think they know everything about me. So I hide. I avoid confrontation, I treat Xanax like a magic pill that will make it all go away, and I become everything they think I am. A slut. A whore. Nothing but trash. I can only name two guys who have ever made me feel like I was more than that. Jack is my best friend and I’ve loved him since I met him. Now, though, he’s in love… with someone else, and I guess I need to get over him. Somehow. And then there’s Dave. The guy I never gave a chance. The guy I used almost as much as people used me, because I wanted to pretend I was someone worth loving. Two years have passed since we last spoke, but I don’t know how to stop thinking about him. My new therapist is making me face my past, and she tells me that life inevitably changes without our permission. I believe it, but I know what I am. I hear what she’s saying to me, and I want to try again with Dave, to help Jack find joy, to love myself, and to move on. I just wonder if anyone can do that, really.

Star of Bethlehem

This is a holiday novella-length story that follows Forget Me Not and Lily of the Valley. “With you, Jack, it was the first time I ever felt real. It was the first time anyone looked at me and saw substance. It was the first time I wanted to make someone see me.” Jack: New Year’s Eve. I’ve somehow managed to get here, and now I’m wearing a hideous and unreasonably itchy sweater, because I want to impress Lily’s family. I want to do anything for this girl who has made me believe in second chances. Lily: The house is beautiful and shining with light, but it feels empty. At least until Jack gets here. I know how desperately he wants this – a family, love, a home. If I can be the person who can give it to him, it’s all I need, but I hope I can keep him from seeing how hollow it all really is.

Orange Blossom

“I’ve never understood a year. A year was always a measurement of something bad for me. A year in my father’s prison sentence, a year since my mom’s death, a year left of school before I could get far, far away from here. Now, as I look down the end of my college career, with only a little more than a semester to go, a year seems like something magical. It has been a year since Lily chose me, since she sat with me on the old swing set and made a decision that I was worthy of her. And every minute of the entire year has been better than the last.” You already know their stories: Lily, the perfect princess, always living someone else’s life. And Jack, the broken boy, who had stopped believing in hope. Somehow, though, they found each other and what was one night blossomed into a love story. Now, a year later, Jack and Lily are dreaming of the future. Despite all of his promises to himself that he would never be indebted to anyone, Jack makes a new promise – this time to Lily – that he will be there for her forever. But when life unravels for them, he starts to pull away, and Lily worries he’s out of reach for good. When Jack does the unthinkable, Lily is left destroyed. Is it possible to have a happily ever after? Does love ever really save anyone?

Ambrosia

Four years. One night that was supposed to be an escape turned into four years. And now, four years is about to turn into forever. Lily was never anything special. A perfect girl from a perfect world living an empty life. She was lost, thinking she knew who she was and what she wanted. She thought she knew love, but then there was a boy. Jack has been through Hell. Watching his mother die - at his father’s hands - will never leave him. He had given up on living a life, figuring he would drink himself to death, if he didn’t give in to all the voices telling him to kill himself first. And then there was a girl who smelled like strawberries. Two years have passed since Orange Blossom. Jack and Lily are only months away from their wedding and their journey is about to come to an end. Join them in the final title in the Flowering series, a story of growing up, of finding yourself, and of “blooming.”

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