Stealing Our Hearts

“Anyone who tells you that you shouldn’t follow your dreams is jealous because they didn’t follow theirs.”

Oh I just adored this novel. Completely. Every second of it was absolutely wonderful and captivating. Everything from sweet, rambunctious Millie to our dazzling front man, Cole…this book was perfect. There’s not a single thing I would have changed. That’s something big for me to say because I get bored very easily if the story line isn’t constantly progressing. But our author, Natasha Black, did a beautiful job of keeping the plot flowing and the characters engaging. Gah, I’m all smiles right now because of how much I loved this story.

Our leading lady, Layla falls in love with her brother’s best friend, Cole. Or…has always been in love with him? I’m thinking the latter. Our leading man, Cole falls in love with his best friends younger sister, Layla. And unbeknownst to him…he’s also always been in love with her. I think that may have been one of my favorite parts, when they both had the revelation of their romantic feelings for one another. Both had to be told by their best friend…like “hey wake up buddy, you’re in love!”. 

So as easy as that story sounds there’s a third character that really just rounds out the entire thing. She’s the icing on the cake, the bread and butter, the cherry on top. Millie. Millie is Cole’s five year old niece. At the beginning of our story, Millie’s mother, Cole’s sister, dies, and Cole becomes Millie’s primary caretaker. We find out that Millie is behind developmentally and needs intense therapy because she may have witnessed situations with her mother that were traumatic. Millie’s mother died of overdose. There’s a lot going on in this novel when it comes to Millie, but she is what brings everyone together. She’s the reason Layla and Cole fall in love; they both fall in love with her first. GUYS WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN TO ME??? I love this little girl with my heart and soul and I usually don’t like children! Man, Black truly wrote the perfect child character. That’s winning in my book. That is challenging. BRAVO. 

Moving on because holy crap the chemistry between Layla and Cole is UNreal. Once they start sleeping together, I mean it’s literally making love from the moment it begins, you know they are destined for each other. Layla even says from the get-go that she’s “apparently in love” with him according to her best friend. It doesn’t scare Cole at all. He laughs because deep down he knows it’s reciprocated. Oh my god it’s SO GOOD GUYS. Just read the book. Seriously. Read it. I can’t wait to read something else from Black’s inventory now that I’ve had my first taste of her talent! 5 stars!

“Cole was the first thing that made any sense to me in a very long time.”

I’d still soak up the precious moments where the untamed wolf allowed himself the chance to be comforted by a woman who wanted him more than her next breath.

This was a really interesting and unique story.  I haven’t read one like this before and that’s what really separated it from all the rest. This was the story of a woman who fell in love with her sister’s ex boyfriend, but it’s not what you think. He was in love with her too. Our leading lady’s sister evens mentions in the book that she remembers the first time he ever saw her sister, and it was game over for him. How does that make you feel? There are so many emotions running through my head about this very small detail of our story, and I think that’s what I want to focus this review on.

Savannah Rose, our stunning heroine, gets chosen to be on a show that is basically The Bachelorette, called Put A Ring On It. Now, she’s supposed to do the show with her sister, but her sister backs out at the last second so Sav has to do it on her own. She’s doing it so her parents can get publicity for their restaurant chain. At the beginning of our story, when Sav is on the show, they ask her to picture her dream man. She pictures Owen. A tattooed GOD, and her best friend. I mean seriously. She’s in love with him and she has been ever since her sister started dating him. So anyway, he appears on the show as one of the contestants and she completely freaks out. Now, I think she’s freaking out because she’s worried about her sisters response, but it’s never really clear. So she sends Owen home, pretty quickly into the show. He is devastated and angry. 

Seven months later, she comes back to her home of New Orleans, only to find out that her family is opening a new restaurant (which turns into a hotel) right next door to Owen’s tattoo parlor. They haven’t spoken since the show, so things are a little awkward and rough at the beginning. Apparently these two were very close friends who danced around their attraction to one another before Put A Ring On It. It would be almost impossible to go back to that now. This is where our story really begins.  There are so many ups and downs. We find out so much about Owen that we didn’t know before, and we root for him anyway. Because he’s worth it and you can’t change my mind!

So back to this idea of Sav being in love with her sisters ex. Can we talk about this for a second? Why do people get so worked up about this topic? Attraction is a natural thing and it makes sense to me that sisters might share the same taste in men. The thing about this situation in particular is Owen is older than both of them, but Sav is the older sister. Not that age really matters but Owen and Sav share a little bit more in common. If Sav’s sister saw that Owen was in love with her sister from the moment he met her, and she didn’t care, then it shouldn’t matter at all! (This was a big part of what kept Sav from telling Owen how she felt for MOST of our story). I think this idea of shared attraction is more common than we’d like to think, and it’s okay. It’s what keeps life interesting and it’s part of what makes us human.  This was a great story; exceptional and special in it’s own way. Bravo!

“You’ve killed me,” I whisper, tracing the lines of his back. “Not anymore than you’ve already destroyed me.”

“Where are you going?” Panic suffused her tone as her struggled to sit up. Circling her wrist, I brought her hand to my lips and then kissed her palm. “Anywhere you are, angel.”

Oh. My. God. Can I just gush for a second about how much I loved every moment of this romance? This book was to die for, seriously. Melody and Christian’s love was epic, unlike anything I’ve read. I loved how they were both science and math nerds, so they were more logical than emotional humans. As they were falling, they both didn’t want to admit what was happening. They didn’t want to face the obvious fact that love IS real. It really CAN happen. This novel was a perfect blend of all my favorite things. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

Melody, our heroine, is a graduate student at UT doing research on a disease that her Nana has. We find this out about halfway through the book and it’s a big turning point for their relationship. Melody is also diabetic, which is something that Christian has a hard time dealing with for a while. Christian loves her so much that he gets worried about her really easily. I mean, it makes sense to me. I would be concerned too, especially if it had only been a few months of dating. Anyway, so Melody is this incredibly smart, clever, beautiful woman that Christian is drawn to immediately. At first he thinks it’s just chemical attraction, but it becomes more because he truly likes Melody for who she is. 

Now Christian, our hero, is also insanely smart. He loves spending time at the library and reading up on things he doesn’t know about. He can spout random facts off at you about just about anything. He’s a really interesting character. Melody and him have this crazy chemistry when they’re together. The sex is explosive. I mean holy crap, I wasn’t prepared for how passionate it was going to be. These two go at it like it’s a job, it’s amazing. Now we can’t forget about the climax where everything falls apart, but what’s nice is that Christian has Cameron now (from book one), who has been through it all, to give him advice. I really think that was the saving grace in the end. He realized that no matter how much he wanted to try and squeeze love into a box or a statistic, you can’t. Love can’t be tamed, it can’t be explained. It just is. And it’s always worth the risk.

This story is magical and beautiful, watching these two people fall in love is what dreams are made of. I’m so happy that Lily has a friend now. Christian and Cameron are now two peas in a pod and I’m SO freaking excited to see who Sean falls in love with in this next book. AH. Guys, you need to read these books. They are incredible. 5 stars!!

“I thought you didn’t believe in love.” “I didn’t, until I met you.”

“I want to hurt because I deserve to suffer. I’m alive, and they’re all dead. All of them. They left me here…”

This review is going to be a little shorter than normal because I’m exhausted today and frankly don’t have much to say about this one. I enjoyed it. I thought it could have been a little shorter, maybe even a novella instead of a novel? I have to say though, the professor/student subtrope is one of my favorites and I felt like it wasn’t played up enough in this story. I wanted more heat on campus than what we got. I still enjoyed it though, specifically the age gap. I love an older alpha male just as much as the next girl but holy crap Sebastian outdid everyone that I’ve read in the past. He is delicious in every way. 

On to Lily. She is what I really had most of my issues with when it came to the novel as a whole. I felt like she was just too immature the entire time. She is suffering from survivors guilt and emotional trauma from living with her grandparents, but the drinking? That was almost too much for me. Her alcoholic tendencies were super prevalent at the beginning of the novel and then sort of disappeared which worried me. I just didn’t understand what Seb saw in her besides that she looked like her sister…and Seb once dated her sister…and then she died…I needed more of a character arc from Lily and we weren’t given one. 

The love scenes were the best part of the novel. They are real and raw and passionate. They will definitely give you allllll the feels. This one is a 3 star read from me. I skipped a few of the chapters at the end because I lost interest. I’m hoping the next book I read by this author will be redeeming.

“You’re the sun, and the moon, you’re the goddamn stars in my galaxy. You’re happiness and sadness. You’re perfection and chaos. You’re mine. You’re not your sister, you, Lily, are never forgotten, always sweet, always kind, and I’m going to prove to you just how much I want you and no one else.”

“You’re the sun and I’m the moon,” he says slowly, carefully. “You shine and I reflect, and that’s how we always were. Without you I’m a dark, dusty rock hurtling through space.”

Another brilliant read to add to my recommended list! Guys, I am on a roll now! It’s like I went through a slump of bad books and now I’m doing better than ever! This jewel was such a gift. A really great, funny, romantic treat. And oh so sexy. Like mother of god, who knew best friends could have such epic, delicious sex. Geez! 

Our two lovebirds, Charlotte and Daniel have been best friends for eighteen years when this book begins. Daniel has a seven year old daughter, Rusty, who he is in a visitation rights battle with her biological mother over. Her biological mother, Crystal, was a fling he had for a few months in his earlier years which resulted in his daughter. He has main custody over her and Crystal sometimes visits. Basically, she’s just a crappy mother. BUT at this visitation rights hearing…suddenly Crystal asks for full custody of Rusty. Now we’re in a whole new ball game. Apparently Crystal got married and is moving to Colorado with her new husband AND she is expecting another baby! GASP. The judge on the case leans more towards the traditional family getup and tends to side with mothers so Daniel has a moment of pure freak out and tells the judge he’s engaged…to his best friend. 

Thus our love story begins. It takes Charlie a little while to come around and agree to be fake engaged, but she does. Then of course, most of the family members don’t believe them, so they tell them the truth…and they tell Rusty (the seven year old) the truth. So now only strangers think they are engaged, but they still kiss and act like they are engaged. It’s awesome. THEN our author throws us a bone…apparently, the night before Daniel found out about Rusty and that he was going to be a father, he and Charlie shared a relationship altering kiss! Both of them tried to forget about it but couldn’t. They were in love with each other but never told the other person. Talk about a juicy plot twist. After they share another couple of kisses (which are awkward and rough, honestly), Daniel’s brothers lock them in an attic and make them kiss until they aren’t awkward anymore. Yeah…it works. That’s when the mind-blowing sex starts. 

There are a few ups and downs. Mostly involving Charlie and how she’s forgetful and sometimes a little reckless. Rusty is the most important thing in Daniel’s life and Charlie sometimes forgets. But, can you blame her? She’s not a parent! She’s an incredible character though, so kind and deserving. She’s patient and thoughtful and when she does remember things, it means that much more. She’s also a carpenter which is bad ass!  Definitely give this book a shot when you have a chance. It’s so much fun and so well written. I loved it! 5 stars!

“Are we different now?” I murmur. I feel him press his lips against my hair, keep them there for a long moment. “Not in the ways that matter,” he finally says.

“One day you will meet a girl who reminds you of the ocean. She will draw you to her like an ocean wave, pull you in like a rip current, and consume you like tsunami waves crashing down on your heart.”

Oh wow. This book was just…wow. So good. So so good. Lordy, I love the older man/younger woman sub trope. This one also has that “dad’s best friend” twist which makes it even steamier. And GOD is it steamy. Holy cannoli, this book was like the best slice of pie I’ve ever tasted. I haven’t read a better book in this sub trope genre. This is definitely my favorite age gap romance to date. 

We start out meeting River, a twenty year old, free-spirited young woman. Her father is very wealthy and her mother is a gypsy nomad. She lives with her father and step mother (who used to be her nanny) in New York, but takes summer vacations with her mother abroad. This summer, unfortunately, her flighty mother never showed up to Prague, their destination vacation spot. River has some major abandonment issues because, as it turns out, she lived with her mother and had no knowledge of her father until she was twelve, when her mom dropped her off on her father’s doorstep and left. River’s father used to be best friends with a man named Grayson, who was a few years younger than him, but they had a bit of a falling out when he was passed up for a spot at Grayson’s family’s company. All of this is important (and yes, a bit confusing – but read the book) BECAUSE it’s the reason our story can even take place. Grayson feels some remorse about their falling out and agrees to offer River’s father a temporary job to help with some financial troubles. Because River’s mother bailed on their vacation, she ends up crashing the business dinner between the two men. She arrives before her father though, and Grayson doesn’t recognize her…the last time he saw her she was a preteen. She’s definitely a woman now and he is completely taken by her.  And ta-da! Our story begins.

Grayson and River begin an affair after many go-arounds and arguments. They are destined to love each other, you can feel it in each of there interactions. It’s marvelous. Their romance is wild and passionate and beautiful. They both deny their feelings for so long, but it’s obvious to the audience what’s really going on in their heads. They share their love and their feelings through action, Grayson in particular. At one point he flies River to Maine because she loves lobster rolls and he wants to surprise her for lunch. This is before they’ve even slept together, too. It’s his constant thoughtfulness and care for River that makes Grayson so lovable. From the very beginning he sees her pain and doesn’t judge her for it, rather, he longs to give her happiness in any way that he can. 

When the climax occurs and things turn for the worst, it’s honestly a bit of a shock. I thought things might turn out differently, but surprisingly, it works out perfectly. It makes the story even more interesting and enticing (lol). It’s definitely not your typical, predictable romance. It’s exciting and romantic and delicious. Everyone should give this gem a chance.

“I know I’m playing with fire, but sometimes, you need to be burned to feel. And he makes me feel.”

The definition of rebound is to bounce back. Obviously when you first look at the title of this book, you wonder if this is about a guy falling for his rebound girl or vice versa. it’s not. It’s about the bounce back, it’s about ten years of separation between two people, only to have the feelings come rushing back as quickly as a rebound. As if no time had passed. Bounce back.

“There’s nothing more dangerous than a man who doesn’t know what he wants.”

Nevada and Yardley (yes, two incredible names) are two uniquely flawed humans who meet in high school where Yardley is the new girl.  Nevada is smitten from the moment he sees her and loves her equally and without reproach. He comes from a poor, single parent family. Yardley, on the other hand, comes from a middle class, two parent household. But she sees no flaws in Nevada. They date for about a few years and then Nevada goes off to college to play basketball. That’s when shit hits the fan. I mean, let me tell you, I was NOT prepared for what happens next. Yardley made friends with a boy named Griffin at school (high school) her senior year. Griffin has feelings for her but she doesn’t reciprocate since she’s in love with Nev. Her friendship with Griffin starts rocking the boat with Nevada and one thing leads to another and then BAM. They are over. Nevada won’t return her calls or texts or letters. He ghosts her. She tries to explain to him what happened, the situation with Griffin and everything, but Nev won’t hear it. Talk about teenage angst. Ugh. It’s frustrating to witness Nev so willing to throw everything away because of a misunderstanding. 

Fast forward ten years. TEN YEARS, GUYS. My freaking heart. Nev is widowed and has two little girls. He’s moving back home to live close to his mother and start his life over. He buys a house and moves his girls in. Then…he sees Yardley. Bounce back. Immediately all his anger, obsession, love, all his feelings come rushing back. But in the forefront is the hurt he still feels because he doesn’t understand. Circumstances arise and they keep meeting/running into each other. Whenever Yardley tries to talk to him and explain everything he’s cold and rude. Finally she breaks through, though. Honestly, thank god because I wasn’t sure how much more I could take of his behavior towards her. Let me tell you, he is NOT nice to her. Even when she has done absolutely nothing wrong, you can tell he still blames her for everything in their past. When he finally gets the full story of what happened with Griffin from Yardley, it’s like everything clicks into place. Bounce back. I just have to say, there’s A LOT going on with the story behind Griffin and Yardley, so hang in there peeps because some of it is difficult for the heart. But Yardley and Nev get their HEA and all is right in the world. 

Wow what a rollercoaster. I was afraid there for a little while that we weren’t going to get the HEA that we all deserved with this one. Thank god Renshaw gave it to us. Man, I just loved this book. It made me feel so many things. I laughed, I teared up, and my heart was warmed. 5 stars, Winter ❤ 

“My love for you will never end.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything sweeter…” he rasps before clamping his lower lip between his teeth. My tears. Dear God in heaven, he is licking my tears off his lips! “…than the taste of your empathy, Korie Potter,” he continues, rendering me speechless.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The first book I read by Orgeron was Heartbreak Warfare (also written by Kate Stewart). It was one of the first books I read in 2019. Before I even started my review blog. Before I realized that books can change your life. That was the book that made me realize it. To this day, it is my favorite indie romance. Hands down the most emotionally draining, beautifully captivating romance novel that I’ve ever read. I could rave all day about that book. I’ve recommended it to tons of my friends and every one of them that had read it has come back and thanked me. It’s life changing. Now, this book was a little different. No less special or unique because it was still written by the same brilliant author, but different. More fun and quirky. A little more light-hearted. I only cried towards the end and it was a happy cry. Such a great story.

We meet our lovers Korie, a skater-girl with a rockstar cousin named Nick, and Rhett, a country singer in a band with cousin Nick. This is how they meet and inevitably fall in love. Because of cousin Nick. Now, at the beginning of our story, Korie haaaaates Rhett. He reminds her of her father, a washed up musician who cheated on her mother religiously and eventually left her. Korie believes that all musicians are the same as her father and Rhett really doesn’t do himself any favors when he meets her for the first time with a half naked woman in his lap. He’s in love from the moment he sees her. He knows there’s something unique and different about her and won’t rest until he can convince her to be with him. So they both end us at this camp called Pour Judgement. It’s like adult summer camp. There’s booze and games and coupling is encouraged. So Korie gives into her attraction to Rhett and they hook up at this camp. At the end of camp, Rhett begins begging Korie for her number, on his knees. Someone takes a picture, and BAM. Media frenzy. Is Rhett Taylor engaged??? He must be by the looks of this SINGLE PHOTO. LOL. Queue subtrope: fake fiancé. Tada! Korie agrees to be Rhett’s fake fiancé to help her skating career and, in turn, is seen by more people in the skating world because of her relationship to Rhett. SO yes, they fall in love. And it’s beautiful and sexy and delicious. I mean woah their sex is epic. Their bodies sure do know how to talk to each other. Then…the other shoe drops. 

I won’t tell you what happens but it’s incredible. The miscommunication and confusion and then when it’s finally all cleared up. I did NOT see that coming but it is brilliant, and so well written. Seriously guys, this book was awesome. Give it a chance. Check it out. Then tell me what you thought. 5 stars from me, no questions asked. I can’t wait to keep exploring Orgeron’s work! 

“You’re a prize, Korie Potter, and I’m playing to win.”

“I’d never been more thankful for the stars. Because as she got to stare at them, I got to stare at her.”

This, honestly, might be my favorite of Sienna Blake’s works. A modern re-telling of the classic Beauty and the Beast, we are hit with everything from a beautiful unused mansion with forests and gardens, to a staff of quirky misfits that our beast knows nothing about. Our sweet, courageous Beauty brings out a side of the beast that’s been lost forever. She saves him from himself and it is the most incredibly captivating thing to witness. 

Move over Danny, I’ve got my eye on a new Irish hunk. Declan, our beast, is an Irish cage fighter. Like MMA. Big leagues. He’s legit and super serious about what he does. He has a really rough back story that our author lets us in on, little by little, throughout the book, and it’s really important to pay attention to. It helps walk you through why he is the way that he is. He was also burned big time by his wife. He found her and his number one rival going at it in his home…he got blind drunk…and drove his car into an accident and almost died. Since the accident put him out, he’s not in fighting shape, but he wants to keep his title as champion and hold onto the MMA belt thing (whatever it’s called?). It all makes much more sense when you read it lol I’m doing a bang up job trying to explain sports over here LOL. 

Okay, so basically this novel reminded me a little bit of Me Before You but without the assisted suicide and quadriplegic stuff. Our spunky beauty, River, is quirky and fun. She loves bright colors and being outside and smiling too much. She’s like a ray of sunshine, shining into the dark soul of Declan. He’s immediately drawn to her, even though he hates himself for it. He wanted to forget women entirely, after his wife’s betrayal, but she kept wiggling her way into his thoughts. Before you know it, he’s in love with her and he hasn’t even realized it. He can’t eat or sleep or function because all he can do is think about her. She’s an enigma. She’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s perfect for him in every way.

Geez this book was just SO phenomenal, I don’t even know how to finish this review. I’m so happy I read it. Blake never disappoints but I really feel like this has to be her best work yet! The chemistry and passion, the dialogue and tension, everything was perfectly in sync…working together to create this masterpiece. Great GREAT work, Blake. 5 stars!!!

“but it’s you. River, you’re my reason.”

“I tasted all my tomorrows in his kiss.”

Jayne Frost has done it again, my friends. Another perfect story about two imperfect people finding love. Oh. My. God. Gone For You is Right…I fell in love with Cameron instantly. His adoration for Lily melted me into puddles of warmth and sweetness. He really did love her from the moment he laid eyes on her. He speaks about it towards the end of the book, quoting his song lyrics, “in a time before time, you were mine.” This novel gave me serious The Notebook vibes. What an incredible story.

Our sweet, gorgeous leading lady, Lily, is an artist who works at a fancy resort to help pay for school. She actually comes from one of the wealthiest families in Texas, but they have cast her out because of her degree choice and because of her stutter. I don’t care what you say, I think stutters are insanely cute, and so does our leading man, Cameron. It’s the stutter that draws him in. He can see her genuine kindness and compassion under her professional exterior and, when she stutters, little bits of her personality come loose. She blossoms with Cameron. He encourages her to shine and she does. Cameron on the other hand was a total player before he met Lily. He even considered just a one night stand with her, but once he’d had his taste, he craved more. She fit him like his own personal missing puzzle piece. Of course, for Lily, her parents and her own insecurities get in the way and cause her to question everything. Not spoiling anything, but MAN I wish I could stick it to her mother. I mean what a WITCH. 

Anyway, truthfully, I laughed and cried, and fell even more in love with Frost’s writing style.  She’s got the perfect mix of everything. A little drama, a little suspense, and the perfect amount of romance. I love it so much. I read one of her newest books recently, Another Sky, and it completely changed my life, stole my heart, moved me in all ways. Being from Austin, her stories relate to me on another level and I live for it. Jayne Frost is definitely in my top 5 favorite romance authors, alongside Leanne Davis and K.L. Cottrell. This is another 5 star read for me and I cannot wait to start book 2 in this series. Thank you for the bottom of my heart, Jayne, for sharing your gift with this world. 

Lifting her chin, I smiled. “Maybe the words don’t come because they don’t want to leave these beautiful lips any more than I do.” Twining my fingers in her hair, I pulled her mouth to mine. “If I could live here—right here—I would.”