Book Review — One Last Time by Corinne Michaels

“I know that your laugh makes my heart race. The way you smile when you think no one is watching stirs something inside me that makes me desperate for more. The way your entire face lights up when you talk about [your children]. I know what it feels like to have you in my arms, touch your lips, and fuck, I’d be lying if I said I’m not wishing for it again. I think about you more than I should. I know that you think you’re weak, but I see a strong, beautiful, and smart woman who deserves a man to worship her.”

• Buy ONE LAST TIME (Kindle)
• Buy ONE LAST TIME (Paperback)
• Buy ONE LAST TIME (Audiobook)
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HOLY FREAKING SQUEEEEEEE!! This was just the sweetest romance you can imagine with the swooniest hero, a strong single mom heroine, an addictive story, and even some serious angst!! I read it in one non-stop sitting and absolutely loved it!! It was seriously SO heart-warming to watch this larger-than-life Alpha hero be so wonderful and caring with the heroine’s kids, and I loved that not only was there a sexy, hot romance at the heart of this story but it was grounded by so much healing and even a couple badass moments that made me cheer!! If you’re looking for a FANTASTIC new read, definitely try this book!!

The story begins when Kristin’s fourteen year marriage to the man she’d loved since she was twenty-two finally disintegrated beyond the point of repair and her world was turned upside down. Now a single mom of two kids, she had to shift her life around in ways she’d never anticipated.

The prologue was absolutely heart-breaking as it showed the true deterioration and quiet destruction of a marriage — without any huge betrayal or outrage. It was just quietly devastating and genuinely made me ache for this heroine.

I loved that this book took the time to set Kristin up as her own independent character before diving into the romance of this story. Allowing that time to establish her history and show her loss as well as how she was adjusting to being an almost-divorced-working-mother-of-two was a huge help in defining her backstory and because the reader was given that, it made a lot of what happened later in the book make a lot more sense.

One of the big changes in her life led her back to work and she began a job writing for a celebrity gossip blog and her newest assignment was Noah Frazier — movie star extraordinaire and one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. He also happened to be her best friend’s husband’s best friend so when they connected, she was determined to keep their relationship professional.

“Hey.” He waits for me to look up from my hands before he continues, “We’re all messes. If you think anyone in Hollywood has it together, you’re wrong. I haven’t had a girlfriend in almost fifteen years, and I’m not asking you to date me. Heather already threatened to castrate me if I tried.”
There’s my best friend I know and love.
“But I won’t lie, I’m attracted to you, and if all we’lll ever be is friends… I’m okay with that.”
… “We can’t really be friends, can we? It’s my job to write stories about your life.”
He shrugs. “It means you’ll be around a lot. Lots of time to win you over.”

He dazzled her but she never counted on him being equally taken with her. He made her feel free again for the first time in what seemed like forever and more importantly, he was falling in love with who she was just as she was.

Her blue eyes meet mine. “I’m not usually like this,” she admits. “I’m the uptight one out of my friends.”
“Don’t be anyone else but who you are, Kristin. There’s nothing sexier than a woman who’d confident. Trust me.”

No matter how strong their connection though, she was naturally wary of jumping into any new relationship and, because of that time where we’d really seen how her marriage had impacted her life, I found her hesitation at starting anything with Noah much more sympathetic than the standard heroine “running” from a relationship. Instead, I found her reaction to be very understandable and could definitely see where she was coming from.

One of my favorite things about this book was watching her gain back her inner strength. Her broken marriage had sapped her happiness and this book was not only a Romance, but also the story of a woman building herself back up and it was so empowering. Not to mention that Noah was so supportive and understanding.

She told me a little about her marriage last night between rounds, and I want to beat the ever-loving hell out of him. Who the fuck treats a woman like that? …
A man doesn’t do that.
A man fights for his family.
A man treats a woman with respect.
Cowards tear people down to build themselves up. I’m not a fucking coward.
I turn to her, wanting her to hear my words very clearly. “You’re nothing that he says you are. You are the woman who tucks those kids in at night, encourages them, and has a mock concert in the living room to cheer them up.” I brush my thumb against her palm. “You’re so much more than he ever saw, sweetheart.”

But speaking of the romance as well… Noah was genuinely pure swooooooooon material. He was one of the good guys inside and out. Having lived so much of his life in the media spotlight though made it rare for him to trust anyone enough to open up and show them the real him and to share the truth about his past. But Kristin was it for him and he was determined to do whatever he could to win her heart and get her to take a chance on him.

“Tell me you don’t feel anything.” I give her a chance out of this. I’ll let her go if she says the words. “Tell me to stop coming around and that you’re not interested.”
“I can’t…”
My hand slides up her back, moulding her body to mine. “I want to kiss you.”
She shakes her head, but her fingers move against my chest and find their way to the back of my neck. “We shouldn’t.”
“No, we shouldn’t,” I agree. “But if you don’t stop me, I’m going to.”
Her fingers play with the hair at my nape.
My restraint is slipping.
“Three.” I start to count.
“Two.”
She moves a little closer to my mouth, and I’m done.
Our lips meet…

I will say though that hands down the most adorable thing about this book was seeing Noah with Kristin’s little daughter. ALL THE SWEETNESS you can imagine!!!!

Aubrey walks over and throws her arms around my neck. “Thank you for the cookies. I like you.” She kisses my cheek, and I’m toast.
This little girl just stole my heart.

Kristin and Noah had many hurdles to work through and let me tell you, things got I-N-T-E-N-S-E towards the end when the shit hit the and everything was just going haywire and my heart was racing a mile a minute as I read as fast as I could flipping pages like mad… but let me tell you, the ending was SO gratifying!!!! Seriously. It was strong and badass and honestly it just felt plain fucking GOOD to see the good guys win.

“You have no idea what I’m really like.”
His hand lifts and skims my cheek. “I know that your laugh makes my heart race. The way you smile when you think no one is watching stirs something inside me that makes me desperate for more. The way your entire face lights up when you talk about [your children]. I know what it feels like to have you in my arms, touch your lips, and fuck, I’d be lying if I said I’m not wishing for it again. I think about you more than I should. I know that you think you’re weak, but I see a strong, beautiful, and smart woman who deserves a man to worship her.”

This is a standalone novel and you can read it 100% alone, however it is slightly interconnected with We Own Tonight (my review) as both the hero & heroine of that book and this book are close friends. You absolutely do not need to read them in order, neither do you need to have read one in order to connect with the other so both books genuinely can be read alone. I did love both books however (though this one even slightly more so).

Bottom line, I absolutely LOVED this book!! It was HOT, SEXY, ADDICTIVE, and well-written with a heart-melting hero, an empowering heroine, a swoon-filled romance, and just enough feels to really connect you to the story. I highly recommend this to everyone who loves reading romance!

Rating: 4.5 STARS!!! Contemporary Adult Romance, can standalone.

• Buy ONE LAST TIME (Kindle)
• Buy ONE LAST TIME (Paperback)
• Buy ONE LAST TIME (Audiobook)
• Buy ONE LAST TIME (iBooks)

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Series of standalones.