6 stars

“It was wild. Abandoned. Rough. Wet. Intense. Fiery. Thorough. Exquisite. Heart-pounding. Blood-singing. Soul-rocking. Life-altering.
Lucious.”

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WOW!  Holy. frak! That was an incredibly BEAUTIFUL book!! Love Love LOVED it!!!!! I have been reduced to a hyperventilating, tear-streaked, deliriously happy puddle of goo. It was just one swoon/drool/squee-worthy scene after another. An absolute GEM. Its going on the top-fav pile!

I read a large portion of this book with a huge mega-grin plastered on my face, my heart fluttering uncontrollably and barely able to contain my squees! BRILLIANT!!!

It was KA at her absolute best. This book was heart-meltingly awesome, off-the-charts HOT, beautifully emotional and totally PERFECT!!!!!! I wouldn’t change one single thing about it. It left me breathless and in happy tears!

This book starts out grittier than the others in this series with the hero on the trail of his ex-wife’s murderer/rapist. Regardless of the fact that theirs was a loveless marriage that he was forced into, the thought of what was done to her still makes him sick. And that is his general feeling towards life at this point. Everyone in it has screwed him over and dumped necessary cruelty on both him and the people around him. Then, he crosses paths with Faye, the town’s virgin librarian who has had a crush on him since he first came to town when she was 16. She loves her books, her stories and their worlds and is holding out for a hero of her own. Over the years, she has seen all the pain and heart-ache that Chase has gone through and wants to help him move on.

Faye is totally one of us. She is not afraid to be herself. She loves to read and isn’t afraid of showing that. She is shy and yet incredibly strong, talks back, is quick, witty and has a huge heart. She chats on forums with friends she is very close to but as never met (sound familiar anyone?? lol), she reads swoony books, loves her TV shows and movies (seriously, her first word is “Frak”.. how can you not love her?!), and is an utter romantic to the core of her being. Definitely one of my top favorite heroines EVER!

I UTTERLY L.O.V.E.D Chase!!! What a gorgeous character! He was absolutely, heart-stoppingly  incredible. Open, tortured, honest, forward, totally Alpha and swoony as all hell with a tender, gentle that that just melted my heart. But at the same time with a lot of demons, a lot of anger underneath a hugely strong sense of duty, protectiveness and caring.

“ … He bent his head towards hers and whispered, “Breathe, Faye.” 

At first, he was a bit of an ass, but he doesn’t want to be and apologizes very quickly. He’s totally enamored with her but also feels like his life was too screwed up and that he lost his shot at true happiness. And at the same time, he can’t help himself being drawn to her and how quickly she is stealing his heart.

“What’s happening?” Her question was quiet.
“Honey, cast your mind back,” he urged gently. “Two minutes ago I was kissin’ you, three days ago I was dancin’ with you. You know whats happening.”

And he calls her honey, darlin’, baby… seriously, its impossible for it not to melt your heart.

I just loved that the book starts out from his POV. This is a first from any of the 17 KA books I’ve read. Getting into the hero’s head right from the start and being able to understand him and see Faye the way he saw her was incredible.

And its clear very early on that they are perfect for each other and they don’t really waste time with their relationship. They fight it a little at first, but its pretty evident its a battle they are both gonna lose.  Watching them come together, work together, be together, deal with stuff together, balance each other out was so funtional, beautiful, swoony and HOT!! … I mean really hot. Their sex is off-the-freaking-charts hot! Everything is very ‘new’ and extra uber passionate. Faye was inexperienced in physical love, and Chase was inexperienced in emotional love and watching them help each other learn and never give up on each other left me breathless.

“Do you love me?”
“Yes,” I breathed…
“Always?”…
“Always.”

And seeing such a refreshingly functional couple who may have been dealing with some very serious, painful things but one way or another never let anything come between them just warmed my heart to its core. BEAUTIFUL!!

He is so careful with her. He knows she’s never been with anyone, never been in a relationship before, and he does everything in his power to make her feel safe, comfortable and loved.

“Faye, darlin’, I want you to hear this and get it, what you just gave me was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been given in…my…life…With me, anytime, anywhere, you’re safe. But of the anytime and anyplace you’re with me, the place you’re safest is right here, in my bed…You can react how you want. You can be who you are. If I’m doin’ something you don’t like, you can stop me. Nothin’ will ever happen in this bed that you’ll be uncomfortable with. I swear to you, baby. You’re safe here and you always will be.”

And there is an amazing twist at the end. I don’t want to say anything but HOLYYYYY!!! When I read it, it gave me chills, had me hyperventilating, crying, shaking, grinning, squeeing… I was a mess! And I LOVED it!!

Not to mention that this book was chock full of cameos! Seeing characters from the previous books all coming together and working, living, helping each other out has me in swoon and squee overload! Definitely be sure to start your reading with the first book of this series The Gamble.

Chase and Faye’s journey was beautiful. One of the best I’ve read. I don’t have the words to express properly express how much I loved this book.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, honey. The knight who has serious chinks in his armor but never falls is the true hero. That means he’s won battles and doesn’t waste time polishing his armor so he can good while he rides in parades that are tributes to his glory. He just drags himself back on his steed and keeps right on battling…. The best heroes inspire loyalty. The best heroes keep fighting the good fight, tirelessly, quietly. The best heroes always have scars. If they didn’t, the heroine would have nothing to do. It’s her job to help the hero let all that stuff go in order that her man can be strong enough to fight on but when he’s with her he’s free to just ‘breathe’.”

And what an epilogue!! Utterly beautiful and long. I love how at the end of these books, you feel 100% completely satisfied. The perfect HEA. A perfect book. Love. Love. LOVE!!  🙂

Rating: 6 HUGE STARS!!!!

• Buy BREATHE on KINDLE (Amazon)

** COLORADO MOUNTAIN SERIES **

Note that the series is in the process of being traditionally published so the covers are still switching over.

    

Book #1 — THE GAMBLE (Max & Nina)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #2 — SWEET DREAMS (Tate & Laurie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #3 — LADY LUCK (Ty & Lexie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #4 — BREATHE (Chase & Faye)
Buy for Kindle | Buy  in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #5 — JAGGED (Ham & Zara)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback

Book #6 — KALEIDOSCOPE (Deck & Emme)
Buy for Kindle

**NOTE: This was one of the first reviews I ever wrote. I wrote it way before starting the blog and so it’s not nearly as long, in depth or detailed as my usual ones so I just wanted to take a moment and tell you that this is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS!!!!!! Seriously, few books have EVER reached in to my heart as deeply as this one did. I highly, highly recommend it! 🙂

• Buy TAKE THIS REGRET (Kindle)

“She was mine, had always been, and I’d always been hers. Despite what I’d done, the wounds I’d inflicted, she had always been mine…. our hearts had been tied, our bond one that neither of us could ever escape.“

WOW!! This is an achingly beautiful, heart wrenching book about a second chance at love and with an wonderfully sweet HEA that tugged at ALL my heart strings!!

The level of emotion it pulled out of me right from the beginning was so strong and intense! I read most of it either with a huge lump in my throat or in tears (most often happy tears since the point of this book is about healing).

Just the way it is written makes you feel everything that they are going through in a very realistic way. Puts you right there with the characters.

Five years ago, when Elizabeth told Christian that she was pregnant with his child, he made her choose between him or the baby. He had a plan for his life, and that plan does not have room for a child. But in the face of his betrayal and despite being cut from his life, Elizabeth struggles to provide the best life she can for their daughter. And for this whole time, Christian lives on regretting his decision. In the present day, he finds himself in a supermarket, staring into the eyes of a little girl that he just knows is his daughter and every bit of regret that he spent the last five years trying to push away come crashing to the surface and he realizes that he will do everything in his power to win his family back. He finds himself drawn to his little black-haired, blue eyed daughter, to the love he feels for her mother, his achingly deep regret at how he treated and abandoned her when she needed him most and he knows, with every fiber of his being, that he will do everything in his power to make things right.

The story is told in alternating perspectives between Christian and Elizabeth, which is vital to this story, because otherwise Christian would just come off as a really big jerk. But being able to see into his mind allows the reader to understand the damage done to him in his past that made him make the mistakes he did and show how he comes to the realization that he needs to make things right. It also shows us the healing process that Elizabeth goes through learning again to trust the man who, though she still loves him, betrayed and abandoned her and broke her heart.

I loved seeing all the effort Christian into fixing his relationship with the love of his life and with his daughter – it brought me to tears so many times!! I loved how grateful and respectful he was for every inch Elizabeth gave him. How much he treasured every moment spent with his daughter. How patiently he waited for Elizabeth to learn to trust him again. And how he did everything in his power to win back her heart, earn back her trust, and put his family back together.

This book was basically all about the healing process that Christian, Elizabeth, and their daughter Lizzie go through… And about a “love as intense as the one we shared, one that had not dimmed through years of betrayal but had only grown…”

The story is fully relationship and family-centric. There is no bad guy, no evil ex’s, no external drama or anything to deter from the characters’ journey.

I cried, I laughed, this book touched my heart and I will never forget this story <3

It was an absolutely beautiful read that is definitely going on my favorites shelf!

5+ stars!!

• Buy TAKE THIS REGRET (Kindle)

 

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Note: Take This Regret can be read as a standalone.

#1 TAKE THIS REGRET
Kindle | Paperback| My Review

#0.5 LOST TO YOU
Kindle | Paperback | My Review

#2 IF FOREVER COMES
Kindle | My Review 

 

6 stars!!!! This is one of my FAV series!!

It’s one of those stories that sucks you in, makes your heart race, puts a smile on your face and doesn’t let you stop turning the pages even for a second.

If you are a fan of love triangles, you will looooooove Thoughtless. Basically, Keira is moving cities with her boyfriend of 2 years Denny, and they end up becoming roommates with an old friend of Denny’s, Kellan Kyle, who is a local rock star. He and Keira just have this instant connection but are respectful of the fact that she is in a relationship. But when Denny takes a job overseas for several months without really consulting Keira and stops calling etc, Kellan ends up comforting her and their denied passion/love is given room to grow…. there is SO much romantic tension in this book, its enough to drive you insane – but totally in a good way!

This book will make you want to throw your book at the wall, it’ll make you laugh out loud, it’ll make you swoon and grin for pages on end, it’ll make you feel like your heart is ripped out, and you’ll love every minute of it!

Kellan is one of THOSE guys – you know the ones that make you swoony and drooly and make you wish he was real?? yeah, one of those *sigh* I’m really not kidding here, if you haven’t read Thoughtless, RUN out and grab your self a copy!

Its weird that I would like it given how there is  a theme of cheating in in it (though none in book 2 once Keira & Kellan are officially together) because Keira cheats on Denny to be with Kellan. But I think the reason it never bothered me was because I always just KNEW that Keira and Denny weren’t right  for each other, just as strongly as I KNEW that Kellan was perfect for her in every way and that he was her HEA. So them being together, no matter what the circumstances, just always felt right.

“What if I don’t choose you, Kellan? What will you do?” 
He looked away, a tear rolling down his cheek. “I’ll leave, Kiera. I’ll leave, and you and Denny can have your happily ever after.” He looked back at me. “You wouldn’t even need to tell him about me. Eventually, the two of you…” his voice broke and another tear fell on his cheek, “the two of you would get married, and have children, and have a great life.” 
I fought back a sob. “And you? What happens to you in that scenario?” 
“I…get by. And I miss you, every day,” he whispered.”