LET LOVE SHINE by Melissa Collins - Book Blitz + Review

What comes after “they lived happily ever after?

Maddy and Reid have seen their fair share of trials and tribulations, of love and loss. Facing down the biggest challenges of their young lives, they managed to survive and endure. With the future stretching out before them, they must learn to navigate new and unfamiliar paths.

Being new parents, starting new jobs, and continuing college is enough to overwhelm any couple. New challenges come up daily, as do small victories. Watch Maddy and Reid grow stronger together in this “one year later” tale of the everyday stuff that happens in real life.

With a solid foundation of love under their inexperienced feet – and with the help of their family and friends – Maddy and Reid learn how to let love shine, lighting the way for a beautiful future to come.

I love this series, and this novella is no exception. Unlike Melissa's other novels in the LOVE series, this little gem is more of glimpse into Maddy and Reid's life after the happy ending. Let's face it, life isn't all puppies and kittens and sunshine after marriage. It's challenging, and Let Love Shine is about that challenge. As the title says, it's about letting the love shine through even the tough stuff, even the mundane every day challenges of life.

The novella covers about a year and a half of time. From Braden's birth to roughly the May after his first birthday. What I really enjoyed is that this novella didn't revolve around one particular problem. It was more of a survey. Just living their life.

The writing is nothing less than I've come to expect from Melissa. It's wonderfully written with just enough spicy sex and with all the challenges of that come along with being new parents. (Let's face it, sex is hard to come by after kids.) If you've loved the other books in this series, you'll certainly adore this one centering on our favorite couple.

Here we are a year later and we couldn’t be happier to have Braden’s first birthday party tomorrow with our friends and family. Between prepping for the party, me working overtime, and Maddy finishing her last summer course, we’ve barely been able to stay awake past eight every night.But watching them dance and laugh in front of me makes it all worth it.I pull them both into my arms and just hold them for a quick second before Braden starts shimmying out of Maddy’s arms. He’s caught sight of his Lightning McQueen racecar on the floor and is reaching for it. Handing him his car, Maddy puts him in his bouncy seat. The sight of my wife taking care of our son, talking baby talk and kissing him sweetly should warm my heart.  But all I can see is her ass right now. Yep, I want her.“Get over here.” I pull her back to me once Braden is situated and brush her hair out of her eyes. “You look beautiful, you know that?” I trail sweet, soft kisses behind her ear and down her neck.“Hmmm,” she mumbles and it makes me smile against her skin.Moving from her neck across to her mouth, I feel her lean into my lips. This is something else of which I’ll never get tired. Her full, luscious lips pressed against mine; the taste of her sweet mouth still drives me crazy. “Well, hello there.” Pulling away from our kiss, Maddy arches her eyebrows as she presses her hips into my groin. The last motion surprises me more than a little. To say that our sex life has been different in the last year is, well, it’s an understatement to say the least.“What? I’m not allowed to want my wife.” I grab her ass and push her into my erection a bit more. Our hands roam as the kiss rises in intensity. I fist a handful of her hair and pull her mouth even closer to mine. It’s the hottest kiss we’ve had in a while. Just as her hips start to roll into mine, we’re distracted by a sound, and smell, to which we’ve grown all too accustomed in the last year.Before I can even move my hands from her body, Maddy’s pinching her nose closed. “Not it!” She calls out and laughs.“Damn, you’re getting quick!” It’s kind of been our thing to decide who gets to change him. I scowl playfully at her and she just laughs at me.“Dude, you’re killing my game.” Braden smiles as I hold him out in front of me. “Holy crap! What the hell did you feed this kid today?” Seriously, he’s lethal.“He ate the same as usual. He’s just a stinky little monster.” She says the last sentence to Braden in that ridiculous baby talk. You can talk sweet about it all you want; it’s still poop.

I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no brainer. Becoming a teacher and instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it. When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new genre that sparked my creativity. My passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Let Love Shine

Let Love In

Let Love Stay

Let Love Heal

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Book Blitz: IF ONLY WE by Jessica Sankiewicz + Excerpt

If Only We

by Jessica Sankiewicz

Release Date: 10/27/13

Summary from Goodreads:

They say all it takes is one wrong move and you lose the game. One false step and you’re trapped. One slip-up in your choice of words and you ruin a friendship forever. That is what they say. They say I lost.

I do not believe them.

At the end of the summer after graduation, Adrienne wonders what happened to cause her life to be in ruins. She isn’t getting along with her mom, her stepsister isn’t talking to her, and, to top it off, the boy she’s been in love with doesn’t want anything to do with her. She believes the turning point was a choice she made at graduation. When she wakes up the next day, she has been transported back three months to that moment, the one where everything started to fall apart.

Adrienne realizes she has been given a second chance—and this time she doesn’t want to mess anything up. Reliving the entire summer, though, turns out to be a lot harder than she thought. As the same days and weeks go by, she starts to see how simple decisions can make a huge impact on the world around her. Despite knowing some of what lies ahead, there are some things she didn’t anticipate. She thought she knew what mistake led her to where she ended up the first time. She was wrong.

And by the time summer is over, she discovers what was really at stake.

EXCERPT

I put the empty glass into the sink, “hop to it,” and get into the shower. My questions will be answered when I see what outfit she puts on my bed. When I get to my room, I don’t find a wedding dress. Thank goodness. I do find, however, a dress—and a graduation cap and gown.

Graduation.

The day everything changed. The day I ran away to my dad. The day my heart broke.

A wave of nausea crashes into me, almost causing my legs to give out beneath me. I grab hold of my doorway with both hands to keep myself standing. A few deep breaths later and my stomach calms down enough for me to close the door. I lean against it and stare at my bed.

How can I be graduating…again?

I rub my eyes and open them again, hoping it was all in my imagination. No such luck. It is still there. This doesn’t make any sense. Where is my suitcase? It’s not on top of my dresser anymore. I left it there when I got back since I didn’t have enough time to unpack. Where did it go?

Opening my closet door, I spot it on the top shelf. Did my mom unpack it for me? Where are the clothes? There is nothing in the hamper and a quick rummage through my dresser finds some of those shirts clean and folded where they belong. How could…? Mom was at work all day yesterday. Not only that, but I saw the suitcase right before I turned the lights out last night.

My head is starting to pound with all the conflicting information I'm taking in. Sitting down in my desk chair, I put my head in my hands and start to rub my temples. I need to find something that isn’t out of place. My desk appears to be the same as I left it. Pens and pencils neatly placed in holder, check. Pile of loose-leaf college-ruled paper on top of a pile of used notebooks, check. Word-of-the-Day calendar off to the side, check. Calendar set to the correct date…what…? I reach out and grab it. That can’t be right.

Saturday, June second.

It feels as though I can’t blink. I worry that if I do, the date on this page will disappear. I know for a fact that I peeled off every page I hadn’t removed all summer before I went to bed last night. Each one was crumpled into a small ball and thrown away. I set the calendar down and drop to the floor to look through my trash. However, I can’t look through it because it's empty.

Nothing is making any sense.

I graduated already. This has already happened. Or did it? I dismiss that thought with a laugh. The most logical reason for what is happening is that I’m dreaming. I’m reliving this day in my mind because I spent the time while I was falling asleep thinking about it. Maybe my mind is playing a psychological trick on itself to right the wrongs and help me cope. Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe I’m just imagining all of this.

On the other hand, maybe I am just losing it.

But what if…what if this is really happening? What if I am reliving my whole summer? The prospect causes goose bumps to spread over my skin.

Have I been given a second chance?

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About the Author

Jessica is the 28-year-old author of IF ONLY WE, a YA contemporary. You can often find her either reading or marathon watching TV on DVD, her favorites being Castle and Veronica Mars. She frequently mismatches her clothes and giggles uncontrollably. She knows almost every Billy Joel song by heart. She collects books and toys, and she has an intense love of cats and lemurs. Currently in the midst of her quarter-life-crisis, she is still takin' names and getting very close to reaching an epiphany.

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GIVEAWAY:

One print copy of If Only We (INT)

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Book Blitz Organized by:

Book Blitz: MAKE ME YOURS & YOU ARE MINE by Alla Karr

Make Me Yours (Forever #1)

by Alla Kar

Summary from Goodreads:

Hustler.

This best describes Layla’s life. Ever since her father passed, she has stuck to his rules: Never get caught. Never get too close.

Layla’s game plan is simple, make all the extra cash she can, to make a living during college, hustling people at pool. If that means, flirting, and dressing sleazy, then so be it. It isn’t until she catches Taylor Jack’s eye that her shield is in terrible trouble of crumbling. The tattooed, bad boy, campus Fight Night champion, has his sights set on Layla, and isn’t about to give up.

After a weak moment, Layla leaves Taylor on top of his pool table half-naked and wanting her. Now it seems like she can’t shake him, he is everywhere she turns. But, when Layla hustles the wrong guy, her safety is threatened. She might have to take down her shield so Taylor can rescue her from herself.

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You Are Mine (Forever #2)

by Alla Kar 

Summary from Goodreads:

From the Amazon Best-Selling author of MAKE ME YOURS comes the second installment to Layla and Taylor’s story – a sexy New Adult Romance about letting go of your past and embracing your future. 

Hustler. 

Layla’s hustling days have come to an end. With her being hospitalized after a deal gone wrong, she decides it’s better to leave that life behind her. 

But, sometimes your past can come back to haunt you. 

Her parent's killer is back and ready to finish his original job. Making Layla his next target. But, Layla refuses to back down and let him take her entire life away from her again. No matter the consequences. 

Taylor’s life hasn’t been a bed of roses. His dad is an abusive alcoholic that finally landed himself in prison, and the best thing that has ever happened to him is Layla. She came with her own baggage, and Taylor refuses to let her go. Even if his life depends on it. 

*This is the second book in a Trilogy of New Adult Novels. .*

***THIS IS A NEW ADULT BOOK AND IS INTENDED FOR READERS WHO ARE AT LEAST 17 YEARS OLD. ADULT CONTENT/LANGUAGE/SITUATIONS ARE INSIDE.***

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Book 3

*This is the last book in a Trilogy of New Adult Novels & will be out in late 2013.*