Title: Darker Water (Once and Forever, #1)
Author: Lauren Stewart
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release
Date: October
3, 2014
Synopsis:
After another
painful breakup, Laney Temple finally understands that love is a fairytale and
sex rarely comes with a happy ending. She’s too busy for it right now
anyway—she has a business to run, art to create, and candy to crush. Eventually
she’ll be ready to switch from her plastic-or-silicon lover to a flesh-and-blood
one. But before that happens, she needs to be sure she won’t feel any of those
annoying emotions that make her heart do things it wasn’t meant to do...
Like break
Carson Bennett is completely upfront about what he wants, and it has nothing to do with Laney’s heart. Her lips? Hell yeah. Other parts of her body? You better f*cking believe it. But her heart? Nope, not even a little. Until it does…a lot. But having feelings for someone isn’t allowed. It’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to push down deep and cover up with one-night stands, sarcasm, and booze...
Like secrets
Two people want the same thing—a commitment to nothing more than great sex in a bunch of different positions. Simple. Enjoyable. A win-win. Problem is, those two people have families and fears and pain that spill into every moment of their lives, control what they do and who they are. And if either Carson or Laney can’t free themselves from the past, they’ll both be pulled under by it.
Like break
Carson Bennett is completely upfront about what he wants, and it has nothing to do with Laney’s heart. Her lips? Hell yeah. Other parts of her body? You better f*cking believe it. But her heart? Nope, not even a little. Until it does…a lot. But having feelings for someone isn’t allowed. It’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to push down deep and cover up with one-night stands, sarcasm, and booze...
Like secrets
Two people want the same thing—a commitment to nothing more than great sex in a bunch of different positions. Simple. Enjoyable. A win-win. Problem is, those two people have families and fears and pain that spill into every moment of their lives, control what they do and who they are. And if either Carson or Laney can’t free themselves from the past, they’ll both be pulled under by it.
**DARKER WATER is a standalone contemporary romance (no
cliffhanger)**
EXCERPT:
“If I wanted to be somewhere else with
someone else, I would be,” he said. “If and when I decide I want to, I’ll let
you know and then I’ll do it. Because I’m a selfish prick. But for right now,
the only pants I want to get into are yours, and the time I choose to devote to
the cause is up to me. The only decisions you get to make are when—note I
didn’t say ‘if’—when you say yes and
when—again notice the absence of the word ‘if’—when you want me to go away.”
I sighed. “I love your honesty. I
really do.”
“Well,
I love your breasts, so we’re even.” His smile disappeared faster than it
showed up. “Oh fuck. Does that mean we’re in love?” Amazingly, he kept a
straight face until I hit him.
Buy Links for DARKER WATER:
Lauren Stewart lives
in Northern California with two of the most amazing children that the world has
ever seen. She reads almost every genre so, naturally, her writing reflects
that. With every book, every story, you'll find elements of other
genres--fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women's
literature, all with a touch of humor because what doesn't kill us should make
us laugh.
Author Social Links:
REVIEW:
I enjoyed this book, although I thought it bit much that Laney was all ready to swear off men for good at the ripe young age of 23. She decides that she needs to learn how to have sex without falling in love, and when she meets Carson, she thinks he might be able to help her learn how to separate the feelings from one another. Their initial hookup doesn't go as planned, and by the time they meet up again, Laney has decided to just be friends with Carson. And so starts a crazy friendship that includes plenty of witty and sometimes hilarious banter between the two, and although Carson still makes it known every chance he gets, they're still nothing more than friends. Carson has made it known from the beginning that he doesn't do relationships.
Until it happens.
But no matter what feelings develop between them, Carson doesn't want to explore anything further than just being friends, mainly because of his childhood he feels like he isn't worthy of being in a healthy relationship. So there is part of the angst of the story. Yeah, he definitely had it crappy growing up, but at least he recognizes it and has enough sense to not want to get too involved with anyone because he isn't sure how his upbringing could affect any relationship. Of course an incident occurs in which he comes to Laney's defense, but she does end up suffering a minor injury and Carson doesn't seem to be able to forgive himself. He also doesn't want to admit to how he really feels about Laney and their relationship that wasn't supposed to be a relationship.
I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the next one in the series.
I enjoyed this book, although I thought it bit much that Laney was all ready to swear off men for good at the ripe young age of 23. She decides that she needs to learn how to have sex without falling in love, and when she meets Carson, she thinks he might be able to help her learn how to separate the feelings from one another. Their initial hookup doesn't go as planned, and by the time they meet up again, Laney has decided to just be friends with Carson. And so starts a crazy friendship that includes plenty of witty and sometimes hilarious banter between the two, and although Carson still makes it known every chance he gets, they're still nothing more than friends. Carson has made it known from the beginning that he doesn't do relationships.
Until it happens.
But no matter what feelings develop between them, Carson doesn't want to explore anything further than just being friends, mainly because of his childhood he feels like he isn't worthy of being in a healthy relationship. So there is part of the angst of the story. Yeah, he definitely had it crappy growing up, but at least he recognizes it and has enough sense to not want to get too involved with anyone because he isn't sure how his upbringing could affect any relationship. Of course an incident occurs in which he comes to Laney's defense, but she does end up suffering a minor injury and Carson doesn't seem to be able to forgive himself. He also doesn't want to admit to how he really feels about Laney and their relationship that wasn't supposed to be a relationship.
I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the next one in the series.
RATING
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
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