Meet Liam
and Natalie in Consolation!
Add to Goodreads ➛ http://bit.ly/1wMUa4a
Blurb
Liam
wasn’t supposed to be my happily ever after.
He wasn’t
even on my radar.
He was my
husband’s best friend—forbidden.
But my
husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I reach for Liam.
One night
with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if
he’s just the consolation prize.
Excerpt
Aarabelle sits in her highchair as I feed her dinner. She’s
growing so fast. Already she’s eating cereal and a little baby food. Soon
she’ll be crawling and I have no one to celebrate with. Her father will never
see these milestones and it breaks me apart.
“You should really lock the door,” Liam huffs as he throws
his coat over the chair.
“But then I’d have to get up to let you in,” I state
matter-of-factly and go back to feeding the baby, trying to put aside my
worries. The fact is…this is reality. I have to deal with it.
“Uh huh. Hey, Pumpkin,” his eyes alight as he crouches down
by Aara. It’s adorable hearing grown men use a baby voice. It gets a little
softer and higher pitched.
The corners of her mouth lift and she throws her arms in the
air when he gets close. My heart sputters seeing how happy she gets seeing him.
Liam kisses her head and she giggles.
“At least someone is happy to see me,” he says playfully.
“I’d be happy if you brought me a present,” I joke.
He laughs and goes into the pocket of his coat. “Just so
happens I did, but since that’s the only way you’ll be nice, I’ll hold on to
this until you’ve earned it.”
Practically leaping out of my chair, I rush over. “What is
it?” I try to peer around his back as he holds the mystery item.
Liam’s lips curl as he sees how much I want this. I don’t
even know what it is. Jeez, I’m an idiot. “Nope. We eat first, then maybe
you’ll get it.”
“Watch, it’s a freaking Pez dispenser or something stupid.”
“Guess you’ll have to be nice to find out.” He shoves the
item into his back pocket and I fight the urge to reach and get it. “How was
work?”
We spend the next thirty minutes going over my day and
Jackson’s return. Liam never mentioned that they spoke, but he’s surprised to
hear he’s in Virginia. After we finish the pizza, Liam somehow convinces me we
should watch a movie. I get Aarabelle to bed and come down to find him sprawled
out on the couch.
“By all means, make yourself comfortable.”
Liam pulls his beanie higher on his forehead and his eyes
glimmer with amusement. He sits up and puts the TV on. “I picked the movie.”
“What?” I ask with mock incredulity. “It’s my house. Why do
you get to pick the movie?”
“Ummm, I’m the guest.” He shrugs as if this should be an
obvious answer.
I groan and lean back. “What crappy, shoot-‘em-up movie do I
have to endure?”
“You’ll see. It’s a classic.”
What the motherscratching hell???
No. I refuse to accept that I have to wait until late May to see how this story will play out. That ending is cruel and unusual punishment.
Okay, not unusual, maybe cruel is too harsh, but damnit, I wasn't prepared for that cliffhanger.
Chapter 1 got me right in the feels. Miss Corinne managed to accurately capture the emotion of a Navy SEAL's funeral. It's one thing to see TV footage of a military funeral procession, it's humbling to be able to salute the fallen sailor/soldier/marine/airman on their final journey, and it's an honor to be able to witness the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking act of Navy SEALs giving their Tridents to their fallen brothers (something I witnessed frequently while I was still enlisted).
I love the connection between Liam and Lee; the fact that they've known each other for a while made the change in their relationship seem that much more believable. It might seem a bit odd reading about how Liam stepped in and sort of took over when he first showed up at Lee's house, but to those of us who are a part of the military community, that's just what you do for each other. Just as the men and women who are a unit on the battlefield, the spouses back home are just as united and there for one another when needed.
Liam understood the feelings Lee was experiencing and didn't push her to do anything she wasn't ready to do; how can you not fall in lurve with a man who understands something of that magnitude? And who is willing to step in and help out with Lee's daughter no questions asked (although the whole diaper and rope scene had me cackling at work like a demented hen).
I was impressed that while this is a story that centers around both veteran and active duty military, the book didn't get too weighed down with the military aspect, and what little is mentioned isn't all complicated to understand. It's obvious that Miss Corinne understands the military's belief of "keep it simple". Now, there is a subplot to this story and at first I couldn't figure out why it was even part of the story, but once I got to the end and that damn cliffhanger, it made sense...sort of. I just can't wait to see how this will all play out. I'm hoping that we will eventually get stories on Rea and her husband Mason, and possibly a story for Quinn.
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
About the Author
Corinne Michaels is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun
loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s happily married to the man of her
dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband
while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians,
which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short
stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her
alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
Contact
Corinne
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