Worth The Wait by K. Bromberg

Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg comes a new, sexy standalone about taking chances and finding love when it’s least expected. Or wanted.

This whole contest was supposed to be easy. I know, I know. Famous last words.

It’s a long story, but I messed up at work. Big time. To earn back the trust of my boss, I promised to save one of our magazines. Yep. That Hot Dad contest you’ve seen advertised all over the place was my idea. And if I’m successful, if I’m able to increase our online readership, then I get a shot at my dream job.

But the one thing I never expected to happen, happened: Contestant number ten, Grayson Malone. Hello, Mr. Difficult. And did I mention sexy as hell?

Unfortunately he knows me. The old me, anyway. And while we might be older now, I remind him of before. Of the woman who broke his heart, who hardened him, and who left him alone to raise the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen.

But I don’t want a relationship. And I definitely don’t fall for single dads with baggage. Even ones with chiseled abs and killer smiles.

But he got to me. They got to me. Him and his son and their messy, crazy life. But I got to him too. I see the stolen glances. I feel the walls he built start to crumble. I recognize that there’s an unexpected beauty to the chaos in his life.

And now that the contest is about to end, we’re left to decide whether the last six months were just fun or if what we have is worth risking it all?

Find on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2wIhWss

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2rJg0u0

Amazon PB: https://amzn.to/2Il2sjF

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2KZLSDL

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2L6WSPI
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/WTRiBooks
B&N: https://smarturl.it/WTRBN
Kobo: http://smarturl.it/WTRKobo

Kristine's Review:

Reviewed: May 2018.

I'm still a little unsure as to where to start this, it's been days and I'm still no closer to putting into words how much I truly enjoyed Worth The Risk. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, the usual angst that I can count on in a Bromberg novel, yeah sure but the dreamy cover, the somewhat sombre brother we'd caught glimpses of in the previous books in the Malone brothers series, the allure of a strong and sassy heroine that was owning her sh*t even in the blurb and there wasn't a chance I'd look past this book.

“You did this,”
“Did what?” Her eyes narrow. Her hand goes to press against her chest.
“Made me want you.”

Grayson Malone is an enigma in so many ways, the smouldering single dad to a young son, the dedicated 'copter pilot, the steady and stable son in a family of boys. Outwardly, Grayson seems to have life figured out, his life is neatly defined by the roles he plays. Father. Son. Pilot. Brother. Uncle. He's known in his community in the way only someone who's grown up in a small town can be. Everyone thinking they know Grayson, while it's merely carefully constructed half truths, hearsay and unsubstantiated rumour. Regardless of what people choose to believe or say about him, Grayson has only two plans, go to work everyday and be the best father he can be.

Sidney Thornton has long lived with the crushing weight of expectation from her father. She left her small town life years ago and never looked back. Always destined for bigger things then her hometown could provide she left after graduation and didn't look back. The thrill of city life isn't always what you expect, and the shine starts to fade. Mistakes were made and consequences have her heading back home.

"I love you, damn it, and I don't have a f*cking clue what to do about it other than to ask you to choose me. To tell me I'm worth the risk."

Bromberg writes angst with the best, her ability to weave together a world you want to lose yourself in second to none. Worth The Risk is the very epitome of a cat and mouse tale come to life, Grayson and Sidney circle each other while their chemistry simmered just beneath the surface. It's that za za zing you want in Romance, that snap, crackle and pop that draws you in and holds you captive and demands you pay attention. The more desperately Sidney and Grayson fought against the pull they felt, the more enamoured I was by Bromberg's words. The more these two enigmatic characters gave into temptation the move I craved those stolen moments and sizzling touches. It's in those moments when the desperation of the characters bleeds through the pages, when the words hit you full force that their pain, their elation, their fear, their joy becomes yours, that you can recognise what you're reading for what it is... a story you'll never forget. This book absolutely stole my heart, unequivocally one of Bromberg's strongest works, Worth The Risk hit all the right notes making it utterly impossible to put down. 

About K. Bromberg:

New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines, and damaged heroes who we love to hate but can’t help to love.

A mom of three, she plots her novels in between school runs and soccer practices, more often than not with her laptop in tow.

Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Kristy has sold over one and a half million copies of her books across sixteen different countries and has landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists over thirty times. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by Passionflix with the first movie slated to release in 2018.

With her imagination always in overdrive, she is currently scheming, plotting, and swooning over her latest hero.

Connect with Kristy on Facebook

Coast (The Road #3) by Jay McLean

Blurb:

One life-changing summer.
One boy.
The boy.
The boy who offered me safe touches and heart-stopping smiles - smiles he shared with his son.
We filled our days with porch-step kisses,
filled our ears with laughter,
filled our hearts with love.
Deep, soul-aching, desperate love.
But love is misleading.
It's an invisible, fleeting moment.
Somewhere between false adoration and pure hatred comes an emotion, a vulnerable need, a single desire.
It lives within the ones who miss it, who crave it,
who know better than to expect it.
Love is relentless.
Even when that love turns to hate, turns to loathing,
turns to pain.
Love should heal you.
But it can also break you.
Believe me, I know...
Because I'm Becca Owens - a broken girl...
...And he's Josh Warden - the boy who broke me.

Find on Goodreads

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon US:  http://amzn.to/1WJXjkV
iBooks: http://apple.co/1TgZeKi
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1TgZlW8
B&N: http://bit.ly/1XyMt0O

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: June 2016.

It's no secret that I've long been a fan of Jay McLean's work, in fact Kick Push and More Than Enough both earned the coveted PLATINUM lipstick in 2015, to say that she set the bar high for whatever would follow would be an understatement. Kick Push has been ever present in my thoughts since turning the last page last year, Josh and Becca never far from my mind, two characters that absolutely owned me, decimated my heart, ravaged my soul, two fictional characters that became something so much bigger, their presence in my life, the impact their journey had on me was real, tangible, and in turning the last page, the overwhelming sense of loss that plagued me, the sense of grief of having to say good bye, if only for a little while until I could COAST with them once more.

"Because it teaches me that if I stand tall, brave and unwilling to back down, then the chaos, the destruction - it can't attack me. It can't touch me. It makes me feel alive and invincible."

 Where Kick Push was essentially Josh's story, Coast is most definitely Becca's, a young woman who was abused and denigrated by the very person who should of been her protector, after leaving Josh in order to find herself, to find a way to heal, to rebuild the parts of her that had been broken over and over again, she finds herself confronting her fears, and facing him once again, the man she loved, the man who loved her, the man who reminded her of her worth when she felt worthless, and yet had the ability to leave her broken when she didn't think it was possible to be anymore more broken that she had previously felt, an albeit brief history they shared that shaped both of their lives so dramatically. In those quiet moments, as recognition washed over Josh's face, as Becca bravely forged forward, as my heart surged, threatening to break out of my chest, I knew with certainty that the author was about to claim my heart and soul again.

"Because it's not fair that you should have to love me broken, especially when I can never make you whole."

There's something about modern day fairy tales that we like to tell, where a damsel down on her luck is rescued by the tatted up badboy/heart of gold alpha and they ride off into the sunset, what I adore so much about this series is that not only is Josh Warden inherently a good guy, a great guy even, but that the author dares to challenge the norm, when Becca could of folded, could have crumbled under the weight of so much pain, of haunting memories, of nightmares she instead realised that heroes need to save themselves, Becca walks away despite the pain, knowing that the only way she truly has any chance of healing is to allow time to do just that, to take the steps to start the process, the work through everything that haunts her and rediscover who she is, outside of the labels that have been given to her. Coast isn't about quick fixes and happily ever afters, it's a journey from that very moment that Becca starts truly living again, it's a story of redemption, of second chances, of third chances, of I love you's, I need you's, I forgive you's, it's a story that's real and heartbreaking and honest, it's a story about the love between a father and son, between a man and woman, between father and daughter, it's a story about the family you make and the family you are given, it's a story of falling down seven times and getting up eight. Coast is so much more than contemporary romance or new adult, it's more than sexy scenes, angsty moments, and tender caresses. It's a story that left me boneless and breathless, a story that eviscerated me time and time again and yet left me absolutely mind numbingly, desperate for more, a tale about two people and the life they created together, as well as the lives they created apart was in so many ways an ode to living to the fullest, to jumping the hurdles that are inevitably put in  front of us, of staring our fears in the face - telling them you won't beat me today, it's remembering what comes after you kick and you push.

"We fall. We get back up. We kick. We push. Again and again. Because the joy of success is greater than the depression of failure." 

It's the moment that the story eviscerates your heart, when all you can do is smile and say thank you because feeling something that deep, that real, that inherently, that it leaves you gasping for air, it leaves you staring at the wall wondering what you just read, simultaneously causing searing pain and joyous relief, that moment is opening a book by Ms McLean, it's silently offering up your heart, saying take this but please be careful with it, it's saying I trust you to take me on the journe Finding a book that absolutely speaks to your soul is life changing, it's the moment that the story eviscerates your heart, when all you can do is smile and say thank you because feeling something that deep, that real, that inherently, that it leaves you gasping for air, it leaves you staring at the wall wondering what you just read, simultaneously causing searing pain and joyous relief, that moment is opening a book by Ms McLean, it's silently offering up your heart, saying take this but please be careful with it, it's saying I trust you to take me on the journey these characters need to go on, it's saying I will follow you wherever you need to go.

If you haven't had a chance to read Kick Push, now's the time!

GPI's Platinum Lipstick Review of Kick Push

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/22llVAH
iBooks: http://apple.co/1TgZau6
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1QY8dLR
Nook: http://bit.ly/1T5bMY5
Add to GR: http://bit.ly/1FSYTTZ


About Jay McLean:

Jay McLean is an international best-selling author and full-time reader, writer of New Adult Romance, and most of all, procrastinator. When she’s not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her two little boys, playing house and binge watching Netflix.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her hurt and make her feel.

Jay lives in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a forever half-done home where music is loud and laughter is louder.

Connect with Jay on Facebook