Blurb
Every relationship changes you, some for the
better, others can shatter your confidence and almost destroy you.
For the musically talented, twenty-four year
old Tara O’Connell, her relationship with Stephen almost broke her, until Tara
found the strength to leave.
Now she is on the road to discovering that it
is never too late to pursue your dreams and follow your heart.
As Tara’s self-belief grows, she meets two men
she is instantly drawn to who will change her life forever.
Corporal Riley Hammond is a soldier in the
Australian Military Special Forces. With his smiling sapphire blue eyes, Tara
falls for him instantly. He is thoughtful and caring, and gives her the support
and love she needs.
While Cole Michaels is the overconfident
singer in a popular local band. His charisma, emerald green eyes, tattoos and
piercing, have girls falling at his feet. But while Cole pushes Tara’s buttons,
he also pushes her to reach for the stars.
Both men couldn’t be more polar opposites, but
both offer Tara different qualities that she needs to fulfil her destiny.
As Tara continues
her journey, she will discover fate can offer you more than one path. Her fate
is in her own hands, and the choices she makes, will shape her life forever.
Excerpt: Cole’s tattoos
I helped
bus the tables as I was pretty useless at pulling beers. I had lost track of
time when I felt my phone buzz in my skirt pocket. I raced into the back room
and just managed to answer the call in time. It was Riley and my heart melted
at the sound of his voice.
“Where
are you?” he asked, obviously able to hear the band playing in the background.
I told
him excitedly about catching up with Jay and lining up the band to meet Marcus,
and how I was now bussing tables at the bar. For some reason I felt the need to
avoid mentioning Cole. But Riley could hear him singing in the background and
commented on his voice.
“Ah, yep
he does have a great voice,” I said, feeling guilty when I hadn’t done anything
to feel guilty about.
Then I
changed the subject and asked Riley what he had been up to. We had only been
speaking for about fifteen minutes when the band stopped for a break, and then
the door opened and Cole was standing there.
He could
see I was on the phone but didn’t seem to care, as he came in and pulled off
his sweat soaked t-shirt, before rummaging in a bag and pulling out a clean
one.
I looked
at his shirtless body in awe. Not only did he have the full sleeve of tattoos
up his left arm, but he had angel wings, or was that eagle wings across his
shoulder blades.
He
turned around to face me and saw me looking at him, so stood still and cockily
held his arms out to the sides so I could get a good look, watching my expression.
I
couldn’t help it, I exhaled loudly at the sight of his ripped body.
Finally,
I managed to tear my eyes away from his amazing body and turn my back to him. I
heard him chuckle softly. Then realising that the bar would be busy with people
buying drinks now that the band was on a break, I reluctantly told Riley I
would have to go.
“I’ll
see you in a week,” Riley said as he was getting ready to hang up. “I miss you
babe, I think about you all the time.”
“I miss
you too,” I said quietly into the phone. “I love you. See you next week.”
“I love
you too.” Then he was gone.
“Hmm, I
take it that wasn’t your mum,” Cole said. “Boyfriend not around at the moment?”
he asked with a smirk.
“He’s in
the army, based in Sydney,” I replied as I headed for the door.
“Must
get lonely,” he said with a glint in his eye as he pulled his clean shirt on
over his head.
My Review: 5 stars
This book was just amazing. Lisa carefully crafted the characters so you knew them well. Lisa has just come out of a really bad relationship when she meets Riley. They are instantly attracted to the other, and move forward quickly in their relationship. Riley is sexy, confidant, so good for Tara's ego when she needs it, sweet and caring. Cole, is someone that Tara actually meets and is attracted to before she meets Riley, she just doesn't know how much until they actually do meet. Cole is arrogant, a rock and roll singer with charisma to spare, he's loud, and sometimes obnoxious; but that's what he shows you.
This is a complicated story about love of all kinds, friendship, trust and just so much more. This is also a story about being in a long distance relationship, and what it takes to keep that going. Those are difficult enough, but when the distance is immediate and you don't really know the person that well - it just makes things harder for all involved. I loved Tara's friends for being there for her. I know it had to be difficult to watch Tara fall apart, especially when the breach of trust happened. That's when Cole stepped in and took care of Tara - as a friend, because that's what she wanted.
But I can tell you now, things are only going to get more complicated. But I'm really looking forward to finding out what fate throws Tara's way. I really want to know everything about these characters. I had started off thinking that there would be no way that anything could come between Tara and Riley once they made the decision to move forward with their relationship. However, the more I read about Cole, the more I want to know. I know from reading this, that there is far more to Cole than he lets everyone else see, but he let Tara see a side of him that I'm guessing not many get to see. I want to see more of that side of him!! The end of the book left me with so many questions, because there was a cliffhanger of a sort. This was definitely an excellent read, well worth the time. I can't wait to read the second and third books to find out what happens with them all. I really loved this book, and I'm finding that I really have a thing for Australian authors. I seem to love what they write!!
Author Bio:
While Lisa Edward has called Melbourne Australia home for her entire
life, she has lived and worked in England, and travelled through most parts of
Europe and the United States. She loves nothing more than spending time with
her husband and beautiful daughter, or curling up into the early hours of the
morning with a great novel. By day, Lisa works in the analytical IT field, so
relishes the opportunity to foster her creative side through writing. Her deep
appreciation for literature was nurtured from a young age, being taught to
respect books and get lost in their stories. She enjoys reading honest and
realistic novels that are relatable, thought provoking and leave a lasting
impression. She can’t write without music playing, using the emotions from
different songs to invoke that of her characters. Lisa takes inspiration from
her own life experiences, the people around her and those she has met in her
travels.
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