Why I read this book: I remember when I first met Jayden on Facebook, the whole book deal was far from a done deal and I kept hoping everything would go good. And it did, apperently – you you are looking at the author’s debut story. Of course I had to read it 😉 And I really liked the characters, so much so that I even wanted to spend more time with them!
Author’s Note: Real life has a way of making an appearance into my stories. A dear friend shared a peanut butter cookie recipe on his Facebook profile with a woebegone plea for someone with baking skills to magic him up a batch. Those cookies turned out to be the best cookies I have ever tasted. They inspired this scene:
I looked at him suspiciously. “Did you eat them all?”
He shook his head, eyebrows raised. “You think I could eat that many?”
Shrugging, I glanced down at his belly. “Yeah.”
He sucked in his stomach and sat up straight. “You think I’m fat?”
I hid a smirk and shrugged again. “You’re a lot bigger than me, is all I’m saying.”
His affronted expression was priceless. He stood, yanked up his shirt, and slapped his firm, defined abs. “That’s not fat! Of course I’m bigger than you. I’ve seen fifth graders bigger than you.”
“Hey, now! I’m usually bigger. I’ve been in the hospital.”
His expression sobered, and he gave me a soft grumble and murmured, “Yeah, eat some cookies.” He sat back down and scooted his chair closer, until our thighs were nearly touching. “You can share.”
“But I don’t want to share.” I feigned disgust.
He snorted. “Hold on, we need milk.” He got up, grabbed two glasses and the whole gallon, and sat back down.
Yeah, he deserved a reward. He could have a few. The rest were mine. I brought the jar closer, peeked in, and got a perfect whiff of peanut-buttery perfection. Blessed be, the thing was packed full of cookies. My stomach gave a warble, a clear cry in the silence. I crammed two cookies into my mouth.
For those of you interested, the recipe can be found here: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/12/peanut-butter-cookies/
My View
The Cover: The cover is hot and I love how the lovers fit into the background. A beautiful image!
The Title: The title seems very open, but suggests that a character faces who he really is 😉 It fits well to the book!
The Story: A lot of this story takes place in the mind of one of the MCs. He is the narrator of the story and has some bad luck in the beginning. I found it interesting how fierece he can be, but how deeply seated the feeling of
unworthyness his parents and bruder nstilled in him was 🙂 I loved the humor and his direktness, but the beinning broke my heart. I would have liked to see this story expanded from a quiet short story into a novel and novella. 🙂 I loved the MC’S humor and fierceness and wanted to know more about him and the other protagonists. I love a good recovery story and this one was really nice. However, I felt like it was not the whole story and I would have preferred a longer story with more details on the characters. I loved the way 1st person was used to bring more humor to the story and draw the reader into the story 😉 I didn’t mind that we spend a lot of time in the MCs head, especially during the recovery. He is a very sympathetic guy and you will like him. I definitly had a lot of fun with the book and can recommend it for people who want a fun, sweet love story and don’t mind a shocking beginning.
The story is mainly limited to 3 great characters and I think with more time for development there would have been more flaws in the heroes and more positive moments in the ‘enemy’ characters, making them more three dimensional. But All three of them stole my heart and it was a wonderful short 😉 He has to loose his home to find a true place where he fits! *g*
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Blurb:
Jared Winters’s life has been little more than a collection of moments where he didn’t think before opening his mouth. Always a bit different, he’s learned to accept an existence on the outside looking in. But one day, his mouth lands him in a position that nearly costs him his life. Only the timely intervention of Sophie, his twin Conner’s ex-girlfriend, saves him.
Siblings Sophie and Donovan Carrigan step in and offer support, comfort, and a place to call home. Under their care, Jared begins to heal and learns to trust just enough to act on his attraction to Donovan. He just hopes it’s worth the risk.
Author Bio:
Jayden Brooks is a pretty cool chick. Just ask her friends. She’s a woman of great mystery and suspense, but she can’t tell a lie without confessing. She’s fond of gingers, tea, and tales of hot men falling in love with each other—not necessarily in that order. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her family, a golden retriever who goes by the name of Mickey, and a cat who wandered in one day and never left. More than anything, she believes that love is love, and everybody deserves a chance at a happily ever after.
Contact Jayden:
Email: Jaydenbrooks@outlook.com
Rainbow Gold Reviews 