Make Me Stay

by Rebecca Brooks
Men of Gold Mountain #1
Publication Date: October 3, 2016
Genres: Adult, Entangled: Brazen, Romance

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Excerpt #2: 

 

Outside the snow was coming down hard, coating the parking lot in a layer of white. The weather in Seattle was dependably gray. All they’d gotten this winter was rain and more rain and that dreaded wintry mix. Sam stood in the middle of the parking lot and tilted her face to the sky.

Snow clung to her lashes and melted down her cheeks. She could see it coming toward her, illuminated by the outdoor lights from the bar, but higher up where the lights didn’t reach everything was darkness. The flakes seemed to emerge straight from a dizzying abyss. She felt Austin come up behind her, the solid weight of him dangerously close. She knew how unfair she was being to him, and how much of her job she was putting at risk.

But she couldn’t make herself pull away.

“It’s beautiful,” she said quietly.

“I know.”

He pulled out a strand of hair that had gotten tucked in her scarf.

“Where’s your hat?” he asked. But it was more like a whisper, his lips brushing close to her ear.

“I forgot it,” she said hoarsely. Her mouth was dry.

He ran a hand over her hair, smoothing out the snow. “Do you want mine?”

Sam turned to face him. Her whole life, her whole career, was spent calculating risk versus reward. How much risk could the company assume when they bought new land? How much would they be rewarded for the chance they took?

She knew not every risk wound up being worth it. But zero risk meant zero gain. Wasn’t that the whole philosophy that had gotten her father’s company where it was? Knowing when to take the plunge. Damn it, Austin was gorgeous, even with a gray wool hat pulled over his ears. And he was funny, thoughtful, kind—

She wrapped her gloved hands around his scarf and pressed her lips to his.

There was a pause in which he seemed surprised—was she wrong? Surely he wanted this, too. And then his arms were around her and he was kissing her back. The voice in her head stating firmly that this was a very bad idea tasted sweetness and warmth, and for a moment there was only silence. The world, her mind, even the wind itself had gone still.

Then a burst of noise came from behind them. A couple walked out of the bar and headed to their car. It was the reminder Sam needed. Nothing about their situation had changed. She couldn’t get caught up in the romance of the falling snow.

 

 

I know, Harlie doesn’t review the hot stuff anymore but this book just spoke to me.  It wasn’t the cover either.  I really liked the blurb and I just couldn’t wait to see how, just from the blurb, how the story would play out.  Plus, I needed something a little naughty to read.

Sam, oh my Sam.  What a mess she was in the beginning?  Oh wait, its the end that she is a mess.  In the beginning, she knew what she had to do but getting Austin to sign should have been an easy thing, right?  Well, no it wasn’t.  Skiing for the first time since her dad’s death and all the emotions that broke through the surface, I liked how she was finally able to see the beauty of the mountain and what drives the people of the mountain to either stay or sell.  That was her biggest hurdle to climb.  Personally, I thought Austin was fairly easy.  But what got me in the end was how they were able to figure it out TOGETHER.  Yes, the black point was truly black.  My heart broke for both of them but the ending was just so right for these two.

Austin, he is definitely the man of mystery.  He had some major issues to overcome and once he started sharing his life, thoughts and dreams with Sam, I sighed.  I know, right?  It made him that much more endearing to me.  I could see his point with his ski team but wow, they sure did put him in is place when needed.  Gotta love a teenage girl to hit the nail on the head.  LOL!  I loved that scene in the book.  Had me laughing.

What really drove me to absoluting adore this book is the chemistry between Sam and Austin.  Sure the smexy times are well written and hot but it was the emotions that came to the surface.  Sam had a lot more to lose in the end but she finally realized what was truly important since her dad’s death.  It took some real soul searching and a nice chat with Clarie that brought everything in perspective.

Again, this book is hot in places but Ms. Brooks doesn’t write a sex scene just because its a sex scene.  Oh no, she has placed them the perfect places in the book.  I hate when authors feel that they have to write a sex scene just because.  Serioulsy?  Sex scenes should be hot, emotional and move the story forward.  Ms. Brooks does that in spades.  🙂

Overall, I can’t wait for the next book in the series.  Connor gets his story and I can’t wait to see what happens with him and Mack.  And maybe, hopefully, see more of Austin and Sam.

 

 

 

ABOUT REBECCA BROOKS

Rebecca Brooks is the author of contemporary romance novels HOW TO FALL and ABOVE ALL. She lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books.

She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them. She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx.

Her books are about independent women who leave their old lives behind to try something new—and find the passion, excitement and purpose they didn’t know they’d been missing.

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