First love. Only love. Forever love.
“Love always fills the awkward corners of a life.
A princess escaping her ivory tower. Racing toward the awaiting prince in another kingdom.
If you haven't yet read a book written by one of the best storytellers I've read, I recommend you start with today's presentation. Midnight! Although I can't remember the name of the first book by Sala that I read, I can still remember my emotional response. That response which nudges me whenever I get a notice that she has a new book available. Midnight was written for avid readers like me--you know, I'm the one that normally responds to the question of "what is your favorite book" by responding "The one I'm reading right now..." No, that's not always true, but it covers a high percentage of the books I've written about here at Book Readers Heaven where no more than 10 a year are selected as a personal favorite... And, more importantly, only a very few are selected as favorite author... Sharon Sala became a favorite author with her first book I read! You will find that Midnight, as a romantic suspense--heavy on the renewal of the relationship between Asher and Nora--just might fulfill every single hope
you might have for every book you read. And, in doing so, Sala also ensures that every single wish you'd want to close out each book is, indeed, fully responded to... You will have NO questions in your mind about what happened to this person or that... I, quite simply, loved this book! It provided a contentment that only can be provided by a writer that writes books that they personally want to read... And does that job perfectly! Indeed, I wasn't surprised when I discovered that Sala had been presented a lifetime Nora Roberts' Award. Roberts is also one of my favorite writers, especially with her J.D.Robb series! Plan, therefore, to find the same quality of writing as Nora when you select a book by Sharon Sala! Now, let me share a little about this story!  |
Asher Kingston didn’t thrive in disorder. He needed to know what was happening, what his part in it was, and what needed to happen next, and he hadn’t had one solid day of order since the phone call from his dad, telling him about Nora. At that moment, every carefully planned aspect of his life blew up in his face. It was Brenda’s fault. She’d disrupted all of their lives when she ended hers. But it was also the wakeup call that he’d needed, and now he couldn’t imagine any aspect of his life without Nora in it. Finding out about her stalker had been a shock. Learning how she’d saved herself, then found a retreat in her ivory tower that gave her the safety and space to continue her work without giving up what she loved, turned on every protective instinct he had. He knew she wasn’t helpless. Far from it, but he wanted to be there for her when she needed it. To make that happen, they first had to put the Brandt brothers in prison, and that was uppermost in his mind as he came out of Belker’s with a bouquet of flowers. Three minutes later, he was pulling up into Nora’s driveway. He loved her. He wanted her. Every part of him ached to take her to bed. He was saying it with flowers, but if she was slow to get the message, he was willing to strip naked and let her see it for herself. He traded his Stetson for the flowers and left it in the front seat. Then he was out the door and running up the steps with the wind at his back. He knocked, waiting for the sound of her footsteps, then all of sudden, the door swung inward and there she stood. A vision in pink wearing fuzzy socks and slippers. The smile on her face was all it took to pull him over the threshold. He shut the door and laid the flowers in her arms. “Asher! I love them. I never get flowers. They’re beautiful.” “Like you,” he said. “Go put them in water so I can kiss you.” She laughed. “Come help. I’m still making messes with this one,” she said, waving the hand with the stitches. He shed his coat on the sofa and followed, got a vase from the etagere, filled it half full of water for her, then watched her put them in the water and arrange them. “The fall colors in this are just perfect. I love them, and they’ll make a nice focal point on the dining table. I’m signing a contract with a realtor tomorrow and she’s using the existing furniture for staging.” As soon as she finished the arrangement, he carried it to the dining table for her, and as he turned, he caught a wistful expression on her face. “Are you sad, darlin’… About selling the house, I mean?” She shrugged. “A little, but realistic about it, too. It’s not the same with them gone, you know? I keep thinking about the us we resurrected. That’s where my hopes are. They’re already with you.” The look in her eyes. The words she’d just said. Like turning a cog and watching it fall into place. With her there was no discord, only peace. He brushed a kiss across her lips, then cupped her face, feeling the softness of her skin against his palms. “You are my touchstone. You always were. You always will be. I will always love and protect you.” “My darling, Ash. Through no fault of your own, you are the one who was left in charge, but you’re also the one who needs to be cared for, and tended to, and loved harder…loved more. Let me be that person for you, too. I know you still have to clear the deck for your dad, but spare me enough time for this. Come to bed with me. It’s going to take the rest of our lives to catch up with what we lost. Now is as good a time as any to start refilling the well. Make love now. Make babies with me later.” Then she was in his arms, moving through the shadowed halls, and once again, into her bedroom. Inhibitions came off with their clothes. They were as frantic for the joining as they had been when they were young and crazy wild for each other, but old enough now to savor the sweet heat of building a slow fire. One that engulfed, instead of flashed. Asher was stretched out beside her, tracing the shape of her cheek, to the shallow beneath her throat, to the weight of her breasts in his hand. Watching her eyelids flutter as he rolled her nipple between his fingers. Hearing the catch in her breath when he slid his hands between her legs, then leaving a trail of kisses from her chin to her belly button. Nora’s heart was racing as he moved over her, then in her. It was the beginning, and she already wanted more. She knew what turned him on. It was her. Sex between them had always been magic. A quickening of souls as well as bodies, and this time as he began, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him deeper. It was ecstasy, and a kind of agony as he began to move. One minute, then another and another, and she could feel it building—wanting it to go on forever, then suddenly desperate for a release. It came without warning. Shattering focus and concentration as the blood rush hit. They lay in each other’s arms until there was nothing left of the ride but the intermittent ripple of aftershocks. Asher buried his face in the thick fall of her hair, groaning softly at the thought of having to move. “God, Nora, you destroy me.” Nora looked up into his face, at the high cheekbones and stubborn chin. A mouth for laughter, and kissing. And the clear-blue color of his eyes. “I will lose sleep thinking about this, and doing without you…without this wild madness you turn on inside me, but you are so very worth the wait. I love you. And I also know you haven’t finished what you came to do.” He rolled over, taking her with him, and pulled her close as she pillowed her head upon his chest. “Yes, we do, and there’s still work to do. Reddick agreed to the press conference. Once it airs, we go on lockdown.
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I chose to share a later excerpt on purpose, although I don't think it gives enough away that I would not be saying anyway. It seems to me that those writers who declare their books as "clean" have decided to leave out the full range of emotions that the majority of people have. I often wonder why... In any event, there is much emotional angst and happiness in this book, and the setup for the story takes only a few short pages of the early chapters...
Brenda, the wife of an owner of a bar and the mother of three boys, was involved in both a sexual and criminal way with a theft that took place many years ago. Brenda who realized they would be caught had taken the suicide way out, emptying a bottle of pills which allowed her death to occur before the police even had a chance to interview her. What she also succeeded to do, perhaps unwittingly--was ruin her family's lives in many ways.
Nora and Asher, the oldest of the sons, were already in love, but Asher had to immediately assume the role of caretaker for the younger boys, as well as maintaining the home which was attached to the bar.
Although the thieves had been killed or caught, little was done to close the case since none would talk. Years passed and the three young boys were now grown. Asher the oldest and Gunner, the youngest, and the most emotionally impacted by his mother's betrayal, had both gone into law. The other, Dylan, now was a contractor and the only one married. Life was moving along and the owner of the bar continued on to begin to establish and confirm that he, also, was not involved in the robbery of around $1M!
And it probably would have continued on except that death interfered... The leader of the gang who had done the robbery was dying. Nora's parents were now both gone and she had come back to town to sell the home they had lived in for most of their lives. Nora had moved, but worked out of her home, anyway, so she was able to go back, set up to keep her work going, and begin to prepare the house for sale, which would include repairs...
Readers will know the entire set of events from page 1, including the mother's lament, Brenda's cry of remorse
When Jacob slipped into bed beside her, she heard his weary sigh as he pulled up the covers and turned out the bedside lamp. He was such a good man. Oh God, oh God… What have I done to this family?
Until the other death was near, the leader of the gang called in his two sons, told them where the money was, and they soon were planning just how to proceed. The first act was for them to assume fake names, walk into the bar run by Jacob, spend some time there and finally explained they'd been looking for a bar to buy and wanted to know if Jacob was interested in selling. When he said no, they left... They brought a gun the next time they broke in. And even though they didn't plan on murder, Jacob was shot, badly, and close to death...
The entire town was in an uproar, no understanding why Jacob was attacked. Nothing was taken so it wasn't a robbery... Soon, the three boys arrived... And they weren't leaving until this entire mess, including the connection to the death of the gang leader, was cleared up and solved. Fast and furious action begins!
Highly recommended!
GABixlerReviews
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