I am really excited to share this book with everyone. Be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this post for a chance to win an ecopy!!
5 Stars
For Jake, it’s always been Gillian. It’s been her since that day she unknowingly stole a piece of his heart...when he watched her fall for one of his best friends. Resolved to the fate that she couldn't be his, he locked up the deeper emotions he felt for her and loved her as a friend.As friends, they went through it all together. Marriages, births, divorces and even death. But when a shameful secret Gillian has kept from her friends is revealed, Jake realizes she needs him more than ever. He knew what it was like to go through heartbreak and he wasn't about to stand back and watch her endure it alone.
He also knew she would turn to him for support. What he wasn't prepared for was the return of the emotions he had long ago locked away. Could he control those emotions again and did he even want to? Could he make her realize his love for her was real, or would she slip through his fingers again?
Selena's Thoughts; When I first began reading this book I felt like it was a little mundane. The first few pages were a little slow for me until I realized that the author was setting a stage. The perfect family, the perfect couple with the perfect marriage, the best of friends. What more can a person ask for right? Well what happens when that all comes crashing in on you? What do you do when the one person who is suppose to stand by you and hold you up when you are falling apart is the very person who is shattering you?
Gillian is that wife and Mom that we all strive to be. She has everything together, she takes care of everyone and does it with a smile on her face. She is the friend who everyone will go to war for and the woman that takes everything on herself if she knows that it will spare the ones she loves even the slightest heartache.
Jake is .... well jake is pretty much the epitome of the PERFECT MAN. He is a single father caring for a son whom he loves with every fiber of his being. He has been hurt in the worst possible way yet he is willing to give it another chance and risk his heart one more time if it means that he can finally have the woman he has longed for, deep down inside, for over a decade. Watching this story unfold was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Sometimes you just don't know what real love is until you finally have it. And once you do you have to hold on and never ever let it go.
Snippet (this was one of my absolute favorite scenes in the book and I am so proud the author included in in the choices of snippets)
Jake ended the kiss and looked her in the eyes. There was questioning in his eyes … waiting for an answer. “Can I have you Gillian?” She lifted one hand up and gently swept back the lock of hair that had fallen forward into his face. Her hand followed the hair back on his head as she ran her fingers through the thick locks, caressing him. Jake sighed and closed his eyes as he melted into her hand. Her hands met at the base of his neck, and she tilted his head so she could place her own soft kisses to his skin. First, her lips found his eyelids, then the tip of his nose, and finally his forehead, before returning to his lips.
After placing one more kiss on his lips, she pulled away ever so slightly so that she could whisper, “Will you catch me Jake?” She felt his hands tighten his hold on her. “I'm falling for you, Jake, but I need to know that you’ll catch me.”
Once again, his hands were in her hair, angling her face toward his, so he had her complete attention, before saying, “The only place you will fall, Gillian, is right where you are, in these arms, in my life. You are everything to me, and I will do whatever I have to do to prove that to you.” He leaned in to her, and she could feel his trembling lips on hers. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, “Fall, Gillian. Go ahead and fall, and I promise I’ll catch you.”
She knew he was holding himself back, and she wanted him to let go. His whispered reassurance sounded almost desperate—he was begging her to take a chance on him … so she took it. “Ask me again, Jake,” she whispered back to him.
When he pulled his head away from hers, he looked her in the eyes and asked in a voice laced with passion and desperation, “Can I have you Gillian?”
She smiled at him, “Yes, Jake. You can have me … I'm yours.”
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Author Bio:
Melanie is an amazing mother of four, an awesome and tolerant wife to one, and nurse to many. If you don’t believe her, just ask anyone in her family, they know what to say. She is also a devoted chauffeur, the keeper of missing socks, a genius according to a six year old, the coolest soccer uniform coordinator according to a twelve year old, and the best damn ‘mac-n-cheese-with-cut-up-hot-dog maker in the whole world. Well that last title isn't really official, but it’s still pretty cool to be called it.
When not being ordered around by any of the kids, you can find her with her nose in a book or on the sideline of a soccer game cheering on one team or another. But that’s mostly because she has a thing for the coach. When she is not doing all of the above, you can find her obsessed with a group of fictional characters all vying for a spot on the page of whatever she’s working on. It’s a fun and crazy life to lead, but wouldn't have it any other way.
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Thank you so much for participating in my blog tour and the wonderful thoughts you had about Love Realized. I truly love how you interpreted both Jake and Gillian, it is exactly how I wanted them to be seen. THANK YOU!!!
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