Mixed Book Bag: Close to Home by Lily Everett

PRAISE FOR LILY EVERETT

"I didn't read this book, I inhaled it. An incredible story of love, forgiveness, healing, and joy." — Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Sanctuary Island

"Well written and emotionally satisfying. I loved it! A rare find." — Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author, on Sanctuary Island

"A heartwarming, emotional, extremely romantic story that I couldn't read fast enough! Enjoy your trip to Sanctuary Island! I guarantee you won't want to leave." —Bella Andre, New York Times bestselling author of The Sullivan series, on Sanctuary Island

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CLOSE TO HOME
Lily Everett

Have you ever fought to put the pieces of a broken relationship back together? In her latest Sanctuary Island novel, CLOSE TO HOME (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; February 7, 2017; $7.99; 978-1-250-07405-8), Lily Everett’s characters struggle to do just that. Everett tells a beautifully woven story of hope, second chances, and ultimately, true love.

The best journeys take us home….

When Tessa Alexander came to Sanctuary Island, she left behind a marriage to a man who didn’t love her the way she loved him. When she finally found the strength to set them both free, she discovered friendship and self-acceptance in her adopted hometown. Now she’s settled into a quiet life on her own—never expecting to see her husband again.

Johnny spent almost two years deep undercover, unable to let his wife into his cold, dangerous world. He’s shaken to the core when he comes home to find her gone. It’s painfully clear that Tessa is no longer the timid young woman he married—she’s become a force of nature, a brave and determined beauty. Johnny can’t let her go without a fight so he sets out to seduce his own wife. But will passion alone be enough to convince Tessa that her new life should include a second chance at happiness with a man who must learn to believe in love?

LILY EVERETT is the author of the Sanctuary Island series for St. Martin's Press. She grew up in a small town in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and now resides in Austin, Texas, where she writes full-time.

Review:

Tessa and John did not have much of a marriage so while John was working undercover Tessa went off to discover who she really was and she started a divorce proceeding thinking she would free John. Turns out John did not want to be free. This was a lot about learning about yourself and trusting your partner. Both Tessa and John had a lot to overcome and had to discover who the other really was. A nice romance with several premises that are unusual in romance stories. Both were wonderful characters who pulled at my heart strings and had me pulling for them from the very first page of the book. This was not my first visit to Sanctuary Island and it was good to be back. The next book is out soon and it was easy to see who the next two to find an HEA will be. I received a free copy of Close to Home in return for an honest review.

Excerpt:

Physical awareness flickered to life between them. Johnny felt the heavy beat of his blood, the sudden tightness in his jeans. Turning her hand under his, he stroked his thumb over the thin, tender skin at the in- side of her wrist where her pulse fluttered. She filled his mind, his entire consciousness. There was noth- ing but Tessa.

“You want more, honey? All you have to do is ask.”

She shivered, her eyes darkening as desire blew her pupils wide. Lips parting, Tessa stretched up on her toes over the horse’s back and Johnny didn’t care about the thousand-pound animal between them—he had to get his mouth on her, right now.

Spearing his hands into the short wisps of hair at the back of her neck, Johnny leaned in and kissed her.

The rest of the world fell away, leaving nothing behind but Tessa’s sugar-sweet mouth, the high, sur- prised noises she made in the back of her throat, the clutch of her fingers in the collar of his jacket as she pulled him closer.

He hadn’t kissed her since that first day. He hadn’t wanted to push her, or to make her think all he was interested in was sex.

That was a mistake. He should have been kissing her every day. Every minute.

Clover took a step forward, jolting them out of their embrace. The horse looked curiously over his shoul- der as Tessa started to laugh. It was the laugh Johnny had seen for the first time through the bakery window, full throated and joyous, with Tessa’s head thrown back in abandon.

Overcome with the need to seize this moment, Johnny grabbed the currycomb and threw it in the bucket before rounding the horse to snag his wife by the hand. Tessa looked up at him, breath coming in fast pants and eyes glazed, pliantly following where he led. It was all Johnny could do not to take her down to the sawdust-covered floor and hope Clover was smart enough not to step on them.

No. Tessa was untouched. She’d been waiting for this for a long time—and her first time wasn’t going to be a literal roll in the hay. But that didn’t mean either of them could stand to wait until they found a bed.

He reached for enough patience to get out of the stall and latch the door behind them. Dumping the bucket of grooming tools by the stall door, Johnny tugged Tessa by the wrist down the barn corridor to an empty stall he’d noticed earlier. It was unoccupied, completely clear of hay except for a few pieces strewn here and there, and Johnny backed Tessa into it for a little privacy. She went willingly enough, although he could see her brain starting to come back online, awareness of what they were doing starting to show in her eyes.

If he were a good man, he’d back off and let the sexual tension clear from the air between them. Tessa, who’d had so few choices in her life, deserved to make a real choice about this, one not clouded by overwhelming sensations. Johnny was at least a good enough man to vow not to take her here and now. He was relieved to find that he still had limits.