Publication date: May 5th 2015
My rating: 4 stars
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Some crushes aren’t meant to be
When her older brother’s best friend left to join the Foreign Legion, eighteen-year-old Célie moved on to make a life for herself as a Paris chocolatier. Now, five years later, the last thing she needs is another man to mess up her happiness.
Let alone the same man.
But five years in the Foreign Legion is a long time for a man to grow up, and a long time to be away from the woman he loves.
Especially when he did it all for her.
Half strangers, more than friends, and maybe, if Joss Castel has his way, a second chance…
My
Thoughts:
When Célie and Joss were teenagers Célie feel
in love with him, but he seemed to only look at her as his best friend’s little
sister, someone to look out for. But they
became close, the brightest part of each other’s day, and just when Célie
thought Joss’ feelings had changed to something romantic he left without a
word, and joined the Foreign Legion gutting Célie’s heart in the
process.
Now five years later, Joss has shown up again in Célie’s
life, proclaiming that he went away to become a better man all for her, and Célie
is livid and just about every other
emotion in the book because, hello!! FIVE
years without a word!
It was all she could
do not to just climb into his lap, bury her head in his chest and hold on
tight. Why did you leave me, you bastard?
Oh, thank God you’re home.
Joss was in love with Célie, too, back when they were
teenagers, but what kind of life could he offer Célie, the brilliant,
best thing in his life when he just lost his job?
“Celie.” He closed
his eyes a moment. “The way you look at me.” –He opened his eyes, holding hers
with that beautiful, beautiful hazel green. “Célie. You know I’m just a
man, right?”—“Made of clay,” Joss said, his mouth turning down. “I’m not good
enough for the way you look at me.”
Célie thought they could escape the poverty ridden
neighborhood they grew up in and become something better, together.
Both Célie and Joss have a lot of conflicting
emotions to work through: confusion, anger, hurt, but also longing, passion,
and love. Laura Florand brilliantly captures
their powerful emotions, and makes you feel them profoundly. I did appreciate the dollop of humor, and sexy
banter she added to lighten things up every once in a while, too:
He smiled. “Kiss me
or kill me, sweetheart? Which one do you want?”
So she kissed him
because…well, he really was that infuriating. A woman had to do something. Killing him out here in
public like this would get her arrested.
I was thrilled that Célie didn’t want to kill Joss
all the time and that all those pent up feelings of longing on both sides could
finally be explored and satisfied, and let me tell you it was utterly HOT!
Laura Florand once again worked her writing magic and
created an emotional, sexy and fun romance! Be prepared to swoon and sigh while
reading! Loved the extra time with
Dominque and Jaime, too! They were beyond adorable together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Florand burst on the contemporary romance scene in
2012 with her award-winning Amour et Chocolat series. Her books have appeared
in ten languages, been named among the Best Books of the Year by Romantic Times and Barnes & Noble,
received the RT Seal of Excellence and starred reviews from Publishers
Weekly, Library Journal, and
Booklist, and been recommended by
NPR, USA
Today, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.
After a Fulbright year in
Tahiti and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, and several years
living in Madrid and Paris, Laura now teaches Romance Studies at Duke
University. Contrary to popular opinion, this means she primarily teaches
French language and culture and does a great deal of research on French
gastronomy, particularly chocolate. For more information, please see her
website:
Connect with Laura Florand:
19 comments:
Five years...no word?!? I'd kill the man. He'd be dead. Dead. Well, after I had my wicked way with him, that is.
This sounds like such a great romance, Rachel, and I've been craving them lately, but after five years of silence, I would have kicked the man, not kissed him. Well, perhaps later I'd kiss him, but a good kick would come first.
Trust me, there were a lot of "I'm going to kill you!" s in there, Mary! In between lusty kisses, of course! :)
Same here, Maja! I wanted to reach in the pages and give him a good smack at times! :)
Beautiful review, Rachel. Powerful emotions are hard to capture and any author that manages it is automatically going on my list :)
I already know Laura can write some romances. I have several of her books lined up on my Kindle for summer reading. I can't wait to try this one as well. Loved the quotes you shared.
I really must read a Florand novel. It sounds like such a great romance series that I would love, the more reviews of this you do the more I want to read it. Great review, Rachel. :)
Everyone keeps recommending this author to me and I seriously need to give her books a try! I've heard great things, and I love that her romances are always completely triangle-free. This one sounds great - I've added it to my TBR! :)
Lovely review, lady!
You had me at "Paris chocolatier" - anything related to Paris gets my attention. This is a new author to me and the story sounds interesting. I don't think Ive read anything like this. Thanks so much for sharing and your review, Rachel. Im gonna add this to my to read list. :)
Maybe guys could be insensitive, but five years without a word?? That's awful! Thanks for putting this on my radar. Loved your review, Rachel! :)
This sounds really good! I am a sucker for sexy banter :D
Is it weird that I really felt these strange tingles in my heart when I read those quotes and snippets? Even though I would probably whack my beloved's head if he disappears without a word for five years, knowing he did it to become a man for me would probably melt my heart. Or would probably make me want to whack his head again. And then kiss him. Haha!
Faye at The Social Potato
I get pretty fascinated with heels on the books especially with the book Cinder. I haven't heard of this one before but I love the sound of the romance - but wow 5 years though! That's a really long time. Wonderful review as always <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections
So glad you ended up loving this, Rachel! It doesn't really seem like my kind of book, but I do like the sound of Celie's humor! The quote about getting her arrested in public--ha!
Oooo I like the sound of this one Rachel! I'm glad Celie is actually livid and doesn't just fall into his arms the minute he shows back up. That would drive me crazy. I like that she gives him a little hell and that they work through everything in a way that's fitting:)
I haven't seen much around about this one yet but--so glad to hear it was enjoyable, and funny and sexy!
Your praises for Laura Florand make me want to read all of her books, Rachel! Wonderful review!
Romance read full of humor and sexy banter definitely sounds inviting. Glad you enjoyed it Rachel, great review! :)
I love a book with sexy banter! And the main character's p.o.v. is hilarious! Great review honey - loved the extracts you included. Thanks for sharing.
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