Release Blitz, ARC Review & Excerpt: The Spire (The Walshes, #6) by Kate Canterbary

 

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Blurb

Rebel, runner, recluse, rich girl.

Nine years ago, Erin Walsh ran away from everything.

Home.
Family.
Secrets.
Tragedy.
Herself.

The only permanence in her life is catastrophe.

She travels from country to country, chasing disaster, teasing fire, playing with poison. She guards against real connections, and shuns the only family she has left.

She holds everyone—even her siblings—at a mile-long distance. It’s the only way to protect herself.

But she can’t protect herself from him.

He’s the ice to her fire, and he’s willing to sacrifice everything to bring her home.

 

 

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Review

“She flies with her own wings.”

4.5 Homecoming stars

I’m a huge fan of this series, it has become one of my all-time favourites, telling the story of six siblings who endured a horrific childhood and who are now all grown up and all over each other’s lives. Romantic, dramatic, laugh-out-loud funny and super sexy with sensational dynamics, these books are absolutely fantastic and I have been impatiently waiting for this one!

Erin Walsh is the baby of the family. She is the mysterious sibling who had a difficult time growing up and who eventually left home to lead her own path, travelling the world while she studies volcanos and all things climate change. For 5 books Erin has been present in the series through emails, text messages and the occasional visit, and I have been so excited to finally get to know her. And this book did not disappoint!

There’s always been a sense of mystery surrounding Erin. We know she suffered at the hands of her father like the rest of her siblings, we know she was taken in by eldest sister, Shannon, as a teenager and the two of them had a massive falling out, and since then she has been roaming the globe for nine years, never settling and only reluctantly returning home to Boston when family occasions call for it (usually for wedding).

For years after leaving home, avoiding … had been my superpower, and I wore it like a merit badge. It served me well. It allowed me to engage to the degree that was comfortable for me. It gave me the space to work through all – um, most? – of my issues. But it also wore the ties between me and my siblings down to threads, and my muscles didn’t remember how to reach out anymore.

She’s never had the desire to return home and face her past, she doesn’t even know where to start. But life throws her a twist when she meets a man who makes her question her globetrotting, escapist lifestyle for the first time.

“I want…everything. I don’t know what everything is, but I want it.”

Erin’s love interest has been a hot topic of discussion in fan groups. His identify has remained a mystery so I’m not going to spoil it for you, but…

Spoiler
I will admit that one look at the contents page and chapter titles had me dancing around with glee.

This book picks up immediately where the last one left off (prior to the epilogue), and is written in dual POV, showing us the unique relationship between Erin and her hero in glorious detail. The chemistry, the heat, the banter and emails, the slow build to something more, and the heartache and angst as they fight to make a life together in the most unlikely of circumstances. It’s surprising and wonderful all at the same time, it made my heart hurt, and it made me giddy with happiness, and I loved every single moment of it.

“I want everything,” I whispered. I pressed my face to the hollow of her neck, and when I scraped my teeth over the delicate skin there, her body jerked against my hold. … “Let me have you.”

I love Erin. She’s such a wonderfully complex character. Her pain and vulnerability broke my heart, but I love her strength, resilience and determination. She is truly wild, living her life on her own terms and absolutely owning it, but the shadows that she carries never leave her, and watching her finally start to deal with her past and face up to all that she has left behind was absolutely fantastic!

“Some people have to leave to find their way home again … I’m one of them. I went away because it was the healthiest, safest option for me, but there are many reasons why I’ve stayed away. They’re not about grudges or revenge. They’re only about needing to find my way home, and no one else can do that for me.”

And her hero…. Oh holy SWOON!!!!! He’s perfect for her! Gorgeous, intelligent, deeply caring and refreshingly honest, he puts himself right out there for her, holding nothing back, and I love that! He truly understands Erin, he accepts her as she is, and he proudly stands by her side through her journey.

“There are tornadoes in my head sometimes”…
“I know,” he said as his lips met mine. “But your storms, they don’t scare me.”

But he’s no pushover. He’s strong, and he knows what he wants, and his alphaness rounds out his gentle nature beautifully, proving to himself be exactly the man that Erin needs.

She flew with her own wings, and I had to let her. She’d come back to me in due time, and she’d come home, too.

But their relationship is not an easy one. There is heartache and angst as they work to figure out what they want and then work to find a way to have it.  The relationship is raw, honest and real (and so, so hot!), and I fell in love right alongside them and felt everything that they were dealing with.

“I’ll always wait for you. Don’t you dare doubt that.” … “I’ll be right here when you’re ready for me.”

I loved being back with the Walshes. This is such a wonderful group of characters, I adore them all so much, and I loved the chance to catch up with all of them. There is great continuation for the couples and a whole lot of reveals as even more secrets are uncovered, relationships are mended and tears are shed (both the characters’ and mine). And then there’s Riley – youngest brother of the family, keeper of all of the secrets, and the only one whose story remains untold, his story absolutely rocked me and I cannot WAIT for his book!!!

This is a fantastic addition to the series. It’s slightly different to the others in that it’s mostly set away from the family, whereas in the other books everybody is all up in each other’s business, but it still has the same feel to it that I love and have come to expect. Kate did a wonderful job with this book, taking us around the world in beautiful detail as we follow Erin’s journey, and giving her story the intensity that I was hoping for, while still remaining fun, sexy and romantic, with wonderfully written and perfectly balanced drama. I read this book in one sitting, unable to put it down, and finished it with a massive smile on my face and tears in my eyes.

“You should never sit around waiting for life to start because it’s leaving you with every second.”
“You should explore the world … Do dangerous things. Ignore the fuck out of conventional wisdom. Walk on fire. Treat everyone with kindness because people are the only things worth holding on to. Live without regrets because there is no time for that shit. Never forget the way home, and leave a trail of breadcrumbs if you have to. Love, and get your heart broken, and say fuck it, and love again and then again.”

I loved it!

4.5 stars.

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Walsh series

              

Underneath It All (#1) (Matt & Lauren)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

The Space Between (#2)  (Patrick & Andy)
Review
Buy:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

Necessary Restorations (#3)  (Sam & Tiel)
Review
Buy:  Amazon USB&N | Kobo |iBooks | Paperback

The Cornerstone (#4) (Shannon & Will)
Review
Buy:  Amazon US | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

Restored (#5) (Sam & Tiel)
Review
Buy:  Amazon US | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Paperback

The Spire (#6) (Erin & Nick)
Review
Buy: Amazon US  | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Preservation (#7) (Riley & (it’s a secret))
Review
Buy: Amazon US  |  B&N  |  Kobo  iTunes

Threholds (#8) (the whole family!)
Review
Buy:  Amazon iTunes Kobo

 

Foundations – Bonus material
Review
Buy:  Amazon

Foundations is the Underneath It All (Matt and Lauren) novella featuring Six Years Later, the happy-ever-after novella originally published in The Walsh Brothers plus the Jenga, Cocktails, and Cookies novella originally available only to Kate Canterbary’s newsletter subscribers, and two additional bonus scenes.

 


Excerpt

I gave her a little shove, and she fell to the mattress. She aimed a meaningful glance at my jeans, and that was all the encouragement I needed to drop them to the ground. She crawled backward, and I followed, stalking her every movement until we were flat against a bank of pillows.

“Hi,” she said, running her hand up my flank and over my shoulder. She hooked her leg around my waist and pulled me flush against her. My cock was acutely aware that only my boxers and her panties separated us, and was alternately thrilled with that situation and impatient as hell. She smiled, a little shy. “I like the way you touch me.”

“That’s good because I really enjoy touching you,” I said, bringing my lips to her neck and trailing them down between her breasts. “I didn’t want to let you go when I met you last night. Wanted to keep you all to myself.”

“Oh,” she said, her eyebrow quirking as if this was an peculiar sentiment. “I don’t think anyone’s ever wanted to keep me before.”

Fuck, she was too much. Just too much. Beautiful and rough around every edge yet vulnerable and sensitive.

“I want to keep you,” I said, sliding my fingers behind her back to unclasp her bra. “I’ll keep you as long as you let me, lovely.” Her arms moved to her chest the minute her bra went flying over my shoulder. That vulnerability? There it was again. “And I want to see you, too.”

A groan was rumbling past my lips the second her arms went around my neck and she was bared to me. I thought her tits were a crime in that t-shirt, but I had no idea. They were full and pale, and delicious. I licked and sucked as if I was trying to consume her, and maybe I was.

“Say something,” she whispered, her fingers raking through my hair. “I want…I want to know what you’re thinking.”

I released her nipple with a satisfied groan, and then dropped kisses on each of her breasts before finding her eyes. “I’m thinking get me inside you right now.”

Our lips met as my fingers inched her panties over her hips. I could take her just like this, face-to-face while I tasted her hungry hums, and I’d want for nothing.

“You probably thought I’d be crazy in bed,” she said, her words muffled as she spoke against my neck. “Like, I don’t know, adventurous and kinky. Like, I keep nipple clamps in my back pocket and actually prefer wearing thongs, and I’m always down for anal. And it’s my fault, really. This whole night has been pretty wild, and I kissed you like a maniac and then everything on the boat, and it wouldn’t be wrong to think that tequila on my tits is an average Saturday morning but—”

“It only matters what you want,” I said, tipping up her chin. “Don’t worry about what I think, or what you think I’m thinking. Tell me what you want.”

Erin’s fingers clawed at my boxers, and together we got them over my hips and out of the way. Her panties were long gone and my cock was in love with the wet heat between her legs.

“Please don’t make it hurt,” she whispered.

I shook my head and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Never.”

 


About the Author

Kate Canterbary doesn’t have it all figured out, but this is what she knows for sure: spicy-ass salsa and tequila solve most problems, living on the ocean–Pacific or Atlantic–is the closest place to perfection, and writing smart, smutty stories is a better than any amount of chocolate. She started out reporting for an indie arts and entertainment newspaper back when people still read newspapers, and she has been writing and surreptitiously interviewing people–be careful sitting down next to her on an airplane–ever since. Kate lives on the water in New England with Mr. Canterbary and the Little Baby Canterbary, and when she isn’t writing sexy architects, she’s scheduling her days around the region’s best food trucks.

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