From New York Times Bestselling author Corinne Michaels, comes EVERMORE, a new novella in her Salvation Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Be sure to grab your copy today!
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Blurb
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Corinne Michaels comes a new story in her Salvation series…
I was poised to become partner at my law firm even before I became secretly engaged to my boss. After being humiliated by him on my wedding day, I can’t face working for him any longer. So I quit, waving my middle finger on my way out.
Now the only things I’m poised for are unemployment and loneliness.
When an opportunity with Cole Security arises, it seems like the perfect way to run, all the way to Virginia Beach. I wasn’t expecting my childhood sweetheart to be there. I definitely wasn’t prepared that when we saw each other again, Benjamin Pryce would be so grown-up. So gorgeous. So Navy SEAL-ish.
And still the same guy who broke my heart when I was fifteen–and could do it again.
They say if you’re fooled once, shame on them. The second time, it’s on you. The third time, it’s going to be me that runs… unless he can convince me to stay forevermore.
Review
4 short, sweet and swoony stars
With this novella, Corinne Michaels takes us back to the Salvation series, and I have been so freaking excited to get back into this world! A bunch of ex-military alpha badasses, their strong heroines, and sexy, swoony romance – I am all over that! This book is a standalone and can be read independently of the rest of the series, but if you’re a fan you’ll love checking in with this fantastic bunch again!
This book features Gretchen – feisty best friend of Catherine from Beloved/Beholden. She has just been left at the altar, ending a relationship which wasn’t really a relationship, and leaving her more angry than broken hearted. She’s also lost her job given that the man who jilted her was her boss, and of course she wants nothing more to do with him. So, in steps Jackson Cole of Cole Security, who offers Gretchen a job with his firm, and she jumps at the chance to get a fresh start down in Virginia Beach.
What she didn’t expect was to find herself working closely with Ben Pryce – her childhood friend and first crush. Gretchen and Ben were close friends on the cusp of something more but they were left broken hearted when his family moved him away, and though it’s been years since they’ve seen each other, it’s clear that their attraction to each other still flares strongly, sparking a sensationally sweet and swoony second-chance-romance.
“You should’ve been given flowers all the time. He should’ve been running to the church to marry you. Not a single minute with you should’ve been taken for granted. There is nothing unworthy about you, babe. Not a single fucking thing. You should’ve been worshiped, adored, and revered.”
My heart pounds so hard in my chest. “And would you have done that?”
His mouth slowly moves toward me. “I would do everything for you.”
Oh Ben…. *dreamy sigh*. What a huge pile of swoon this man is! He’s had a difficult life, and he’s lost a lot and is still dealing trauma from his deployment, but he sees his time with Gretchen for what it is – a chance to get the girl he always wanted.
“I want you. I want to love you. I want you to give us a chance and I want you to let me.”
But in order to be together, they both have to work out what it is they want from a relationship and what path they want their lives to take. They’ve both been hurt and they have some things to work through, but for the most part it’s a relatively painless journey for them as they figure it all out.
“Each time you kiss me, I think about how many years I’ve wasted on anyone but you.”
This is a really quick read. The story moves quickly and it felt a bit rushed, but it’s a novella and that often comes with the territory. I think these characters and their story could have easily been a full length novel with a bit more fleshing out, and there’s more details I would have liked to have seen, but for the short story that it is, it’s beautifully sweet and swoony with a little bit of drama and minimal angst and a fantastic happy ending.
Most of the Salvation crew make an appearance and I LOVED catching up with the characters from the earlier books. And with glimpses of things happening between Quinn and Ashton I’m so freaking excited for their book to come later this year.
Such a cute read. 4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Check out more details on the Salvation series here!
Excerpt
“What do you mean you’re not coming?” I scream into the receiver at my what-should-be husband.
“I can’t marry you,” Harold tells me.
My eyes fill with angry tears. “You decided this now?” I shriek.
It’s my wedding day.
Well, it was supposed to be. Harold—which is the worst name in existence when you’re in the throes of passion—apparently has decided it won’t be.
An hour late, I might add. I’m here, at the church, in my nine-thousand-dollar wedding dress that I saved for. Without a groom.
I’m going to kill him.
My voice drops eerily soft. “Whatever the hell the issue is, we can deal with it tomorrow, Harold. You can’t do this to me. You get your ass to this church and you marry me.”
He sighs. “I can’t do it. I can’t, Gretchen. I had an epiphany last night.”
An epiphany? How rich. “Was it that you’re a dickhead who was going to destroy the woman who stood by you the last seven-fucking-years?”
“I’m saving you.”
Now I’ve heard it all. “Saving me, my ass!” I scream. “You will not do this to me. You won’t make me a jilted bride! I won’t let you.” My two best friends, Catherine and Ashton, share a look as they stand in their rose gold colored bridesmaids dresses.
Harold goes silent and then I hear someone in the back. “It’s for the better. We never should’ve done this. You’re my associate at the firm and if we do this, it will destroy both of our careers.”
A tear falls down. I’m so angry. I’m so betrayed by him. Seven years we’ve been sneaking around. I was his “Secret Slut” as I called myself. At first it was exciting. The sneaking around, late-night office romps, the little touches we’d share knowing that later we wouldn’t have to slow down.
Then it became impossible. I wanted to go to him when a case went bad, but I couldn’t because he was my boss. Gossip in the office became much more than harmless chatter, so we pulled back even more.
Finally, two months ago, he’d had enough of me complaining and threatening to end things. He proposed and said he wanted to marry me immediately. That if we were married, I could take equal part in the firm and finally stop having to hide our relationship.
My chest rises and falls because now, there’s no going back. People know. People are here to witness this, and now I’ll be the “left-at-the-alter lawyer.”
About the Author
Corinne Michaels is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of The Salvation Series (Beloved, Beholden, Consolation, Conviction & Defenseless), Say You’ll Stay, Say You Want Me, and Say I’m Yours. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha heroes are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
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