Tender Heart by Alexandra Banks is live!
A beautifully emotional and unexpected grumpy/sunshine, close proximity, age-gap love story for two people who have been broken by their pasts. This is such a gorgeous romance, and I really enjoyed this book!
Amazon
Blurb
Callum McCreary has spent two decades in self-imposed exile, keeping watch over the weather-beaten lighthouse his father once tended to on a remote island off the coast. The only tether to his past is his sister Iris, who runs the cozy café on the mainland–and the only person left who hasn’t given up on him. After a devastating loss and a town that turned its back on him, Callum shut the door on love for good.
Now, the lighthouse that has sheltered him is falling apart–and with it, the fragile life he’s built. Unless it’s restored, it will be shut down for good. But the local Restoration Society couldn’t care less.
Evie Holland hasn’t written a word of her long-awaited fantasy novel since the accident that shattered her life five years ago. With her career hanging by a thread, her editor gives her a final ultimatum: finish the book in nine months–or it’s over. Her escape? A residency far from the noise, pressure, and haunting reminders of the man who’s stalked her with cryptic messages and dead Monarch butterflies for years.
Evie can’t see past her own desperation–but something about the lighthouse, the island, and the broken man who lives there just might change her mind.
Review
4 stars
A beautifully emotional and unexpected grumpy/sunshine, close proximity, age-gap love story for two people who have been broken by their pasts and who have pretty much given up on finding happiness. This is such a gorgeous romance from a new-to-me author, and I really enjoyed this book!
Five years after a devastating loss, romantasy author, Evie hasn’t written a word and is at risk of losing her publishing deal. In a final desperate move, her editor sends her to a small coastal town to get away from it all and get her book finished, and she finds herself holed up in a lighthouse on a remote island. Trying to be positive, she sees it as the chance to escape that she needs, and it comes with the bonus of getting her away from a creepy stalker who has been sending her threatening letters.
Callum is the reclusive lighthouse keeper who is furious when his lighthouse home is rented out from under him. It’s been his only solace since he lost everything and he became a pariah in his home town. But he needs every penny he can get to keep his lighthouse going, so he unwillingly accepts his unwelcome intruder, making it known from the very start just how very unwelcome she is, and he plans to have absolutely nothing to do with her while she’s on his island.
It’s not the best of starts for these two and Callum is an antisocial a-hole to Evie, but slowly and surely things start to change. There is an 18 year age gape between them (Callum is 43, Evie is 25), but they get to know each other, they share their pasts, and two people who are so shattered by grief and lost love begin to open up to each other in ways they never expected. It’s a slow burn that is full of passion, and I loved watching them come together.
You can feel the connection between these two. Callum may be a broody recluse, but he’s got a sweet protective streak, and like all beloved grumpy heroes, when he falls – he falls hard! The chemistry is wild, and the sexy time is frequent and intense (with a healthy dose of dirty talk). But this book is all about the emotion, and I was absolutely feeling it! Their pain is so visceral, which makes the tender and joyful moments between them just that more amazing, and I loved seeing their walls come down as they fall so hard for each other.
I was born to love you, woman. I could spend the rest of my days like this.
But they both know their time together is limited, and Callum insists that he is in no way ready for a real relationship, bringing angst and drama as they wrestle with their situation and all that they’re feeling.
Evie’s stalker also brings added drama, though honestly, I didn’t really care too much for that part of the story, I was too swept up in the romance.
The book ends on a wicked cliffhanger, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.
4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.
Fire Island
Tender Hearts (#1) (Cal & Evie)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Fire Heart (#2) (Cal & Evie)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Untitled (#3) (Emmett & Iris)
To be released 14 November
Pre-order: Amazon
Meet Alexandra Banks
Alexandra Banks is a romantic at heart, and an optimist down to her very bones. Her love for everything romance sees her writing HEAs all day long. But don’t be fooled, there will be angst along the way, possibly heartbreak. But always a happy ending.
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