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Marissa<\/strong><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t want this life.<\/p>\n But sometimes you\u2019re forced to make the best of the crappy hand you\u2019ve been dealt. I wanted to teach my daughter that. No matter what happens you face your problems head-on.<\/p>\n Never cower. Never give up.<\/p>\n Then someone took her and I had to put my faith in a system that had failed me, and my hope in a man I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Mick<\/strong><\/p>\n Serve. Honor. Protect, are the only things I\u2019ve ever cared about until her case was dropped on my desk. As we searched for her missing daughter, the last woman I thought I\u2019d fall in love with became my reason for living.<\/p>\n Then the world came crashing down around us.<\/p>\n One secret would change everything, but I had one more hand to be dealt. And if I played my cards right, maybe, just maybe we\u2019d get our piece of heaven.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3.5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n I devoured the first book in this series, Hell and Back<\/a>, and couldn\u2019t wait to dive into Mick and Marissa\u2019s story – an against the odds romance that is sexy, intense and emotional.<\/p>\n Just be warned that the two storylines do overlap, and the first half of this book is pretty much a retelling of the events of Hell and Back \u2013 though from Mick\u2019s perspective and of course concentrating on his story. You can read this as a standalone, but just note that it will be spoilery for the first book, and if you plan on reading them both, start with book #1 first.<\/p>\n Mick is a hardass detective with few emotional connections other than his partner, Jackson, and his on-off lover, who just happens to be married to another man. He is dedicated to his job, though has a huge chip on his shoulder from his troubled upbringing, and he next expected his latest case to change everything.<\/p>\n Marissa is a single mother, and her 16 year old daughter is missing. Marissa has lived a hard life, but works hard to create a good life for herself and her daughter, teaching her that you need to face your problems and be responsible for your own happiness. Her world shattered when Lori disappeared, and now she has to put her faith in the detectives working Lori\u2019s case if she has any hope of getting her back.<\/p>\n Mick and Marissa\u2019s initial interactions aren\u2019t exactly friendly but they feel a pull to each other, and despite the difficulties of their pasts and their drama of their lives they can\u2019t stay away from each other and quickly find themselves feeling things that they never anticipated.<\/p>\n \u201cThis thing\u201d \u2013 I point between me and her \u2013 \u201cit\u2019s fucking happening. I\u2019m not fighting it anymore, and you aren\u2019t going to fight it either. We both deserve to be fucking happy.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It all happens very quickly for them, and I admit I wasn\u2019t feeling their relationship in those early stages, but as they grew closer and really started to let their feelings show, I was happily sucked into their blossoming romance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n They have a great relationship – open and honest, with no game playing. They like each other, they act on it and it\u2019s both swoony and super passionate (and a little bit dirty), and their heartfelt declarations are gorgeous!<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t make you promises till she comes home. Till I hold her in my arms again. I can\u2019t let you into my heart because it\u2019s shattered. It\u2019s in pieces and the longer I\u2019m without her, the harder it will be to put the pieces back together. Because you, Mick, you deserve my whole heart, and I can\u2019t give that to you yet.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cLet me be there for you, Marissa. Let me hold your hand, let me hold you, let me guard the pieces of your heart till she comes back. I\u2019ll take them, one piece at a time, until I have the whole thing.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n But just when Mick and Marissa think that things are starting to settle for them, there are twists, surprises and even more drama as the past refuses to let Mick go and a new danger threatens their new-found happiness.<\/p>\n This book took me surprise. I was expecting a heart-felt, emotional love story, and I definitely got that, but I wasn\u2019t expecting the direction that the second half of the book took. I like it when a book gives me something unexpected and I liked where this one was initially heading, but in this case I felt that the drama\/mystery got a bit overwhelming, it was all very coincidental and it wasn\u2019t really believable. There was enough going on in the story without dragging in even more twists and big reveals and I would have been happy without the additional \u2018excitement\u2019 because the love story and family drama is what carried the book for me. The love story (though fast-paced), is swoonily romantic and so freaking hot (Mick and Marissa are both dirty-talkers), and I love the intensity of them together.<\/p>\n \u201cFucking perfect, that\u2019s what you are, fucking perfect and fucking mine.\u201d I look into her eyes, hoping she sees all that I want to give. Hoping that she sees all of my own brokenness, wanting her to see my hope for us, willing her to see the love I want to give her.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n But I did enjoy this book. I love Mick and Marissa together, that we got to see so much of Jackson, Bella and little Lilah, and I love that there is another storyline hinted at – if that ever becomes a book, I will be all over that. It ends in a really good place and I love the epilogue set years into the future showing us Mick and Marissa’s HEA.<\/p>\n So yeah, a bit overwhelming in places, but still a good read \u2013 3.5 stars.<\/p>\n An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hell and Back (#1)<\/strong> Pieces of Heaven (#2)<\/strong> <\/p>\n Chapter Fourteen<\/strong> I stand back and watch Marissa do her thing. As soon as we got back to her place, she went straight into Lori\u2019s room. She walked around, inspecting things, checking to see if anything was out of place. I can see how much she hopes for this search to be different, for things to be out of place. Her shoulders droop in disappointment when she realizes that everything is exactly as it was the last time she checked. Watching that hope in her eyes quickly fade back to sorrow guts me. \u201cI\u2019m going to get her back to you.\u201d It\u2019s not like we haven\u2019t been trying, it\u2019s just been one dead end after another. One minute we think we have something, only for it to turn out to be nothing. She nods her head.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to change and then we can go,\u201d she says as she walks past me, leaving me in the room by myself. Walking the room once more, I notice that her clothes haven\u2019t been washed. She doesn\u2019t want to touch anything. I\u2019m about to sit on the bed and see if maybe there is something here that we\u2019ve missed when she walks into the room.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m ready,\u201d she tells me, and I take in her outfit. Gone is the skirt she wore to work, and in its place are tight blue jeans that mold to her body with a bulky sweater that gathers at her waist. The look is finished with a pair of black Chucks. Her hair is tied high on her head in a ponytail, and her makeup free face makes her look like she\u2019s a teenager herself.<\/p>\n \u201cCan I say something before we leave?\u201d I ask her, waiting for her nod. \u201cWe get out there, the minute I feel something isn\u2019t safe, I\u2019m stepping in. I don\u2019t want you to get all huffy and puffy. I need you to trust me, trust my instincts and my experience. I want to find something that leads us to Lori just as much as you do, but I\u2019ll do it without compromising your safety.\u201d The minute I say that, her head cocks to the side, and she crosses her arms over her chest. I don\u2019t give her a chance to give me attitude before I continue. \u201cYou get me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can take care of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have no doubt that you can, Marissa, but now you have me to help with that. So just give me this, yeah?\u201d The question hangs in the air for a couple of minutes before she finally gives in. I walk to her, grabbing her face in my hands. \u201cWe are going to get her back. I promise you.\u201d We walk out of her building, and I guide her to my car with a hand on her lower back as I take in our surroundings, making sure that no one is watching us. I hate that she lives here, but I know that she isn\u2019t going anywhere till Lori comes back. I don\u2019t even have to ask her to know that if Lori never came back, she would stay there her whole life waiting, just in case. But I make a mental note to discuss it with her when I bring Lori back.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere to first?\u201d I ask her while starting the car and merging into traffic.<\/p>\n \u201cI usually start at the soup kitchen down on 5th Street. If there aren\u2019t that many people there, I go to the homeless shelter down the street before doubling back to the soup kitchen. After that, I go to the alley behind the bodega on 7th Avenue\u2014\u201d \u201cAre you fucking telling me that you\u2019ve been down to pier warehouse next to the alley near the bodega? By yourself? AT NIGHT?\u201d The thought of her down there at night by herself sends chills down my spine. Homeless men, women, and junkies gather there, many of them getting drunk or high. It\u2019s fucking dangerous down there, even for me, and I\u2019m a fucking cop with a weapon and experience. I get that she\u2019s worried and feels like she has to do something, anything, to help bring her daughter home, but I am furious that she is so reckless with her safety. I need to take a few calming breaths so I don\u2019t lash out at her.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if one of them saw her? What if she was there? I have to do what I have to do. If you have an issue with this, maybe you should just drop me off so I can get what I need to do done.\u201d She continues, \u201cYou think this is the first time I\u2019ve done this? I\u2019ve been on these streets every day since she left. I don\u2019t have enough energy left in me to argue with you right now. So are you driving me or not?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t answer her. I\u2019m still deep breathing. Instead, I start making a list in my head. Change the lock on her front door, follow up on Lori\u2019s Facebook page, and investigate all of her friends, turn her ass pink before fucking her raw. My mind lingers on that last item on my to-do list. Thoughts of her lying across my lap, her ass in the air, pink from my hand, and her drenched pussy ready and waiting for me has my cock springing to life and throbbing in my pants.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, Mick, just spit it out. What\u2019s on your mind right now?\u201d she asks as she turns her body in her seat toward me.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly?\u201d I ask her, not sure she really wants to know. She glares at me, her eyes practically shooting daggers at me. \u201cI was thinking a couple of things. First, I need to change the lock on your door. It can be picked open easily with a spoon, that\u2019s how weak it is. Then I was thinking about digging deeper into Lori\u2019s Facebook friends. Finally, I was thinking about how pink I\u2019m going to turn your ass if you ever go back down there without me again.\u201d I pin her with my own glare before I turn my eyes back to the road.<\/p>\n \u201cTurn my ass pink?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTurn your ass pink. With you laid across my lap, I\u2019ll use my hand to turn that perfect little ass a pretty shade of pink.\u201d I stop at a red light and assess her. A second more and I would have missed the pink of her cheeks, the hitch of her breath, the way she pressed her legs together tight. \u201cRight before I fuck you,\u201d I say, and even I can hear the huskiness in my voice.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t had sex since Lori\u2019s dad left,\u201d she says without meeting my eyes. My mouth hangs open as she continues, \u201cWhich was a long, long time ago.\u201d I pull over into an empty parking lot, reach over to unbuckle her seat belt, and pull her into my lap. \u201cLook at me, Marissa, and hear what I\u2019m saying. I was a dick when I first met you.\u201d \u201cLori is my life. The reason I never dated was because I didn\u2019t want her to see a revolving door of men. I wanted her to know that love is special and something worth waiting for. Something that should be cherished if you\u2019ve been lucky enough to find it. But mostly I wanted her to know that she came first, always. She\u2019s my baby even though she\u2019s almost an adult. So I can only tell you that I will try, but I can\u2019t make you promises till she comes home. Till I hold her in my arms again. I can\u2019t let you into my heart because it\u2019s shattered. It\u2019s in pieces and the longer I\u2019m without her, the harder it will be to put the pieces back together. Because you, Mick, you deserve my whole heart, and I can\u2019t give that to you yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be there for you, Marissa. Let me hold your hand, let me hold you, let me guard the pieces of your heart till she comes back. I\u2019ll take them, one piece at a time, until I have the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t say anything else to me, just rests her cheek on my chest and nods. She pulls back and kisses me on the nose. \u201cCan we please go and see what we can find out about my girl?\u201d She climbs back into her seat and buckles her seat belt. \u201cChop chop! Let\u2019s go, Moro!\u201d<\/p>\n I let out a laugh, feeling lighter than I have in a long fucking time. I buckle my seat belt and put my car into drive, heading straight to the first stop on her list, hoping and praying that tonight is the night we get a lead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When her nose isn\u2019t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she\u2019s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It\u2019s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn\u2019t listen to her\u2026<\/p>\n Goodreads<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 <\/b>Twitter<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Facebook<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Instagram<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 <\/b>Amazon<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Readers Group <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Amazon\u00a0 |\u00a0 iBooks\u00a0 |\u00a0 Nook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Kobo Synopsis Marissa I didn\u2019t want this life. But sometimes you\u2019re forced to make the best of the crappy hand you\u2019ve been dealt. I wanted to teach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,9,29],"tags":[59,582,581,48],"class_list":["post-17556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-heaven-hell","tag-natasha-madison","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Pieces-of-Heaven.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-4za","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/p>\n
\nSynopsis<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nReview<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHeaven & Hell series<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nExcerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nMick<\/p>\n
\nLooking up at me with tears brimming in her eyes, she quietly says, \u201cShe hasn\u2019t come back yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI walk around, taking in all the little \u2018booby traps\u2019 that she set up. The scotch tape on the drawers, the picture frames with strings attached to them, all in the hopes that she\u2019ll come home and realize that Lori had been there. I can\u2019t even imagine what that constant level of worry and devastation would do to me. I never really thought that I would be the kind of man who cared so much about children, but Lilah changed that for me. She really is the perfect kid.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFine, I\u2019ll give you this,\u201d she says. \u201cBut you can\u2019t scare these people off. If you go into cop mode with them, they won\u2019t talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nShe nods her head as I lean down and kiss her lips. I was going for a soft kiss, but the minute she leans into me, my body takes over. One arm wraps around her waist as my mouth opens to tangle her tongue with mine. Our tongues dance together, both of us trying to get the upper hand over the other.
\nShe pulls back from me and breathlessly says, \u201cWe should go.\u201d She licks her lips before walking to her purse and pulling out two pictures along with her keys.
\n\u201cReady.\u201d I follow her out the door, watching as she locks it.<\/p>\n
\nThe second she says it, I lose my shit.<\/p>\n
\nI don\u2019t say anything because I hear a honk behind me. Looking up, I see that the light has changed to green.
\n\u201cJust so you know, if you thought that I slept around, I don\u2019t.\u201d The last part is whispered softly as she turns in her seat again to stare out the window.<\/p>\n
\nShe places her hands on my chest, her thumbs stroking it gently.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t take that back, but what I can promise is that I will always treat you with respect. I will treat you like a queen, my queen, because that is what you deserve. You deserve that and so much more.\u201d I kiss her on the tip of her nose. \u201cLet me in, Marissa,\u201d I ask her quietly, holding my breath as my heart pounds so loudly, I\u2019m certain she can hear it. \u201cLet me in, baby, so I can do all of that for you and more.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Pieces-of-Heaven-Teaser-4.jpg?resize=570%2C566&ssl=1\")
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\nAbout the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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