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When Valerie Stephens made the resolution to say yes to new adventures, she never thought she\u2019d end up in the tiny town of Shambles, fake engaged to one of Ireland\u2019s top rugby players. But there\u2019s a first time for everything.<\/i><\/p>\n
They say bad things happen in threes.<\/p>\n
After my boyfriend broke off our engagement, I lost my apartment, and was laid off from my job, I can definitely attest to that.<\/p>\n
They also say life is what happens when you say yes to new adventures.<\/p>\n
So when my two sisters invited me to ring in the new year in Ireland, I decided to throw all caution to the wind and go for it. I was going to let \u201csaying yes\u201d be my new resolution.<\/p>\n
Little did I know I\u2019d spend New Year\u2019s Eve having a hot and dirty one-night stand with Padraig McCarthy, one hell of a sexy Irishman. I also didn\u2019t know that the brooding and intense sex god was one of Ireland\u2019s top rugby players.<\/p>\n
A rugby player with a proposition for me:<\/p>\n
Come with him to his tiny hometown of Shambles and pretend to be his fianc\u00e9 for a few days, just so that his ailing father can have some peace of mind.<\/p>\n
It sounded simple enough.<\/p>\n
It was anything but.<\/p>\n
Not when a town gets up in your business, not when the media hunts you down, not when your past comes back in the picture, not when there are real hearts and feelings at stake.<\/p>\n
Not when there are secrets that could break you.<\/p>\n
They say life is what happens when you say yes to new adventures.<\/p>\n
This is my life in Shambles.<\/p>\n
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Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loved it, loved it, loved it!<\/b><\/p>\n Damn, I love this cover. And wow, what a read! Karina Halle has delivered a beautifully swoony and emotional love story that is intense, passionate and so, so beautiful! Full of feels, this is not the fun, light romance that I was expecting, it\u2019s dramatic and heartfelt, and I fell in complete love with these characters and their story, and I love this book!<\/p>\n Valerie\u2019s life is imploding around her. Within the space of a week she lost her fianc\u00e9, her apartment and her job. Deciding to take an impulsive trip to Ireland with her sisters, she resolves to take the time to figure herself out, explore what she wants, and say \u2018yes\u2019 to new opportunities. Her new philosophy is put to the test when she meets the sexy but brooding Padraig.<\/p>\n Even though there\u2019s a wash of sadness that seems to pass over his dark eyes from time to time, whatever thing he was dealing with earlier seems to have been pushed aside. Maybe I\u2019m distracting him from his problems as much as he seems to be distracting me from mine. Padraig is an Irish rugby star who is currently on a break from the game due to injury. He is dealing with a lot and isn\u2019t in the best place emotionally, but when he meets Valerie in a bar, he feels a connection with her and they share an incredible night together talking, laughing and sharing, and yes, the attraction effortlessly leads them into the bedroom where their connection really becomes explosive!<\/p>\n It takes a moment to change someone. There\u2019s something so, so special about these two together. You can feel<\/i> it! They both recognise it, but they also recognise the difficult position that they are in with Valerie only being in town for a week. Padraig is due to return to his small home town of Shambles to spend time with his dying father, and when he raises the idea of Valerie coming with him \u2013 pretending to be his fianc\u00e9e to give his father the peace of knowing that he\u2019ll be happy and not alone \u2013 she follows her heart and agrees.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not done with her yet.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever be done with her. It\u2019s a great set-up for a romance, and as fantastic as the developing love story is, there is so much more substance to this story. Both Valerie and Padraig are going through a lot. Their vulnerabilities are heartbreaking, and the strength and support they show to each other is just beautiful. Valerie in particular really shines in this book as the girl struggling to find her place yet living her life to the fullest and embracing every opportunity, and I just loved her! She\u2019s smart, sweet and relatable, and her attitude about her situation and the way she is there for Padraig, throwing herself in whole-heartedly, is incredible.<\/p>\n Deep down, I know I\u2019m heading for a heartache so severe it might just destroy me once and for all. And oh, Padraig\u2026 *dreamy sigh*. Don\u2019t we all love a big, strong hero who is broody, vulnerable and tormented? And in addition to that bit of sexy goodness, he is totally swoony and such<\/i> a sweet guy! He\u2019s kind, caring and affectionate and he embraces his feelings for Valerie, not holding back from how much he wants her. And OMG, he is a sexual beast! The sexy time is absolutely steaming, and Padraig\u2019s dirty talk and dirtier moves are sizzling! But it\u2019s the unexpected emotion that he feels for her that melted my heart, and I just love him!<\/p>\n I\u2019m in love with her. Their love story unfolds in the seaside town of Shambles with a fabulous collection of side characters watching on. Padraig\u2019s family and friends bring so much to the book, and I loved the part they played. And watching Valerie embrace her new setting while she and Padraig explore everything happening between them was gorgeous. It\u2019s easy and natural and the chemistry is fantastic, and I fell in love right alongside them.<\/p>\n \u201cValerie,\u201d I whisper to her. \u201cTell me you love me. Tell me you love me, and I\u2019ll tell ye I love you more.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n But so much more than just the love story, there is personal drama in this book. Valerie and Padraig both have issues that they need to address, and I loved watching them find the courage and strength to do that. The character development is really well done and wonderful to see, and it makes this book even more special.<\/p>\n The emotion, the drama and the love story all combine to create a fantastic read, and I loved this one!<\/p>\n 4.5 stars!<\/p>\n An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The rest of the evening starts to pass by in a bit of a blur.<\/p>\n The food comes, and suddenly I\u2019ve never been so hungry in my life. I don\u2019t even pull any of that dainty eating nonsense, you know the type you do on a first date with someone, all tiny nibbles and delicate wiping of the mouth with a napkin. No, I fill my damn mouth with food, dumplings and spicy meats and rice. I eat with abandon, like there\u2019s no tomorrow.<\/p>\n Padraig does the same. It\u2019s freeing. It\u2019s funny. I keep making orgasm noises over it all and he keeps laughing, and we eat and eat, even feeding each other won tons at one point with shaky chopstick skills. Honestly, there\u2019s never been anything sexier.<\/p>\n When we\u2019re finally finished, we\u2019re both full, more drunk than before, and a little greasy. I try to pay the bill but he insists (although I don\u2019t even think they charged\u00a0 him for anything), and then as we leave the restaurant he grabs my hand.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not a small-boned girl, but with his hand over mine, I feel like I\u2019ve been reverted back to the hapless woman being led by an alpha caveman and I don\u2019t mind one bit. The fact that his palm is warm in this snowy weather with the skin-to-skin contact sends consistent shivers down my back.<\/p>\n We stroll down the streets and I almost slip a few times, my bad balance combined with the snow making for a dicey situation. But each time Padraig grabs me and keeps me upright, and I have to admit, it\u2019s kind of fun to be constantly falling into him. It\u2019s like having a wall of bricks for support, if that wall of bricks was shaped like a rugby god.<\/p>\n I have no idea where we\u2019re going. All I know is that it\u2019s not even midnight yet.<\/p>\n He takes me to a bar and then a club, both of which are packed to the doors and have crazy long lines, both of which we bypass with ease because he\u2019s Padraig McCarthy.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not one for dancing and Padraig doesn\u2019t strike me as the type either, but there\u2019s something about the deep bass beats in this place, and the free-flowing champagne, courtesy of the club, that has us falling into a rhythm together.<\/p>\n At first we\u2019re dancing apart but it\u2019s not long before the inches between us close.<\/p>\n The heat from his body and mine brews, and the electricity is flowing in sparks and jumps, moving to the erotic pulse of the music, mixed with the hope and\u00a0 edonism of the crowd on this once-a-year night.<\/p>\n His hips bridge the gap, his strong palms running down the sides of my waist, my hips slowly swaying then grinding against him. I feel his erection burning through his jeans, the width and length taking my breath again, making me blush in such a way that I\u2019m glad the lights are dim.<\/p>\n I\u2019m both a young girl, na\u00efve and inexperienced and shy as the very touch and proximity to him hurls me toward a sexual awakening, and at the same time I\u2019m an old soul who has found her equal in another, whose body wants to know this stranger intimately, who isn\u2019t scared at what\u2019s transpiring, but is hungry instead.<\/p>\n Both of these sides are at war inside me, dancing around each other like a caduceus, until I\u2019m dizzy with my feelings for him. This want, this yearning, this need for something new, something exciting and terrifying, it claws through me until I can\u2019t ignore it anymore.<\/p>\n I glance up at Padraig and see only his eyes. Those deep, dark haunting eyes that glimmer with the pulsating lights and yet radiate with something as wanting and wicked as the feelings inside of me.<\/p>\n His hands go to the back of my neck and the small of my back. My chin tips up. The rest of the world fades away and I know when it comes back into focus, everything will be different.<\/p>\n Everything will change.<\/p>\n It takes a moment to change someone.<\/p>\n Sometimes it just takes a kiss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.<\/p>\n Connect with Karina:<\/p>\n Facebook\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0\u00a0Amazon\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Website\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0\u00a0Join her Reader Group<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Stay up to date with Karina by signing up for her\u00a0newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n My Life in Shambles, a full-length contemporary standalone romance\u00a0by Karina Halle is now live! Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide Blurb When Valerie Stephens made the resolution to say yes to new adventures, she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1548,52,49,9,58,29],"tags":[59,38,48,76],"class_list":["post-42026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-age-gap","category-drama","category-feeeeeeels","category-romance","category-sports-star","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-karina-halle","tag-review","tag-standalone"],"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\/2019\/04\/My-Life-in-Shambles.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-aVQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42026","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=42026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nReview<\/b><\/h4>\n
\nIn fact, the last thing on my mind right now is my hot mess of a life. All I can think about is him.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nSometimes it just takes a kiss.
\nI know this before it happens.
\nAnd when he leans in and the space between us dissolves, and his lips, warm, soft and commanding, meet mine, I know that a simple kiss isn\u2019t so simple at all and nothing will be simple after that.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n<\/em>Why can\u2019t she stay here for good?
\n<\/em>Why can\u2019t this be real?<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nAnd yet, despite the fear, I\u2019m not going to push it away.
\nBecause how lucky would I be to fall in love with this man?
\nI don\u2019t think many people truly get to do that, even if it\u2019s all a lie in the end.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nI know that with every damaged inch of my being.
\n<\/i>I love her.
\nShe is the pulse of my heart.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nExcerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nMeet Karina<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of\u00a0The Pact<\/a>,\u00a0Love, in English<\/a>,\u00a0The Artists Trilogy<\/a>, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.<\/p>\nCheck out our\u00a0Karina Halle Author Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0for more awesome reads<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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