{"id":69206,"date":"2023-03-07T07:30:36","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T12:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=69206"},"modified":"2023-03-07T07:32:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T12:32:35","slug":"review-where-i-belong-alabama-summer-1-by-j-daniels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=69206","title":{"rendered":"Review: Where I Belong (Alabama Summer, #1) by J. Daniels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

The first book in the Alabama Summer<\/i> series, this book has been on my TBR for so long, and I\u2019m so glad I finally got to it! A sexy, swoony and intense, small-town, best-friend\u2019s-brother, enemies-to-lovers romance that sucked me in from the very beginning. I loved it.<\/p>\n

Mia is returning to Alabama to spend her summer with her childhood best friend. But before she arrives, she\u2019s determined to lose her pesky v-card, so she stops off at a bar on the way and has her world rocked by the hottest guy she\u2019s ever seen, with a filthy mouth, who treats her right all night long. It\u2019s just the start to her summer that she wanted. Now, she\u2019s finally reunited with her friend, Tessa, and settling into their beachside accommodation when her childhood nemesis appears \u2013 Tessa\u2019s brother, Ben. He tormented for years as a child, teasing her in ways that have left their mark on her even now as an adult. She was planning on avoiding him all summer, but wouldn\u2019t you know it \u2013 it turns out he\u2019s the mystery man from the bar who rocked her world.<\/p>\n

Ben is a small-town cop and devoted single dad with a lot on his plate, yet he can\u2019t stop thinking about the girl he spent one insane night with. He never thought he\u2019d see her again, and now here she is, right on his doorstep, and hating him with every fibre of her being. It\u2019s not the greatest of beginnings, but he wants more, he is completely smitten and knows that she is the one for him, and he\u2019s determined to win her over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just need her to see me as the guy I am now and not the shithead I used to be.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fun set-up. Mia is determined to hold on to her hate, and I loved watching Ben work so hard to prove to her that he\u2019s changed and that he\u2019s a good guy. I love a smitten hero, and Ben is completely open and honest about his feelings and that he wants more. He puts his heart on the line and holds nothing back from Mia, and I love that! His efforts to get through to Mia, and to nurture the instant connection between her and his adorable 3 year old son, is so sweet!<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what being around you does to me.\u201d I grab her hand and place it against my chest, my other hand reclaiming its spot on her hip.
\nHer eyes dart from my face to where her hand is, and I see her eyes react to the effect she has on me.
\n\u201cDo you feel that? That\u2019s what you do to me. Every fucking time I\u2019m near you.\u201d
\nI can hear her heavy breathing while her eyes stay glued to her hand. I don\u2019t say anything else. I just let her feel it.<\/i>
\nYou own this part of me. Take it.<\/p>\n

But under his nice guy persona, there is a filthy sex god, and when Mia finally gives in and they start to explore everything that has been building between them, these two are hot as hell, and the sexy time is seriously steamy! The strong emotional connection between them only makes it all the more intense, and I loved watching them fall so hard for each other in all the ways.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t imagine loving her any more than I do right now. But I know I will. Because every second I\u2019m with her, I fall harder.<\/i><\/p>\n

Is it realistic that they didn\u2019t recognise either other on their first meeting? Do people really change that much from 14 \u2013 23? Pfft, whatever, I was enjoying the story enough to just let that go. It\u2019s fast moving with lots of emotion, but I felt it all, and was right on board with the swoony romance. There is drama, but it\u2019s all external to the relationship, so it\u2019s just a matter of watching Mia and Ben deal with it all to get to their happy ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I belong. Wherever you are. Always.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

We get to meet a bunch of Mia and Ben\u2019s friends, and there\u2019s already a strong introduction to the next book, and I\u2019m looking forward to continuing on with the series.<\/p>\n

4 stars.<\/p>\n

A Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alabama Summer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Where I Belong (#1)<\/strong> (Ben & Mia)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

All I Want (#2)<\/strong> (Luke & Tessa)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

When I Fall (#3)<\/strong> (Reed & Beth)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Where We Belong (#4)<\/strong> (Ben & Mia Novella)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Need (#5)<\/strong> (CJ & Riley)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

So Much More (#5.5)<\/strong> (Halloween Novella)
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

All We Want (#6)<\/strong> (Luke & Tessa Novella)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

This Is Us (#7)<\/strong> (Series Epilogue)
\nTo be released summer 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audio Review 4 stars! The first book in the Alabama Summer series, this book has been on my TBR for so long, and I\u2019m so glad I finally got to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[443,86,9,1036,29],"tags":[1463,491,48],"class_list":["post-69206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brotherbest-friend","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-romance","category-single-parent","category-steamy","tag-alabama-summer","tag-j-daniels","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\/2023\/03\/Where-I-Belong.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-i0e","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69206","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=69206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/69204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}