5 Smooches!
Synopsis
Red.
Red is everywhere.
Not just red, blood.
Blood is everywhere.
It is all over me.
Cassie Whitlock has relived that day countless times in her dreams for the past four years. It left more than just physical scars, it has caused her to close herself off to everyone. She no longer believes in love. Love only ends in pain.
That’s why when she meets Luca, she is surprised by the immediate and undeniable attraction between them. She doesn’t want complicated and she knows he’s about to make everything complicated. As their lives become more intertwined, it becomes harder to hide her secrets, and harder to resist him, but when she discovers he has secrets of his own, she begins to question everything. Cassie has to make a choice: hold on to the ghosts of her past or be brave enough to imagine a future.
Can be read as a standalone.
Intended for mature audiences, 18+
Review
I’m always really dubious about going into stories where both protagonists are harbouring secrets of some kind as my head likes to dive ahead of the game and conjure up ridiculous scenarios as to what it is they’re actually hiding. I was dubious but eager with Every Choice as I was whisked along on a plot of heavy emotions, past tragedies and incredible courage.
I found the first part of the book to be quite funny as Cassie, our stunning, confident vixen and Luca our sexy, arrogant alpha became embroiled in a war of sorts as their initial meeting at a college party didn’t go as planned. It felt fun and light and entertaining and more than once I had a wry grin on my face whilst reading it, but there was some undercurrent running through the dialogue or the scene that always left you with the impression that both Cassie and Luca were hiding slightly darker depths than their carefree and frivolous smiles demonstrated.
‘“I’m not going to have sex with you tonight.” I must have looked as shocked as I felt because his lip twitched. If he wasn’t going to fuck me, then what was I doing there? That’s what we did.
“I am going to take care of you. I am going to be with you. I am not going to talk to you, try to make you feel better, or feed you.”
“That’s not our agreement.”
“Fuck the agreement.”
Cassie is such a complex yet simple character; her secrets and survivor’s guilt are shrouded in a mask of indifference and promiscuity yet under it all she just wants peace, safety and love. Luca is like a mirror image of Cassie’s struggles, they have the same deep seated fears masked by one night stands, but their stories of tragedy are very different and usually I would need a dual point of view, giving me some insight to the hero’s conflicted thoughts or feelings but Samantha Rey has managed to do the unimaginable and written such a solid and well developed book that I never felt bereft of Luca’s inner workings, his interactions with Cassie and the steady character development of both the hero and heroine are more than enough to enthrall me and have me praying fervently for their happy ever after because if two people ever deserved to get it, it’s these two. With sexual tension that is off the charts, a chemistry and connection that goes beyond sex and a penchant for pushing each other to reveal their respective dark secrets, Cassie and Luca are an ultimate book couple.
Samantha has offered up a gem of a read; it’s a tornado of angst, comedy, adversity, survival, love and a lot of sex. Lots of sex. Like tons of sex. And it never got boring. If you’re searching for a sterling NA read with plenty of hot and sweaty moments and a mature and well written storyline then please pick up this book. It is book two of a series but can be read as a standalone so now I’m going to go get myself book one and hope it’s as amazing as this one.
~ Nicole
