His to Cherish by Stacey Lynn Publication Date: November 15^th, 2016 Genre: Contemporary Romance Publisher: Loveswept

Synopsis:

Can two hearts entwined by hardship move on to form a healthy bond? From the author of His to Love and His to Protect, this tender, bittersweet romance brings together a man who loses everything—and a woman with everything to give. Chelsea Dwyer arrives home from her job at the middle-school library in Latham Hills, Michigan, expecting another quiet evening—until she hears the screams for help through her living room window. As the first witness to a terrible accident involving two local students, Chelsea doesn’t anticipate how her own life will be irrevocably changed by the father of one of the boys. In the wake of tragedy, she’s the only one who seems to understand his grief. Chelsea’s a survivor, too—and she knows that there are brighter days ahead. As a single father, Aidan Deveraux worked his entire life to provide a stable home for his son, Derrick. Without him, Aidan feels the deepest despair imaginable. The one thing that keeps him going is his connection with the woman who tried to save his son. Hard as he tries, Aidan just can’t stay away. Chelsea’s warm embrace is the comforting solace he desperately craves—and it doesn’t hurt that Aidan had noticed the beautiful librarian and wanted to ask her out for years. Now that she’s in his life, he doesn’t ever want to let go.

Excerpt:

“Talk to me.” I opened my mouth to speak before snapping it closed. Anything I had to say would make me seem like an overemotional, crazy drunk woman. I wasn’t prepared for that kind of humiliation. Thankfully I hadn’t drunk enough to make my filter disappear. “I’m just tired,”I said to satisfy him. By his scowl, he didn’t believe me. His tongue slid along his bottom lip, and I inhaled a gasp of air. I needed it. Perhaps the alcohol caused my lungs to stop working correctly. His eyes darted back and forth between mine. I frowned, wondering what he was looking for and what he saw. Did he see the insecure girl who had to continually say goodbye to everyone she loved but tried like hell to hide the emptiness that brought? “You’re always there for me.” My nose twitched. “It’s not a problem.” He nodded slowly, just once. I watched something happen in his eyes and then looked down as he fidgeted on his feet, shifting his weight. He seemed nervous, which made no sense. His hand on my chin moved slowly to the back of my neck, cupping me and bringing me closer to him. He was a breath away from me, his face so close to mine, when he roughly whispered, “But I haven’t thanked you.” “It’s not necessary—” His lips hit mine. My eyes flew open and I gasped, opening my mouth. Instantly, his tongue pressed in, circling my tongue and tasting me. Oh . . . my . . . gosh. It was like heaven and hell wrapped up in the prettiest package I could ever receive. Better than a blue box with a silver ribbon from Tiffany. He tasted better than I thought he would—clean and crisp—and I leaned in, wanting more. No, I didn’t lean in. I melted. My tongue tangled with his and a moan escaped my throat. It was that sound that had both of us snapping back to reality. He pulled away and my mouth was still open, my brain working too slowly to process what just happened, how absolutely incredible it felt . . . and the look of regret all over his face. “Shit.”Aidan’s fingers dropped from my neck and I stood on my front porch completely dumbfounded as both of his hands flew to his neck, clasping at the back. He looked up at the sky and gritted out, “Fuck.” “Aidan,”I said, reaching out for him. He dodged my touch and spun on his heels. “I gotta go.”

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Purchase Links:

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Check out the other books in the series: Each can be read as a standalone

His to Protect, Book 2:

Amazon US Amazon UK iBooks Nook Kobo Google Play Books A Million

His to Love, Book 1:

Amazon US Amazon UK iBooks Nook Kobo Google Play Books A Million

Review by: Tatia

Gah! This book was so amazing. I was not expecting that Prologue though. While it rips your heart out and stomps on it, it sets the scene for the rest of the book. A story about the fight to heal after loss and the every day struggle that many face. Stacey Lynn gives us a story that I found myself lost in.

Aidan is lost. After suffering a horrible loss, he's finding every day to be a struggle. Between the silence and the vultures, he just wants to go somewhere away from the memories.
Chelsea can't unsee the things that happened. They haunt her every time she closes her eyes. When Aidan starts showing up at her house, she goes along with it figuring he just needs an escape. She's happy to help any way she can. When the romantic feelings start to show their face, she has to question whether or not they're real or if it's just because they're tied together by the loss.

This is the kind of story that I love. While the basis of the story was centered around a mutual loss, it didn't drag down the story. There were many stages of grieving that we see them go through; the immediate loss, sadness, anger, denial, and eventually we get to acceptance. The way it was told was beautiful. After reading the epilogue, I sat there and found tears forming in my eyes. To see everything come full circle had me releasing a big sigh, and with a smile on my face, knowing that everything was as it should be.

4.5 Stars

About the Author

Stacey Lynn currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and four children. When she’s not conquering mountains of laundry and fighting a war against dust bunnies and cracker crumbs, you can find her playing with her children, curled up on the couch with a good book, or on the boat with her family enjoying Minnesota’s beautiful, yet too short, summer.

She lives off her daily pot of coffee, can only write with a bowlful of Skittles nearby, and has been in love with romance novels since before she could drive herself to the library.