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Blurb:

A night of passion. A raging fire. A home destroyed. The sun returned and Joey and Marti felt they had turned a corner in their relationship. Only when they turned that corner, they ran right into the insurance adjustor, Finn. She wasn't just any woman, though. She was the one woman Joey always believed he’d spend the rest of his life with, but they couldn’t make it work. Soon it was obvious that she didn’t just want to adjust the value of the house, but remind Joey of the value of their relationship, and adjust his attitude about the future. Suddenly, Joey struggles to choose between two women…one who has never and would never hurt him and one that his heart can’t let go despite the hurt. He’s not the only one with a choice to make. Never again will Marti allow anyone to make her question her own worth. A tempest brews. A man is torn. A woman refuses to wait.

Excerpts:

#1 The pain was real. His chest felt ready to explode. He had to find Marti. She could make it better. Even if she made him pay, made him grovel, it was better than staying with Finn. He drove as fast as he dared toward New Hope. It normally took half an hour, but he figured he could make it in twenty minutes tonight. When he reached town, he drove directly to Marti’s house. Joey didn’t even have to pull in to see she wasn’t there. No van, no Marti. It only took him a moment to problem solve. She had to be at Hope House. After doing an illegal u-turn in the street, he drove like a man possessed. Just as he expected, her rental was in the parking lot. She and Keely must be having dinner together. Parking the truck, he hopped out, locked it, and headed to the steps, holding his chest the whole time. The pain had grown even more intense. It had to be a heart attack. There was no way he would ever survive this. At least he would get to see her one more time before he died. Finally, he reached the front door and shoved it open. Then he stumbled in. Keely and Marti had heard him from the kitchen and wandered out. They both wore alarmed looks on their faces when they saw him leaning against the wall in the dining room. “It’s just me,” he managed through the pain. “I see that.” Keely was the first to respond while wiping her hands on her apron. Yet it was Marti who realized something was wrong. “Where do you hurt?” she asked, rushing toward him, her brow furrowed with concern. “My heart.” Joey slumped where he stood. #2 <Joey> The name calling. The insults. The condescending attitudes. This had certainly escalated quickly. One moment he was walking out of Marti's house, only to find Finn ascending the porch, the next, Marti returned and all hell was threatening to break loose. The tension was so palpable, it could probably be cut with the proverbial knife. Now it seemed Finn was aching for a throw down and Marti was promising to call the police. As much as he hated to burst her bubble, Joey leaned over and murmured in Marti’s ear, “We don’t have police here.” “Are you fucking kidding me?” she shrieked. “What kind of town is this? No apartments, no hotels, no fast food.” She seemed ready to tally up all of New Hope’s shortcomings in one angry rant. “A small safe one?” he offered up with a shrug. Then he gave her his smile, the one no woman had ever been able to resist. Joey wanted nothing more than for Finn to leave and for Marti to calm down. He planned to start a fire. He had built Marti her very own fire pit while she was gone. It wasn’t fancy just a bunch of stones he had found laying in the yard, but he figured they might actually be able to enjoy a fire tonight since Miss Gracie lived all the way on the other side of the street. He was aching to show it to her, eager to right things between them once more. “Don’t you even try that on me, Joey Masters,” Marti grumbled. “I’m furious at the moment!” She turned and took a few steps closer to the house. “How about now?” he asked in one final desperate effort to break the tension. All she did was stop, face him a moment, and glare back at him. “Too soon?” “Yup.” Then she marched to the back door, and seconds later it slammed behind her. #3 Keely was right. By the time they had eaten until they were about to split wide open, he felt much better. Once again, he was filled with hope. Stretching, he glanced at the clock. He had been gone for several hours. It was getting close to bedtime. “I hate to eat and run,” Joey began apologetically. “It’s late,” Keely admitted. “Ready to face her?” Nodding shyly he sighed. “I’m going to do this. Everything is going to work out just fine.” “That’s the right mindset,” she cheered as she walked him back out to the door. “Go fix things. Sleep well, doll baby.” Skipping down the steps, Joey felt lighter, despite the heaviness in his gut. Hopping in his truck, he drove home with a smile on his face. As he pulled into the driveway and threw the transmission into park, he noticed Marti was sitting on the couch with her back to the window. Maybe she was waiting up for him. Turning off the ignition, he smiled while he reached for the door handle. Then when she shifted out of view, he noticed Brantly was sitting on the couch with her. Instantly, he froze. They seemed to be engrossed in conversation. Joey decided to wait a minute to see what was going to happen. If Brantly would just go to bed, he could go inside and talk to Marti. So he sat in the cold truck. Twenty minutes passed. His eyelids were growing heavy, but not nearly as heavy as his heart. Finally, he gave up. He would sleep here. If Marti ever looked out tonight, she’d see him. Worse case scenario, in the morning, she’d find him. Either way, she’d know he hadn’t gone and done something stupid. Grabbing a sweat shirt from the back seat, he wadded it up against the window and settled in to fall asleep.

Playlist for Tempest Torn

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Haven't read Stormy Surrender, Book One of the New Hope Series? Don't worry! It's currently on sale for 99 Pennies.

Nicole lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and youngest daughter, Kenna, who as fourth smallest surviving preemie in the world, is far more famous than her mother. Previously, Nicole has been published by McClatchy News in their syndicated papers. In 2010, she joined the Yahoo! Mother Board, became a Shine Parenting Guru, and has become an award winning dating and relationships expert for Shine. You can follow her blogs, The Dreamers Do Project or Made Simple Life. Most recently she has been working with Love Kissed Books, who published the New Hope Series. For fun, she loves to spend quality time with her family, entertain, read, write, and travel, mostly involving beaches and centered around her travel goal of visiting every Margaritaville. Three down, ten to go!

Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy from Author
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Part 2 in an ongoing series

My Tempest Torn Review...

So it has been a couple of years since I read the first book Stormy Surrender but I have thought about that cliffhanger a lot so I was super excited to finally find out what happens to this couple. The sad part is I think it was too long in between which left me forgetting a lot of details from the first book. I recommend re-reading the first book so you are fresh of mind with Joey and Marti.

In the first book I remember Joey being hurt which made him a dick at times but still a strong character. This time around at times he came across more daft and weak which is never a plus for me with the males of books. The first book in the end Joey is finally moving on from his past Finn to the new relationship of Marti, until a fire and a new insurance agent make an appearance. The insurance agent also happened to be Finn .... Yikes!

For years I was wondering who Joey will pick, and when given the choice he makes a terrible error to only realize what he could have had instead. Marti has been hurt enough and is WAY to forgiving for my tastes. Now that Joey knows who he wants he has to do everything that he can to get her back but with a new potential suitor for Marti's attention he doesn't know what to do.

I liked the idea of this story but crikey but a fork in my eye. I have to admit the storyline tension of assumptions and miscommunications is over done and drives me bat shit crazy. There were some fun characters and elements in this book but Marti and Joey didn't fully jive for me this time around. But since I'm a fan of Nicole's I will continue till the end to see how this story all plays out.

2.5 to 3 So So thumbs up!