THE ONE REAL THING by
Samantha Young
About the book:
Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside
escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the
meaning of a love that lasts…
While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.
Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.
Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for…
Buy links:
About the author: Samantha Young is
the New York Times and USA Today bestselling
author of the On Dublin Street series, including Moonlight on
Nightingale Way, Echoes of Scotland Street, and Fall
from India Place, as well as the standalone novel Hero. She
resides in Scotland.
BUY: Amazon Barnes
and Noble iBooks BAM Kobo
Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Penguin
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Part1 in a new series
My The One Real Thing Review . . .
I was in a bit of a reading funk and I thought what better way to get out of it then by reading a Samantha Young book. It's been awhile since I last read one of her books and she definitely didn't disappoint with this story.
Jessica Huntington is a bit of an enigma. She comes across as super strong but you also know she's hiding something. As she randomly comes across old love letters she wants to make a wrong right. So when she gets the chance she heads to Hartwell, Delaware. At first she thought she would have one little task to do plus have a mini holiday. What she didn't expect was her whole world to change.
Cooper Lawson is now a one and done type of guy after being burned the worst way with his wife sleeping with his nos ex best friend. He has sworn off relationships but something about Jessica quickly changes his mind.
Jessica's quickly enveloped by all the great people of Hart's boardwalk. Once a loner Jessica is quickly finding out what friendship and love can look like.
Jessica and Cooper happens quite quick and I loved that fact as it skipped a lot of unneeded angst. I also have to admit that I absolutely adored all things Cooper Lawson.
The banter between everyone was great and I loved the way these new friends started to change Jessica for the better.
I know we all have insecurities but too often when reading about them with heroines they sometimes come across more annoying then genuine. Jessica totally had her shit together but her insecurities in regards to Cooper's ex got a bit annoying especially with the way he handled his ex, which gave no impression that she's a threat what so ever. How she ignored what Cooper was saying or acting blew me away since she at first didn't seem the type to let those trivial things get to her but, hey we all have our own flaws. So each its own.
I have to admit that martyrs also don't win me over and after the above quote which, at this point in the book was at 82%, so I was hoping her secret had better be worth it for her not to unburden herself so drastically.
Besides the annoying insecurities and the drawn out secret I did quite like this book. It had suspense, love, friendship, hope and second chances and I will admit that when we finally get the secret it was worth it and was also quite surprising as I didn't see it coming.
I love the people of Hartwell and I'm totally hooked on the people of this small town. I can not wait for Vaughn & Bailey's story next and what is to come from these people of Hartwell.
4 Cooper Lawson Loving Thumbs up!
Jessica Huntington is a bit of an enigma. She comes across as super strong but you also know she's hiding something. As she randomly comes across old love letters she wants to make a wrong right. So when she gets the chance she heads to Hartwell, Delaware. At first she thought she would have one little task to do plus have a mini holiday. What she didn't expect was her whole world to change.
Cooper Lawson is now a one and done type of guy after being burned the worst way with his wife sleeping with his nos ex best friend. He has sworn off relationships but something about Jessica quickly changes his mind.
Jessica's quickly enveloped by all the great people of Hart's boardwalk. Once a loner Jessica is quickly finding out what friendship and love can look like.
"Okay. Who is your favorite author?" She wrinkled her nose and I saw a glimmer of a smile on her lips. "That's like asking which I prefer: oxygen or food."
Jessica and Cooper happens quite quick and I loved that fact as it skipped a lot of unneeded angst. I also have to admit that I absolutely adored all things Cooper Lawson.
"I don't need to shoulder all the financial responsibilities of our day together to feel like a man, Doc. I buy tickets, you buy the food, seems like a fair trade. I like that you offered. Hasn't happened to me a lot."
The banter between everyone was great and I loved the way these new friends started to change Jessica for the better.
"I will be sure to tell her that a gallant knight won it for me to give to her." He snorted. "Glad you're keeping it real with her, Doc."While Jessica is on a new journey to find her true happiness, her and Cooper heat things up.
"I'm in this for the long haul, Doc. I was before you walked into my bar tonight, but now, after the best fucking sex of my life, after how wild that was, there's no way I'm letting you walk out of her without me."
I know we all have insecurities but too often when reading about them with heroines they sometimes come across more annoying then genuine. Jessica totally had her shit together but her insecurities in regards to Cooper's ex got a bit annoying especially with the way he handled his ex, which gave no impression that she's a threat what so ever. How she ignored what Cooper was saying or acting blew me away since she at first didn't seem the type to let those trivial things get to her but, hey we all have our own flaws. So each its own.
I couldn't physically or emotionally bring myself to tell him the truth. I'd never been able to unburden myself with anyone.
I have to admit that martyrs also don't win me over and after the above quote which, at this point in the book was at 82%, so I was hoping her secret had better be worth it for her not to unburden herself so drastically.
"It's for his own good," . . . . " How dare you decide that for him."Thank goodness others were able to get Jessica's head out of her martyr ass otherwise I may have started to dislike the book.
"He told me you're hiding something, something you're obviously ashamed of. But you know what you should really be ashamed of? How much of a coward you are right now. And how little you've actually gotten to know my brother . . . because if you knew him, you'd have a lot more faith in him than you do."
Will Cooper knowing the truth about you be any worse than how you already feel?
Besides the annoying insecurities and the drawn out secret I did quite like this book. It had suspense, love, friendship, hope and second chances and I will admit that when we finally get the secret it was worth it and was also quite surprising as I didn't see it coming.
I love the people of Hartwell and I'm totally hooked on the people of this small town. I can not wait for Vaughn & Bailey's story next and what is to come from these people of Hartwell.
4 Cooper Lawson Loving Thumbs up!
Lauren
THE ONE REAL THING by Samantha Young
Blog Tour Excerpt
Why did it feel like having sex had complicated things so
much? Usually sex was complication-free for me.
But before that night I’d been completely sure that Cooper
was interested in exploring something more with me, and now I was freaking out
that his interest would wane now that he’d had me.
I shook my head slowly. “No. It was good.”
He scowled, his arms tightening around me so much there
wasn’t an inch of space between us. “It was better than fucking good, Jessica.”
I scowled back and pushed at his chest for some breathing
space. “Well, I’m sure you’d know all about that.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You use the word ‘fuck’ a lot.”
“It’s a good fucking word.”
I was tempted to laugh at how disgruntled he sounded and he
seemed to catch my amusement because his hold on me eased.
“What’s going on in your head, Jess?”
I thought about evading this conversation. I’d never had to
have an adult, open conversation with a man about sex. However, I realized,
somewhat reluctantly, if I wanted something more with Cooper Lawson I was going
to have to give him more than I was used to giving.
I couldn’t change his past, but I could figure out what it
was he wanted in the future by just being honest and asking the question.
“You still want something with me, right? This”—I gestured
behind me to the table—“it wasn’t just about sex.”
“No,” he said. “It’s not just about sex.”
As I heaved a sigh of relief, he let go of my waist to cup
my face in his hands, dipping his head down to mine so our noses almost
touched. He stared deep into my eyes and I shivered. I felt like he was trying
to see right into my soul.
“I’m in this for the long haul, Doc. I was before you
walked into my bar tonight, but now, after the best fucking sex of my life,
after how wild that was, there’s no way I’m letting you walk out of here
without me.”
And there he went doing it again.
His words resonated deep within me along with giving me
that deep, sexual belly flip of arousal.
My fingers curled into the top of his biceps. “Best sex of
my life, too,” I murmured. “It stunned me a little. Confused
me . . . I thought maybe . . .
you . . . this was old hat for you . . .”
He gave me a crooked grin. “You think I make a habit of
fucking women in my bar.”
“You could,” I said. “You are definitely a man who could
pull that off.”
Cooper threw his head back in laughter and I pressed my
body deeper into his to feel his joy.
And then he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me.
Just as I’d suspected, he was a really good hugger.
When he pulled back he was smiling gently at me. “You’re
the only woman I’ve had in my bar.” He let me go only to take my hand in his.
“No one sits at that table anymore.” He gestured to the scene of the best sex
we’d both ever had. “It’s now a shrine.”
“You can’t do that!” I was mortified at the possibility of
people finding out why there was a table in Cooper Lawson’s bar that no one was
allowed to sit at.
“I can. It’s my bar. I think I’ll even carve ‘Coop and Doc
were here’ on it.”
Finally getting that he was joking, I made a face. “Funny.”
“You’re slow on the uptake tonight,” he teased.
“My brain was just frazzled by the orgasm to beat all
orgasms.”
He squeezed my hand. “You up for more brain frazzling?”
I shivered at the thought. “Definitely.”
His eyes darkened. “Let’s go back to my place.”
Exhilarated by the prospect, I followed him, and it wasn’t
until we’d stepped outside the bar into the cool night air that I said, “I
don’t suppose you know where my panties are?”
“I do, actually.” He led me to the back of his bar to the
parking lot. A dark-colored GMC was the only truck there.
“Um . . . could I have them, please?”
He stopped me at the passenger side of the truck, pressing
me up against the car. “Why?” he whispered against my lips before he kissed me
deeply. He came up for air a few seconds later. “You’re not going to need them
where we’re going.”
The nagging pressure between my legs increased. “You are so
very, very good at stringing the exact right words together.”
He kissed me again.
“You’re just good with your mouth in general,” I murmured.
Cooper grinned and brushed his lips over mine. “In the
truck, Doc.”
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