Reclaim, an all-new intense and heart-wrenching romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is available now!
Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.
My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father.
My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate.
Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.
It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged.
A friend who was always waiting for me.
A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.
He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.
Choices. Everyone makes them.
But mine would ruin us all.
Add Reclaim to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3mysHDA
Excerpt
He wedged his large body beside me in the bed. On his side, he draped one arm across my middle, curling his other under his head.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye, completely unsure if I was supposed to cuddle into him or what the hell we were doing.
“This okay?” he asked. “You comfortable?”
I was a lot of things. Confused. Lost. Overwhelmed by guilt.
But because it was Camden, comfortable was one of those things too.
As an answer, I rolled toward him and buried my face in his broad chest.
His whole body sagged as he began stroking the back of my hair. “Nora. Nora. Nora.”
In a way, Camden and I were strangers, but as his heart played in my ear, I felt two puzzle pieces clicking into place. A calm washed over me. The dark cloud of my betrayals still existed outside of Camden’s embrace; it just didn’t seem so ominous anymore. He knew all the dirty and broken parts of me and still came back, holding me as though he could keep me together.
Sliding an arm around his back, I curled in close, shifting to tangle my legs with his. “I’m tired, Cam.”
“I know,” he whispered, hugging me tight.
“No, you don’t. Nobody understands. I’m a disease who infects everyone who gets close to me.” My breathing shuddered. “It hurts. Everything hurts.”
“Do you remember our first summer together when a grasshopper got into the container where we held the extra worms? You screamed so loud when you opened that thing and it came flying out like a bat out of hell. It got on your shirt and then hung on for dear life. With all the racket you were making, the damn thing had to have been terrified, but he never jumped off. I had to peel it off your shirt, one leg at a time.”
I gagged at the memory. “Thanks for reminding me of that. Awesome timing.”
He chuckled and pressed his lips to the top of my head. “I’m the grasshopper clinging to your shirt, Nora.”
Now, if that wasn’t some good old classic Camden Cole rambling, I had no idea what was.
I tilted my head back, resting my chin on his pec, and peered up at him. “You do realize I have no idea what you’re talking about, right?”
My cold, hollow chest filled with a warmth I hadn’t felt in years when he grinned down at me.
“I genuinely thought you’d find your way back to me. A phone call. A visit. Anything. But as time passed and I got older, I realized I fell in love with a girl who had no idea how to be loved.”
My stomach wrenched, and emotion made my vision swim. “Camden, I—”
“No, just let me talk. Hear me out.” He tucked a stray hair behind my ear and let his thumb linger at my cheek, sweeping back and forth. “I know you love me, Nora. It’s flashed in your eyes every time you’ve seen me since we were kids. It’s like every light in the house suddenly comes on, but it terrifies you, so you spend the whole time we’re together running around, turning them all off, convincing yourself that you don’t deserve for people to love you back. But we still do it. Joe loves you. Thea loves you. Ramsey loves you. I’ll always love you.”
***5 ‘Worms’ Stars***
When this book was announced and who it would be about it, I couldn’t remember who Nora was, or even Ramsey and Thea ~ not surprising considering how many books I read a month ~ so I searched for ‘Ramsey’ in my docs and up pops my review of Release and as I skim over it, it hits. I remember this book, these characters and all that they went through and, as my review reminded me, how I was put through ringer because of it and I knew I NEEDED to get my hands on Reclaim.
And just like Release, this baby put me through the emotional ringer and I loved every moment.
I adored Nora and Camden. Nora is a fighter. She’s sweet, compassionate and sassy She’s been through so much, but has come out stronger for it, a little broken and bruised, but strong. Camden is a sweetheart...OMG this man. He’s sweet, intelligent, a little sneaky and when he decides on a course of action, he sticks to it until the bitter end.
Their journey to their HEA was pretty epic in this coming of age/friends to lovers romance. From the moment they collided they had a connection that was undeniable and it only grew stronger over the years, even when they were apart. And though their road was filled with all kinds of roadblocks and sinkholes, they fight through it and get an HEA of a lifetime.
If you’ve read Release, you’ll know that this baby is filled with triggers, FILLED, but all the drama is balanced out with a whole bunch of heart and made for a great read. I loved getting to hangout with Ramsey, Thea, Joe and Misty again and getting to see another point of view of all that had happened to them.
If you haven’t read Release, you won’t be lost since Reclaim does run concurrent with it. So the choice is yours, but I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll want to pick it up once you’ve finished Reclaimed.
~ Copy provided by SBPR & voluntarily reviewed ~
Comments
Post a Comment