Release Day Review: Love Rekindled (Love Surfaced #2) by Michelle Lynn

Posted February 10, 2016 by bookstobreathe in Book Review, New Release / 0 Comments

Title: Love Rekindled
Author: Michelle Lynn
Series: Love Surfaced #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: February 10, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
More Info: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon US
Purchase: Amazon UK
Purchase: iTunes

Taylor Delaney is the love of my life.

She’s also the one I've hurt the most.

Two years ago, I made a disastrous mistake.

One I’m not sure I can make amends from.

But I have to try, because I’m nothing without her.

Brad Ashby's here, in my hometown, asking for a second chance.

All those unresolved feelings for him have resurfaced.

Not that they ever went away.

I know I should run him out of the town, but I can’t.

He needs to know that I wasn’t the only one who was deceived.

Even if we gave our relationship another try, how can we rebuild what’s been destroyed? If we weren’t strong enough then, what makes us strong enough now?

Title: Love Rekindled

Series: Love Surfaced #2

Author: Michelle Lynn

Release Date: February 10, 2016

LoveRekindled_FrontCover_LoRes

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Excerpt

She pulls out of her parking space, and my heart constricts as I watch her drive away from me again. I should duck down so she doesn’t see me, but my eyes won’t veer from her. The beat-up Jetta passes and my stomach clenches. My hand itches to yank the car handle open. My feet beg to disobey and run to her. I don’t have to, because she slams on the breaks and her eyes are locked on mine. Hope pours from mine while hers fume with anger.

She throws the car into park, thrusts the door open, and stomps directly to my door.

She bangs on the window and I jump. “Why are you here?” she screams through the pane.

As I lower the window, the smell of jasmine breezes in. Her perfume still has the capacity to calm me.

“Hey, Taylor.”

“Don’t ‘Hey’ me. Why are you here?” Her voice is sharp and cold, and nothing like I remember. Not sure why I wouldn’t expect less though.

“I thought we could talk.” My fingers move to the knob of my stereo to turn down the music.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Leave.”

She turns and walks back to her car.

I exit my truck and wrap my fingers around her wrist to stop her. She yanks it out of my grip.

“Don’t ever touch me,” she seethes, and I hold my hands up in the air.

“Taylor,” I whisper, and she twists around. The look of fury heavy in her eyes.

She ignores the fact that I’m talking and climbs back into her car. I try to slide through the sliver of the open door, but she squeezes me out and the door rattles shut.

I knock on the window, but she shifts the car into drive. Her hesitation as she sits and studies the steering wheel, tells me my cause isn’t lost. Maybe I have a chance. I knock again, softer this time. Her tear-filled eyes look up at me through the dirty glass, and my heart breaks for what I’ve done. If I affect her this much two years later, how bad did I destroy her then?

“Please,” I beg, and she closes her eyes. I watch her shallow breathing falter.

As though she had a lapse of judgment, she shakes her head and the pain in her eyes disappears, returning to resentment once more. “Go back to your fiancée, Brad.”

Her tires squeal before the rubber catches pavement. Within a minute, she’s left me—again.

“Fuck!” I lift my leg in the air as my toes ignite with heat. She fucking rolled over my foot.

The pain in my foot is nothing compared to the pain in my heart as I watch her taillights disappear around the corner.

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My Review

There’s not much more I love than a second chance romance. Toss in another big secret that’s a favorite of mine, which I won’t give away, and I’m hooked! While it would help to give you more background context, you don’t necessarily have to read the first book in this series before this one. In fact, I might almost recommend reading them out of order because I didn’t much like Brad in the previous book. I’m all about stories of redemption though, so I had to find out what happened. I was super excited when I saw this book was being released and couldn’t wait to see where Lynn would take the characters.

Whereas the Brad we knew from Love Surfaced was a shell of a man, the Brad in Love Rekindled is about 90% towards the man he wants to be. I loved his carefree attitude, yet his stubbornness drove me crazy. He bent over backwards to help others and offer forgiveness, yet wouldn’t accept it for himself. There comes a point in our lives where we reach a crossroads. Brad chose the wrong path the first time, which led to our couple splitting up. But when he was faced with another fork in the road, he jumped in head first without any reservations. He knew as much as he had going for him, his life would be empty without Taylor. She was it for him; there could be no substitutes. I loved how he fought for her. I love that they took the time to get to know each other again and developed a much more stable relationship.

I admired Taylor’s strength for all she had been forced to endure. This girl was a fighter and a healer; she truly just cared about people and fought for those she loved. It’s at this point I wish I could talk about something else, but I’m just going to let you figure out that little morsel all on your own. Just know it heightens the love I had for this book tenfold. This is a story of forgiveness, learning to trust, and following your heart. It’s equal parts heartbreaking and sweet and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series and to discovering all of Dylan and Eva’s secrets. Bring it on!

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Love Surfaced

(Love Surfaced #1)

Amazon US

My Review

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The equations are simple.

Piper Ashby + Brad Ashby = Twin Siblings
Brad Ashby + Tanner McCain = Best Friends
Piper Ashby + Tanner McCain = Off limits

Tanner and I abided by the rules. We stayed on our designated sides of the relationship circle.

Ignoring swarming butterflies.
Brushing off skipped heartbeats.
Settling on lingering stares.

Here’s the secret … a hand extended over that invisible line once, exponentially changing the equation. I was convinced we could make our relationship work until Tanner broke the trust he embedded in me from the age of seven.

One deceit of mega proportions and the relationship we built for that short month vanished. I swore never to speak to him again and it’s worked. Until now—two years later, when my brother’s wedding places me face-to-face with the best man—Tanner McCain.

Leaving one equation to be solved. Can love surface twice?

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About Michelle Lynn

Michelle moved around the Midwest most of her life, transferring from school to school before settling down in the outskirts of Chicago ten years ago, where she now resides with her husband and two kids. She developed a love of reading at a young age, which helped lay the foundation for her passion to write. With the encouragement of her family, she finally sat down and wrote one of the many stories that have been floating around in her head. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can be found playing with her kids, talking to her mom on the phone, or hanging out with her family and friends. But after chasing around twin preschoolers all day, she always cherishes her relaxation time after putting the kids to bed.