Monday, June 21, 2021

Wrecked Without You - Town of Deer Crossing #1 - by Renee Shelbey




ABOUT THE BOOK

There’s a new doctor in town. One with swirling tattoos, a sweep of dark hair, a heart-stopping arctic gaze, and a perpetual frown. Within days, the ER waiting room is full of women wearing cute outfits and coy smiles. There must be something bad going around.

Dr. William Mason, a former soldier, is chiseled perfection, but I’m a mom of one, a history professor, and a community volunteer. The last thing I need is Dr. Dreamy with a bad attitude, when I’m busy juggling my daughter’s anxiety, the needs of my grad students, and the biggest baby of all—my ex-husband.

Then Will’s stepdaughters join my Scout troop, and I witness his haunted expression dissolve into a smile that leaves me breathless. Will becomes a mystery I’m curious to unlock and eventually, I glimpse the truth behind the faรงade. He’s protective, sincere, and an absolute sweetheart.

There are some things he won’t talk about, saying it’s best to leave them in the past, but he has no idea I’m also keeping a secret. One that is his very worst nightmare, come to life…

All I wanted was his love. But all I’ve earned is his wrath.

“Wrecked Without You” is the first standalone novel in the Town of Deer Crossing contemporary romance series, featuring diverse couples risking it all to find true love.

Content warning: Strong language, Steamy scenes, reproductive concerns







PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





EXCERPT

He paused and whispered, “You’re not a failure. Your body produced the most amazing little girl. And from our short time together, I think you’re the most impressive – no exquisite – woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
He thought I was exquisite? No one had ever said anything so sweet like that to me before, and he said it with such sincerity and conviction that I raised my head to look at him.
A few strands of hair from my braid had come undone and were now falling in my face.
“I mean it,” he said. “Every word.” He lightly brushed a wisp of my hair back behind my ear, and I closed my eyes from his touch. It was loving, in a way I’d never experienced before, and punctuated how desirable he considered me.
We stared at each other for a few seconds more, and I saw his Adam’s apple faintly tremble. Will tenderly traced the pad of his thumb over my lips, making circles with it.
I parted my lips slightly, and he muttered, “Damn hard for me not to devour you right here.”
He eyed my lips, and it was as if time stopped. My breath caught in the back of my throat, and his words devour you rang in my head.
With a whisper of my own, I coaxed, “You should do it.”
I wanted to be consumed by him, and my pulse quickened at the thought.
Will growled softly, his voice like sandpaper. He slowly cradled the back of my neck and lifted his body so his lips could meet mine.






AUTHOR BIO


Renee Shelbey writes culturally diverse romance featuring smart Southern women and thoughtful strong men. She’s a wife of 15+ years, mother of a pre-teen daughter, dog mom to a 75 lb. puppy, and an overworked full-time employee. Her alter ego writes steamy, contemporary happily ever afters, full of ethnically inclusive main characters. She hopes you indulge in her stories which have a dose of reality but can still transport you to the world of romantic sexy-time fantasy. Her own indulgences include hot lattes, a mason jar of pear preserves, and British murder mysteries.


AUTHOR LINKS





This is a brand new author and a new one for me. Its a romance between two divorced people with two exes that they still have involvement with because they share children.

They also are of different races I guess you can say. They do discuss that as they each have only been involved him with white women and her only with black men. They discuss it in the story but its actually not really much more than that. To some degree I felt it should have played a bigger part but it never did.

The stars in this book are Natalie who has an adorable daughter Caroline from her first marriage to Mitch. They divorced because he wanted more children and Natalie was having fertility issues and also she spent many hours volunteering and he wanted more time with her. It was a very hurtful marriage but they have managed to stay friendly for their daughter.

Will was married to Mindy who was on a second marriage with him, she had two daughters before they married and the daughters and Will love each other very much. Mindy and Will have a very strange relationship. She divorced him because he was in the military and she did not like the separations and she even had an affair. Because the daughters are not technically his, Mindy manipulates him all the time threatening his relationship with his daughters.

On the whole I enjoyed this story. I felt it was well written and I liked Natalie a lot. She is a strong, independent and smart woman. She faces problems head on and I adored that about her. Will on the other hand I liked a lot in the beginning and I also liked him at the end but middle Will was someone I kinda hated. He was weak and pretty much did whatever Mindy said to do. 

I could understand Will was in a tough place. He loved his two daughters and Mindy used that against him. But what was he going to do? Let her do that until they are 18. I felt he was unrealistic in dealing with Mindy and it made him seem weak and I grew to not like him for being at her beck and call.

What I did like was that his friends told him how stupid he was. I loved Brad, Sarah, Hudson, they were some of my favorites in this story. And I loved that they gave Will some straight talk when he really needed it.

Natalie I adored. I loved that she made him work for her heart. I also loved that she had Mindy's number and I loved that Mitch was there for her too. 

This story was not just romantic but it was interesting and fascinating. It was more a portrait of the very different type of ex- spouse type of relationships and the relationships with children of divorce. While I would have enjoyed more romance, it was a story kept my interest until the very end.

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