Thursday 2 April 2015

Review ~ Tate by Barbara S. Stewart

**ARC received for honest review**

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 Stars

“I want what we have to be unique. You are my unique, Tate.”

If there is one thing that I have come to expect from Barbara Stewart it is an intense romance and this one ticks all the boxes. This is romance at its best, it is pure, and it is from the heart and as always with Barbara, emotional. The emotion in this book is through the intense connection that Tate and Maisie have and the situations that they find themselves in, so beautifully written that they cannot help but tug at your heart strings. Barbara Stewart’s style of writing draws you into her characters so you live and breathe their story, you cannot help but become involved and emotionally attached.

“I loved you before I knew you. I dreamed of you before I met you.”

Maisie was a dress designer and seamstress to the stars. She was a work-a-holic and hid behind her sewing machine, it was her security blanket. Her designing and sewing were also therapeutic and while in the throes of work she could forget about her past, her life, or lack of it. Maisie was a beautiful character inside and out. She had a tough upbringing and just when she felt she was settled and sorted life deals her another agonising blow. Maisie becomes quite introverted in her own way with only two trusted confidantes that she opens up to and talks to. Her life has become lonely, but her fame on the red carpet is renowned, everyone wants to wear a Maisie Bolden original.

Tate Morrow was a humble down to earth cowboy type who used music and his guitar as an outlet. He was a mamma’s boy and again was a beautiful person on the inside and out. He had been gigging at his local bar every week for years and years, the locals loved him. Finally he was spotted and signed and taken to Nashville to record his first album. It was a whole new world for Tate, he was apprehensive and overwhelmed, but nothing could prepare him for his first encounter with Maisie. He needed a makeover, and this was one makeover he would never, ever forget.

“I have fallen madly in love with this woman. I’m trying hard to wait on her to realize that she feels the same.”

I loved the slow build in this book, it would have been wrong if this was an insta-lust/love type book as it would not have fitted the characters at all. We get all the feels of that initial attraction, “I must get to know more” stage, the friendship stage, the trust stage and the head over heels in love stage. It was an honest build and one that suited these characters down to the ground. It was real and it was true and because of this as I said above, you could really relate to the characters and the relationship that they were building. The path of true love never runs smooth and this is no different, but considering the lives that they were living the speed bumps they encountered were all the more believable. It was now up to them to fight and conquer.

“What were you doing just then?”
“Letting go.”


The secondary characters in this book were awesome, Carlene and Dion were the best “best friends” anyone could have and were instrumental in making these two see the light and believe in what they were feeling was the real thing and worth taking that chance. Their support throughout this story was instrumental and the humour that these two characters brought to the story really balanced it out. I loved these two with a passion. Andy Steven’s also makes an appearance in this story and it was great to see these characters intertwine.

“I think I’m gonna cry...The Ice Queen has melted. I won’t miss that bitch!”

In summary I have to applaud Barbara you can really see the development in her writing with each book and this one I couldn’t put down. It flowed beautifully and was an extremely enjoyable read. Sometimes you need a break from the erotica and the dark suspense type read and you can be brought home with a read like this. They say that romance is dead, well Barbara brought it back to life with Tate and Maisie and makes you believe in love once again. It can happen to the best of us, no matter how dismal your life may seem, there is always that someone for everyone and more often than not they come along when you least expect but when they are most needed. These two saved each other and I am so glad that I had the privilege of reading this one. I loved it.

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