Book Description:
The New York Times bestselling author of The Valentine’s Arrangement continues her sizzling series with a new novel of a plan that goes awry—in the arms of a soldier…
Picking the wrong men is a talent Meagan Mitchell has perfected. She’s sweet, confident, beautiful—and single. With her thirtieth birthday sneaking up on her, she needs a new plan. No more Mr. Wrongs or Mr. Bads, it’s time to find Mr. Safe…
Army Captain, Reed Porter, lives for the thrill—he’s an Airborne Jumpmaster with a rush addiction. He’s sexy and playful, and he quickly tempts Meagan with his rich Southern drawl and sinful looks. But slowing down and settling down are not in his agenda, making him exactly the type of man Meagan wants to avoid…
As their undeniable attraction heats up, Meagan has to decide if she’s willing to risk everything on a chance at love with a reckless charmer. Is she brave enough to bet her future—and her heart—on Mr. Thrill? Or will Reed finally learn that the feeling of a safe landing is just as addicting as the rush of the fall?
Excerpt:
Reed was sitting outside on the back deck with his brother-in-law when Meagan finally came out. She had spent a good twenty minutes up in her room, and Reed knew it was because he had crossed the line.
“Hey,” she said sweetly. Dammit, that soft, sweet side of her was becoming the hardest one to resist.
Reed stood up and gently grabbed onto her elbow, leading her to the far side of the deck next to the pool and away from Conner. She didn’t protest or jerk away from his grasp, she just followed him. He turned around to face her, placing both hands on her arms just below her shoulders. “I’m sorry for being a prick.”
“You’re not a prick, Reed. Maybe an idiot, but not a prick.”
“I shouldn’t have walked away from you.”
“You were mad, I get it.”
“You’re right, I was.” He searched her face, looking for anything that gave her away, but she wasn’t giving in. Her eyes stayed on his, focused and soft, but there was nothing in them that told him anything.
His hand moved to the side of her neck, brushing back the stands of hair that were loose from her ponytail. She gently inhaled a breath. It wasn’t intentional, and it wasn’t exaggerated, but he noticed it nonetheless. Her body had never been able to hide the way it felt from him, even though her eyes were perfectly capable of doing so.
She smiled up at him, the glint in her eyes, the little hint of mischief that he fucking loved, made an appearance, and it eased him in a way he didn’t know was possible.
“Friends?” she asked, with a little too much smirk for his liking.
He cocked an eyebrow at her and frowned. He felt a little trapped by this question, feeling like it was a doubled-edged sword, but also feeling like she needed to hear the words. She needed confirmation, and he wanted to give it to her—for no other reason but to give her a little ease and a little control, because he knew she wanted it.
“Friends.”
“Good,” she said. Her feet rolled up onto her toes. “I was hoping you would say that.”
Reed couldn’t help but smile. That one little word changed her entire demeanor, and her ease was contagious. “Yeah, and why is that?”
A roguish gleam took over her big, round eyes. “Because only a friend could get away with doing this.” She thrust her palms against his side, and in that spilt second, realization struck, and Reed knew he was going in the pool—but in that same split second of realization, his hand wrapped around her wrist. If he was going in, she sure as hell was going in with him.
Our Review:
**ARC received for an honest review**
Reviewed by Donna ~ 3.5 Stars
“…the things that scare us the most, are the things that give us the biggest rush,”
This is the second military book that Kelsie Leverich has released, the first one being The Valentine’s Arrangement. In this book it is Reed Porter and Meagan Mitchell’s story. I have noticed that there was some similarity to The Valentine’s Arrangement in the fact that Meagan was a lover scorned so this may be a theme running through the series but this story still held it’s own.
Meagan’s life was being controlled by her biological clock, tick, tock, tick, tock, she was approaching 30 and her 5 year plan that she had given herself when she was 25 was nowhere near being fulfilled. She wanted to settle down, be married and have a family. Her track record in love was not good, she had been with her childhood sweetheart for years and was painfully burned. Since then she has never been able to love again and has had a few short term acquaintances but never found or trusted another man that would make her feel safe. She blamed this on her always going for the “wrong guys” and she now needed to find herself a “Mr Safe”. Her best friend moves away when she gets drafted and so Meagan decides to go with her. When they arrive at their new apartment Meagan’s cat makes a bolt for it and ends stuck up a tree, a knight in shining armour comes to her rescue and she is shocked when she realises that this is the same guy that she had a one night stand with 8 years ago, the worst bit, is that he doesn’t remember her!!
I loved Reed in this book. He was your typical adrenaline junkie, he always wanted to live life to the full and “Feel The Rush” he was in no rush to settle down. He loved his life in the army, he trained other soldiers and he did all sorts of wild and crazy activities on his days off to get the buzz that he so eagerly craved. One night as he was coming back to his apartment, he helped a damsel in distress retrieving her cat from up and tree and from then on his life would never be the same.
“It’s why I do everything. If it doesn’t make you hold your breath and shut your eyes the minute before you do it, then it’s not worth doing.”
Both Reed and Meagan had their problems and so you knew that this was never going to be a smooth and easy ride, Meagan had her “Mr Safe” issues and she knew that Reed did not fit this category, but would she give him the benefit of the doubt, or even let him prove to her that if he had met the right person that he could be her “Mr Safe”?
Kelsie certainly takes you on an emotional journey with these two, sometimes I was annoyed as I just thought that she couldn’t see the wood for the trees, but if it was an instalust then it would have been incredibly boring and their story would not have been told, so the angst and emotional drama was welcomed.
I will say the humour in this book had me in stitches!! I can’t for Brewer’s story if he gets one, if not he needs one!! He is stuck in a hospital bed and him and Reed are trying to win the chat up line war on Meagan, I couldn’t resist putting this quote in!!
“My beautiful nurse Meagan, can I use your phone?”
Meagan reached for her purse and pulled out her phone. “Um sure.”
“Thanks. My mom told me to call her when I found the woman of my dreams.”
She snatched the phone back out his hand and rolled her eyes. Reed reached around Meagan and fist-bumped Brewer. Seriously? Did grown men actually still do that?
My only reason for a 3.5 was that I actually struggled to read this one, I don’t know why, I loved the story and the characters but it just didn’t hold my full attention like a book normally does. I think that for the length of the book, not a lot really happened and for that reason it felt like it dragged in places. As I say, that is just my opinion, it may not be the same for everyone else.
"Baby, I've never felt a better rush than the one I felt falling in love with you."
I loved the epilogue (I am a sucker for a good epilogue), I love it when a story is completely told in one sitting, you saw their story till the end and I was extremely happy it ended the way it did. I can’t wait to see what Kelsie has in store next in this series.
About the Author:
Kelsie Leverich lives in Indiana with her husband and two adorable monsters that are better known as her kids. Her life revolves around her family (to include two dogs and a cat) and most of the time, actually all of the time, it’s a crazy mess—but that’s the way she loves it! When Kelsie’s not writing, you can usually find her on the lake with friends and family or snuggling on the couch with her kids and a good book. Kelsie is not a morning person, has a soft spot for animals, loves musicals, hates seafood, and thinks laundry is the source of all evil. You can find Kelsie on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her website at
www.kelsieleverich.com
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