REVIEW ~The Day He Kissed Her by Juliana Stone~

Title: The Day He Kissed Her

Author: Juliana Stone

Series: Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #3

Release Date: April 1, 2014

My Rating: 5+ Stars

He can’t wait to leave…
Mac Draper finally has everything he’s always wanted: An amazing career. A New York City apartment. He’s this close to being free of his past forever. But a mind-blowing encounter with the sexy yet tough-as-nails Lily St. Clare has him delaying his plans to put Crystal Lake in his rearview mirror for good.

She’s finally found a place to stay…
For Lily St. Clare the charming small town of Crystal Lake is her haven – a place she can hide from her famous, back-stabbing family. It’s as close to happy as she’s ever been. Until an unforgettable night with tall, dark and tortured Mac Draper gives her a glimpse of what true happiness feels like.

Lily can’t help but melt a little under the sizzling heat of Mac’s touch. But Mac’s scars run deep, and Lily’s afraid she may be falling for the one man who can never return her feelings...

Oh my heavens! I LOVE this book! I'm reading along, and I like it and I'm engaged and then the second half of the book happens along and blew my freaking mind. Don't get me wrong, the entire book is magnificent. The second half just happens to pack the biggest punch. Emotionally, I was exhausted after reading this book. Mac and Lily obliterated my heart but, thankfully pieced it back together as well. I'm now going to have to take a good 24 hour break from reading just to decompress. I always have to be ahead of my reading schedule when I dip into a Juliana Stone book because she's always hits me with a massive book hangover. But, hey, you'll never hear me complaining :)

The Day He Kissed Her revolves around the third and final bad boy of Crystal Lake, Mackenzie Draper. Mac, as he is affectionately known, may be the most damaged out of the three. Well, their measures of damage can't really be compared, but his damaging factor, aka his father, is still around. Lily, bless her heart, is just the most stable, and supportive heroine I have ever read. Together the two of them make up a dysfunctional, and perfect puzzle. Lily had planned their chance meeting to stay a one-time deal. Fate had another plan in place. Through mutual friends and changed plans they meet once again. This time Mac isn't going to let her get away so fast. Although, part of me, thought he was just in it for the chase. I love it when I'm wrong about my cynical views. Mac is all in, granted he may not know it yet, but he is. Lily, try as she might to fight it, is equally deep into their relationship. While their relationship is rocking along just fine, Mac's tortured youth is always there to remind him he can't have the white picket fence and 2.5 kids. Lily would love to prove him wrong but, he's just not susceptible to the idea. Matters only turn worse when the source of his pain returns full force and solidifies Mac's doubt in himself to care and love for another person. And it just goes downhill from there. Because once Mac is already turning to run, Lily drops her own bomb that may ruin any chance of him ever warming up to the idea of loving and keeping her.

Before I get into all of my feelings, and sappy emotions, let's touch on the one thing all of us romance junkies want to know about: the sex. I will tell you this- for as much as Lily and Mac are emotionally drawn to each other their physical connection is as equally gratifying and amazing. I have to say, this felt much sexier than Juliana's previous books, in my opinion. Mac just cannot get enough of Lily and they are so incredibly, sickeningly adorable together. Gah! Love it! Resume sappy, emotional talk- Through one of the toughest heartbreaks, Lily remains calm and collected. But she says her piece. Which I love. I never felt like she should have said more of stood up for herself more. She was a picture perfect arguer and lover. Mac on the other hand was the complete opposite. The best way to describe it is, Lily she is Mac's gravity. She reigns him in and holds him down.While he may try to fight it, he's just not able to. This book made my heart do that tight, palpitation thing. It literally made me ache. No joke, in a matter of about 80 pages I felt the widest array of emotions. What I have to appreciate about Ms. Stone's books is that they aren't the screwy, dark emotions though. It may have a dark tinge to it, but for the most part it's a contemporary romance book with a more than average emotional aspect to it. It's just those couple of pages where Ms. Stone let's her evil twin out to twist and stomp your heart a few times. Overall, I'm really at a loss. I wish emotions could speak for themselves through the internet because I'm not doing this book justice with my words. Just trust me when I say to go grab this book. It's quite fantastic. 

Happy Reading!

*ARC provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*

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Juliana Stone: The Christmas He Loved Her (ARC)

Title: The Christmas He Lover Her
Author: Juliana Stone
Series: Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #2
Release Date: October 1, 2013

My Rating:  5 Stars

Synopsis:
All he wants this Christmas is her.
In the small town of Crystal Lake, Christmas is a time for sledding, hot chocolate, and cozying up to the fire with those you love. For Jake Edwards, it’s also time to come home and face his past. He thought there would never be anything harder than losing his brother. Turns out there is: falling in love with his brother’s widow, Raine.

Ever since they were little, Jesse was the Edwards brother who was always there for her, and Jake was the one who knew just how to push her buttons. Raine can’t imagine a life without them, which is why it was doubly decimating when Jake left town after his brother’s sudden death. Now he’s back and she doesn’t know whether to be mad or thrilled. Maybe both. Maybe it will be the perfect chance for both of them to finally find happiness again.

My Review:

This book almost did me in. Every once in a while I come across a book that will have me in tears and feeling every emotion the characters do and completely absorbs me The Christmas He Loved Her is that book times a million. This is such a heartfelt, gut wrenching story. There are so many aspects and so many feelings that it was almost too much at times. I didn't know what to feel half of the time.

"But right now, in this lifetime, in this moment... it's different. It's raw and it's hungry, and I don't think that I can live without you."

~Raine

We start with Jake Edwards, who lost his brother overseas and blames himself, and Raine Edward his brothers widow. Raine and Jake have known each other since they were kids, and Raine fully admits that she was always in love with both Jake and Jesse. I have read the widow story line before, but it is so much harder to read when the late spouse was a likable, upstanding person. What the story conveys so well though, is that there are different kinds of love. I never feel like Jake and Raine were betraying Jesse. When you lose someone you love there is always pain to overcome, but where Raine and Jake are concerned there is almost too much pain to deal with. They are dealt so much more than the loss of a brother/husband and they almost miss their chance at happiness again.

"'We're trying to survive,' she whispered through tears.

I'm trying to survive."

~Raine

At first Jake and Raine try to form a relationship without clearing their history first, and it works for a while. Despite their love for one another they both have too many secrets and feel too much blame to form a cohesive relationship. Raine is such a heartbreaking character, she has experienced enough grief for an army. The one thing she finds that she needs in her life is Jake. Not as a crutch or as a replacement for Jesse, but to make her heart whole again. With the circumstances she has been handed in life she finds that if you can find that all consuming love, it shouldn't matter who it is with, she needs to grab it and live her life without regrets. Jake on the other hand can't get past the guilt of watching his brother die in front of his eyes, and he feels that by falling for Raine he is taking over Jesse's life. These two have to learn to forgive themselves, Jesse and each other. This is such a beautiful story of two people finding acceptance and learning to love again. Juliana Stone is a fantastic writer and I am in awe of how captivating this story is. The Christmas He Loved Her is a book that sets the standards for all books in my opinion. Make sure to pick up a copy and fall in love with Jake and Raine the way I did!

Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange for an honest opinion*

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