Book Review: Confessions (New Beginnings, #4) by Michelle Lynn

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Synopsis

Hockey is unpredictable. Grant Mackenzie has lived and breathed the game for most of his life. It’s what he did, but it isn’t what he loved. Sometimes you don’t know what you need until you’ve almost thrown it all away. He’s about to face the hardest month of his career. He knows what he wants now, but it isn’t up to him anymore and the damage may have already been done. His secrets are unraveling, his season is over, and it’s now what happens off the ice that matters most. 

Abigail Stewart masks her anger with sass, sarcasm, and a host of bad decisions. It is anger born out of years of emotional abuse. She has a new life now, but it’s a life of hiding who she is and who she used to be. 

From the first time Grant and Abigail met, they knew there was something there. Now, forced to spend two weeks on an island with each other, it’s time to face their feelings, and in order to do that, they must first face their pasts. 

Review:

What a cool series this is. The beauty of New Beginnings as a series is that characters of old can make all new stories. Mack and Abigail take centre stage in Confessions, and as an ex ice-hockey player myself, I appreciate all the team talk, manager one-to-ones and yes, the phoning it in that Mack does as a player. I understand it, because I did the same on occasion.

 "this latest release.........is certainly a power play in the genre!"

These days I am no less competitive on the football field. But Confessions focuses squarely on the romance between our two primary leads. It's hard not to like Abigail...there's something very girl-next-door about her whilst realising how good she could be as a future wife.

Mack is reckless, restless and annoying at times. But this is not annoying for the reader - he's a real guy doing real things in a believable way.

A short read that is jam packed with drama, but it is never over the top. I have read all of the author's books and this latest release stands amongst her best, and is certainly a power play in the genre!

Book Review: Promises (New Beginnings, #2) by Michelle Lynn

Synopsis: 

Do you promise you’ll always be here for me? 

It was a game they played, only it wasn’t a game. Maggie Marks held on to Elijah’s childhood promises as a way of escaping a life that was far from perfect. Elijah Lugo was her neighbor, her best friend, her family. He was everything her parents refused to be, everything she needed. He was her first kiss and a witness to more of her father’s drunken rants than she could count. He was there at her wedding and then held her when it all fell apart. Elijah was in love with her, but she was afraid loving him would eventually mean losing him too. 

They were no longer kids, pretending everything would work out in the end. 

When Maggie’s father reenters her life in an unexpected way, revealing long held secrets, her world is turned upside down and she will need Elijah more than ever. 

A story of friendship and family. The promises you make and the ones you keep.

Review:

"Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way...." 

-Harry, from When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Promises is the superior follow up to Choices, and it introduces characters from the earlier book seamlessly intertwining with the new ones.

And what characters they are. We are introduced to Maggie (Mags) Marks, and her beau Elijah. He's not supposed to be - in a clever bit of storytelling, author Michelle Lynn displays her command of the story by taking us into different times of the principal characters' lives.

In an early telling scene, Mags agrees to a kiss from Elijah, but it is intended to be a one-time kiss only, because they are friends, great friends, and she doesn't want that ruined. Elijah held a candle for Mags even when they were young, and in later scenes where the couple are older, and yes....tarnished, bruised and battered by life and the general life choices they made, the friendship still holds, even though Elijah's promise not to do any more than what was expected of him (essentially a boyfriend without the perks of being her boyfriend) jarred at him a lot.

It's a difficult balance for an author to get right, and yet Michelle Lynn achieved it because I could feel Elijah's frustration with Maggie....he even stays true to her even through her marriage to Jake. Often a friendship, especially between a man and a woman is tested because she may well just want him as a friend, and for him, he will often want something more. It's just the way people are engineered. 

Another layer to the story is Mags' inability to conceive. Now this is where the story really starts to hit home with some powerful messages.

Can a couple stay together if one wants a baby but one cannot be provided?

Is their love based on two people, or three?

Can friends who were asked to keep a promise, do that forever? Is it realistic or even fair to expect them to do so?

Promises has a number of layers that are enjoyable to read. Mags letter from her father is teasingly played out (we don't get the contents of the letter in one go and the story is all the better for it).

Often a friendship, especially between a man and a woman is tested because she may well just want him as a friend, and for him, he will often want something more. It's just the way people are engineered. 

Newcomer Kimberly is a darling little girl who might just provide some happiness for Mags. She instantly takes to Jah, as she so names Elijah, in a sort of playful rebuttal to him calling her Kimmy.

Promises works on almost every level for me. The only slight let down is the character of Chris, who I really liked in book one but was not so strong in this one. Maybe that's okay, as Promises is driven by the very strong characterisation employed in Mags and Elijah. Michaela makes a welcome return from Choices, but the stand out reason for reading this book is to see how the adult Elijah can keep the promise made by his younger self to Mags.

Read it and enjoy it, it is shaping up to be a great series.

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Book Review: Choices (New Beginnings, #1) by Michelle Lynn

It is no easy task to introduce a new story, a new series with one or two characters that you root for. What is interesting about Michelle Lynn's newest work is that she has created characters that add a lot to the story. Michaela is the star of the book but her star is risen somewhat with the addition of the enigmatic Jason, wildcard Ethan, but also other characters that you would think would dumb it down.

Michaela has overbearing family that are determined their young lady (a recurring reference used as back handed compliment, but is really a put-down) follow the path they have chosen for her. You would think this is happening in some totalitarian state, but it's not! Michaela is no introverted nymph...she knows what she wants, accepts heartache will be part of the gig, and just gets on with things. She won't be told what to do by anyone, but she doesn't go out of her way to hurt anyone either. So basically Michaela is a nice girl who people closest to her would be wise not to take advantage of.

I have to say that I approached this book wondering if I would really like it. Having read Miss Lynn's superlative (a deserving description if ever there was one) dystopian series Dawn of Rebellion, I quite honestly thought 'how does one go from dystopian to contemporary romance so easily'?

Michaela's mother, for example. She is not so typical as you'd expect. I particularly liked the exchanges between these two, the dialogue was believable and realistic.

In addition the character of Chris who hangs out with Jason is a cool combination. Their dialogue switches effortlessly between sharp observations of the pains in their lives, but also biting, humorous wit; the kind only two good friends can come out with between themselves.

I like Michaela a lot. She is also significantly different from Miss Lynn's siblings in DoR (Dawn of Rebellion) that she has her own 'voice'.

I have to say that I approached this book wondering if I would really like it. Having read Miss Lynn's superlative (a deserving description if ever there was one) dystopian series Dawn of Rebellion, I quite honestly thought 'how does one go from dystopian to contemporary romance so easily'?

The author shows her skill and growing stature as a writer with this new series. I kept hoping Dawn or Gabby (from dawn of Rebellion) would make an appearance here, but the author made a difficult choice of her own, breaking with such a well known series to branch out here.

I'm also not a huge fan of contemporary romance, though there are a handful of authors slowly changing my opinion on this.

Michelle Lynn can be counted amongst them. 

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