Thursday, August 20, 2020

Blog Tour Excerpt & 5 Star Review: The One For Me (Arrowood Brother #3) by Corinne Michaels


An all new and endearing friends-to-lovers story…

The One for Me by New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels is now live!


Devney Maxwell has been my best friend since we were six years old, but she has no idea I'm in love with her.


Even when I'm on the road playing professional baseball, she's my home--the only one I've ever known. But when I return to Sugarloaf to care for the family farm, I discover she's trying to talk herself into a life with the wrong man ... and I become desperate.

It only takes a single, perfect kiss to change everything.

I have six months to get it right with Devney--to convince her to leave this town and turn that kiss into forever.

I aim to do just that as I spend my days coaching her nephew's baseball team, fixing up the farm, and loving her with all I have. Finally, it seems like our relationship is secure and we'll find a way to make it work.

Then tragedy strikes ... changing her life forever. She's needed here more than ever, but as for me--there's no way I can stay.

I know she's the one for me, but I might have to let her go ...


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Excerpt:

“Don’t play that crap with me, Sean Arrowood. I know you better. You want the wife and kids. You always have. The issue that you have is that you’re stupid.”

“Stupid?”

She nods. “Yup. S-T-U-P-I-D. And dumb.”

“They mean the same thing.”

“It required the extra punctuation at the end.”

God, I love the side of her that is smart-mouthed, fearless, and relaxed. She’s only this way with me. Or at least, that’s what I’d like to think.

The last ten years have been hard on our friendship. We both went off to college, I had baseball and she was studying. We’d see each other on breaks, but after the accident that changed the trajectory of my life, I stayed in Maine, and we rarely saw each other.

However, when I had a series in New York, Devney came. If I was in Philly, she would find a way to meet me, and I flew her down to Tampa a few times.

Now, though, I’ll be around her so much more, and I know these feelings aren’t going to go away, they’ll get stronger.

Yeah, I guess I really am stupid.

“Well, I may be stupid, but at least I’m not settling.”

She sits up, slapping her hand on the couch cushion. “Settling?”

“Yeah. You may love Oliver, but he doesn’t make you crazy.”

Devney shifts back. “You’re making me crazy right now.”

“Good.”

“You’re infuriating!”

I shrug. “You love me.”

“It helps that you’re hot.” Devney quickly covers her hand over her mouth. “I did not mean it that like that.”

I grin and lean toward her. “You think I’m hot?”

“I think you’re mediocre. God knows your harem of . . . whatever you call them . . . think you are.”

For so long I’ve fought against telling her anything about how I feel. How those women are faceless and mean nothing to me. It’s always her. Always a brunette who I seek out, hoping to find just a piece of something like her that I can cling to, but I never say it.

Then I wonder, maybe this is the perfect time. Oliver is going to propose. Oliver will marry her, and I won’t have a god damn thing to say about it because I will have never told her.

Plus, she’s drunk.

Maybe she won’t remember it.

“Maybe so, but I’m not asking them. Plus, all the girls I’m attracted to look like you.”

Devney laughs while shaking her head. “Well, it has to be tough kissing your best friend, right?”

And in that moment, I know what I’m going to do. It doesn’t matter that it’s stupid or wrong. I no longer care about her boyfriend or how this moment will undoubtedly change everything between us because she will marry him when he asks. Devney won’t falter. She’ll cling to the safe, and I am not that, but I love her.

I lean closer and her eyes study my movement. With a trembling hand, I cup her face and brush my thumb against her soft skin. Everything freezes around us as I feel the warmth emanating from her. Our breaths mingle as the distance closes. “I don’t know, but I’d like to see if it’s tough to kiss you.”

I wait, giving her one last chance to push me away, but instead, her tongue moves against her pink lips, which is all the invitation I need.

I lean in, my lips touch hers, and I know my life hasn’t just changed, it’s been completely upended.

What I thought about The One For Me

Sean Arrowood reluctantly returns to Sugarloaf to help his family with some business and during one drunken evening, he kisses his best friend Devney and his life is turned upside down. After all their years together as friends, he's looking at Devney in a much different way.  Seems like he's the last to know of his deep feelings for his childhood friend as all their friends have picked up on their attraction.

Devney has feelings for Sean too -- except she's got some secrets she's been keeping for a very long time.  I must admit I didn't see the truth of it all coming, and I really liked that about the story.  Like all Corinne Michaels books, this one will rip the emotions from you and having you reaching for a tissue if you are the type to lose a tear or two during reading.

Their road to happiness is not only complicated by Devney's secrets --- there's also the fact that Devney doesn't want to leave Sugarloaf. She's got good reasons, but that doesn't make it easier for them to realize they can't make it work because Sean lives in Florida and Devney is in Pennsylvania.  This is a huge stumbling block for their relationship.  It's a good thing we get introduced to another Arrowood brother who arrives just in time to help them with their dilemma.

I enjoyed this story.  I know what to expect with Corrinne Michaels and this story brings all of it to the pages!  Sean is so sweet and sexy and the depth of his love for Devney is on display from the first pages.   Devney needs a bit more time to deal with things but she eventually comes around.  The baseball theme worked really well for me too. Loved this story and this is another great addition to the Arrowood series!

An ARC was provided. This is my honest review. 

 





Meet Corinne


Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romance novels. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love, and she enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak before finding a way to heal them through their struggles.


Corinne is a former Navy wife and happily married to the man of her dreams. She began her writing career after spending months away from her husband while he was deployed--reading and writing were her escapes from the loneliness. Corinne now lives in Virginia with her husband and is the emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children.


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1 comment:

Northwoman said...

I enjoy this author and I was lucky enough to meet her at Book Bonanza last year.

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