Title: Last Love of Luka Hale
Series: Saints and Sinners #1
Author: Eden Butler
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Blurb
She isn’t the girl Luka Hale loved.
Gia Jilani killed the child she’d been, right along with the memory of
his smile and the sting of his sweet kiss.
But sometimes, against her will, Luka comes back to her— his smile, his
laugh, the crooked twist of his lips just before he kissed her. He’s a phantom
that won’t ever fade. He’s a reminder of what happens if you love too deeply.
Now Gia returns to the place where the past and the present converge.
Where pain and pleasure threaten to consume her. Where she is forced to face a
past that has never really left her and the memories that still haunt her and
likely always will.
This is
a Saints and Sinners prequel novel set in the Thin Love timeline
Excerpt
“You got no
idea, do you?” He kept his voice soft, low, though his insides were burning
with the instinct to touch her, to lick dry the water from her beautiful skin.
Luka closed his eyes, inhaling that lilac scent like it would satisfy him. He
knew it wouldn’t. “You’re clueless how easy it would be to have any man you
want?”
Luka opened
his eyes when he felt the wet touch of her fingertips near his cheek. Gia
didn’t smile. She didn’t seem able to do anything but hold every emotion off
her face as she watched him. Her control awed him.
Gia opened
her mouth, pink lips glistening with moisture as she wet them with her tongue.
“I only want one man,” she admitted, her words confident, but there was still a
wobble in her tone. Luka tensed, not sure what she wanted or how she’d go about
getting whatever that was.
She meant
him, he knew, but that wouldn’t make him move. It wouldn’t keep the reminder of
her age, her probable inexperience from his thoughts. “You’re young,” he told
her, hoping that would keep her from touching him again.
“I’m old
enough.”
Luka was
starting to realize this Gia was one that might be tired of the sidelines.
Maybe she was tired of watching and waiting and never having what she wanted.
Maybe, he thought, she was ready to step onto the field and play.
Gia moved,
making Luka step back, her wet body closer to him now, her breath heating his
skin as she spoke. “I'm old enough for you, Luka.” Her breath was cool,
smelled like mint, and there was a low, soft moan in her voice that made him
harder. “My…my uncle…” She cleared her throat, looking down, then quickly up at
him as though internally convincing herself to finish this. “My uncle will
leave for Florida after tomorrow’s practice.” Some of her confidence slipped
when she brushed her wet hair behind her ear, but she still looked directly at
Luka. “My dorm is empty. We could be alone.”
Fuck me, he thought.
She was off
limits, right? She was forbidden. Luka knew that. It was information that ran
like a ticker tape scrolling in his mind. Gia wasn’t some beautiful woman he’d
flirted with at a club or some Blue Devil-proud girl eager to thank Luka for
his performance on the field.
She was his
coach’s niece. She was his coach’s eighteen-year-old
niece.
He could
have taken her right then. She was already wet. He was sufficiently hard, but
Luka held back, teeth gritted, jaw working as he grabbed the towel hanging from
the hook next to the entrance. He moved close, his skin wetting as he grazed
her chest and shoulder when he covered her body with the thick towel in his
hand. The smallest twist of his head and he could reach her mouth. Their lips
were so close already, their breath heated and mixed and did things to Luka’s
head he wasn’t sure he liked.
Gia shifted
her gaze, moving her chin like she was prepared for whatever he gave her. Like
she wanted it all and wouldn’t settle for anything less. But Luka reminded
himself one last time who she was and why he shouldn’t be there with her. He
lingered, unable to pull back out of her reach before he inhaled, taking in
that lilac scent and the teasing delicious taste of her breath.
He moved
his chin, a half an inch away from her lips, then grinned, a half smile gesture
that made her release the breath she’d been holding.
“Be sure to
lock up before you head out,” he told her, winking before he turned to grab his
clothes and put as much space between that off-limits girl and himself as he
could.
What I thought about Last Love of Luka Hale
I'm a
huge fan of the Thin Love series from Eden Butler, so when I heard there
was a little more to the story I had to get my hands on it. I don't
really want to spoil anything, and I do recommend that you read the Thin
Love series before reading this -- you'll want to get grabby hands for
it.
Told in alternating POVs, this is the story of Luka
Hale's college days. He falls for Gia Jilani, the coach's niece he shouldn't even be
looking at -- and the falling is mutual because Gia falls for Luka hard too. It's really great to be back
in this college football world where it all began for twins Luka and
Kona -- this novella is like having another piece of the story. I'll just say that Luka liked to tempt fate as much as his brother! It wasn't easy reading this knowing what eventually happens to Luka, but it was great to get a glimpse of his happiness all the same.
Really, this is Gia's story. Her first love is everything to her, and although their love is devastating to her, her time with Luka shapes so much of who Gia becomes. I just loved that about this story.
This book has left me wanting to re-read the Thin Love series (and if you haven't, what are you waiting for?) and craving more of Gia!
An ARC was provided for review.
Giveaway
Also Available
Author Bio
Eden Butler is a writer of contemporary, fantasy and
romantic suspense novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an
honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking
and rum.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque
ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, reads, and spends too
much time in her garden perfecting her green thumb while waiting for the next
New Orleans Saints Superbowl win.
She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast
Louisiana.
Please send help.
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