Midnight Lily by Mia Sheridan

SUMMARY

Holden Scott is the prince of professional football. At least he was before he lost it all... or more to the point, before he threw it all away. Now he's out of a job, out of the public's good graces, and perhaps just a little out of his mind. So when a friend offers up his remote lodge in the wilds of Colorado, giving Holden some time away to get his life back on track, he can hardly say no. The last thing he expects is to see a beautiful girl in the woods—one wearing a white, lace dress who appears in the moonlight, and leaves no footprints behind. Is she a dream? A ghost? A product of his muddled imagination? Or something entirely different?

Midnight Lily is the haunting love story of two lost souls reaching for each other in the dark. A tale of healing, acceptance, and the worlds we create to protect our own hearts. It is a story of being lost, of being found, and of being in the place between.

MY REVIEW

Wow!

Happily ever after doesn't mean a lifetime of perfection. I don't think anyone believes that happily ever after means there are no unhappy days, even unhappy years. It means loving forever, despite all the many reasons it's easier not to.

There is this movie with Robin Williams, "What dreams may come". You most likely remember it. Chris loses his children, his life and suddenly he is in heaven and he is not happy because his wife is somehow in hell, lost in her crazy mind. And he tries to find her, he keeps looking for her because heaven without his only love equals personal hell. He knows that she exists, he knows that she is real and she needs his help because he simply believes this fact:
What's true in our minds is true, whether some people know it or not.
And he finds her.

You may ask, 'why is this relevant to this book?'

Well, this book is not what you think it is. This book is basically a journey to the human mind.

Yes, it is romance.
Yes, it talks about pure love and commitment.
Yes, it is about two people who have fallen in love.
Yes, there is happily ever after.

But nothing is what is seems.
But nobody is who you think he/she is.
But there are twists and turns that they may make you gasp "WTF" many times.

When the main male character from the book says to Lily:
If you go away, then I'll come and find you, even if it means I have to get lost for a while, too ,
I think I was crying harder than the first time I watched the Robin Williams' movie and there was this scene when he finds his broken wife and tells her: Annie, I'm here babe, I still exist.

Please, be open-minded when you start this book! 

Seek by Mia Sheridan

SUMMARY

Wealthy socialite Olivia Barton never imagined her fiancé would disappear on what was supposed to be a routine business trip. She's even more heartbroken and confused when a hired private investigator tracks him half a world away, to a seaside town in Colombia. But the country has recently been ravaged by a massive earthquake and deadly tsunami, shutting down outside communication and making travel all but impossible. Still, Olivia is determined to make it to Colombia to find the answers she so desperately seeks. What she needs is a guide—a mercenary.

The man named Thomas arrives in shadows, an unmistakable air of danger about him, promising to help lead her through the ruined, crime-infested country. But when Thomas and Olivia find themselves fighting an undeniable attraction, danger takes on a whole new meaning. Then again, in the lush jungles of South America, all the rules are different and Thomas and Olivia are about to discover that sometimes the thing you seek, isn't necessarily the thing you find.

MY REVIEW

"Have you ever been in love?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. I'm assuming you have a heart under all that...muscle mass?"
"Love makes you weak."

Tomas is 'un salvador', a saviour, BUT he is also an opportunist.
Livvy is 'sunshine', warm and bright, BUT she is also a tough cookie.

They will meet, when Livvy decides to visit the ruined, most dangerous part of Colombia in order to find out what happened to her missing fiance. Tomas will be her guide.

Together they will live a clean adventure. They will walk the most unsafe trails, avoid drug dealers, run from murderers, avenge ravaged girls, visit devastated villages and pretend to be husband and wife.

Tomas will soften and let himself be loved.
Livvy will toughen up and give herself a night to remember.

"Oh, God, Livvy. I can't wait much longer. I've already waited too fucking long."
"Then don't."

Until Livvy is led to her final destination and she finds out:
-what happened to her fiance
-what is fake and what is real
-who is fake and who tells the truth

Another book that I absolutely loved by Mia Sheridan! It has the right and balanced amount of adventure and romance and enough twists to make your head spin.

Preston's Honor by Mia Sheridan

SUMMARY

There were two brothers—identical twins—and though I loved them both, my soul belonged to only one.

Annalia Del Valle has loved Preston Sawyer all her life. The daughter of an impoverished migrant farmworker, she grew up as an outcast in what was no more than a tiny, cooped up shack in California’s Central Valley. But her heart found freedom in the land, in the wide-open spaces of Sawyer Farm, and in the boys who were her only friends.

Preston has yearned for Annalia since he was a boy. But a sense of honor kept him from pursuing her until he’s unable to hold back any longer and their worlds—and bodies—collide one hot summer night. A night that sets off a chain of events that will alter their lives forever.

Now Annalia is back in town after disappearing without a trace for six long months. Determined to reclaim her heart, her life, and the baby she left behind—the son who was created in a moment of lust and love and pent-up yearning.

Preston has survived grief, a ravaging drought, and the despair of heartache, but he’s not sure he can survive Annalia again. And he might be unwilling to try. Will pride and bitterness keep him from the one thing he’s always longed for?

How do you heal what is irreparably broken? How do you forgive that which is unforgivable? How do you discover that real honor comes not from circumstance, but from the place deep in our hearts where truth resides? And how do you move beyond the wounds of the past to discover that some loves are as solid as the ground beneath your feet, and as enduring as the earth itself?

MY REVIEW

The beauty of this story is that although it is fairly straightforward –no major twists, no big secrets - , it can keep you interested in it until the last page:
Boy has loved girl since they were children but he never said it, girl loved him back but she never expressed her feelings. His twin brother made the first move.
When they finally talk about how they feel and act on it, the result is messy and creates more problems.

I think I have never felt such intense heartache before, while I was reading a book.

The words are so simple but at the same time so enganging.
The atmosphere is relaxed, but the depth of what is implied is so intense.
Everything seems uncomplicated, but everything is a strangling for the main characters.

There are a number of relationships that are unfolded beautifully by the author. Between:
1. The two brothers. Competitive but balanced.
2. Annalia and Preston. Electric and breathless.
3. Annalia and Cole. Playful and childish.
4. Preston and his father. Educational and appreciative.
5. Preston and his mother. Chocking.
6. Preston’s father and Preston’s mother. Faulty.
7. Annalia and her mother.Pitiful and depressing.
8. Annalia’s mother and Annalia’father. Nightmarish.
9. Annalia and the rest of the town. Unkind and unfair.
10. Annalia and Rosa. Embraced and comforting.

If I could count the mistakes, Preston has definitely made the most. I think actually that the title “Preston’s honor” is well-suited to this book.

A man is only as good as his word.

Preston at some point he will need to realize that sometimes things happen, because they just happen. Either good or bad things just happen. And for no particular reason. And because of nobody’s responsibility.

Annalia’s innocence and honesty stand out thoughout the book. You don’t find easily heroines in books that have such an innocent soul – without being totally victims. Annalia is strong in her fragility. The reader becomes her fellow traveler.
I felt for her. I cried for her. I cheered for her.

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I just needed a feelgood, inspiring book.
And the guy on the cover reminded me of James Dean... 

The Wish Collector by Mia Sheridan

SUMMARY

New Orleans, a city of mystery and magic, of secrets and dreams, and a history drenched in both love and the deepest of heartache.

When ballet dancer Clara Campbell arrives in New Orleans, lonely and homesick, she is immediately captivated by the story of Windisle Plantation and the tragic tale that is said to have transpired beyond its gate. Legend has it that it is abandoned by all living souls, but to Clara’s great surprise, it is not a ghost she hears through the stone wall surrounding the property, but a flesh and blood man. A scarred stranger with a pain deeper and darker than the churning waters of the Mississippi river that flows beside his self-imposed prison.

The ruined man behind the wall hides himself from the world. The last thing he expects is to find a friend in the selfless girl who speaks to him through the cracks in the rock. The girl who keeps returning week after week. The girl who makes him wish for things he has long since given up on. The girl who strikes both fear and hope within his wounded heart. But there can be no future for them, no life beyond Windisle, for no one knows better than him that monsters only live in the dark.

The Wish Collector is the story of shame and triumph, of loneliness and love, and the miracle of two hearts connecting despite the strongest of barriers between them.

MY REVIEW

So, this book is like a riddle and it is intriguingly complicated.

For me, it starts like the “Devil's Advocate” movie. Jonah has to make a decision and deep down he knows it will be the wrong decision, but he is too cocky to refuse it:

You’re choosing a path here, Jonah.
But he’d already chosen it. There was nothing to be done now.

Then, there is a bit of New Orleans’s magic, mystery and legends:

“Do you know why it’s called the weeping wall?”
“It’s said that the wall weeps tears for the heartbreak and tragedy that came to pass behind it, for the spirits still trapped within.”

Then , the story feels a bit like the “Phantom of the Opera". A man hiding his face in the shadows watches the young artist:

Movement in the back of the theatre caught her eye and she stumbled slightly, catching herself and glancing at Madame Fournier who, thank the heavens, was looking in a different direction.
A man—she could only make out his tall outline—stepped around the corner.

Then, there is a bit of the legends of Zorro and Batman. The rich masked hero who saves the weak women, punishes the evil men, offers money here and there when someone needs it. And he always keeps his identity a secret:

Jonah stepped closer, into a patch of low light given off by the glow of the street at the end of the alley and the man’s eyes widened. The woman’s mouth parted in surprise, the fear still present in her eyes. Jonah, in his skeletal mask, obviously looked even more frightening than the filthy meathead attempting to assault her.
“What the fuck are you?”

Then, there is a “Beauty and the Beast" feeling with the garden and the roses and the curse:

“You’re in my lair now, you do realize that, right?”
“Y-yes,” she said as the direction of his voice changed and she turned blindly toward it, unable to see anything, not even his movement.
He chuckled then and it drifted to her, falling over her like magic, causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin.
“You’re playing with me.” It was a statement, but also a question. She should be annoyed, perhaps, but she couldn’t help her excitement.

Then, there is a huge dramatic twist where everything transforms into a conspiracy corrupted game with dark undertones:

He’d been used. Lied to. He’d been a pawn and he’d played straight into their hands. God, he’d thought he was so smart, when all he’d been was an idiotic patsy. Blinded by self-importance and ego.

And the final twist is a paranormal one:

A drop of her blood being brought to the light.

Two love stories:
One love story with a tragic ending from the past , about Angelina Loreaux and John Whitfield
One love story with a tragic start which struggles to have a future, about Clara Campbell and Johan Chamberlain.

Well, it is one of the best books that I have read this year, thus it is highly recommended.

A beautiful melancholic book with the right amount of
Angst,
Romance,
Stalking,
Mystery,
Daydreaming,
Redemption,
True love that can not be seized by lies, time or death.

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan - September 2020

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

SUMMARY

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.

MY REVIEW

Why haven't I tried this author before? So good!

This is the only book I have read so far in my whole life that it talks so much about love, while it does not sound corny, old-fashioned and cheesy.

This is like a breath of fresh air in the romance books category: Sweet, innocent, full of naked feelings and bursting of unconditional love.

I absolutely loved the two main characters! Especially the girl, Bree Prescott.

Bree is a beyond doubt a nice person. She ran away from her previous life in Cincinnati where something tragic happened to her and she has ended up in the small lakeside town of Pelion, Maine. The last thing she expects to find there is love. But still she does not hesitate to dive in her feelings and embrace love.

As a genuinely good person, she does not lead on without reason, she does not lie and she does not play with the feelings of others:

Travis laughed. "Seeing him? How's that?" He looked truly confused.
I was instantly angry, as I stood up straighter. "How's that? Because he's a good man–he's smart and sweet and… why am I explaining this? Look, Travis, the truth is… I like him, and, I wasn't trying to lead you on by going out with you. But I wasn't really sure at that point what was going on with me and Archer. And now I am. And so I hope you understand when I tell you that I don't want to see anyone else. Just him. Just Archer."

When Bree falls in love, she will dive in enthusiastically. She will not have second thoughts. She will not take into account the fact that the man she loves is mute and the town’s outcast.

She does not hesitate to say “I love you” first:

“And I was going to try to wait until maybe you were ready to say it, too, but… I can't. Because it literally wants to burst out of me all the time. And so it's okay if you don't love me, or if you're not sure if you do. But I'm sure. And I can't stand letting another minute go by where I don't tell you I love you, because I do. I. Love. You. I love you so much.”

Archer is a man that could have thrived in his life.
If his voice wasn’t stolen from him when he was seven years old.
If he didn’t see his mother and father die in front of his eyes.
If he didn’t grow up in the isolated land of a delusional, crazy uncle.
If the people of the small town really cared and embraced this sad, voiceless, lonely child.

Bree will see his potential. She will fall head over heels in love with him. And Archer will be equally in love with her and so confused and scared:

If you hadn't come back, I would have lay here until I died. I would have just willed myself to die.

It is time for Bree to settle down and to find home. It is time for Archer to man up and start trusting.

This is one of these books that can make you smile widely, while at the same time tears will be falling from your puffy eyes.

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Oh.... and also let's not forget..... Happy New Month! September 2020 is Mia Sheridan's month!