Title: Let Love Heal
By: Melissa Collins
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Perfection.
We all strive for it, but what happens when the desire to be perfect
consumes you? What happens when the need
to bury your mistakes blinds you?
Melanie Crane has always been the perfect daughter,
friend, student – she’s been perfect at everything, in fact. But when she lets her insecurities, the ones
that she keeps hidden from everyone, get the best of her, she falters in her
pursuit of perfection. Melanie crumples
under the pressure and buries her pain.
Numbed by sadness and guilt, she is determined never to let anyone find
out how broken she really is.
Bryan Mahoney may appear to have everything in
order. He’s charming, witty and
completely swoon-worthy. In short, Bryan has life all figured out, but
appearances can be deceiving. When the
landscape of Bryan’s family changes in an instant, he’s left to pick up the
pieces.
Not all bruises leave a mark. Now, weary and afraid,
Melanie and Bryan must find a way to let love heal their broken and jaded
hearts.
Link
to Prologue:
Author
Bio:
I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no
brainer. Becoming a teacher and
instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and
I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it.
When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new
genre that sparked my creativity. My
passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a
story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my
story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Twitter - @mcollinsauthor
What would happen if you lost everything? If the people who were supposed to love you
unconditionally were no longer there for you, how would your world change?
That’s exactly what happened to Madeleine Becker
when her parents died when she was ten years old. Ripped from her home and everything that she
has ever loved, she is forced to start all over again. The only way for her to move on is to build
walls around her heart and keep everyone at a safe distance. Her logic: she can't
get hurt if she doesn't fall in love.
That theory is blown to pieces when she meets Reid
Connely during her freshman year at college. He is gorgeous and darkly
mysterious. He understands Maddy's pain all too well, but sharing his pain
would mean breaking down the walls he put up around his own heart. Conflicted
between loving Maddy and hiding his dark past, Reid starts to reevaluate his
world. Maddy's inner strength, snarky
personality and breath taking beauty help Reid to make peace with his past.
Together they find out what happens when they let
love in.
Snippet
of Maddy and Reid’s first encounter from Let Love In:
There
was a group playing quarters on the island and another group lining up shots on
the breakfast bar – so not my scene. I just shrugged my shoulders, opened
the door, pulled out a bottle of water and, when I turned around to walk back
outside, I face-planted into a wall of solid muscle
“Hand
me one?” His voice was smooth and... gruff at the same time. Red-faced, I
turned back around and got him his water, glad for the cool respite that the
opened refrigerator door offered.
“Here
you go.” I could not peel my eyes away from his mouth as he moved the bottle to
his lips. They were perfect - beautiful and full in a completely masculine
way. I watched, completely fascinated, as his throat moved, downing the
water in three or four large gulps. He wiped his mouth with his forearm and I
couldn’t help but let my eyes travel up the rest of his arm to his biceps and
shoulders – those were the same as his lips – perfect. Amazingly,
gorgeously, utterly, divinely perfect. Muscled and tanned, his arms were
mouthwatering.
“Thanks…” he stared blankly at my face for a minute and I couldn't help but wondering if he liked what he saw. He cleared his throat and roused me from my little daydream where the
gorgeous boy is mesmerized by the maybe-a-little-above-average looking girl. That’s when I realized he was asking for my name.
“Maddy. Sorry, my name’s Maddy." I nearly choked on my tongue to get my freaking name out.
Links:
Barnes & Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1046637564?ean=2940016671178
If you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love – truly, madly
and deeply in love. But what happens
when that honest and pure love isn’t enough to erase your fears? What happens when your past rears its ugly
head and threatens your future?
Maddy and Reid had that kind of love – the
all-encompassing, Earth shattering, once in a lifetime kind of love. Then life happened. Old wounds that were thought to be long
healed and scabbed over are ripped opened and they are forced to face the
possibility that, maybe, they are not strong enough to fight their demons and
embrace the light.
Together, they found out what love is, but now they
will each need to heal on their own before they can ever be together
again. They must face their fears and
beat down their pasts in order to find their way through this crazy uphill
battle called love.
They’ve let love in, but now, they need to find out
how to Let Love Stay.
Excerpt
from Let Love Stay:
I get out of the truck and walk over towards the two
of them. Maddy’s back is to me as I
approach her and her date, so she doesn’t see me right away. But once the guy sees me, she spins around to
look at what has caught his eye.
Her face is shocked and when our eyes lock, my heart
skips a beat. There’s a pull between
us. As much as I hate to admit it, she
owns me. Her eyes are magical. They dance with light and passion and when
she looks at me, they are filled with love.
The love and passion that are sparkling in her
emerald green eyes evaporate when she realizes the scene that I’ve just
stumbled upon. I can only imagine what’s
going through her mind, but I’m sure the images of me kicking Logan’s ass are
flashing vividly through her mind.
I’m no more than a few feet from them when the guy
pushes Maddy behind him to protect her from what he perceives as a threat. He’s not very far from the truth, but she’s
not the one who needs protecting.
Menacingly close now, he pipes up. “Who the fuck are you? What do you want?” Okay, I’ll give the prick a little bit of
credit for trying to stand up to me, but he has no clue what he’s competing
against here.
The caveman in me wants to deck this guy and drag
Maddy into a bed – any bed – and claim her, repeatedly, until she understands
that she’s mine and no one else’s. I’m
going to do that anyway, but hopefully I can refrain from knocking this guy on
his ass. I’d like to have the use of my
hands tonight.
My eyes never leave Maddy’s, but my words are
directed at him. “Me? I’m the boyfriend, asshole.” Maddy’s eyes widen slightly as I say “boyfriend.” Did she really think we ever broke up?
I avert my gaze from Maddy for a minute to stare
this douchebag down. “And who the fuck
do you think you are?” He falters, not
enough that most people would notice, but I’m in predator mode. I see his throat work hard to swallow past
the newly formed fear. His pupils dilate
slightly and the pulse beating in his neck picks up as adrenaline surges
through him. If he thinks he’s going to
win this battle, he is wrong – so fucking wrong.
He puffs out his chest as he says, “I’m Maddy’s date
for tonight.” He snickers lightly as he
says, “You know? She never mentioned a
boyfriend when I asked her out. Must not
be much of a boyfriend if she doesn’t even mention you.” He swells with pride at his snarky little
quip. In the split second he looks away
from me to gauge Maddy’s approval, I lay him flat on the ground as I drop my
shoulder into his gut and take his legs out from underneath him with one of my
own. I freaking love my takedown skills. I didn’t even have to bust up my hands. I’m definitely going to need them in a little
bit.
I straddle over him and pull him up by the
collar. “Whether she mentioned me or
not, she’s mine, so lay the fuck off.
Got it?”
Maddy still hasn’t said a word and I haven’t
actually spoken directly to her. I’m
pretty sure she understands my actions though.
Wordlessly, I reach my hand out to her.
This is her chance. If she still
wants me, then she’ll come with me. This
is who I am, who I’ve always been. If
she can’t understand that I love her, that I want her more than anything, then
it’s not because I haven’t tried as hard as I possibly could to prove it to
her.
Hand still outstretched, I look her directly in the
eyes, as I try to convey everything that I’m thinking, that I’m feeling. In what feels like an act of God, she understands
me and laces her hand in mine.
Links:
Let Love Stay: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17902155-let-love-stay
Barnes
& Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/let-love-stay-melissa-collins/1116225393?ean=2940148456940
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