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Blurb
Sawyer wants a life of her own.
Finn wants to forget he ever had one.
After a tragedy, Finn Hollis escapes
into the swamp to be alone.
That is until Sawyer Dixon shows up,
all SCORCHING HOT innocence,
claiming she owns the land less than
fifty feet from his front door.
Sawyer gets under his SKIN, but even worse?
She makes him WANT things.
Things Finn hasn’t wanted in a very very long time.
Finn WANTS Sawyer gone.
Almost as much as he wants her in his BED.
*The Outskirts is Book One in the Outskirts Duet.*
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Review
4 stars!
TM Frazier’s latest release takes us to the swamps of Florida for a gritty, intense, dramatic story and a romance that is super-hot, swoony and full of chemistry. I was captivated from the very first page and struggled to put this book down as I was sucked into the story of a broken, tormented boy, and an innocent girl experiencing true freedom for the very first time. Full of drama, humour, passion, intensity and some unexpected surprises, this is a great read!
Sawyer’s life has been lived under the controlling and violent hands of her religious extremist father. She has been sheltered and abused and dreams of something more, so when she is given the opportunity to escape, she takes it, heading to the small town of Outskirts, in the swamps of Florida. There is land there and she claims her place in the swamp – meeting new people and finding work for herself, and loving every moment of it.
But her new bliss is dulled by her unexpected neighbour. Bordering her land is a shack inhabited by local hermit, Finn. Finn used to have a blessed life, but it all changed after he experienced a tragic loss. For two years he has isolated himself in the swamp, ignoring his friends and drowning his grief and guilt in alcohol. He is highly unimpressed when bright and lively Sawyer sets herself up practically on his doorstep, but he can’t help but feel drawn to her and the light that she exudes.
Sawyer embraces her new life, eagerly grasping onto every new opportunity that comes her way. She finds friends, a job, and with her naïve eyes wide open, she sets about living the life she has always dreamed of – and that includes exploring the feelings that brew to life in her whenever she sets her eyes on Finn.
The dynamic between Sawyer and Finn is fantastic. From early antagonism to somewhat reluctant ‘friends’, flirting, sweet moments, deliciously steamy teasing and more, the chemistry sizzles from the very beginning and grows as these two opposites begin to come together and turn each other’s worlds upside down.
“Then you came around.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. His smile grew. The pain lifted. The lines on his face straightened. “You made me realize I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
Finn’s brokenness and torment is heartbreaking, but I loved watching the shift in him once Sawyer comes into his life Her joy and sweetness brings him back to life, and his raging lust for her drags him out of his funk and into the possibility of having something good once again, even despite all that he has been through.
“I want you, Say. So fucking much. More than I’ve ever wanted anything or anyone before.” He took a deep breath like he was breathing me in. “You terrify me.”
And I love Sawyer! There’s an innocence about her that is really beautifully written, and you can’t help but experience everything right along with her. She has lived such a sheltered life that pretty much everything is new to her, and her joy and excitement at exploring it all is just gorgeous. And none more so than when she is with Finn.
I was no longer skin and flesh and bones. I was only feeling and sensation and pleasure coursing through my body over and over again, wringing every last muscle of its power until I collapsed against Finn who held me up so I wouldn’t fall.
But it was too late.
I’d already fallen.
The love story is really beautiful. There’s an edge of grittiness to it as their lust for each other rages out of control, but there is a deeper connection there too, and I loved the emotional element to it as they openly and honestly explored their feelings and allowed themselves to fall.
“You’re better than I ever imagined. You are everything to me. You make me want to be better. You make me better.”
But danger emerges, threatening their newfound happiness, and with lots of possibilities where the story could go and a surprising twist thrown in at the end, I am desperate to get my hands on the final book of this duet to see how it’s all going to play out!
I really enjoyed this book. It has an edgy feel to it that I really enjoyed, and I was easily swept up into the heartache, excitement and passion of Finn and Sawyer’s story. Finn’s old friends (and Sawyer’s new friends) Josh and Miller also bring a lot to the story – another fantastic dynamic at play, they are great on their own, but together they are sensational, and I love their secondary storyline.
This is a fast paced, engaging read with lots of laughs, sweet moments, drama and gritty emotion. The love story is steamy with lots of feels, and I loved the characters and their individual journeys. So excited for more!
4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Outskirts Duet
The Outskirts (#1)
Review
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The Outliers (#2)
Review
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Outskirts Duet
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Excerpt
Sawyer
My throat tightened and a heaviness grew in my chest like my heart didn’t know whether to beat faster or stop beating altogether. “Did you leave me all this to show me the life you could’ve had, but didn’t? Why!?” I pounded the wheel again and then again, and again and again until my vision was blurry and all I could see was the redness of my own heated rage. “You’re a fucking coward! You fucking COWARD!” I screamed to no one, pounding on the wheel until the skin across my knuckles split and blood dripped between my fingers.
Strong hands bit into my biceps, yanking me from the cab. I was spun around by my shoulders and found myself face to face with Finn. “I like it when you swear,” he said, pressing close.
“Finn, get off me! Get off me! Let me go!” I wailed, struggling to free myself from his grip. Kicking out my legs only to connect with the air as he evaded my every move.
A growl tore from his throat. Finn picked me up and walked me to the back of the truck, setting me on the open tailgate. He pushed himself between my legs and hovered over me to keep me from leaping off.
“Let me go,” I demanded, pushing at his hard chest. “I don’t have time for your broodiness right now.”
Finn held my wrists together with one hand. “No, of course you don’t. You’re too busy tearing up pictures and screaming at no one.”
“Let me go,” I repeated.
“No,” he said between clenched teeth.
“Just go! Leave me alone. Leave meeeeeee!” I wailed as I pounded against his stone chest.
“You don’t want to hit me,” he warned, his eyes hardened.
“Then let me go.”
“Why?” He stepped in closer, unaffected by my attempt to fight against him. My inner thighs were touching his outer thighs.
“Because she did!” I screamed, my eyes sprang open to find his cold blue gaze. “She could have run anywhere and taken me with her. Instead she left him but she left me too. She was a coward who couldn’t make the right decision and I love her. I love her…but I hate her. I hate her so much…so…” I was interrupted when Finn’s lips pressed against mine, momentarily rendering me stupid. I pointed my toes toward the sky to avoid my initial instinct which was to wrap my legs around him. It was so consuming that I momentarily forgot to fight him off, but I didn’t need to, he pulled his lips from mine.
“Stop doing that,” I said. I pushed him off but he stayed between my legs, his hands on my bare back just under the hem of his big t-shirt I was wearing. His gaze hardened. I could see the conflict written in his lined forehead and the deep V between his eyes. I had no doubt the conflict had everything to do with me.
And kissing me.
“It’s your fault that I do it,” Finn said, his voice deep and smooth against my chin and then my neck.
“So that’s your plan? Kiss me every time you want to shut me up?” I asked, still feeling every bit of my anger but also feeling something else. Something that sent tingles between my legs and an ache in my core. “Thank you for saving me. Really. Thank you. I appreciate it,” my voice cracked. “But you can just leave me alone now. And please, STOP kissing me.” My words a whisper.
“I’m going to kiss you whenever I want to kiss you,” Finn stated as if I didn’t have a say in the matter.
The early morning sunlight highlighted the beads of sweat trickling from his shoulders down his broad chest and across the valleys of his defined abs. He was standing so close that we were breathing in each other’s air.
“Whenever you want to kiss me?” I laughed. “I don’t understand you. I don’t understand any of this. You’re always mad at me. Why did you save me? Why do you keep kissing me when you’re always mad at me?”
“It’s when I’m pissed off at you that I want to kiss you the most,” Finn said, his voice flowing over my skin like a silky blanket. He slid me closer so I could feel the outline of his rigid erection as if he were proving a point. He lowered his lips to mine and consumed my mouth in a greedy kiss that had me shaking with need and spinning with confusion.
“Do you always kiss everyone you hate?” I asked, yanking my lips from his.
“Does this feel like hate to you?” he growled pushing his hard length between my legs.
About the Author
T.M.Frazier is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She resides in sunny Southwest Florida with her husband and her young daughter.
When she’s not writing she loves talking to her readers, country music, reading and traveling. Her debut novel, The Dark Light of Day was published in September of 2013 and when she started writing it she intended for it to be a light beachy romance.
Well…it has a beach in it!
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