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Blurb
“LUSH… Sombra is MY FAVORITE kind of read, unexpected and a total ROMANTIC ESCAPE.” ~ Jay Crownover, New York Times bestselling author
My life had been unlived.
The safe major at the safe school. The safe boyfriend with his safe promises.
Then I stepped off the plane in Madrid and saw him. Of all the men in Spain, he has to be the very hottest.
That crooked smile. That devastating charm. Don’t even get me started on how he plays the Spanish guitar.
For the very first time, my life feels like my own.
But I’m not the only one who’s made promises.
Despite the heat between us, Tavo has his own bargain to keep, a marriage for the family’s honor.
All those delicious muscles and he’s a man of honor, too. It’s a real shame about his obnoxious fiancée.
Faster than you can pour the wine, my life’s become a Shakespearean comedy.
But you know what they say: Everything in moderation. Including virtue.
Review
A beautiful journey of romance and self-discovery
4 stars!
A young girl desperate to stretch her wings and discover herself, a man trapped by his responsibilities but searching for more. This is a beautiful, intense love story with a touch of drama set against the magic of the Spanish countryside. The second book in the Love in Translation series, it can easily standalone, and I loved it.
Tavo is from a long line of olive growers. He lives on his family’s olive grove just outside of Granada in Spain, and as the oldest son he is expected to take over one day, but all he dreams of is travelling and exploring his love for music – preferably in the United States, a place which appeals to him like no other. He is studying English at the University of Granada (hence the very loose tie-in to the first book) in order to get him just that little bit closer to his dream.
Kim Walsh is about to live Tavo’s dream. She lives a relatively quiet life in Iowa, following the wishes of her parents and going with the flow both in terms of her studies and her long-time boyfriend – who is really nothing more than just a great friend. Against all of their advice, she is packing up her life and travelling to Spain, where she plans on learning more of the language, throwing herself into the life and exploring all that it has to offer, and figuring out who she is and what she wants along the way.
“I’m tired of living my life for everyone else. It’s time for me to listen to myself.”
Kim ends up renting a room in Tavo’s family home, and from the moment they meet, the chemistry sizzles. Obviously there is a strong physical attraction, but they are also drawn to the spark that they recognise in each other, the desire to be free and adventurous, and to live life to its fullest, and they can’t help but respond to that. And before you know it, Kim has made the break from everything back home and she and Tavo throw themselves into a blisteringly hot and intense love affair that completely consumes them both.
All my life I’ve been waiting for someone like her.
Or her
I really enjoyed Tavo and Kim together. The story is written in dual POV so we get to watch everything happen between them in glorious and passionate detail. Their desire for each other is a wonderful extension to their mutual need to experience everything, and I loved seeing them both embrace life like they never have before.
This is where I’m supposed to be. I knew I was drawn here for a reason. I’m tasting, actually tasting my food. I’m slowing down, finding out what I really like.
I want more.
They share a lot of similarities, they are both completely open with each other, and as they explore their attraction, they quickly and completely fall for each other. Is it too fast? Possibly. But I was so caught up in their love story that I honestly didn’t care. Their attraction is palpable, I could feel all that they were feeling, and I wanted it for them just as badly as they did.
“I don’t ever want to leave,” I say.
His dark eyes flit to mine. “You don’t have to. You’re meant for me. When I saw you the first time … everything else dropped away. I only see you. No one else. You are what I desire.”
And holy damn, it’s hot! Their journey of discovery encompasses the bedroom as well, with the two of them exploring each other in ways they have only ever fantasised about, openly and unreservedly relishing in the chemistry between them, and it’s seriously steamy.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he says simply. “And now I’ve found you.”
But Tavo’s family is a complicated mess, creating drama for the two lovers. And when plans are derailed and emotions are running higher than ever, they’ll be put to the test as they are forced to confront whether the future they so desperately want is possible, and how it could possibly all work out.
“I don’t know how you came to me. Maybe it was a benevolent Dios sending you to me. But you are mine, and we are meant to be together. I swear it.”
This was a great read. I was swept up in the passionate intensity of Tavo and Kim’s love story, and loved how openly they gave of themselves and embraced everything that was happening between them. Their love story is really gorgeous and refreshingly functional. I did get supremely twitchy at some of the behaviour, but it didn’t last too long, and resolution is swift, and the book ends in a great place with an epilogue that finishes off their story beautifully and showing us a gorgeous happy ending.
“In whatever language, you have my heart, my soul, my everything.”
The story moves at a fast pace, and kept my interest all the way through. Beware that there are lots of Spanish terminology and phrases throughout the book. The author provides a glossary at the beginning which covers the main things, but I found myself reading with my phone nearby so I could flick between the book and Google Translate so that I could follow all of the dialogue, and that did break into the flow of the story a bit for me.
I’m not sure if McAdams plans to continue this series, but I would definitely enjoy the opportunity to read more about any of these characters. I loved this one.
4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Love in Translation
Excerpt
Prologue
From the shadows, he emerges. The small pool of olive oil on his hands glistens in the candlelight and drips on the tile floor through his fingers.
Decadent.
Hedonistic.
Dark.
I glimpse his face as he approaches the bed, and he’s grinning wickedly, his hair messy and wild. Bare feet on a cold floor. Shirt off. Jeans unbuttoned, with a thatch of groomed pubic hair peeking out, his root showing.
My body tingles and gooseflesh erupts on my arms and legs.
His appraising eyes slowly, languidly, take in my form.
And I love it. I absolutely love the way he looks at me, like he’s appreciating every freckle, every hair follicle, every curve. My painted toes. My voluptuous calves. My ample thighs. And on up.
Another drip of olive oil plops on the floor. Part of me thinks it’s a waste. The other part of me loves this game.
The wait, the watching, makes me pant, and I breathe faster and faster as he comes closer. My skin’s glowing in his dim room.
What surprise does he have for me this time?
The mystery. I love the mystery and anticipation. I don’t know what’s coming next. I don’t know the plan.
I have no idea what pleasures are in store for me tonight, but I’m sure they’re coming.
He knows what he does to me. He knows I’m resisting writhing on the crisp, rough sheets, which are crackly from drying on a line out back in the cold, wintry Andalusian sun. We’ll soften them soon enough when our bodies join together, but right now they’re almost like brittle sandpaper, chafing my skin.
With a bite of his lip, trying to control his smile, he rubs his hands together, making a suction sound from the lubrication. The oil smells fruity, green—if you could smell a color—and bitter.
I’ve licked it on his skin enough times to know its taste. The complexity of the flavors. How just a drop on the tongue can make me want so much.
I love it.
Even though I shouldn’t.
My eyes stay on his hands. I’m obsessed with them, especially his callouses. Over time, they’ve built up on the pads of his palms, right next to where his fingers begin. The telltale sign of a life lived working outside, although it’s not what he wants. Sometimes his rough patches crack and bleed, a hazard of using a rake to beat the olives out of the trees.
A hazard of using his hands.
Those hands, those scratchy callouses now skim down my naked body, half-lit in the dark room, leaving a trail of oil. My hair splays across the pillow. His light touch makes my nipples point up. My pulse pound. My body ache. I arch up into his fingers, wanting more. Needing more.
Needing him.
We shouldn’t be doing this. This isn’t how my life is supposed to be.
But nothing can stop our desire.
Read the first chapter here: https://www.
About the Author
Leslie McAdam is a California girl who loves romance, Little Dude, and well-defined abs. She lives in a drafty old farmhouse on a small orange tree farm in Southern California with her husband and two small children. Leslie always encourages her kids to be themselves – even if it means letting her daughter wear leopard print from head to toe. An avid reader from a young age, she will always trade watching TV for reading a book, unless it’s Top Gear. Or football. Leslie is employed by day but spends her nights writing about the men you fantasize about. She’s unapologetically sarcastic and notoriously terrible at comma placement (that’s what editors are for!). Always up for a laugh, Leslie tries to see humor in all things. When she’s not in the writing cave you’ll find her fangirling over Beck, camping with her family, or mixing up oil paints to depict her love of outdoors on canvas.
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