This Much Is True by Adriana Locke is live!
This is a gorgeously sweet second-chance-romance. A huge pop star on the run from her wedding flees to the only place she can think of – her home town, and the man she left behind. It’s an easy, fun read, with a beautifully natural and swoony romance, and I loved it so much!
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Blurb
When celebrity Laina Kelley bolted from her small hometown church on her wedding day, she ran to the first place that came to mind—the home of the local farrier, a gorgeous playboy who just so happens to be her first love … and biggest frenemy.
USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke delivers a new “sweet and spicy!” standalone romance about a runaway bride who finds herself in the arms, and horse barn, of her deliciously handsome frenemy—who just so happens to be her first love.
This isn’t your average romance. It begins with me in a wedding dress, just not at an altar …
I never expected to be a runaway bride. I also never thought I’d end up on my ex’s doorstep to flee from said wedding. Now that I’m here, it’s easy to find the key in an old boot by the door and let myself inside. It’s not breaking and entering if I have a key, right?
It’s safe to say that Luke Marshall didn’t expect to find me on his couch in my wedding dress, my veil over my face in tears. He has no choice but to listen to my panic-induced plea for salvation. It’s only a matter of time before the tabloids get wind of my disappearing act, and my life is over.
Luke takes pity on me and says I can stay… on one condition.
I can’t sing for my supper—I have to earn it. I have to work in the barn alongside him, up to my elbows in horse manure. Oh—and because there’s only one bed, I get the couch.
This works … in theory. However, when sparks start flying, and the small-town farrier asks me to stay, I’ll have to decide between my life as a pop star or a second chance with my first love.
Review
4.5 stars!
This is a gorgeously sweet second-chance-romance. A huge pop star on the run from her wedding flees to the only place she can think of – her home town, and the man she left behind. It’s an easy, fun read, with a beautifully natural and swoony romance, and I loved it so much!
You can read this as a standalone (I did), but it does form part of the Marshall Family series, and follows on from More Than I Could.
Laina and Luke fell madly in love as teenagers, and were together for six years before she left town to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. Now, her life is unrecognisable, and she’s about to enter what will undoubtedly be a very toxic marriage to a huge movie star. Desperate for escape, she flees to the safety and anonymity of Luke’s ranch, and though they haven’t spoken in years, he welcomes her with open arms.
“I told you once that I would always be here for you. I meant it. And you don’t know what it means to me that you knew that.”
Away from her life and all of the external influences which pressure her every day, Laina finds a freedom she hasn’t felt in years. Though Luke tauntingly puts her to work cleaning out his stables, she finds peace and comfort in his quiet life, and the two of them quickly re-establish the closeness between them, opening up about their lives and revisiting their past. The banter and flirting is so good, and there’s still SO much chemistry between them.
“I didn’t know you knew how to cook.”
“You haven’t seen me in a long time. I can do lots of things that you don’t know about.”
Our gazes collide as soon as the words come out of my mouth. The corner of Luke’s mouth tugs toward the ceiling.
“I may have you prove that,” he says before walking away.
They know they were the love of each other’s lives, and there’s still a wonderful openness between them. They’re honest with each other, they’ve missed each other, and neither of them are too shy to put their feelings out there. They don’t hold back, and oh how my romantic little heart was swooning.
“I want nothing more than to carry you upstairs and show you exactly how much I’ve missed you,” he says, searching my eyes.
“Please do.”
It’s sweet, sexy and so blissfully easy, and I felt so much watching these two come back together.
“I’ve had many life experiences since I left this town, but none of them feel the way I feel when I’m with you.”
They do have some hurdles to face, and have to deal with the challenges that exist outside of their happy bubble, as well as figure out what the future looks like for them. But, rest assured, this is an angst-free read with no unnecessary drama, and I loved watching them figure it all out.
“I understand how different our lives are and how each is important to us. But I can’t just be exiled from your life again. I want you – I’ve always wanted you. Not a day has passed that I haven’t wanted any part of you that you’d give me.”
As with most Locke series, there is a great family introduced in the Marshalls. They are a close bunch, all up in each other’s lives, and I’ll be diving into the first book for older Marshall brother, Chase, and I’m looking forward to more from this fantastic bunch.
Such a gorgeous read, I loved this book – 4.5 stars!
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Marshall Family
More Than I Could (#1) (Chase & Megan)
Buy: Amazon
Meet Adriana
USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best—big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.
She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.
Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.
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