REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: DARKER WATER by Lauren Stewart

Posted December 5, 2014 by MeliMel in Blog Tours, Book Love, Giveaways, Guest Posts & Reviews, Home, Meli Mel Review / 1 Comment

DARKER WATER review

Title: Darker Water (Once and Forever, #1)

Author: Lauren Stewart

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 3, 2014

goodreads

Synopsis:

After another painful breakup, Laney Temple finally understands that love is a fairytale and sex rarely comes with a happy ending. She’s too busy for it right now anyway—she has a business to run, art to create, and candy to crush. Eventually she’ll be ready to switch from her plastic-or-silicon lover to a flesh-and-blood one. But before that happens, she needs to be sure she won’t feel any of those annoying emotions that make her heart do things it wasn’t meant to do…

Like break

Carson Bennett is completely upfront about what he wants, and it has nothing to do with Laney’s heart. Her lips? Hell yeah. Other parts of her body? You better f*cking believe it. But her heart? Nope, not even a little. Until it does…a lot. But having feelings for someone isn’t allowed. It’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to push down deep and cover up with one-night stands, sarcasm, and booze…

Like secrets

Two people want the same thing—a commitment to nothing more than great sex in a bunch of different positions. Simple. Enjoyable. A win-win. Problem is, those two people have families and fears and pain that spill into every moment of their lives, control what they do and who they are. And if either Carson or Laney can’t free themselves from the past, they’ll both be pulled under by it.

**DARKER WATER is a standalone contemporary romance (no cliffhanger)**

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EXCERPT

“I almost fell for it. I almost fell for you.” Fuck it. I did fall for her. “I can’t wait to see you, I smile like a shithead every time I see it’s you calling, I want you to stay over every single night because I sleep better when you’re next to me and the next day always seems brighter, better.”

I kept talking, not knowing which of us I was hurting more. But better it happen now than when it was too late. “Being with you makes me feel like I’m more of a man, because I know without a doubt that I would do whatever it took to protect you.” My voice caught. “So that’s what I’m finally doing. I’m telling you to go away.”

She lifted her head to say one word: “No.”

guest review Meli Mel

♥♥♥ 4.25 STARS ♥♥♥

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“Someday it won’t matter what you want. Hopefully someday, with someone, you won’t have a choice. She’ll come into your life and show you how wrong you’ve been about everything you’ve ever known. And you won’t stand a chance against her, little brother.”

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First and foremost, I want to say that I just LOVE the cover of this book. I am serious lust with it. Makes me want to lick it ha ha! It’s just so beautiful. Ok. I will stop now. Anyway, the story itself was just as great. I really freaking enjoyed this one.

The story starts with Laney getting dumped. It’s that yet again, her relationship with a man has failed. She is so done with it all. She has given up on ever finding her “The one”, getting married and having a happily ever after. She now knows that it was just not meant for her. As time passes, Laney is in a place where she is happy being herself and being alone. But a charming, tattooed, hot guy named Carson, that she meets at her regular coffee shop, could change that for her.

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“I can’t wait to see you, I smile like a shithead every time I see it’s you calling, I want you to stay over every single night because I sleep better when you’re next to me and the next day always seems brighter, better.”

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The initial meeting between Laney and Carson was so damn refreshing. I loved the back and forth dirty banter so much that I couldn’t stop from smiling (and this goes on throughout the book). Carson, just like Laney, is not interested in a relationship, and he says so. He just wants Laney in his bed. Just because Laney has banned herself from being in a relationship doesn’t mean she isn’t ever going to have sex, so she decides to see if it is possible for her to do this without having her heart involved.

Carson was awesome! I loved his cocky attitude, his random and sarcastic humour that had me laughing out loud, how sweet he was, and just his overall sexiness. He makes no apologies for being the way he is. He is totally comfortable in his skin. Carson and Laney grow closer the more time they spend with each other. There is something about her that makes him want to be near her even when they aren’t having sex. Laney was just as awesome. I loved how not annoying she was. She was really chill and handled things great. She didn’t whine or overreact. I really liked her.

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‘But what he didn’t know was that his heart was pure and beautiful and strong. And all he needed was the right woman to unlock it and set him free…with a kiss.’

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It did take a while before Carson and Laney had sex for the first time, but it didn’t bother me because I enjoyed every freaking moment of the build up. I loved that I was really able to feel what these two were feeling. The connection between them was at times intense and I loved that. Despite there being an easy going and funny vibes at times in this book, there were also a lot of emotional parts. I didn’t expect it to be that way. I felt for Carson’s upbringing and how broken he was as a result of it. The amount of angst in this book was just perfect to me. The ending was really great. I was happy with it. This is my first book from this author, and now I am really looking forward to reading the next book and getting Hayden’s story. I totally think you should give this one a read.

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GIVEAWAY

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Author Bio:

Lauren Stewart lives in Northern California with two of the most amazing children that the world has ever seen. She reads almost every genre so, naturally, her writing reflects that. With every book, every story, you’ll find elements of other genres–fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women’s literature, all with a touch of humor because what doesn’t kill us should make us laugh.

Author Social Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Tour link schedule: http://bit.ly/1AeSwNk

~Ecopy gifted to Kris & Vik Book Therapy Cafe in exchange for an honest review.~

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