Sharon’s review ~ Never In My Wildest Dreams by Erika Kelly

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Never In My Wildest Dreams by Erika Kelly
Published by EK Publishing II LLC Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Holiday, Fiction / Romance / Sports
Pages: 450
Format: ARC, eBook, Paperback
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A blizzard strands two strangers in a cabin on Christmas Eve, and there's only one bed. Neither of them expects the surprise that comes nine months later.

Lorelei Calloway was on top of the world. A world-famous pop star, she relied on her inner circle to keep her grounded— until she found out the truth. They’d been betraying her all along. Refusing to break down in front of the paparazzi, she asks her manager to rent a cabin where she can escape to heal her wounds.

Booker Hayes is a good man in a world of sharks. When his boss demands he choose money over his conscience, he takes off for Christmas break to his cabin. Exhausted from a long day of travel and fighting a blizzard that’s shut down the town, he falls into bed—only to be awakened by a shrieking woman wielding a bat.

Well, oops. It looks like, in her distraught state of mind, Lorelei entered the wrong cabin. She promises to leave the moment the roads are cleared. Except…the next thirty-six hours bring them a passion and connection neither of them has ever experienced.

But when Wi-Fi returns, reality hits, and it’s time to return to the real world. They’ve chosen not to share names or personal details, so goodbye means forever.

Or does it? Two years later, fate decides to throw them back together as maid of honor and best man in their best friends’ wedding. Only, Lorelei’s changed since she last saw him. She’s got a daughter.

One with Booker’s sea glass-green eyes and daredevil spirit.

If you enjoy flawed characters that grow throughout a book, a crazy, twisting love story, lots of emotion, and a well deserved happily ever after then look no further than Never In My Wildest Dreams by Erika Kelly. ~ Sharon – Simply Love Books

 

I have to give Erika Kelly a lot of props for writing a low angst book with two very broken (in different ways) main characters. Honestly I worried about that going into this book with these character’s backgrounds, but not only did she pull it off she managed to show these characters working through their individual problems by sharing them with each other and then breaking them down and giving each other a different perspective. I loved the way these two met, their first night together was funny, yet at the same time the reader got to see the hero was a decent man and the heroine while a bit on edge sensed she was safe in his company. There was a lot of emotion in this book as these characters healed their hearts, souls, and minds and while learning to love and trust again.

After realizing her long time boyfriend was unfaithful to her with her best friend, well known pop star Lorelei Calloway went into hiding in a cabin near Calamity Falls. She needed time to heal, and make sense of her world not only with her ex and ex best friends but with her mother who lied to her for most of her life. Reuniting with her father and his new girlfriend and her siblings after she brings paparazzi to their doorstep, she moves into a cabin set up by her agent. However when a strange man ends up in her bed one night she is prepared to take him down.

After an ugly exchange with his boss, and his best friends and colleague giving him more to think about all Booker Hayes wants to do is get to his cabin and sleep. So when he arrives and realizes someone is living in it and that someone is a woman threatening to un-man him he’s confused, angry, and still just wants to sleep. A workaholic sports agent, Booker has no idea who Lorelei is other than a woman he assumes is squatting in his cabin.

These two spend a pretty magical day and night together and then Booker reads something that sends him reeling and since they didn’t share personal information despite looking for her every time he was in Calamity he hasn’t seen her in almost three years until he shows up to help with the wedding of one of his clients and she is the maid of honor he needs to work with on getting it all done.

I really love the set-up of this book because you could feel these two connecting from that first night even when they were at odds about their situation and every moment they spent in that cabin you could feel that bond growing. To say I was upset when Booker left and upset again when I realized the book continued almost three years later was putting it mildly, but the way their story unfolded was perfect. From Booker meeting Stevie and not knowing she was Lorelei’s daughter, to Lorelei confronting Booker for leaving without a conversation, to Lorelei being crushed when she realizes the man helping her arrange her best friend’s wedding is her child’s father, to Booker being a bone-head once again, and to every little moment in between Never In My Wildest Dreams kept me enthralled.

This book was everything I look for in a romance, it wasn’t easy as these characters had to overcome some baggage that was holding them back but their almost immediate connection, and the almost three years apart gave them perspective and let them grow and while they both tended to fall back into the spiral that tried to keep them from the life they both deserved, in the end they both figured out they would and could do better not only for each other but for their daughter.