TITLE: Redemption and Regrets
SERIES: Chasity Falls, #4
AUTHOR: L.A. Cotton
GENRE: Romantic Suspense; New Adult
PUBLICATION DATE: April 12, 2016
SYNOPSIS
Four years ago, I had everything. All it took was the snap of his fingers and he ripped it out from under me.
Betrayed, by my own father.
His enemies want me dead and old allies want me back in their ranks to help take what's owed. And while I’m trying to figure out what I want, there's her. The one I watch from the shadows, afraid to bare myself to her—the real me.
Hard. Cold. Deadly.
She should fear me—Braiden Donohue—but I’m not the only one keeping secrets, and I must discover what she's hiding.
Before it’s too late.
Redemption will be afforded, regrets will be atoned.
Welcome back to Chastity Falls.
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REVIEW
[Janet]
Amazon/Goodreads rating: 4/5
In Patti's Imagination rating: 8/10
This was a bittersweet book to read, as the author states it is the end of Chasity Falls, a series I have fallen in love with. Up until this book, Braiden was a character that I totally despised, and when he went to prison, I wasn’t disappointed. One thing I can say is that the author really showed how Braiden has regrets and wants to redeem himself.
When I started the book, and through the first several chapters, I was a little disappointed, as things seemed too predictable to me, but then a curve in the road changed all that, and I couldn’t put the book down. Since being released from prison, after spending four years of his life rotting away in there, all Braiden wanted to do was to go it alone, but people had other plans for him. He felt betrayed by his father, who was responsible for him losing those four years. Braiden was a Donohue, and his dad always got him out of trouble, but not this time. Now, he wanted answers about what happened during those years. His father is dead, his twin sister won’t fully tell him the truth, and he feels like a puppet.
Getting away--or rather, going into hiding, since people want him dead--and clearing his head, seemed simple enough, until Cara. She changed everything.
Braiden has changed from his time in prison. He didn’t want his old life anymore, yet he was being pulled back in. Seeing his struggles, about what he should do versus what was the right thing to do, was emotional. There were several scenes where I found myself shedding a tear or two.
Since this was an advanced reader’s copy, I am overlooking the many typo’s in the book, assuming they are corrected in the final version, and not factoring that into my rating. I do feel that the ending was somewhat rushed, and with it being stated this is the last in the series, I do feel left hanging with questions. So, for me, between some predictability in the beginning, and this rushed ending with unanswered questions, I am not able to give the book the 5 star rating. I really do hope the author reconsiders and writes another book, even one that is the start of a new series with several of the characters. The epilogue opens up this possibility, which would also provide the wanted answers.
TEASERS
EXCERPT
I turned to look at her and our eyes connected, locking on each other’s. Her cheeks flushed with color and I liked the way it looked against her pale skin. Cara dropped her eyes for a second before they flickered up to my mouth.
“I was pissed when you tried to save me earlier. I don’t need saving, Braiden.” Her eyes didn’t move from my mouth as she spoke, and my heart slammed against my chest over and over.
Cara might not have needed saving … but I did.
I inched closer to her until our noses almost touched. “I’m not the good guy, Cara,” I warned her.
She should stay away from me. I was no good for her. People got hurt around me. I hurt people.
Cara closed the gap, pressing her lips to mine. For those first few seconds, I froze, unable to move. But like a small spark igniting a fire, I became lost in the feel of her mouth moving over mine, and somewhere deep inside me, a switch flipped. Hooking an arm around the curve of her waist, I pulled Cara flush to me, causing her to yelp into my mouth. Our tongues clashed, fighting for control. I could feel her anger and frustration with every lick and touch. She was taking her shit out on me, and I was more than happy to oblige. She tasted too fucking good to stop, like coffee and strawberry bubble gum. I dug my fingers into her waist, needing her to be closer as our lips explored and nipped and dueled for dominance.
“God, I knew we were the same. I knew you understood me,” Cara murmured into my mouth. But I heard her. I heard every damn word, and they hit me like a bucket of ice water.
“Stop, we have to stop.” I released my hold on her and pulled away, putting some space between us. The flush in her cheeks had spread down her neck and I wanted to taste her right where her jawline met the underside of her ear, but I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
This had gone far enough. Cara thought we were the same.
We were nothing alike.
She was just a girl seeking independence, wanting to break away from her father’s rule and live her own life.
And I was the guy fathers warned their daughters about.
“I was pissed when you tried to save me earlier. I don’t need saving, Braiden.” Her eyes didn’t move from my mouth as she spoke, and my heart slammed against my chest over and over.
Cara might not have needed saving … but I did.
I inched closer to her until our noses almost touched. “I’m not the good guy, Cara,” I warned her.
She should stay away from me. I was no good for her. People got hurt around me. I hurt people.
Cara closed the gap, pressing her lips to mine. For those first few seconds, I froze, unable to move. But like a small spark igniting a fire, I became lost in the feel of her mouth moving over mine, and somewhere deep inside me, a switch flipped. Hooking an arm around the curve of her waist, I pulled Cara flush to me, causing her to yelp into my mouth. Our tongues clashed, fighting for control. I could feel her anger and frustration with every lick and touch. She was taking her shit out on me, and I was more than happy to oblige. She tasted too fucking good to stop, like coffee and strawberry bubble gum. I dug my fingers into her waist, needing her to be closer as our lips explored and nipped and dueled for dominance.
“God, I knew we were the same. I knew you understood me,” Cara murmured into my mouth. But I heard her. I heard every damn word, and they hit me like a bucket of ice water.
“Stop, we have to stop.” I released my hold on her and pulled away, putting some space between us. The flush in her cheeks had spread down her neck and I wanted to taste her right where her jawline met the underside of her ear, but I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
This had gone far enough. Cara thought we were the same.
We were nothing alike.
She was just a girl seeking independence, wanting to break away from her father’s rule and live her own life.
And I was the guy fathers warned their daughters about.
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