Once Loved by Cecy Robson
Publisher: Loveswept (1/20/2015)
Series: Shattered Past, book 2
Genre: New Adult
Source: Tasty Book Tours/NetGalley
Purchase links || amazon | bn || add to goodreads
Rating: ★★★★★
He’s the campus golden boy. She’s picking up the pieces of her broken past. But in Cecy Robson’s scorching novel of second chances—perfect for readers of Monica Murphy and J. Lynn—their differences only make their connection more explosive.Every memory Lety Tres Santos has from her childhood comes with a scar—some emotional, some physical. Her father is an abusive drug addict, and her mother enables his destructive behavior. College offers Lety a fresh start . . . until her father finds a way to ruin that, too. Now, after losing her scholarship to kick off junior year, Lety must somehow stay in school, pay tuition, and turn a deaf ear to the whispers that follow her. And she intends to do it all without Brody Quaid’s help.
Brody is a lacrosse star, a 4.0 student—and as a freshman, he fell hard for the beautiful and spirited Lety. But their relationship crashed and burned because he couldn’t break through the walls she’s put up around her heart. With Lety hurting more than ever, Brody strives to win her back and make her believe in real love and true partnership. That will mean opening up secrets locked away in his own past—and trusting someone more than he’s ever dared.
Lety knows how painful it can be to depend on the wrong man. She also knows how much Brody wants to do this the right way. But it takes more than sizzling desire to move on and build a future together.
Brody is a lacrosse star, a 4.0 student—and as a freshman, he fell hard for the beautiful and spirited Lety. But their relationship crashed and burned because he couldn’t break through the walls she’s put up around her heart. With Lety hurting more than ever, Brody strives to win her back and make her believe in real love and true partnership. That will mean opening up secrets locked away in his own past—and trusting someone more than he’s ever dared.
Lety knows how painful it can be to depend on the wrong man. She also knows how much Brody wants to do this the right way. But it takes more than sizzling desire to move on and build a future together.
about Cecy || CECY ROBSON is the New Adult and Contemporary author of the Shattered Past series, and the award winning author of the Weird Girls Urban Fantasy Romance series. A self-proclaimed professional napper, Cecy counts among her talents a jaw-dropping knowledge of useless trivia, the ability to make her hair big, and a knack for breaking into song, despite her family’s vehement protests. A full-time writer, registered nurse, wife, and mother living in the South, Cecy enjoys spending time with her family and silencing the yappy characters in her head by telling their stories.
{ excerpt } .
Someone knocked on the front door of the townhouse, sparing me.
Piper stood. “I’ll get it.” She pointed at Alice before heading into the foyer. “And don’t forget to play nice with the boys.”She cupped her hand and made a bouncing motion. “Gentle, gentle.”
“I will,” Alice promised.
Jesus. Alice, sweet, shy, mousy Alicehad had more sex than I had. My life wasn’t a complete waste or anything.
The front door creaked open. “Hey, cuties,” Piper sang. She walked back in smiling with Brody and a couple other RAs, Matt Hade, aka Meathead, and Razor.
Brody smiled when he saw me and took a seat beside me. I was relieved he still seemed glad to see me. We hadn’t spoken since yesterday. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey.” I swallowed the remainder of my popsicle before Piper had any more bright ideas.
He swept my hair behind my back. “How’s it going?”
"Thanks to Piper’s “what makes penises perky” demo, his brief contact heated my skin. I tried not to react, but I couldn’t hide the smile or blush he caused. “Good. Dean Riley gave me permission to take another job. I went on an interview for a CNA position this afternoon and was offered a part-time gig. Some weekends, some overnights, but I think I can handle it.”
He frowned. “Letz, I don’t like the idea of you spending the night at some stranger’s house.”
“They seem nice. Besides, I need to work.” I motioned to where Piper was flirting with Meathead and tried to change the subject. Patient rights wouldn’t have allowed me to spill any details, but nothing I could have said would have eased his mind. “My girls here were just helping me rearrange my schedule so I’d have my RA duties covered. What are you guys up to?”
Brody shrugged. “Just heading back from the Coopersburg diner. We saw you in the window when we were passing by and wanted to see what you were doing.”
I froze. “You saw us in the window?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Yeah . . . why?”
Piper spoke up. “Oh, we were just ironing out the finer details of giving head.”
And well, didn’t that snag everyone’s attention?
Razor stopped fiddling with the spiked collar around his neck. “No shit. You were seriously talking blow jobs?”
Piper stared at him like it was obvious. “Of course, that’s what girls do in dorm rooms."
It was only because Meathead was fair-skinned that his blush trumped mine and Alice’s. He crossed his gigantic arms and grinned. “That’s awesome.”
{ review } .
Well, if there were ever a book that I would have to work on my review techniques (aka, my need to summarize the entire book) this would be it. I can't say very much past the first 20% of the book because it would spoil a bunch of the important parts.
While the story is told 100% in Lety's point of view, the story has themes of forgiveness and moving on in Brody's part of the story. And as for Lety, she learns to heal and move forward.
What I love most about the above excerpt is that it's light, whereas a lot of the book isn't. Lety is dealing with a lifetime of abuse and moving on. Brody is dealing with his own demons but trying to convince Lety that they're meant to be together. You watch Lety's struggles -- emotional, physical, financial -- and you see that she is way wiser beyond her years. So to see a scene such as the one above, you're reminded she's just a college kid who simply has a lot on her plate.
What I love most about the above excerpt is that it's light, whereas a lot of the book isn't. Lety is dealing with a lifetime of abuse and moving on. Brody is dealing with his own demons but trying to convince Lety that they're meant to be together. You watch Lety's struggles -- emotional, physical, financial -- and you see that she is way wiser beyond her years. So to see a scene such as the one above, you're reminded she's just a college kid who simply has a lot on her plate.
From the beginning of the book, all the way to the end, you can see how much Lety means to Brody -- and that's simply by using Let's point of view. He's there to hold her hand and pretend nothing is wrong while the RAs all make comments about the beligeremt drunk outside the bus; he knows when she needs to talk and when she just needs someone there; he's her best friend and confidant. He knows her deepest secrets and doesn't let her pull away frombhil because of them -- he let her do that once, he won't do it again.
When it comes time for him to share his secrets, it's a bit of a battle. His holding back, and then later, his acting out, only further cement Lety's fears of her not being good enough for him.
...but they get through it.
There is not an obstacle that these two can face and not get over or around. While Lety is strong, determined, and fiercely independent, Brody is still there to anchor her and keep her afloat.
When her biggest embarrassment comes to light, I could understand why it was something she wanted no one to know. However, while olit was something to feel shame over, I don't think it in any way should have trumped all the other negative things in her life. In my opinion, that was just "piddly" -- but again, I can see where it would he the biggest hurt in her life.
I loved Brody and Lety. I want to see them grow old and have babies.... Because let's be real, here... One, they'd make beautiful babies; two, Brody already said he wanted four; and three, no one said you couldn't have babies AND puppies.
Brody approached me with two cups of coffee in his hands before I could send my text. He kissed my forehead. “What did we have?”
“A boy.”
"Nice. Congratulations.”
I tried not to cry all over again. “Yeah, it was pretty amazing.”
“Do you think our first will be a boy?”
I laughed. “Baby, after what I saw in there, we’re having puppies.”
He smirked. “I think I have a few years to change your mind.”
...and the boy's talkin' forever. He's always been talking forever. Let's just a little slow on the draw.
I'm assuming that book 3, ONCE PURE, is Sofia's story -- after all, books 1 and 2 are her siblings, and what we learn about Sofi... It makes sense that her story would contain the word "pure". Seeing the interactions between her and Killian make me so excited to read their story.
...I have since pulled it up on Amazon and confirmed this information.
Granted, I of course want to see more Lety and Brody but if the book tales place in July, when Sofi will be working with Killian, then they likely won't be around. Sad face...
...I have since pulled it up on Amazon and confirmed this information.
Granted, I of course want to see more Lety and Brody but if the book tales place in July, when Sofi will be working with Killian, then they likely won't be around. Sad face...
{ giveaway } .
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Thank you so much for being a part of my blog tour and for your kind words. I'm so happy you loved Once Loved and hope you enjoy Once Pure just as much.
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