World Literary Press | July 9, 2015 | New Adult Romance
Harborside Nights, book 2
★★★★
SOURCE: TASTY BOOK TOURS
After the death of her parents on the day of her college graduation, Delilah Armstrong thought she could finally follow her heart and come out to her closest friends, but the guilt of going against her parents’ beliefs haunts her. The feelings she has for her best friend, Ashley, are stronger than anything she’s felt before, but Delilah has never even kissed a girl, and fear stops her at every turn.
Ashley Carver promised herself that she would never again date another girl who wasn’t out, but that was before she met intoxicatingly sweet and sexy Delilah.
When another girl offers to teach Delilah the ropes, it changes Delilah’s whole world and gives her the courage to go after the only girl she really wants. But coming out isn’t as easy as Delilah imagined, and moving past her parents’ death and the feelings of guilt she is left with is even harder. The intense passion between Ashley and Delilah is too strong to deny, but coming together means risking everything.
Discovering Delilah is an edgy, evocative, romantic story of friendship, family, and the courage to love.
{ about melissa foster } .
Melissa hosts an Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.
Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.
{ review } .
When I saw Melissa's break down for this HARBORSIDE NIGHTS series, I wasn't quite sure that I was going to read every book in the series. I have zero issues with same-sex marriages/partnerships/etc -- you love who you love, and I support anyone and everyone, including a number of my friends.
I just don't tend to read it.
After seeing the synopsis of this book, though, I wanted to stretch my boundaries and give at least DISCOVERING DELILAH a chance -- those Armstrong kids just pull your heartstrings, after all. However, because of the nature of the book, even the publicist had Tasty Book Tours emailing everyone -- be sure this is a book you want to read.
I have to say... I'm so glad I took the chance.
Delilah and Wyatt are twins and in the previous title, CATCHING CASSIDY, their parents died in a car accident. Prior to the accident, Delilah and Wyatt graduated college and, after battling with indecision, decided to tell her ultra-conservative parents the truth --
That she liked girls.
The last image Delilah has in her head is of her father's disapproval.
Her friends accept her, sure, and Wyatt doesn't just accept her but encourages her, but knowing that her parents died, disappointed with her, is something that Delilah has a difficult time overcoming. While Wyatt went through the grieving process in his book, Delilah is having a hard time making it through the stages -- in fact, it will take the entire book for Delilah to fully come to grips with everything that has happened.
Part of her overcoming this, though, is for her to be more comfortable with herself. While yes, she knows she likes girls (she's dated guys and even has had sex with guys, but she doesn't get the same feelings with them as she does girls), she hasn't truly explored it -- partially because of the fact she had to keep that part of her hidden for so long. At her grieve support group, Delilah meets Janessa, who she finds incredibly attractive but doesn't think there's anyway that she could like girls. Janessa, though, is the one that breaks that barrier.
Janessa helps Delilah through her problems and pushes her to talk to Ashley, a friend of Delilah's that she wants to be more. Something that Melissa does extremely well with this story is the fact that while it's hard to date in general, it's even harder to be attracted to the same sex and pursue someone. It's much more likely that a person is 'straight' than not, so on top of dealing with her grief over her parents and her reservations about coming all the way out, Delilah struggles initially with the fact she's attracted to someone that she's not sure even plays for her team.
Ashley and Delilah's friendship is newer, but when they decide to take that next step, they have just as many hurdles to get through as any other relationship. Trust becomes a major theme in their story -- as early on as Janessa, through the very end of the book with Ashley's own past.
The relationship between Ashley and Delilah is strong and easy, but the undercurrents are what drive the story. There's trust, jealousy, pasts.. And there's Delilah's grief. While Ashley's past drives her part of the story, I felt that the true driving force of DISCOVERING DELILAH was Delilah learning to fully accept herself, grieve over her parents, and find a way to move on from it all -- which she eventually does.
I very much am enjoying the friendships that are here in Harborside. I love Wyatt and Cassidy, and Wyatt and Delilah, and Wyatt, Delilah, and Cassidy. Equally, I love the friendship that Ashley has with Brandon. I love the entire group together and imagine that I'll love every one's stories separately.
I'm a Melissa fan. I love her writing style. I love her contemporaries and I'm finding with each of these HARBORSIDE NIGHTS books, I like her New Adult titles, too.
I just don't tend to read it.
After seeing the synopsis of this book, though, I wanted to stretch my boundaries and give at least DISCOVERING DELILAH a chance -- those Armstrong kids just pull your heartstrings, after all. However, because of the nature of the book, even the publicist had Tasty Book Tours emailing everyone -- be sure this is a book you want to read.
I have to say... I'm so glad I took the chance.
Delilah and Wyatt are twins and in the previous title, CATCHING CASSIDY, their parents died in a car accident. Prior to the accident, Delilah and Wyatt graduated college and, after battling with indecision, decided to tell her ultra-conservative parents the truth --
That she liked girls.
The last image Delilah has in her head is of her father's disapproval.
Her friends accept her, sure, and Wyatt doesn't just accept her but encourages her, but knowing that her parents died, disappointed with her, is something that Delilah has a difficult time overcoming. While Wyatt went through the grieving process in his book, Delilah is having a hard time making it through the stages -- in fact, it will take the entire book for Delilah to fully come to grips with everything that has happened.
Part of her overcoming this, though, is for her to be more comfortable with herself. While yes, she knows she likes girls (she's dated guys and even has had sex with guys, but she doesn't get the same feelings with them as she does girls), she hasn't truly explored it -- partially because of the fact she had to keep that part of her hidden for so long. At her grieve support group, Delilah meets Janessa, who she finds incredibly attractive but doesn't think there's anyway that she could like girls. Janessa, though, is the one that breaks that barrier.
Janessa helps Delilah through her problems and pushes her to talk to Ashley, a friend of Delilah's that she wants to be more. Something that Melissa does extremely well with this story is the fact that while it's hard to date in general, it's even harder to be attracted to the same sex and pursue someone. It's much more likely that a person is 'straight' than not, so on top of dealing with her grief over her parents and her reservations about coming all the way out, Delilah struggles initially with the fact she's attracted to someone that she's not sure even plays for her team.
Ashley and Delilah's friendship is newer, but when they decide to take that next step, they have just as many hurdles to get through as any other relationship. Trust becomes a major theme in their story -- as early on as Janessa, through the very end of the book with Ashley's own past.
The relationship between Ashley and Delilah is strong and easy, but the undercurrents are what drive the story. There's trust, jealousy, pasts.. And there's Delilah's grief. While Ashley's past drives her part of the story, I felt that the true driving force of DISCOVERING DELILAH was Delilah learning to fully accept herself, grieve over her parents, and find a way to move on from it all -- which she eventually does.
I very much am enjoying the friendships that are here in Harborside. I love Wyatt and Cassidy, and Wyatt and Delilah, and Wyatt, Delilah, and Cassidy. Equally, I love the friendship that Ashley has with Brandon. I love the entire group together and imagine that I'll love every one's stories separately.
I'm a Melissa fan. I love her writing style. I love her contemporaries and I'm finding with each of these HARBORSIDE NIGHTS books, I like her New Adult titles, too.
for other reviews & tour goodies,
{ previous reviews in series } .
CATCHING CASSIDY 4.5★ { review }
Thank you for hosting DISCOVERING DELILAH!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you pushed your boundaries and chose to read Discovering Delilah and...LOVED it! That's made my day. Thank you for such a wonderful review. I truly appreciate your support XOXO
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