BOOK
SUMMARY:
Riviera Benson has a
talent...one she discovered by accident. She’s a painter, but canvas isn’t her
medium. She creates her lovely masterpieces on walls and ceilings of million
dollar homes as murals and faux finishes. Her art is in high demand now, but life
wasn’t always that way. Riviera has secrets from her past she intends to keep
tightly locked away...terrifying secrets that keep her awake at night...that
prevent her from getting close to anyone...anyone that is, until she meets
Shan.
Benjamin Shandon, owner of
Shandon Homes, works like a thousand demons are chasing him...because perhaps
they are. His business has boomed, ever since the forest fire swept through the
canyon and destroyed hundreds of million dollar homes. He demands excellence in
everything...from his employees to his women. He slows down for nothing,
keeping a schedule that no sane person would want. But Riviera interrupts
everything, twisting his guts inside out, and wedging her way into his heart,
destroying a promise he made to himself.
Will they let their pasts
control their future, or will they decide to let go and allow their hearts to
discover each other’s?
My 4.5 Star Review
“If there is love in your life,
it can make up for most things that are missing. If you don’t have love, no
matter what else you have, it will never be enough.”
Riviera Benson is a survivor. Finally finding the courage to
escape an abusive relationship she has an opportunity to start over in Beaver
Creek. She is far from perfect, smart and beautiful in her own unique way. She
is a talented painter but not in the traditional sense. She has been hired by
the notoriously bitchy interior designer, Marsha Sue. Working for Marsha Sue
hasn’t been easy and Riviera realizes it never will be but Marsha is the “it”
person to work for and Riviera needs the work. Working in million dollar
Shandon homes, Riviera creates masterpieces..murals on the ceilings and walls using
faux finishes. They are breathtaking, one of a kind and priceless. Fearing
relationships and lacking trust, she focuses on her work, it is the one thing
that helps put her mind at ease from the terrifying nightmares that keep her
awake at night, a secret that has prevented her from opening up to anyone,
until Shan. He seems to have gotten her panties in a bunch, in a good way and
that scares her more than anything.
Benjamin Shandon is a successful builder and owner of
Shandon Homes. His homes are perfect. He is tough to work for but in the end
the quality is priceless. After a devastating fire that destroyed hundreds of
million dollar homes, Shan works himself to the bone. He expects the perfection
from his employees as well as from his women; lately he doesn’t really have
time for that. He is married to his job that is until he meets the talented
painter, Riviera. He is completely smitten with her.
Slowly Riviera let’s Shan in and their friendship turns into
so much more. Shan believes in Riv, her talent and her strength and he does his
best to get her to believe in herself. Things seem to be going well, until
Riviera’s past catches up with her. When jealousy, revenge and love collide.
Riviera believes she is too flawed and Shan wants nothing more than to save her
from her tragic past as well as his.
Will Riviera be able to let go of her past to have a future
with Shan? Will Shan be able to accept her past as well?
Riviera is such a tortured soul. She is naive yet so smart,
so vulnerable and beautiful. Her scars are her story, her past. Your heart
absolutely breaks for her but somehow through it all she is able to create
beauty. She has the will and the drive to survive and to be free.
Jasper and Marsha Sue are those characters you absolutely
LOVE to HATE. They are evil n their own way and all you want to do is punch
them!
Shan.... Oh Shan *hotsexysmartdedicated* He is fantastic,
smart, cranky and gorgeous. He has his own demons he is battling, the same
demons that made him the work-a-holic perfectionist. When he meets Riviera, she
ends up turning his world inside out in the best possible way.
A.M Hargrove created some fantastic characters. There is
fear, struggle, angst, longing, love and most of all accomplishment by facing
the past, overcoming that fear and accepting the future.
Riviera and Shan journey is beautiful, angsty, humorous and
sexy.
Mrs. Hargrove does a fantastic job keeping the reader
engaged. A wonderful read that will piss you off, make you laugh, make you cry
and make you blush. An entertaining read. A fantastic job!
Author
Information
One day, on her way home
from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast
forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would quickly be too late to
write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So,
she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and
tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct
line of fire was a dodge ball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to
avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near
miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her
crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what laptop out the window. She
breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone, called her boss
and quit her job. Grinning, she made another call to her hubs and told
him of her new adventure (after making sure his heart was beating properly
again).
So began A. M. Hargrove's
career as a YA/NA and Adult Romance writer. Her books include the following:
Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge and Kissing Fire (The Edge Series); The
Guardians of Vesturon series (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent
and Beginnings); Dark Waltz and Tragically Flawed.
Other than being in love
with writing about being in love, she loves chocolate, ice cream and coffee and
is positive they should be added as part of the USDA food groups.
Author Links:
Blog: http://amhargrove.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amhargrove1
Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5338829.A_M_Hargrove
TRAGICALLY FLAWED
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18271624-tragically-flawed
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EEEEEP!!! What a surprise to find your review posted today!! I'm soooo excited and THANK YOU my friend for the kind words. I'm so psyched you were able to join in on the TF release party too! xoxoxoxo
ReplyDeleteLove the quote you chose, Kristie! It made me want to read this book!
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