If you are looking for a great new romantic series to cuddle up to, then look no further! Lia Riley has officially carved out a place for herself with this Adult Romantic novel! Check out more about LAST FIRST KISS, read Tina’s Thoughts, check out some awesome teasers by Books By Migs, read an excerpt, and enter a giveaway!
Last First Kiss
Brightwater Series Book #1
Lia Riley
Genre: Adult Romance
Release Date: June 23, 2015
A kiss is just the beginning…
Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her popular blog. Reality is… messier. Especially when it lands her back in one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous six-foot-four reason she left. Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the big city. Simple, easy, perfect.
Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful, wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to? And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.
You can purchase your copy today at the retailers listed below!
Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo
When I found out that Lia Riley was going to have an adult romance series, I could not wait to see what she had in store. I am in love with her New Adult Off the Map series and her lead female character, Talia, is one of my favorite female leads in NA literature. I know this girl can write. Lia has fantastic writing skills and she has proven that once again in Last First Kiss, the first in the Brightwater Series.
This book takes everything we love about romance and infuses it with something fresh and heartfelt. There are moments when you swoon and others where you need to fan yourself. But there are a plethora of heartfelt moments between the characters, both romantic and not. This story is a second chance romance, one of the best themes in my opinion. There is a foundation and a connection between Sawyer and Annie. A connection that was cut off too soon and left shrouded in mystery. When Annie moves home and they run into each other, there is tension, both the good kind and the bad kind. Lia does a fantastic job of displaying that tension in the written text. There are reservations they both have, Annie more than Sawyer, but there is something growing between them that cannot be denied.
I loved watching the relationship between Annie and her son. They are wonderful together. She is a great mother, attempting to give her son everything he could want or need, sacrificing her own life to do it. Their love is so beautifully written and their comradery is sweet. Annie is a great mom. She is sweet, determined, and fierce. I loved Annie’s character and how strong she was. Her life has not been easy but her fight is full of spunk and authority. As a blogger, I loved seeing her mommy blog create an atmosphere with her words and ideas. There is so much truth in what Annie feels and experiences in the blogging world. Lia does an excellent job of adding a dash of something more through this theme, giving us posts displaying both the reality and the desired for fantasy.
The romance was spot on. It is nice to see that Lia can go from one genre to another. Just because you can write one type of romance does not automatically mean you have a grasp of every kind. The love story was all around wonderful. The sexy was just the right amount, not venturing into overzealous or too informative. The sweet moments made me sigh and wish for a man like Sawyer. Their renewed friendship was so healthy and vibrant. This relationship was not based on a lesser character needing a stronger one. Instead it was two equals who are struggling in life for whatever reason and their journey to finding a partner to walk that path with them. That idea alone was a breathe of fresh air.
It is official (again). Lia Riley can write it. I love this book and I love the beginning of this series. I cannot wait to return to Brightwater and learn more about the people we see glimpses of in Last First Kiss. This series is bound to be a beauty and I cannot wait to swoon and fall in love!
He tilted back his Stetson, running his intense gaze over her face. “You haven’t changed much.”
The simple statement threatened to fell her. He had no idea everything was different. The dreamy, hopeful girl she’d been, the one he’d known all those years ago, had her atoms obliterated and her soft underbelly refashioned, armored with titanium plates. She didn’t run barefoot through meadows or jump blindly into rivers.
Not anymore.
“Thanks for the repair job,” she said, stepping back, blinking rapidly. He’d fixed the coop, but no one could fix the cracks in her confidence and imploded self-esteem. She needed to do that—if only she knew how. Was there a Self-esteem for Dummies?
Then he moved. Close. Closer. Way too close. The old magnetic pull between them hadn’t lost any potency. The air charged. So much so that when he reached out, cradling her cheek, she expected a zap. “I missed you, Annie Girl.”
Her heart beat sideways at his use of the old nickname.
“I . . . ” missed you too. God. So much. “I have to go.” She took another step backward and then another. “And anyway, I’m not staying, at least not for long. My family’s decided it’s time to sell the farm.”
“Sell?” His body went rigid. “But this place has been in your family forever. All your history is here. How can you let it go to a stranger?”
Who was he to come around at an ungodly hour, in those tight faded jeans that showcased his . . . everything, touching her cheek, giving her unsolicited guidance? Her chest heated. Is that why he was here—being the good cop to Grandma Kane’s bad cop? “I appreciate your help with the coop, but let’s not pretend you’re giving impartial neighborly advice. Your family wants the property back. Trust me, I get the situation. I was raised with it, but we can get more for Five Diamonds than your grandmother could ever offer.”
He dropped his chin, leveling a penetrating stare. “That’s not what I meant, it’s not about the feud. You know I don’t care about any of that.”
She used to believe that, had once fooled herself into believing they were kindred spirits. “I don’t know anything about you anymore, Sawyer. Maybe I never did.”
She pivoted and strode toward the house, clenching the scotch bottle. Why did he come, force her to feel things better forgotten? She was almost at the stairs when a large, powerful hand closed on her upper arm, not a grip, but a gentle touch that halted her mid-step. Her heart pounded, her belly breaking into wild flutters.
Slowly, so slowly, she turned.
He held her gaze squarely, as if daring her to look away. “You know who I am,” he said.
She couldn’t reply, even if she knew what to say. She couldn’t blink or swallow or think. The only sound beside the wind came from their shallow breaths. She and Sawyer might be water under the bridge, but it looked like that water was churning, roiling whitewater.
To celebrate the release and blog tour of LAST FIRST KISS, there is a giveaway happening you will not want to miss. Enter this RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY for your chance to win a $25.00 Amazon or B&N eGift Card! Think of all the wonderful things you can buy. All you need to do is follow the instructions on the giveaway for your chance to win. Don’t miss out! Good luck!
Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.
A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn’t mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c’mon, who doesn’t love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads