When I met Alec Hayes in Vegas, I thought I'd stumbled into a love affair with the man of my dreams. Alec's sexy, confident, and charming. Our night together was full of laughter and the kind of toe-curling kisses that tempted me to believe in fate for the first time in years.
Until I flew out to LA to surprise Alec and ran into the unnamed half-brother he'd admitted to despising.
But I know Oliver Rhett as soon as I see him.
Oliver's the reason I stopped believing in destiny. He was my first love and my first heartbreak. And now he's the reason I can't be with Alec.
It's not fair to give one man the scraps of my heart when Oliver would always be right there to remind me he still holds the rest.
But when Alec needs a favor, I can't turn my back on him. Even if it means falling a little more for his gentle charm every day. Even if it means facing Oliver and remembering exactly how brazenly he stole my heart.
My plan is to walk away. I can't make this family feud worse. But I didn't realize just how hard a broken heart can fall.
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Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog.
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So, I absolutely love love love Lexi Ryan's writing and her Orchid Valley series
has been awesome, but it's been soooo long between books. I honestly can't
remember anything about the previous books, and I didn't read the blurb for
this before I jumped in. Or any reviews or literally have any clue what I was
getting into.
In
fact, I picked it up this morning to read for a minute while the kids were
playing nicely, and I've only just surfaced. I mean honestly, I am just
speechless. I literally can't tell you a thing about the story because I loved
that it kept me guessing. And the angst was just so perfectly balanced that I
have no words.
I
honestly feel like October is starting off as an absolutely blessed month for
books. Everything I've picked up has been great. And this is just the absolute
perfect example of what an amazingly talented author Lexi Ryan is. Just gah!
How am I supposed to sleep now?
The hot guy with the heart of gold I've never let myself want.
Guys like Dean don't go for girls like me.
Curvy. Thick. A big girl. Whatever label you put on it, I know who I am and what it means. And that's fine. I'm content to be Dean's buddy and nothing more.
Or so I thought. When Dean finds out about my bedroom issues and decides to help me fix them, everything changes.
He swears there's no such thing as "bad in bed" and pleasure is all about chemistry. I'm not convinced, but he intends to prove it. With his mouth. With his body. With his dirty texts and whispered promises.
I know from the first kiss that I'm going to fall hard. That this can't last, and the end might break me. But, for these days with Dean, all the hurt might be worth it.
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog.
I kind of don't know how to explain my feelings on this book. I felt a lot of different emotions and opinions during the reading of this story. And trying to explain it without spoilers feels like a mission and a half but I'm going to try. But before I try I have to say that I love Lexi Ryan. Her books are so well written, and her characters are real and flawed and I don't think I could ever end a book and hate it.
I guess I should start by saying for a good percentage I was pretty sure I hated Dean. Seriously he was such a guy, and as a distrustful, jealous, possessive person I had a lot of issues with how the book started. I would not have been able to get over it.
Luckily Abbi was a better woman than I was because she didn't really give it a second thought until she didn't have any other choice. With her history I wasn't surprised by her insecurities and the way she reacted to certain situations. In fact, I think she was pretty commendable for not over reacting.
By the end I was a lot more sympathetic to Dean's insecurities and I was so glad they were able to work through them. They made the perfect couple and I got over my dislike of him. And now I am looking forward to seeing the next Lexi Ryan book.
Her brother's best friend. Her lifelong crush. Her sweetest regret.
Lexi Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles and the 2018 winner of the Romance Writers of America® RITA® award for Best Long Contemporary Romance. She considers herself the luckiest girl around to make a living through storytelling. She loves spending time with her kids, weightlifting, ice cream, swoony heroes, and vodka martinis.
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog.
I love Lexi and the first Orchid Valley book was a five-star read for me I absolutely had to get my hands on this book. But i was so invested in Brinley and Marston I can't remember any of the background characters.
So basically, I read this book as a standalone except for the few times things sparked my memory. From the beginning I loved Stella. She was such a relatable, young lady who had made the normal human mistakes on her way to becoming an adult. And she had the usual insecurities about the mistakes she made.
Jace took me a while to warm to. He was so caught up in his ex-wife and he was so closed off to moving forward. It felt a bit like he was a teenage girl with his on and off feelings. I just wanted to smack him in the face and tell him to see what was right in front of his face.
But as the story went on and more things came to light, I understood where he was coming from. And I just fell harder for Stella for not letting life drag her down. Luckily as everything unfolded Jace did open his eyes and I saw everything that Stella had seen from the very beginning.
I can't wait to see how Abbi's story is going to go. And who she is going to fall for and get to know the rest of the secondary characters better. as well as to see more of Marston and Brinley and Jace and Stella.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Ryan has revealed the cover for Every Sweet Regret!
Releasing October 13, 2020
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Ryan brings you Every Sweet Regret, a sexy standalone romance about a single dad and the reformed party girl who's loved him all her life.
Her brother's best friend. Her lifelong crush. Her sweetest regret.
For as long as I can remember, Kace Matthews has been my brother's best friend and my not-so-secret crush. But I knew nothing would ever happen between us. The successful single dad doesn't fall for the hot mess party girl. Kace + Stella exists in the doodles in my high school notebooks and in my dreams. Never in real life.
Until he finds me on a hookup app and starts flirting shamelessly.
It turns out high school Stella was not prepared for Kace Matthews. Adult Stella isn't much better, but I manage to break down the walls to show Kace the real me--not just the life-of-the-party exterior, but the vulnerable pieces I hide from the world. Combine that with the combustible chemistry we have in real life, and I'm a goner.
Too bad it takes me so long to realize Kace doesn't know I'm the girl he's been falling for online. Telling him the truth now that he knows my secrets could mean losing everything, and that's one regret that could break me.
Cover Designer: Hang Le
Photographer: Sara Eirew
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Meet Lexi
Lexi Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles. A former academic and English professor, Lexi considers herself the luckiest girl around to make a living through storytelling. She loves spending time with her crazy kids, weightlifting, ice cream, swoony heroes, and vodka martinis.
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog. You can find her at her website: www.lexiryan.com
Connect with Lexi
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Every Little Piece of Me is a sexy, standalone second-chance romance in the all-new Orchid Valley series.
It’s not every day you’re invited to your wife’s wedding . . . as a guest.
The first time I saw Brinley Knox, she was crying, draped in a ridiculous pink tulle dress for her sweet sixteen, and cursing the boy who’d broken her heart.
I was the hired help, a teenage charity case.
She was the daughter of the wealthiest family in Orchid Valley.
I knew a girl like Brinley was off-limits. That didn’t stop me from kissing her. Or from promising that if she were ever mine, I’d never let her go.
The last time I saw Brinley, she was sleeping, tangled in the sheets of my Vegas penthouse, my diamond glittering on her finger.
I returned three hours later to an empty bed, the ring on the dresser, and a goodbye note.
We haven’t spoken in the six months since, but I’m not the kind of guy who’d file for a divorce he doesn’t want.
Until I got this damn invitation, it never occurred to me that Brinley didn’t remember our impulsive Vegas nuptials.
It’s time to return to Orchid Valley and remind the bride-to-be that I’m a man who keeps his promises.
Every Little Piece of Me is a sexy, standalone second-chance romance in Lexi Ryan’s all-new Orchid Valley series.
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Excerpt
Every Little Piece of Me, excerpt © 2020 by Lexi Ryan
I run the water cold and brace myself on the sink.
Everything is okay. This is just one moment. Inhale and exhale, and move your way through it.
Once my breathing evens out, I splash cold water on my face and blot it dry with a paper towel. I’m definitely overreacting. There are a thousand reasons he could be in town and want to talk to me alone. Thousands of reasons that don’t begin with the words “You’re the love of my life. Please don’t marry anyone else.”
Because I’m almost positive I don’t want to hear those words. Mostly.
When I step out of the bathroom, Marston is waiting there, leaning against the wall across from the ladies’ room, arms folded, jaw twitching with aggravation. The picture of tall, dark, and pissed off.
When Marston sets his mind to something, he gets it, and tonight, apparently that something is talking to me alone.
“Sorry.” I smooth down my pencil skirt. “That vodka didn’t sit right.” I turn toward the main room.
He catches me around the waist and spins me so fast that I’m trapped between the wall and him before I can blink. “Give me one minute.” He braces his hands above my head and leans forward.
I swallow hard. Not because I’m scared. Marston’s never scared me. But looking up at him when he’s this close is stirring up all kinds of memories. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at him without part of me wishing for the future I longed for at sixteen. I place a firm hand on his chest. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Was Vegas a joke to you?”
Of all the questions I expected him to ask, that wasn’t anywhere on the list. “What? Of course not. Vegas was . . .” Hot. Impulsive. Crazy. Amazing. Wild . . . everything.
He dips his head until his lips hover right above mine. “Don’t you dare call it a mistake,” he growls, his warm breath tickling my skin.
I ache to close the distance between our mouths, ache to feel his kiss again. I’d never call Vegas a mistake. Maybe I should, but I can’t.
“Fuck, you smell so good. I couldn’t get the smell of you out of my mind for weeks after you left me that damn note. Do you know how crazy that made me?”
My hand is still against his chest. If I pushed, he’d back off. He’d give me the space to clear my head. But when he shifts his mouth from above mine to my ear, I don’t want to push him away. I want to pull him back. “Marston—”
“Is this why you sent me that invitation? Did you want me to come here and remind you what it’s like between us? How it feels when we’re close?” In a breath, he has me pinned against the wall again, and his mouth crushes against mine.
Fireworks explode in my stomach. All at once, the floor is falling out from under me and I’m floating.
The kiss doesn’t last long—I don’t let it. I tear my mouth away before it can swallow me whole.
I shove him back, my lips tingling. “You can’t do that.” The kiss was everything I remembered, everything that’s missing when I kiss Julian. Everything I’ve been trying to convince myself I don’t need.
Meet Lexi
Lexi Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles. A former academic and English professor, Lexi considers herself the luckiest girl around to make a living through storytelling. She loves spending time with her crazy kids, weightlifting, ice cream, swoony heroes, and vodka martinis.
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog. You can find her at her website: www.lexiryan.com
Connect with Lexi
❧ Website ❧ Facebook ❧ Newsletter ❧ Bookbub ❧ Instagram ❧ Twitter ❧ Goodreads ❧ Amazon ❧
So I finished Every Little Promise and I was so emotionally invested in the story of Brinley and Marston. I immediately had to dive into Every Little Piece. I needed to know what happened in Vegas and how Marston was going to get Brinley to call off her wedding.
There was also the ten year old secret that was between them that I had so many questions about. Having this book told in present tense with chapters flashing back to their past had me feeling the depth of their connection as much as the chemistry. But having it told in dual point of view made this story perfect.
If not for the dual point of view I probably wouldn't have liked Brinley very much. Because the decisions she made all through the book and in both times would seem selfish and cold if not for knowing exactly what was propelling her to make those decisions.
I call dibs on Marston. Every single thing he did was so transparent and was done with nothing but love for Brinley. And even when she made choices and decisions that broke his heart he still went above and beyond to do the right thing for Brinley. He was just beautiful and I couldn't get enough of him.
I would have loved to get more of them together once all of their issues were resolved. Especially with their friends and family all on the same page. But knowing that we are getting Stella's story next hopefully we will get a whole lot more of all these guys. I loved the story and couldn't put it down from the first page. Which is what I knew to expect from a Lexi Ryan book.
Lexi Ryan is an absolute one click author. It doesn't matter what she writes, I am one clicking it as soon as I'm aware of it's existence. So as soon as I saw the sign ups for every little piece of me my name was on it. Then I saw this little prequel novella, and it's a freebie so I obviously insta clicked.
I have had this on my kindle since it was released but I held back waiting for the actual book to land on my kindle. Because I know that if Lexi wrote it I'm going to feel all the emotions and I'm going to be invested from the first page. And I was.
I am so glad I waited to read this because I need to know everything about Brinley and Marston and I am diving into the full novel right now. See you when I recover.
She spins back to me, her eyes blazing. “Do it yourself.”
I huff out a laugh and prowl toward her. “What did you say?”
Those defiant eyes brim with tears and her bottom lip trembles. “I said do it yourself. I have nothing to say, but you’re the one so determined that we have this conversation.”
I come closer. She backs against the wall, and I keep coming until there are only inches between us. “That’s real mature, Shay.” I cup her jaw and stroke her bottom lip with my thumb as I study her face. “This is what you want?” I dip my head and bring my mouth a breath from hers. “You want me to corner you and make you talk? Maybe I need to remind you how good we are together.” I cock my head to the side, touching the bridge of my nose to hers. “You try to keep hating me, but you lose your grip on it when I get close, so I wonder what would happen if I got closer.”
Her breath is sweet against my lips, and she grabs my arms and curls her fingers into my biceps.
“Is that how it has to be, then? You want me to press you against this wall and kiss you until you can’t remember your name and can’t blame yourself for letting your guard down?”
Her pulse quickens beneath my fingers and her back bows as she arches into me. “We have nothing to talk about.”
“Bullshit. But maybe first you want me to track down that fucker you’re sleeping with—the one who you’re fine to let ‘see other people’? I could throw my weight around a little. He’d probably leave you alone just so he doesn’t have to deal with me.” I drag my nose along her cheek until my mouth is at her ear. “Then you wouldn’t have to tell him that you don’t want him. You wouldn’t ever have to admit that even after all these years, even after all the shit fate threw at us and all the mistakes I made, you still want me more than you’ll ever want him.”
She swallows, and when she draws in a breath, I think she’s going to deny it. But she doesn’t say a word. Her only response is sliding a hand up to cup the back of my neck. Fuck yes.
“I’m not going to do that for you.” It takes every drop of my will to force myself to step back. “I want you to talk to me. I want you to scream at me for every shitty decision I ever made. Then I want you to kiss me and tell me I get another chance. I want you to break it off with that douchebag completely and be with me, but I’m not going to do it for you.” I take another step toward the door. “You’re going to have to make the choice yourself.”
Crazy for Your Love by Lexi Ryan
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I bite my lip and whimper. “You’re killing me.”
“And when you look at me like that, all I want to do is seduce you into ignoring your better judgment.”
That! my traitorous body cries.
Yes, let’s do that!
“But I get it,” he continues. “We’re friends, and as tempting as I find you—as tempting as I’ve always found you—if adding sex to our friendship is out of the question for you, this conversation is over. I want you, but I’m not enough of an idiot to ruin this just to take you to bed.”
My brain stumbles on as tempting as I’ve always found you before landing on adding sex to our friendship. Is that an option? Does that ever work? Crap on a cracker. I’ve known Carter for four years, and I’ve never had to exert so much self-control for something as simple as not straddling his lap.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” His voice is low, a husky rumble that bypasses my brain and speaks directly to the parts of my anatomy I’d rather exclude from this conversation.
I’m thinking I want you too. I’m thinking we could be naked and in my bed in less than sixty seconds. “I’m thinking you should leave,” I blurt, pushing the words past the other really bad ideas on the tip of my tongue.
He blinks at me, then nods as he pushes out of his chair. “Sure. I understand.”
Jumping up, I catch his arm. I can feel the heat of his skin through the cotton of his shirt sleeve. “I’ve never done this.”
His eyes go wide. “Wow. I thought . . . Seriously?”
“Not sex, you idiot. The whole friends-with-benefits thing. I’m not sure I’m made that way.”
He’s quiet for a long beat. “If you need more than that from me, Tea, I—”
I press my fingers to his lips and shake my head before he can say anything else. I’m not hoping for more. More is out of the question for me with someone like Carter. But even so, I don’t want to hear that he doesn’t want anything either. I know it’ll feel like rejection—even if that makes me a hypocrite. “I don’t want more, but I don’t know if . . .”
I drop my hand from his mouth and lift onto my toes to press my lips to his. I want to know if it’ll feel like it did last night, and the second our mouths touch, I have my answer. Electric need zips through me. I loop my arms behind his neck, planning to take the kiss deeper.
He doesn’t let me. With a hand on either of my wrists, he pulls my arms away and steps back, his eyes dark. “I’ll go. You think. If we do this, it needs to be a decision, not an accident.”
I nod and watch him leave, but I stand there for a solid five minutes, considering running after him.
My Review
The moment my brain registers what he’s looking at, I lunge for him and smack a hand over his eyes. I intentionally put that box in my car, separate from the others. And I forgot.
Brayden’s chest rumbles with laughter, and I want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
Brayden Jackson just saw my entire vibrator collection.
He gently pulls my hand away, revealing eyes full of mischief.
I squeak. “Don’t look in that box again.”
His lips twitch. “But I really, really want to.”
I point a finger at him. “Don’t you dare.”
He presses his lips into a thin line, amusement dancing in his eyes. Then, as if he can’t help himself, he asks, “Are they all pink?”
“Shut up!” My cheeks are on fire.
His voice is the softest caress of a whisper when he says, “Molly, your cheeks are almost as pink as your vibrators.”
I smack both hands against his chest. “You did not just say that word!”
“Vibrators?” He grins. Not one of his smirks or half smiles, but a grin, and damn me and my stupid chemical attraction to this man, because it makes me want to slam the bedroom door closed and climb him like a tree. “If you don’t like the word, why do you have—”
I throw my hand over his mouth. “Don’t say it. We agreed we’d keep our relationship professional—that’s what we both wanted. So don’t say it. Don’t even think about it.” Then, because I realize his lips are pressed to my palm and it reminds me too much of our night in New York when his lips were everywhere, I back away.
The warm amusement in his eyes turns to heat. “First of all,” he says, his voice like silky steel, “those were your rules, not mine. I agreed for you, not because that’s what I want.” He drags his gaze over me, and my heart pounds so fast it feels like a hummingbird’s trying to escape my chest. “Second, even if I tried not to think about you using your little collection of pink toys, I’d fail miserably.” He dips his head, and I can feel his breath against my ear as he says, “I’m already thinking about it, and I will be for a long time yet.”
