Title: Believe in the Wish
Author: Christi Snow
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: May 11, 2017
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: ~55,000 words
Genre: New Adult, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, twins, contemporary romance, mourning death
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Synopsis
I buried my twin sister six months after she found out she had cancer. Her funeral was three months ago. Today is our birthday and it started with delivery of letters from her.
It seems she didn’t trust me to move on after her death. She knows me too well. But how can I go on when my other half is just...gone? That’s not something I can recover from with a snap of my fingers. But I also can’t ignore her instructions even though I’d be perfectly content to cuddle up with my buddy, Johnnie Walker, and call it a year.
She has a list of things for me to do and there are rules attached.
There’s one major problem besides the fact it’s been three months since I left the house. I have to do all these things with her jerk of an ex, Hawk Simmons. He abandoned her shortly after she found out she was sick. If that wasn’t enough to make this a really bad idea, the fact that he makes an appearance in all my nighttime fantasies probably does.
I don’t think I can do this, but I owe it to my sister’s memory to try.
This is a stand-alone male/male contemporary romance novel.
Excerpt
Katya ended her call and promptly pushed the ‘away’ button for receiving phone calls. “I’m sorry. No more calls. They may not think so, but they can survive without me for an hour or so while we have our chat.”
Ethan’s stomach rolled over. That brought them to the question of the hour...chat about what? But he was almost afraid to ask at this point. Instead, he redirected. “Do you have your own firm, or do you work for someone else?”
She raised an eyebrow at him, but with a slight tilt of her head she must have seen something in his expression because she answered, “I own my own firm. When I graduated from law school, I went into a partnership that was later dissolved when I bought my partner out. It’s all mine now, which keeps me very busy.”
He grimaced. “And that’s further complicated by hermits like me who refuse to answer phone calls or mail deliveries. Sorry about that.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s time for you to stop apologizing. This is a hard time for you and that’s okay. To a certain extent, that’s the way it should be...”
She hesitated for a moment. “At least for a little while. You’re allowed to grieve. But Emma knew this would be an issue for you, so she made plans.”
“What kind of plans?”
Katya reached into her briefcase and pulled out a file. She reached inside and pulled out an envelope that she handed to him. On the front was his name, written in Emma’s handwriting. Suddenly it was hard to breathe.
“What is this?” he whispered.
“The first of your instructions. You need to open and read it.”
He didn’t want to. He didn’t know why, but he really didn’t want to. “I’d rather wait until I’m at home.” At his house, if he fell apart, he could do it without witnesses.
She shook her head kindly. “No, that won’t work. She was very specific in how she wanted this all to go. I need you to open it now.”
Ethan swallowed against the huge lump in his throat as he tried to find air to breathe. His heart pounded in his chest. Surely, everyone around them could hear that.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I promise.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He glanced up at her. “It’s never going to be okay again.” His voice cracked.
She lowered her lids, and her lips compressed into a tight line as if his grief was too much for her.
His hands shook as he turned the envelope over, lifting the sealed flap. It had to be his imagination, but he could have sworn that he smelled a faint whiff of the strawberry lotion Emma always liked to wear.
For just a moment, he shut his eyes and tried to calm down his emotions going haywire. He didn’t know whether to be angry that she’d done this to him, sad that she wasn’t here to tell him whatever information this letter held, or scared at whatever Emma had cooked up for him.
Throughout her life, she’d kept him hopping. As the exuberant, outgoing twin, she’d always dragged him into trouble when all he’d wanted to do was stay home. In that regard, this whole scheme of hers was very apropos.
He took a deep breath and pulled out the single sheet of paper and unfolded it. At the very first words on the paper, his eyes filled with tears.
Happy Birthday, baby brother.
He glanced up in disbelief at Katya. “It’s May fifteenth?”
At her silent nod, he gazed down at the paper in his hands, his eyes filling with tears. It was their twenty-fifth birthday. The first birthday he’d ever celebrated without her. She’d only been twenty-four when she’d died. How unfair was that? To her. To him. To the world that missed out on everything she had to offer it.
Emma’s handwriting wavered in front of his eyes, but he continued to read, not knowing what else to do. His other option—sobbing in the middle of the restaurant—would be mortifying.
I’m sorry I’m not there to go out partying with you. Remember when we were little and you didn’t want to share your birthday with me? Now you get your wish.
He’d been a horrible person. The tears overflowed his eyes. He’d made that wish more years than he even wanted to remember. How selfish was that? How could he have wished for a life without her in any way? She’d been his light.
Katya shoved a tissue into his hand.
Right. He was in public. Time to get it together.
My bad. It was probably too soon for a joke like that.
I love you, Ethan.
I know I didn’t say that enough—you know emotional displays and I didn’t mix—but beyond anything else that happens over the next few weeks, KNOW THAT. I love you, and if I could have figured out a way to stay, I would have...for you.
But God obviously had different plans for me, so now I’ll just have to content myself with being your guardian angel for the next seventy-five years. I’ll have your back, bro. I promise.
And in the interest of having your back, that’s why Katya is here.
I know you. You’re stubborn, and right now, I imagine that you’re more than a little sad. I get that, but that doesn’t mean you stop living. My death means you have to live twice as much because you have to do it enough for both of us. I’m counting on you.
But, again, I know you, so I’ve enlisted some help from my friends just to get you going.
Make a Wish, Ethan. Believe in it. It’s time to live.
~Emma
When Ethan finished reading, he took several deep breaths. The sobs had welled in his throat, and it was all he could just to hold them inside.
“You okay?” Katya asked.
“Yeah.” His voice sounded husky, but he’d managed to say the word, so he figured that for a win.
“Then it’s time for step two.”
He looked up just as she held a flaming lighter to the candle on top of a cupcake. She pushed it in front of him. “Make a wish and blow. All you have to do is believe.”
As he sat there, looking at the flickering candle, it occurred to him at just how sad this was. His twin was dead, and he was at some bizarre birthday celebration with someone he’d never even met before. Even from the grave, Emma was working to pull him out of his shell.
So he closed his eyes and blew as he made his wish.
I wish I wasn’t so alone.
But when he opened them, nothing had changed. He was still sitting in a restaurant with a woman he didn’t know, mourning the twin sister who’d died. Not that he expected a miracle, but Emma wanted him to believe.
Believe.
How was that even possible? She’d been the one who believed in the magic of things like wishes and fairy tales. What had that gotten her? She’d died before she’d even had the chance to live. What kind of magic could he possibly believe in with that kind of reality?
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9 – Making readers cry...
I'll admit it.
The fact of the matter is...if you care enough about my characters to cry when they hurt, then that means I've done my job. I made you care about what happens to them.
No, I don't set out to be mean to my characters. But to me, the basis of a good story is someone that can overcome and find joy after going through horrible circumstances. And the fact of the matter is, we all appreciate the good times so much more after going through the bad times.
Even with books that I want to be pure entertainment, I hope I bring you to tears at least once at the pure happiness over a moment...and hopefully that moment comes toward the end of the book.
I'll admit, I think Believe in the Wish is a multi-tear book. Have a box of tissues handy and nearby because you're likely to need them.
Ethan is going through a lot. He's lost his other half, his twin sister, and doesn't know how to make living work now. Luckily his sister knew this might be an issue for him and she made a plan...even though he may not see it fully quite yet.
I hope you'll give it a try and forgive me for what I put Ethan through.
I promise there is a Happily Ever After...
5 Stars
On his 25th birthday, Ethan is delivered a letter from his sister's attorney, with instructions from his recently deceased twin sister, Emma. Emma has left a list of tasks that Ethan must accomplish, with the help of her ex, Hawk. Ethan can't stand Hawk, the man who abandoned Emma after he discovered she was dying of cancer, but if Ethan fails to complete the tasks with Hawk by his side, he stands to lose both the business and home he shared with Emma.
I absolutely loved this story. It was such a unique and different storyline. It was intriguing and interesting and once I picked it up, I absolutely couldn't put it down. The author drew me into Ethan and Hawk's world and held me captivated by their story. Both men are dealing with so much hurt from their pasts, but unbeknownst to them they have an ally from the beyond in Emma. Someone to help them move past her death on with their future, hopefully together.
Hawk and Ethan were both lovable characters, but they are broken in different ways and for different reasons. I loved watching them not only heal, but fall in love with one another. The chemistry and connection these men shared was magnetic. You could feel the love between them radiating off the pages of this book. The sexual tension was palpable and when they finally gave into their feelings for one another the sex wasn't only hot, but it was passionate and loving as well.
I absolutely loved the story and I can't recommend it enough! Go one-click your copy today!!
* Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. *
Meet the Author
As
an avid reader her entire life, Christi Snow always dreamed of writing books
that brought to others the kind of joy she felt when she read. But…she never
did anything about it besides jot down a few ideas and sparse scenes.
When
she turned 41, she decided it was time to go after her dream and started
writing. Within four months, she’d written over 150,000 words and hasn't
stopped since.
She's
found her calling by writing about sexy, alpha heroes and smart, tough heroines
falling in love and finding their passion. She's truly living the dream and
loving every minute of it.
Her
tagline is… Passion and adventure on the road to Happily Ever After. She's
loving this adventure!
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5/17 ~ BFD Book Blog
5/18 ~ Dirty Books Obsession
5/19 ~ Reviews for Book Lovers
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5/20 ~ Bayou Book Junkie
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Thank you so much for hosting me AND for this absolutely fabulous review. smiles...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post! I like guest-posts. And one of my fav fake-relationship books is Something New by Harper Logan.
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