Leave the Night On | Romantic Reads and Such

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Book Review, Cottonbloom series, Laura Trentham, Leave the Night On

Woo Hoo! It’s time to return to Cottonbloom!!!!

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Leave The Night On

Cottonbloom #4

by Laura Trentham

Releasing August 1, 2017

St. Martin’s Press

Blurb:

Love, betrayal, and sweet revenge–life in Cottonbloom is about to get a whole lot hotter . . .

Sutton Mize is known for lavishing attention on the customers who flock to her boutique on the wealthy side of her Mississippi town. So when she finds a lace thong in her fiance’s classic cherry-red Camaro, she knows just who she sold it to: her own best friend. In an instant, Sutton’s whole world goes up in flames. . .

Wyatt Abbott has harbored a crush on Sutton since he was a young kid from the other side of the tracks. He witnessed Sutton’s shocking discovery in the Camaro at his family-owned garage–and it made him angry. What kind of man could take lovely, gorgeous Sutton for granted? But then Sutton comes up with an idea: Why not give her betrothed a taste of his own medicine and pretend that she’s got a lover of her own? Wyatt is more than happy to play the hot-and-heavy boyfriend. But what begins as a fictional affair soon develops into something more real, and more passionate, than either Sutton or Wyatt could have imagined. Could it be that true love has been waiting under the hood all along?

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31450643-leave-the-night-on

Goodreads Series Link https://www.goodreads.com/series/178426-cottonbloom

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Excerpt:

Jackson grabbed Wyatt’s arm and forced him around. “You like her.”

“Everyone likes her. She’s nice.”

“I mean, you like like her. You have since we were kids—I’ve not forgotten how you walked around with cow eyes around her—and that kiss out front wasn’t pretend. You two nearly melted the asphalt.”

Jackson’s twin powers had veered sharply annoying. “I maybe, sort of like her. What’s wrong with that? She’s single; I’m single.”

“She’s been single for less than a week. She’s using you.”

“I’m using her too. In return for me squiring her around, she’s going to get her judge daddy to talk up the garage at the country club. Send some more projects our way to make up for the Camaro.”

“That kiss was all a selfless act for the garage?” Jackson’s sarcasm was not appreciated.

Wyatt had to look away from his brother’s gaze which prompted a muttered curse from Jackson.

“Do not fall for this woman, Wyatt. Whether she means to or not, she’s going to rip your heart into little pieces and feed it to the gators before she goes back to her old life.”

“We’re not getting serious. In fact, we agreed that after I take her to the gala, it’s over.”

Jackson didn’t look pleased with the news. He looked worried. “As long as you don’t delude yourself into thinking it’s anything more than that. She’ll be back with Tarwater or someone like him by Christmas.”

Because the thought had already burrowed into his chest, Wyatt’s reaction was knee-jerk and defensive. “Someone like him?”

“You know, sophisticated. Worldly. Rich. Well-connected. Well-groomed.”

“Eff you,” Wyatt shot back, but there was little heat to it.

Jackson was right. “I’ve been told I clean up real nice.”

Jackson’s smile revealed his dimples. A rare sight since their pop had died last year. “Doesn’t count if it’s from a female relative over the age of sixty.”

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Review:

I’ve seen a few reviews where people have had a problem with Sutton – I think they feel like she didn’t put as much effort in or that she took advantage of Wyatt. But relationships aren’t always even. Sometimes you are having a bad time of it, like Sutton, and need the support. Wyatt does a fantastic job of being there for her, even when it’s not easy for him, and helping her find her mojo.

You get the feeling she’s never really had anyone push her or challenger her to be the person she wants to be. Instead she’s just done the expected thing and floated through life. With the discovery of being cheated on, not just by her fiancé but her best friend, things are turned upside down. Luckily Wyatt is there to catch her and help her find her place. He’s just hoping it will be by his side …

Wyatt comfortable in his own skin and has a good idea of who he is. It’s his family that has a bit of the drama going on. Ever since his dad died things haven’t been easy for the brothers and it seems to be getting worse. Having Sutton ask him to be her fake boyfriend, something that he wouldn’t mind making real, is a good diversion from the more difficult things at home.

It’s those problems at home that you know will turn into some great future stories 🙂 The closeness among Wyatt’s brothers (or at least most of the brothers) is heart-warming but also got me very curious about what things they are hiding from each other. Trentham yet again creates an interesting group of people with a lot of potential.

If you love small town charm, quirky characters, and touching love stories, Trentham’s Cottonbloom series is a must read – she is definitely making a name for herself as a go-to author of southern contemporary romances. While this is part of a bigger series, Leave the Night On is the start of a new subsection and can easily stand on its own so those that are new to this little divided town definitely have a great place to start. And it means that you are all set to enjoy all the delicious goodness that the Abbott brothers are sure to bring! (But don’t blame me if you find yourself adding a whole lot of her backlist to your TBR pile 🙂 )

BTW, for those that worry about the apparent one-sidedness of their relationship, the epilogue does a good job of showing exactly how well Sutton gets Wyatt.

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Author Info:

An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. Then He Kissed Me, a Cottonbloom novel, was named as one of Amazon’s best romances of 2016. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she’s shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.

Author Links: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

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