PARADISE HOPS by Liz Crowe

Paradise Hops by Liz Crowe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

NetGalley free read

I rarely give anything 5 stars. It has to been incredibly amazing. The only reason I didn't give this project 4 stars is because of the very strange coma/dream sequence. That just didn't work for me. Otherwise, I really liked it.

It started out slow and was interesting how it prologues to the middle of the story, with the first chapter starting a year earlier than the prologue.

It's not hard to figure out what happened to Lori, with her skittishness. But when she tells the story its difficult to read.

Garrett and Eli are so different, but are both dynamic and very male, you can understand why Lori is attracted and sexually drawn to both. Garrett is gentle and caring, with the white knight he is just oozing off of him. But Eli is all brute man and sex. You just want him to bash you over the head and take you to his cave to have his way with you. Where Garrett is ordered and straight laced, Eli is artistic and temperamental.

The fact that Lori is coming out of her shell at the same time these two men come into her life, causes her dilemma's. She's finally feeling more like herself, but Garrett treats her likes she's a piece of fine china, which should be put on a shelf only to be taken down and used reverently. Where as Eli wants to throw her against the wall and have his way with her.

***Spoiler Alert***

When Garrett dies and Lori has to mourn him while pregnant, with what she believe is his child, I shed a few tears feeling her dispare.

I liked this story a lot. it was very different from the other books of this genre, where you have a woman who was tough and strong until her security and since self are taken from her, albeit temporarily, but it lasts a few years. Once she begins to come out of her shell, these two dynamic men come into her life. Both loving her in their own way. One who almost smothers her with it and the other who puts up a shield of tough indifference in order to not be hurt.

She runs out on both of them to find her individuality again, only to have one of them die. The guilt of loving two men and not giving the one a chance before it was too late causes her to lash out a the one who's left. But the two men had become friends and were willing to let her decide who she wanted when she was supposed to have returned, so the one who is living, stays because he loves her and is willing to fight for her. Even if it means he has to fight against her.

And there were a couple good sex scenes.

But, like I said... The whole dream sequence was a little wonky for me and cost the story a full star.

Good way to have the story come full circle.

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