Review: Moonlight on Nightingale Way

MOONLIGHT ON NIGHTINGALE WAY
On Dublin Street #6
Samantha Young
Contemporary Romance
352 pages
NAL
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Logan spent two years paying for the mistakes he made. Now, he’s ready to start over. He has a great apartment, a good job, and plenty of women to distract him from his past. And one woman who is driving him to distraction…

Grace escaped her manipulative family by moving to a new city. Her new life, made to suit her own needs, is almost perfect. All she needs to do is find her Mr. Right—or at least figure out a way to ignore her irresistible yet annoying womanizer of a neighbor.

Grace is determined to have nothing to do with Logan until a life-changing surprise slowly begins turning the wild heartbreaker into exactly the kind of strong, stable man she’s been searching for. Only just when she begins to give into his charms, her own messy past threatens to derail everything they’ve worked to build…

MY THOUGHTS
Upon finishing Moonlight on Nightingale Way we find ourselves with a sudden desire to start apartment hunting in Scotland, desperately searching for one that might result in us living across the hall from a man like Logan MacLeod (minus the loud sexual escapades, of course). He and Grace are at odds from the very beginning, their animosity bringing a Cheshire Cat-style grin to our faces because we know where all that antagonism is going to lead eventually, the sparks between them continuing to burn bright even as the source of the flame shifts from ire to so much more.

It’s easy to see why Grace and Logan butt heads so spectacularly in the beginning, her reserved nature and impeccable manners clashing with Logan’s more in-your-face personality until not even a word has to be spoken between them for either to find themselves enormously irritated. Grace easily wins our hearts as we endure the enthusiasm of Logan’s very vocal bed partners right along with her, our hands clenching into fists as though they wish to pound on the wall on her behalf and tell him to give it a rest. It’s not long before Logan has a massive wrench thrown into his life’s plan though, and as soon as this new responsibility shows up on his doorstep we get to see a very different side to him. A very swoon-worthy side.

While all of Ms. Young's On Dublin Street novels are outstanding, there is a certain amount of anxiety that comes with them, knowing there’s going to come a point where everything our couple has worked toward is going to implode before being ironed out in last several chapters. We can’t help but dread that moment even though we know a happily ever after is a given (thankfully!), but with this latest installment we find the dramatic relationship moment for our couple takes place much earlier, giving us more time in the aftermath as the two of them try and pick up the pieces. As a result, Grace and Logan’s relationship is less stressful in the best possible way, and we really get to settle into the two of them as a couple without our minds leaping forward to their inevitable temporary downfall.

Overall, Moonlight on Nightingale Way is an antagonistic romance at its finest, Grace and Logan imperfectly perfect for one another and all the more lovable for it.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

Find Samantha:

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Echoes of Scotland Street

ECHOES OF SCOTLAND STREET
On Dublin Street #5
Samantha Young
Contemporary New Adult
384 pages
NAL/Penguin
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Shannon MacLeod has always gone for the wrong type of man. After she drifted from one toxic relationship to the next, her last boyfriend gave her a wakeup call in the worst possible way. With her world shattered, she’s sworn off men—especially those of the bad-boy variety.

Cole Walker is exactly the sort that Shannon wants to avoid—gorgeous, tattooed, charming, and cocky. But his rough exterior hides a good man who’s ready to find “the one.” He’s determined to pull Shannon from her self-imposed solitude and win her heart.

As Shannon opens up in the face of Cole’s steady devotion, the passion between them ignites to blazing levels. But when Shannon’s past comes back to haunt her, her fears may destroy the trust Cole has built between them—and tear them apart for good…

MY THOUGHTS
Echoes of Scotland Street is yet another sweet, sexy, and moving addition to the On Dublin Street series, finally allowing a young man who’s been prominent in the periphery of all the previous books his chance to really shine. The setup of the romance between Shannon and Cole is nothing if not familiar in terms of the baggage each brings into the relationship, but Ms. Young has the extraordinary ability to take what’s been done before and infuse it with the perfect amount of emotion and conflict. She knows exactly when we need the quiet moments to bring a smile to our faces, when we want to feel the heat flare between them, and when we wish for the conflict to find a satisfying resolution.

Shannon arrives at INKarnate’s doorstep with a heart sporting scars she wants to remain unseen, determined to break the cycle of abusive men in her life and start fresh on the straight and narrow. When we first learn of her trust issues–able to decipher from the hints she drops that she’s been cheated on and far worse–we can’t help but worry those issues are going to be what cause the crash and burn of her relationship with Cole, and that her tendency to make snap judgments is going to hurt him in ways we might not be able to forgive. That worry sits like lead in our guts as we watch them slowly make their way toward one another, loving the way they make the other feel while at the same time bracing for Shannon to make the Big Mistake that’s going to cause Cole to question the rightness of their relationship.

What’s so delightful about this story (other than the beauty of Cole and Shannon together) is how Shannon surprises us at every pivotal moment, proving that though her past relationships left invisible and permanent marks, they are no longer all she sees about herself. She allows Cole to oh-so carefully dismantle her defenses, and though he scares her in so many ways, she doesn’t let that fear blow up in either of their faces. When that inevitable relationship moment comes toward the end, Shannon impresses once again, immediately recognizing the effect her careless words have on Cole and seeking to make amends any way she can. She reaches out to Cole in a number of ways, but when she finds herself face to face with his rejection, instead of taking it to heart and throwing her defenses back up, she confronts that rejection head on, making sure she gets all the facts from the source instead of filtering what she sees and hears through the twisted prism of her past.

Overall, Echoes of Scotland Street delivers on every level, Shannon and Cole a steamy couple in the bedroom and a supportive one out of it, and my only wish for this series moving forward is that it never ends.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Samantha:

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Fall From India Place

FALL FROM INDIA PLACE
On Dublin Street #4
Samantha Young
Contemporary New Adult
352 pages
NAL
Available June 3rd
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
When Hannah Nichols last saw Marco D’Alessandro, five long years ago, he broke her heart. The bad boy with a hidden sweet side was the only guy Hannah ever loved—and the only man she’s ever been with. After one intense night of giving into temptation, Marco took off, leaving Scotland and Hannah behind. Shattered by the consequences of their night together, Hannah has never truly moved on.

Leaving Hannah was the biggest mistake of Marco’s life, something he has deeply regretted for years. So when fate reunites them, he refuses to let her go without a fight. Determined to make her his, Marco pursues Hannah, reminding her of all the reasons they’re meant to be together.…

But just when Marco thinks they’re committed to a future together, Hannah makes a discovery that unearths the secret pain she’s been hiding from him, a secret that could tear them apart before they have a real chance to start over again….

MY THOUGHTS
Fall from India Place skips us ahead in time five years until we’re reunited with Ellie and Braden’s little sister at age twenty-two. Though she’s young, when we meet Hannah she’s got a heart that’s been haphazardly stitched back together after being shattered years ago, but with the reappearance of a lost love those stitches begin to pop one by one. What’s so addicting about this series is Ms. Young’s ability to write emotionally gripping and intense stories; stories that have our bodies aching as we feel the phantom echoes of the characters’ pain. The way that pain spills onto the pages is where Ms. Young truly shines, each heartfelt or hurtful moment nuanced and rich with meaning and passion rather than drowning in drama just for the sake of drama.

Much like Until Fountain Bridge (Ellie and Adam’s novella), we get to know Hannah both in present day and through flashbacks of her relationship with Marco as it progressed from infatuation to love, and as a result we’re able to fully understand just how profoundly his defection after their one night together affected her. She’s not melancholic or despondent by any means though, instead she’s building a life she’s happy with, but there’s a loneliness in her that’s palpable, and we can’t help but want to wrap our arms around her and hold tight. When Marco comes back into the picture the pain we feel on her behalf is breathtaking, and though her initial attempts to avoid him are perhaps a touch juvenile, she’s the first to admit to her immaturity (even if it’s completely understandable) and make the monumental decision to let Marco back into her life.

It’s fairly easy for us as readers to figure out what Marco’s waiting to share with Hannah “until the right time” and what effect his news is going to have on her, but knowing in advance doesn’t keep the hurt from settling deep in our bones. Hannah’s reaction to Marco’s revelation and the fallout afterward should frustrate us (and to some degree), but because Hannah fully recognizes and acknowledges that he doesn’t deserve the distance she puts between them, it’s nearly impossible to hold anything against her. Her anger, fear and pain quickly become puppeteers pulling her strings and driving her every action, and unfortunately for her, Logic simply doesn’t wield a big enough blade to cut her free.

Overall, Fall from India Place is yet another beautiful addition to this series, Hannah and Marco’s story of love lost, found and then almost lost once more is hard to read in the most gorgeous way, making the two of them a couple hard to forget.

Rating: 4/5

Find Samantha

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.