WOW, I love finding new authors and material to read. Tiffnay Aleman did not disappoint me. I love the ones that can make me cry because they are MAKING me feel the emotions of the characters. This book has love, betrayal, fights, make up sex, and all thrown around a woman who has given up her old life to make a new one and one hot soldier that for the first time in his life wishes he didn't have to leave. This was a Great Read, you will enjoy. I have to admit, I am glad it was dark outside when I finished this book. Because if my neighbors saw me ugly crying all over my tablet again, I would never live it down. But there is just something about books with men in the military that do me in every single time. But Tiffany Aleman takes it one step further. She wrote two remarkable characters with tough standards to live up to completely full of passion and tenderness. This book was full of raw emotion, love and pain… but in the end, it was more about discovering the beauty that can be found in love and finding out who you are along the way.Kelsey’s life has been planned out for her. She didn’t get to choose who her family was any more than they felt she should have the choice in who she would spend her forever with. Even if he was an arrogant jackass who just happens to be the governor. Well crap. Kelsey has spent every day of her life waiting and wanting the approval of her family. Wanting them to have faith in her and to show her the love she has always wanted.Well… now it’s her wedding day and I have never wanted to smack two people more than I wanted to smack her parents. The thought of making her wed someone that she not only did not love, but couldn’t stand… well, let’s just say, I would have done a lot more than let the bird fly. But always wanting to live up to their expectations Kelsey knew what she had to do. But standing face to face with the biggest ass ever, suddenly she has an epiphany. She knows this will change everything in her life if she says “I do.” How much is she really willing to sacrifice to win the approval and love of her parents?Two years later, he walks into the diner when Kels has happily worked since walking away from the only life she has known. He has her flustered from the very beginning, but there was something special about Riley. He wasn’t just another guy looking to get her attention. There was something there. Yes, he was charming. Yes, he had the corniest pick up lines… yes, he made her smile and made her southern region go insane. But there was more. He didn’t back down. Oh, but let me back up, Riley had my attention the second he walked into that diner, not only because he was hot, but he was a hot man in a uniform… my heart melted instantly.Kels and Riley are in the beginning of the most amazing relationship, but there is so much of her past that she just would rather forget. It is not who she is now. She doesn’t want to be looked at a certain way for the decision she made when she walked away from that life. But the beauty of Riley is that he could care less about her past, but he wants to know what made her who she is.It’s hard to let people in when all you have done is spend your life placating others. It’s hard to be seen as a strong person, when you have spent your life being pushed down. It is hard to believe that love can exist, when you have seen nothing but status in your life as a means to an end. When you don’t know all those things can happen, it’s hard to accept when they finally do.Now Kels has to make some big decisions where Riley is concerned. Once the truth is out, everything is going to change. Can she handle the backlash of the truth or will the love they have built come crashing down? And if Riley, our amazing hero in this book, ends up being deployed, will they lose everything?Now, when I started this review, I told you that I sat outside and ugly cried. I didn’t cry because of the romance. I was crying like a baby at the thought of another amazing man being deployed. Anytime you throw an amazing soldier in a story, my heart just melts. There is nothing I take greater pride in than the men and women who defend our country so reading about deployments and the possibilities that come with that one word just tear me to pieces. So ugly crying because of the romance, no. Ugly crying because I am patriotic and I love the men and women who sever our country and protect our freedom… EVERY SINGLE TIME!The romance in this book is electric and hot, the passion behind the characters is breathtaking and when Kels realizes how much of her past shaped her into the person she was is just heart warming. The heat level in this book is fantastic. The sad moments are depressing as hell. But this book was a winner from the beginning. This is a first class book and it is a must read and I know I will be re-reading it over and over. It just got me right where it counts… in my heart… and I will not let that go!
What do You think about Smoldering (2000)?
Defiantly had it's ups and downs but I loved every word! Couldn't put it down!
—kayla
Very easy read that isn't to heavy but enjoyable plot
—lol628
