Until We Break
By Jamie Howard
St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: November 10, 2015
When Sloane Avery stops to help a stranded driver, she finds more than a broken down car on the side of the road. Twenty-year-old Luke Evans is faster and sexier than her Maserati, but she's not interested in taking him for a test drive. Despite their differences and Sloane's dislike for his Jack and Coke fueled lifestyle, feelings grown between the two. But, when the loss of his little brother sends Luke spiraling, he seeks comfort in Sloane's arms and ends up between her sheets. The morning after, Sloane's ready to confess she loves Luke, until she walks in on him getting serviced-by her sister.
That was five years ago, practically a different lifetime and definitely a different Sloane. Before she's been hardened by booze, sex, and as much distance as she could get from the past. Now, called home by a family emergency, she's determined to hold onto her heart the next time she sees Luke.
But Sloane's not the only one who's changed. With a successful business and a near-perfect girlfriend, Luke's turned his life around. Only the reappearance of Sloane and the reminder of his biggest mistake can put a dent in his plans. Luke is set on fixing what he's broken, even if it might cost him more than the comfortable life he's built himself, but Sloane is having none of it. She'll do anything to be sure he doesn't get close enough to find out the truth-she's still in love with him.
Mel's Review-
Until We Break is a new adult contemporary romance by Jamie Howard. This is Ms. Howard's debut novel but it certainly does not read as such. I knew when I read the synopsis that I had to read this book. I have to admit it takes a lot for me to commit to reviewing for a tour these days as I am so severely strapped for time but I am so glad I took a chance on this gem.
The story is told from the points of view of the main characters, Luke and Sloane. At first glance, these two couldn't be more different from one another. Sloane is a rich man's daughter, coming from a seemingly happy, stable home while Luke is the son of a drunk and promiscuous single mother who doesn't seem to care about her children at all. Sloane doesn't do physical relationships without strings and that's all Luke does. But underneath the surface of things, these two are just what the other needs.
Until We Break is chock full of emotion, simply bursting with angst, happiness, sadness, humor,grief and so much more. This book kicked me in the feels again and again and again and I found myself wiping away tears a few times. I laughed out loud quite a few times as well, though. There was a great balance and the pages just flew by as I devoured the story, waiting to see how things would end up. I plowed through the entire book in an afternoon, I couldn't put it down.The author pulled me into her narrative right from the first page, it seemed effortless. The writing was flawless, the pace perfect and the characters real, three dimensional and immensely easy to root for.
I was completely caught up in this story right from the beginning and I look forward to reading more from this fantastic new talent. If you love some angst with your romance and some twists and surprises, Until We Break is the book for you.
My Rating-
And now enjoy this excerpt from UNTIL WE BREAK by Jamie Howard.
Copyright © 2015 by the author and reprinted by permission of St.
Martin’s Griffin.
“You’re late!” Gran
calls out, not even bothering to
lift her eyes from the
register.
I bustle
through the dining room
into the kitchen, nearly colliding with Blaire in
the process. Reflexively,
she
readjusts the plates balanced on her arm
and bumps back through the door.
“You’re late!” she yells back at
me.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m late,” I grumble under my breath. I wouldn’t have been if I’d followed
my
better instincts and blown right past the disabled Wrangler, but just as I decided to keep right
on going, my
foot eased off the gas and I slammed on the brakes. I’ve always been a sucker. One day it’s going to get me in trouble.
I’m tying my apron on when the door swings back open and Blaire reappears. Her brown
hair is pulled back in
a loose ponytail and her green eyes are glittering. “Do you know how many
tables I’ve had to juggle by myself while you were moseying your ass
in today?”
I roll my eyes at her and give the apron strings a final tug. “I wasn’t moseying. Some guy was
stranded on the side of the road, so I stopped to help.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
When I just stare at her, she gives me a harder stare back. “You don’t just stop to help
random people. The guy could
have been an ax murderer or a serial killer.”
I scoff and wave a dismissive hand her way as I turn to roll some silverware. “He wasn’t
an ax murderer, he was
just a guy whose car broke down and
who didn’t have his phone.”
She peeks through
the window in the door, surveying the tables. “Convenient.”
I
stack the rolled sets of silverware in a pile next to me, glad to see the routine of it is coming back to me quickly. It’s been years since I helped out around Gran’s Diner, but it’s almost
like I never left.
“Yes, Blaire, it was very convenient for him that his car broke down and he had no phone. He must have known I’d be driving down that stretch of road and staged the whole thing.”
Her footsteps echo as she walks across the room, and I turn just in time to catch the rag that’s flying at my face. “You’ve got crap
on your leg.”
I wipe
at the smeared grease stain,
scrubbing to get it off until my skin is red. “Is that grease?”
I laugh. “Actually, yes. I offered to take a peek
under the hood
of the car.” The dangerous glint to her eyes
dims a fraction. “Seriously? Why?”
“Honestly, I thought it would be kind of funny. Although, come to think of it, he didn’t
look all that amused.”
Her eyes narrow
as
she looks at me, and she
takes another peek out front. “The next table is
yours, by the way.” Her first
sentence nearly collides with the second. “Who was
the guy?”
I find another smudge of grease on my
hand and get to work on that. “Luke . . . I don’t
know. I didn’t get his last
name.”
“Luke Evans?” she asks, her hands
finding their way down
to her bossy hips.
Didn’t I just say that I didn’t get his last name? I throw the rag
back at her, which catches her on the shoulder before plopping down onto the tile floor. “He could be Luke Skywalker for
all
I know.”
She toes the
towel and kicks it into the sink. “Really tall?”
I nod.
“Killer
blue eyes, long-ish brown hair, fucking gorgeous?”
Her voice rises as she speaks,
like someone is accidentally leaning on the volume
button of the remote.
“Um, I guess? He had sunglasses on, so I couldn’t really see his eyes. He was at that party last night. The one who wiped out at my feet? You know, the guy who was letting that girl
fondle him in front of everyone?” Gross. There’s no bigger turnoff than a guy
who thinks the world lives and
dies in his pants.
She bursts out laughing. “Did you just say ‘fondle’? God, Sloane.” While she continues cackling, I start stacking
clean
dishes on the shelf.
“Well, let me add a last name to the first one you got. That is Luke Evans, and he is definitely the guy who lets
girls
fondle
him in public. Hell, I’d
definitely let him—”
I throw up a hand to cut her off. “Please, don’t.” “Don’t say it or
don’t do it?”
I shudder. “Either. With
how many holes he’s probably stuck that thing in, I bet it’s about
to shrivel up and die.”
She hops
onto the counter
next to me, swinging her legs back and forth so that her
heels drum against the metal cabinets. “Can I at least talk to him, Miss Prude? I hear he’s quite the charmer.”
“You’re joking, right?” I give her an
incredulous
look as a plate dangles from my hand.
Her
perfectly plucked
eyebrows
draw
together. “No,
are
you?”
I slide the last plate into the cabinet and shut it. “He barely
managed to string together a
multisyllabic sentence, and I had to repeat my name for him. Twice. I’m pretty sure the guy took the short bus to school.”
Blaire’s
mouth drops open. “You
did not just say that.”
I already want to take it back. I’m not a mean person. Ever. But guys like that—I
can’t stand them. Especially
not
after . . . Nope. Grabbing that intrusive thought around the throat, I shove
it back into the box of things I never want
to think about again.
She chews on her
lip as she studies me, seeing straight through me
like she always does. At least I have the same power over her. It must be a sister thing. That or the fact that we grew up in each other’s
back pocket with less
than a year separating the two of
us in age.
Hopping
down off the counter, she takes another glance through the window. When she
turns back around, her eyes
are
glittering again. “Gran sat
table seven;
it’s all yours.”
I bump through the door and fumble in my apron for my pen, not really
paying attention.
“Good morning, my name is—”
“Sloane.”
My eyes snap
up as I finally find the
pen and stare straight into the prettiest
blue eyes I’ve
ever seen. They’re nicer than mine, which is saying something, since I really love my eyes. These
eyes are such a pale blue, like Winterfresh gum, and so unexpected when they’re surrounded by that
overly sun-kissed skin and
dark brown
hair.
“You again.” The words slip out from between my lips before I even realize I’ve said them.
He looks slightly
taken aback, and his smile slips a notch. He gestures across the table. “This is Archer.”
I hold out my hand to him, but I’m still holding the pen. I shuffle it back into my
other
hand and try again.
“Nice to meet
you.”
He
shakes my hand,
trying to keep the look of
amusement from his face but failing.
“What can I get you guys?”
“French toast and coffee for me, please,” Archer says, handing me back his plastic-coated menu.
“I’ll have coffee too, French fries, banana pancakes, and a chocolate milkshake.” Luke offers up his menu and waits for
me to comment on his order. That combination of food plus the
way
his eyes are squinting at me are leading me to believe he’s nursing quite the hangover.
“Coming right
up.”
I can feel his eyes
on my ass the entire way back to
the kitchen. Pig.
Debut author Jamie Howard spends her days as a legal and compliance specialist. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Art from Ramapo College. When she's not tapping away at the keyboard, you can find her devouring books and perfecting her gaming skills. She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs in New Jersey, and is almost always awake early enough to see the sun rise, even on the weekends.
Stalker Links-
Twitter- https://twitter.com/JRHoward9
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