Love Realized by Melanie Codina Blog Tour

Posted June 19, 2013 by Stephanie in Reviews / 0 Comments

Blurb:

For Jake, it’s always been Gillian. It’s been her since that day she unknowingly stole a piece of his heart…when he watched her fall for one of his best friends. Resolved to the fate that she couldn’t be his, he locked up the deeper emotions he felt for her and loved her as a friend.

As friends, they went through it all together. Marriages, births, divorces and even death. But when a shameful secret Gillian has kept from her friends is revealed, Jake realizes she needs him more than ever. He knew what it was like to go through heartbreak and he wasn’t about to stand back and watch her endure it alone.

He also knew she would turn to him for support. What he wasn’t prepared for was the return of the emotions he had long ago locked away. Could he control those emotions again and did he even want to? Could he make her realize his love for her was real, or would she slip through his fingers again?


Review:
I really do not know what I would do if I found out my husband was having an affair.  He better never have one!  Hrmf…I can’t say the same for Gillian though.  Her stupid husband decides he can’t just have one woman who worships the ground he walks on and gives him 3 children, two boys and a girl.  He’s the only man she’s ever been with.  She got pregnant at 17. She wouldn’t marry him until she finished high school and made sure they were good together.  

So…let’s fast forward.  Jake, Gillian’s best male friend, has loved her since they were teens.  He’s the one who pointed her out to her husband.  He’s always compared his dates to Gillian.  Even his exwife was subject to that scrutiny.  When he found out how badly Gillian’s husband screwed up…it was all he could do to give her enough time to “get over it” before he acted on his feelings.  

I will have to say that Jake and Gillian are absolutely perfect for one another.  Perfect.  That doesn’t mean they’ll see it though.  Gillian’s getting threatening messages.  Her husband’s truck is vandalized while she’s at dinner with him one evening deciding who’s getting what.  Oh..so I didn’t mention that Gillian is a nurse in a hospital, the same hospital Jake serves as an EMT.  All their dreams come crashing to reality the day one decides Gillian’s life is no longer important. 
Melanie Codina has done a fantastic job writing this story and her characters pov’s are so real I felt like I was inside the story instead of just reading it.  This is one of those books I just couldn’t put down.  I had to know what happened next.  I think I stayed up until 2:30 am reading it just to finish!

Check out this excerpt and I hope you’ll see what I mean:  

As he climbed the steps of the porch, he could hear music blaring from inside, which made him smile. Gillian loved to blare her music.

Knowing she wouldn’t hear him if he knocked, not that he wasn’t accustomed to walking right in anyway, he made his way inside. Following the sound to the kitchen, he found Gillian looking adorable in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. Her long brown hair was piled on top of her head in a messy concoction of curls and swirled colors, exposing her bare neck to him. He could smell the scent of food baking in the oven, and it filled him with warmth knowing that she prepared it for him. Since her back was to him, she still hadn’t noticed he was there as she worked at washing vegetables in the sink. He was about to make his presence known when she started moving her hips in time with the music she was blaring, and Jake’s body jumped in awareness.

He stood there for moment and absorbed the sight of her dancing in the kitchen. It was sweet, and sexy, and a complete turn on. Hell, lately, just seeing her breathe was a turn on. He wanted to just press his body against hers and envelope her in his arms, but didn’t want to scare her since she hadn’t noticed his presence. Reaching over, he turned down the music, slowly, so as not to surprise her, but just enough to get her to notice and turn around. This had the desired effect because she glanced over her shoulder at the radio to see what was wrong. Her eyes landed on him, and she startled a bit before a big smile spread across her face at the sight of him. Seeing her reaction to him was like a drug to his system, and the warmth and heady sensation of her excitement spread. Oh, he knew she had always enjoyed his company, but now he could see the difference. He could see that he had moved past friends with her, and he was definitely okay with that.

He didn’t want to wait another second, and he smiled back and made his way toward her. She was still busy in the sink as his hands found her waist, and his lips found her cheek. “Hey there sexy. I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said while his hands ventured forward from her waist to gently pull her body against his. She went willingly and sighed as her body relaxed against him, like it was the only place in the world she wanted to be. Again that heady feeling of satisfaction spread through him. He knew for certain there was no other place in the world he wanted to be either.

“It’s okay. I’m just wondering how long you were standing there and if you happened to bear witness to my horrible singing skills?” she said a little breathlessly as he pressed soft kisses to her bare shoulder and neck. His need was rising, and the desire to make her completely his was a living, breathing being inside of him. He was about to tell her that he unfortunately missed that part of the show when he suddenly felt his body pulled away from hers—flying backward. Jake felt his ass hit the ground with a thud as he tried to shake the confusion that surrounded him at what was going on. He saw Gillian spin around and surprise register on her face. Jake looked up only to see Logan standing over him, red faced and furious.It took Jake a moment to gather what was going on as Logan proceeded to reach down and grab Jake’s shirt to yank him back off the ground while growling at him, “Get your fucking hands off of my wife!” The adrenaline started to pump through Jake’s body when he heard Logan say my wife, because that certainly wasn’t the case anymore.


Author Bio:

Melanie is an amazing mother of four, an awesome and tolerant wife to one, and nurse to many. If you don’t believe her, just ask anyone in her family, they know what to say. She is also a devoted chauffeur, the keeper of missing socks, a genius according to a six year old, the coolest soccer uniform coordinator according to a twelve year old, and the best damn ‘mac-n-cheese-with-cut-up-hot-dog maker in the whole world. Well that last title isn’t really official, but it’s still pretty cool to be called it.

When not being ordered around by any of the kids, you can find her with her nose in a book or on the sideline of a soccer game cheering on one team or another. But that’s mostly because she has a thing for the coach. When she is not doing all of the above, you can find her obsessed with a group of fictional characters all vying for a spot on the page of whatever she’s working on. It’s a fun and crazy life to lead, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

Author Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelanieCodina @MelanieCodina

Barnes and Noble:


You can visit all the blog stops for this tour and enter to win Love Realized ebook.  Here’s the schedule: 
Tour Links:

June 17th-

June 18th-

June 19th-

June 20th-

June 21st-

June 22nd-

June 23rd-

June 24th-

June 25th-

 June 26th-
June 27th-

June 28th-

 June 29th-
June 30th-

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About Stephanie

I'm a wife, mom of two, volunteer, reader, blogger, and author pimp. Welcome to my website!

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