A tough-as-nails businesswoman. An arrogant Navy SEAL. A power struggle with no end in sight.
Some people hook-up at weddings. Others break a hotel room bed (and a table, and a desk, and some complimentary bathrobe belts) and discover they’ve been surviving on bargain basement orgasms their entire lives.
The last one? Yeah. That’s all me.
She’s driven and demanding…
I wasn’t always a bitch. … demanding…
I wasn’t always a bitch. There’s a dirty little trick to succeeding in business: the sweet and innocent rarely survive. I fought my way up from nothing, and I don’t bend for anyone.
Until Will Halsted ties me to a headboard and makes me his…for now.
One wild, filthy night turns into another, and then…we can’t stop. Each time we’re together is more addictive than the last, but it’s nothing more than a sexy escape from reality.
Or is it?
He’s never walked away from a challenge…
I wasn’t always a warrior but now it’s in my bones and blood. That’s what years spent in the Special Forces does to a man. My entire life is classified: where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, what I’ve done, and there’s no mission too dangerous.
Until I realize that falling for Shannon Walsh is like trying to swim against a riptide. She’s going to tear me up and toss me to the shore, and I’ll love every minute of it.
Every time I’m down range, I want her counting the hours until I’m back. Waiting for me. She’s done it before; she’ll do it again.
Or will she?
They’re wrong for each other in every possible way…
Or are they?
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I don’t reread romance novels. The Cornerstone was the first time I broke that rule. It was better the second time around. And I tend to break that rule with other of Kate’s books. Damn, that girl can *write*.
Feel free to start the Walsh series at the beginning, but The Cornerstone was how I jumped in and I have no regrets. It works beautifully as a standalone.
This is one of my all-time favorites! I think Will is my new free pass! Love him!
Shannon Walsh has held her family together by sheer force of her will for years, and she doesn’t like change. Whoops! Welcome to the Land O Change. As I am reading the Walsh series, Matt and Lauren’s wedding is a tipping point for the entire family. Each book reveals another layer of previously unknown shenanigans and life-changing events. It makes me want to read them all NOW. Shannon, who is the power behind her talented architect brothers, has been managing them, their lives, and careers ever since their mother died. She’s sacrificed for them; she’s worked to support them, put them through school, set her career aside for them because it’s what she does. She’s the one in control and relinquishing that power is frightening to her.
Meeting Will and the relationship that unfolds is both funny and sweet to watch. I don’t believe Will was interested in it becoming more, but he seems to give in to the idea of their romance before Shannon does. Shannon is struggling with letting go and loving Will, and of recognizing and embracing the new season of her relationships with her brothers. It’s hard for some people to move to new seasons, and Shannon is a prime example. Even when the new season she is looking toward would be okay, she still can’t quite let go. This struggle unfolds for us in what is sometimes hilariously funny (Shannon’s repeated order for others to suck her ___, her IMs with Patrick in the middle of staff meetings, her texts with Will) to heartbreakingly sad (her abuse and the fracturing of her relationship with Sam). All in all, it shows that change is not adverse, and fighting it only prolongs the journey to where you’re supposed to be. Once again, Riley is in the middle of everything, granting superhero nicknames and seeing more than anyone else in the family.
Need to get to Riley’s story.
This one was my favorite. I’ve been intrigued by Shannon from the beginning. I love her interactions with her brothers and how she doesn’t put up with anything from anyone. She’s the woman I want to be when I grow up. To see her and Will’s story come together and watch Will take care of her and give her what she needs was beautiful.
Great Read and Series!
“You are my fire and ice, my calm and chaos, my *everything*, and I can’t remember life before loving you.”
This is probably my favorite book in the Walsh series, although Riley’s story (Preservation) is definitely a close second. While technically able to read this as a standalone, you will definitely enjoy this more if you come into it having read the previous books – however, don’t let that stop you from reading it!
In so many ways, Shannon is who I wish I could be when I grow up. She’s incredibly smart, amazingly competent and doesn’t take crap from anyone (and isn’t afraid to tell someone to go suck her d—k if the situation warrants). At her core, Shannon is a “manager” and plays this role with her family in both their personal lives as well as their professional lives at their family’s architectural firm. To her mind, this is how she shows them that she loves and cares for them.
Will is a bada$$ Navy Seal who, like Shannon, is amazingly competent and much to Shannon’s chagrin, doesn’t give in/get out of her way. When it comes down to it, Will wants to take care of Shannon – but not because he doesn’t think she CAN’T handle it all, but because she shouldn’t have to. Will is the perfect combination of an alpha hero with a heart of gold. {sigh}
I absolutely LOVE the dynamic between Shannon and Will. The banter is incredible and the text conversations are hilarious. As always, the sexy-times are HOT, HOT, HOT.
The Cornerstone – The Walsh Series – Book 4 by Kate Canterbary
Hot, very Hot…so hot. That’s what this book is! That is who Shannon Walsh and Will Halsted are together they are like a raging fire, Shannon raging and Will a navy seal who exudes heat! Shannon and Will are like oil and water.
We get the story in two parts, Part 1 – Then, when they hook up at Matt (Shannon’s brother) and Lauren’s (Will’s sister) wedding! A couple of times! Shannon, bossy, ordering people around, making smart ass comments (mostly to Will) and Will, taking Shannons every word and throwing it right back at her and dominant. Will is so dominant. The combustion between them is palatable. People see it but Shannon and Will have no idea that they are even noticed. Part 2 – Now – after 8 months of Will being MIA (although Shannon did know he was going to be deployed, when she didn’t hear from him, she started to allow the walls to come back, dive back into being the “mom.”
Shannon holds the Walsh’s together. She has taken care of them all since their mom died when they were all younger. Shannon was 9. Think about that, Shannon was 9 and she had taken over as their mom. She had to their father Angus (who I can’t stand btw) left those children basically by themselves. Unless of course he was beating them, belittling them, throwing children down stairs and eventually either kicking them out before their 18th birthdays. That was Angus and that was how they grew up. Shannon raising them, Shannon leaving the house and working to put them and her self through school, Shannon becoming the family cornerstone. The one who made sure they were taken care of, even when they were adults. Will saw that and he wondered who was taking care of Shannon. The thing is Shannon never made the time for herself. Meeting Will started a whole new inner conversation. For Shannon anyway, for Will that conversation was him seeing Shannon give and give and give. Will wanted to give to Shannon.
As Kate Canterbary weaves this story of Shannon and Will, we get to see more of the history of the Walsh’s and one certainly can’t help but understand why they are like they are. What molded them and why they are so close. We see more of the family dynamics at work and away from work. Slowly we get to learn about Shannon’s demons. Oh she hides them, she hides them well, but those demons have left scars on the inside, scars that only preceptive people can see. Will knows that what ever demon is driving Shannon it isn’t good and as their relationship builds and continues he wants to help her demolish those demons and replace those scars. Their relationship didn’t start out easy and is not easy.
I found this to be a very emotional story. Shannon is the director of the Walsh family and you get so see things through her relationships with her brothers and her friendships with her sister-in-law Lauren, Andy (Patrick’s partner) and eventually Tiel (Sam’s girlfriend). Shannon lives for the business and the boys but Shannon really doesn’t live for her, one could say she just fills in the holes when it comes to her own personal life.
For me this was one of those, I have a hard time putting it down books. I did! So hard I stayed up late to finish it (like 3 am late) because when Shannon started to open up and accept, when Will gently started giving her back herself, I had to read to the end. To find out how it all worked out.
I recommend kleenex boxes, cookies and any choice of hot beverages to be close at hand when you read The Cornerstone. I also recommend Sam for the best grooms speech ever! I highly recommend reading The Cornerstone!
Definitely a 5 star read.
I lovexthis book and this series! I have read all of the books in The Walsh series 3 times!!!! Love love love it!!!
I love this whole series!!
The basic story of this book in The Walsh Series is good and I really enjoyed the preceding books. The author seemed to basically “cut and paste” way too much from the previous book. I found myself just skipping parts.
I thought the book was well written, the plot and characters were more developed than usual and interesting. the book itself had a good editor and I was invested enough in the story line to purchase the entire series and didn’t want it to stop. I HIGHLY recommend this writer and this series as well worth reading and (most important!) worth purchasing. for a series, it wasn’t as formulated as some.
While Sam may be my favorite Walsh brother…….Shannon is hands down my favorite of all the siblings (yes….I haven’t gotten to Riley or Erin’s stories yet, but I’m calling it now). She is extremely driven, loyal, fierce, capable – seriously the strongest female character that I think I have ever read about. She had to grow up quickly at such a young age, and basically adopted the mother role of the family and never really grew out of that. Then Shannon meets her match in Will Halsted…..such a dirty talking, alpha male who is quite the force to be reckoned with. The banter between these two is absolutely entertaining – all of their text messaging and verbal sparring just cracked me up. I highlighted so many of their conversations since they were so awesome.
And the chemistry between these two was off the charts!! Their “scheduled” sex definitely turned into more than that very quickly, even though Shannon didn’t want to admit her feelings at first. Will was truly the first person to challenge her, call her out on things that nobody else would. Shannon definitely needed someone like Will in her life, to take control and help her to just let things be.
This is going to go down as one of my all-time favorite books. There was just something about the perfect mix of humor, sass, romance, drama…..this book really had it all. Cannot wait to see Shannon and Will again in the rest of the series!
The entire Walsh series by Kate is wonderful. These are ‘can’t put them down’ ‘gotta read them all ‘books. The characters are wonderful. I want to be part of the Walsh family!!!
I loved the interaction between Will and Shannon.
Kicka$$ story and characters. How can you find someone that can handle the Black Widow and actually like her, perhaps a Navy SEAL trained and accustomed to difficult and terrifying situations? Absolutely LOVED the banter between Shannon and Will, hilarious. A joy to read!!!
Couldn’t put this book down much like the others in this series!
I am really enjoying this series. This one is funny, sweet with a little sizzle thrown in. I like the character development and that we get to hear from all the family members in each new book. I will read more from this author.
Now, this time I expect you to know me and truly believe me when I say: This is my favorite Walsh Family series book. Kate Canterbary has grasped my inner desire for a strong female lead in a male dominated world and BOOM gave her a hero to match.
Woot! It’s like someone has heard my poor readers deepest desires and delivered that and MORE!
I mean COME on Will is the perfect and I mean perfect mate for Shannon. Hands down nailed the give and take, sexual tension and all the things I want in a contemporary romance. I already had a girl crush for Shannon before this book. After, I want to carry her children and worship her. She is a strong female lead – many would call a ball buster – but you get why and how she is molded to a driven and loving woman. Ms. Canterbary matches her up with a man who believes breaking and entering is permission to move in.
Again: Read the series in order.Start with book one. Especially to finally understand what makes this Walsh sibling tick. I will say this book is a welcome break after the emotional ride of book 3.
Each book that Kate Canterbary has delivered keeps me engrossed and turning the pages to learn more. Her characters are diverse in their real world issues so you are never bored or wanting to move on. Again a solid 5 out 5 star read for me and a personal favorite that I will re-read again and again.
The Cornerstone (The Walsh Series Book #4)
Kate Canterbary
This writer just gets better with every book. Will and Shannon are hysterical. I love their dynamic and that she refers to their relationship as ‘getting back to neutral’ and/or ‘scheduled sex’. There are so many laugh out loud moments between them and the Walsh siblings. I loved how two alphas came together and one didn’t lose. The being together made them both stronger. I really enjoy how well Kate intertwines the storyline with the previous books. She does a phenomenal job without losing any of the details. It is a talent not shared by many. If you are looking for some humor, some steamy sexy-times, with the reality of balancing work/life/family that doesn’t slow down then you have found it with the amazing Kate Canterbary and The Cornerstone.