Book 1 of 2 in the Consolation DuetLiam wasn’t supposed to be my happily ever after.He wasn’t even on my radar.He was my husband’s best friend—forbidden.But my husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I reach for Liam.One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he’s just the consolation prize.
One of my all time favourite books! Emotional depth, wonderful characters, swoony hero and an ending that left my jaw on the floor!
Really loved this story. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It made me have tears in my eyes and feel for Natalie. I love Liam and the way he started to make her feel again. The story’s very well written but that end, oh God is all that I can say! I want to read the next one now please 🙂
This is one of the few books that made me cry! I mean, pull-out-the-tissue kinda’ crying!
This is the first book in Corinne Michael’s Consolation Duet and the third book in her Salvation Series. In the first books we met Aaron & Natalie (Lee) Gilcher. Aaron worked for Jackson Cole and was killed by an IED on a trip to Afghanistan. Natalie was pregnant at the time and had her baby, Arabelle, by the time they were able to bury his remains, 3 months later. Consolation picks up at this point. Natalie is struggling with the loss of her husband. He had retired from the SEALS and she had a false sense of safety from all the fear of loss she felt when he was deployed. Liam was like a brother to Aaron with an unbreakable bond and also a close friend to Natalie. In the following months Natalie was drowning in her grief for her husband and mourning the loss of her perfect marriage to a hero. Loneliness consumed her but she put on a facade for all her friends and family. Her daughter was the only reason she had to get out of bed in the morning and now was her whole world. No one could get through to her until Liam showed up on her door. He is now living close by and wants to be there for her in anyway he can. She tries to put up a front and push him away, but he reads her like a book and calls her out on her bullcrap. Liam just starts showing up and taking on the many tasks she is unable to do. He slowly becomes an integral part of her life, allowing her to smile, laugh, and start to live again. Liam has never had a serious girlfriend so he is surprised by his evolving feelings for Lee and Arabelle. Liam stuggles with these feelings especially sinse she is his best friends wife and his close friend for many years. Lee also struggles with the realization of her growing feelings, thinking it is too soon after Aarons death and Liam is still a SEAL so she could easily lose him too. But Liam stops fighting it and decides to convince her that they are meant to be. He is so patient with her struggles to make peace with Aaron’s death and to finally love him and want a future with him. It is delightful to see Lee come out of her shell and blossom into the vibrant, fun loving young woman and mother she should be. This is a beautiful story of love and loss, loyalty and deception, happiness and heartache. Truths are revealed, and the struggles to heal and grow stronger are hard fought. They are finally coming to that point where they are dedicated to their future together when they are blindsided by the unthinkable! This is a jaw dropping revelation and cliffhanger and I just closed my kindle and said ” She did it to me again! I was blindsided just like the end of Beloved!” But Ms. Michaels followed with a brilliant conclusion to Beloved with Beholden and I have every confidence that she will do the same with the second book, Conviction. I loved Liam and Natalie and this breathtaking love story and am excited to find out what is in store for them next!
Amazing story! Once I started I couldn’t pull myself from it.
What a journey this was especially for Natalie. I don’t know that I wouldn’t or would make the choices she made but I do know what she did was survive and live. Happy is all we want in the end.
Luv it!!!!
Loved this book and it’s companion book. I was disappointed by the continual use of unnecessary offensive language, but the story was exceptional. This is a military/post-military romantic drama that unfolds in unexpected layers. There are unexpected plot twists and lots of emotion. I could not put it down. This is a great read.
Full disclosure, I skimmed this one because I previously read the second half of the duet a year or so ago. So it was hard to go back and read this one (don’t think I realized what it was when I picked it up for free). Compelling characters and powerful story that is hard to read at times. Really wish it had been just one complete book instead of broken up into two.
As with each of the stories I read from this author, I find that I am an emotional wreck when I finish. But with this one, I am throwing things because that ending is a whopper.
Natalie is put through hell in this story, losing her husband before their baby is born is something now wife should go through. I could feel the pain and agony coming off my kindle. As she tries to move on with her life without her husband, his best friend Liam is there to help her with things around the house and paperwork she wasn’t ready to face.
As Liam and Natalie grow closer, neither of them wants to tarnish anything to do with Aaron but they can’t deny their feelings for each other. It has been almost a year since Arron’s death and Natalie wants to be happy after the things she has learned about her husband.
When it is time for Liam to go on a mission, Natalie has to show that she supports him even though she is scared to death. Will he return or will she lose him too? What happens when he returns was not what anyone expected.
Author Corinne Michaels has a way of making each reader feel every emotion through her words and that is such a powerful thing from an author. This story will draw you in and keep you there until the unbelievable end. I am about to dive into book 2 because I have to know what happens next.
Wow! What a welcome to Corinne Michael’s characters. I absolutely adored Natalie’s and Liam’s love stories. It was a tear-jerker from the first page. After all the heartbreak. It was heartwarming to see both characters come together. I love this so much I read Jackson and Catherine’s story too. I highly recommend it.
One of the first books that I didn’t have to skip ahead due to the lack of a of of useless girl talk I would like to read more of Corinne Mitchel books.
The story of Natalie and Liam was one I enjoyed. They came through alot together which made their love stronger. Aaron was a fool to cheat on Natalie and the way she found out was crappy.
Awesome series!
Buy the second book so you can read back to back (Conviction)
I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much while reading a book. This is such an amazing read. The pain of the main characters felt so real and raw. The ending is so unexpected yet quite perfect to spin the story around. I definitely recommend reading this book and the next one.
It had too much bad language and descriptive sex.
This book had me spellbound. A beautiful love story that was breathtakingly romantic and beautifully inspiring. From the heart-stopping and soul-shattering to the swoon-worthy and breathtaking moments. This story has all the feels. I felt everything the characters experienced. I laughed, cried, felt the joy and every ounce of pain. The emotions radiated from the pages.
So good!
Corrine Michaels is my favorite author. I absolutely love her stories and this duet is very good. I get so emotionally involved that I cannot put them done and am disappointed when I finish because I want more!
Great read and a real page turner
The ending made me say WHAT. Download the next book.