Violet Moore is in love with a man who hates her. Well, to be fair, she kinda deserves it. On her eighteenth birthday, she got drunk and threw herself at him, causing a huge scandal in their sleepy suburban town.Now everyone thinks she’s a slut and he has disappeared. Rumor has it that he’s been living up in the mountains of Colorado, all alone and in isolation. But Violet is going to make it … isolation.
But Violet is going to make it right.
She’s going to find him and bring him back.
No matter how cruel and mean he is, how much he hurts her with his cold-hearted and abrasive ways, she won’t give up.
And neither will she think about his tempting lips or his sculpted muscles or his strong hands. The hands that she wants on her body, touching her, feeling her skin…
The hands that make her want to forget everything and kiss Graham Edwards – Mr. Edwards, actually – again.
Because you don’t go around kissing your best friend’s dad, do you?
Even though that’s all you ever dream about.
NOTE: A STANDALONE novel set in the world of Heartstone.
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***ARC generously provided by author/publisher for an honest review.***
Storyline: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Heat Factor: 5 stars
Overall Rating: 5 stars
“He looks savage. Beautiful but uncivilized.” -Violet
When I first heard about this book and that it was an age gap/forbidden romance I knew I had to read it, what I didn’t know was that this book would be so much more than just a romance story about an 18 years old girl and the crush she had on her best friends dad. No, this story was everything. Beautiful, heartbreaking and completely out of this world.
Violet has spent her life invisible. Born out of an affair, her father wanted nothing to do with her and her mother regretted her. Her sister was the cherished child and Violet has spent her life in the shadows feeling alone and unwanted.
When new neighbors move in next door and she develops a close friendship with Brian, her life finally feels more alive… but it also introduces her to Mr. Edwards… her best friend’s dad.
Graham is harsh. He’s not friendly and carries the name “the beast” for a reason, he’s feared by his students and players. A football coach and single father, Graham is closed off. Cold. Unwelcoming.
On the night of her 18th birthday, alone and forgotten once again by her family, Violet finds herself drunk and smelling the roses in her best friend’s backyard. When his dad comes home and catches her, Violet vows that she will get her birthday wish and she’ll kiss Mr. Edwards, the man she’s had a crush on since she was 16.
This book was fantastic! It had so much depth and substance that it will literally suck the reader in. The characters had real depth and personality, they jumped of the page.
This book will bring the feels for sure. There were so many times that I felt the anxiety that Violet was feeling. I felt her emotions as if they were my own.
The chemistry and development of Violet and Graham is mesmerizing throughout this book. The reader will see true transformation of characters as the story progresses.
This is a 5 star read!!!!
There is just something I love about an age-gap romance and this book done it well!
Violet spots Mr Edwards/Graham on her 16th birthday when he moves in next door and secretly spy’s on him for two years, until her 18th birthday when she has her first moment with him and happens to kiss him. This moment is caught by her sister and her best friend, who’s dad it is.
Things turn pretty bad for them even though nothing was going on between them. Mr Edwards lost his job and Violet went into a state of anxiety/depression and attended a clinic to help her. Feeling guilty about her mistake, once she gets better, she feels she needs to see him to apologise.
When she tracks him down, he isn’t too happy to see her and kind of tests her in a way but looking out for her from a far and securing somewhere for her to stay.
Their relationship is very slow burn with the hero fighting his feelings for a long time which heightened the angst and drove me near crazy at times! I do love angst though and this book played it out well.
When these two get together, they certainly bring the heat and was super steamy. Although, there are a coupe of worlds I don’t really like in sex scenes and made me cringe a little.
Violet, I loved her courage, she didn’t cower when she went for something, regardless of the outcome. Due to her depression/anxiety she became quite socially awkward and couldn’t really face people and I enjoyed her little ‘pen pal’ relationship with Billy.
Mr Edwards/Graham – his character was a little dark and moody but very commanding. He was lonely and I really felt for him at points. He was trying to do his best for his son as well as being haunted by his past/upbringing.
Kent is a new author to me, although I have been wanting to read her books for a while now and if her other books are as good as this, I can’t wait to start them.
*An ARC received for an honest review*
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Overall Ratings;u2063
First Sex Scene – 68%
POV – Duel
Hero –
Heroine –
Story –
Angst –
Steam –
Chemistry –
Saffron A. Kent sure knows how to write forbidden romances, and Dreams of 18 is no exception. She just has that way of creating these characters and the taboo nature of their attraction without making it too outrageous for readers. Graham and Violet were just two people who couldn’t help but feel things for the other, even though society deemed it inappropriate. Was it a little odd that he was attracted to a sixteen year old? Yes……BUT, did he do anything about it? No. He did nothing wrong and neither did she, as nothing happened while she was underage. So, all of that didn’t bother me at all, and I did like the relationship that developed between them. It was slow and gradual – and felt very normal to me.
But what I didn’t like had to do with descriptions during sex and names that Violet was called, especially during those intimate times with Graham. For someone who was upset with how she was perceived after the whole scandal blew up in their faces, that just didn’t seem like something she would be ok with. It was just very off-putting and didn’t quite fit in with everything.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I’m looking forward to what she comes up with next! Hoping maybe at some point she’ll give Brian his own story – that guy really went through a lot in this story and he needs his own happily ever after.
I am not one for age gap relationships ,its not that I don’t like them I just havent really had the opportunity to read many of them,because none have really appealed to me before.But when I heard about Dreams Of 18 by Saffron A Kent,I really wanted to read it…..And I LOVED IT..
It did not disappoint me I found it very compelling,emotional,sexy and beautiful.
The heart wants what the heart wants and Violets Heart wanted Graham despite all the Taboo and complications this caused.Proving you cannot predict who you will fall in love with.
I swooned over Graham he is delicious in everyway and I thought Violet was so amazing and so strong even for her age. ..I was totally engrossed from begining until the end and Saffron’s writing is so addictive…A Fantatstic read that I highly recommend .
5 incredible Stars.
Wow! I really didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this story. I knew it was probably going to be a deliciously forbidden age gap romance that would keep me entertained for a few hours. I didn’t expect Ms. Kent to blow all my assumptions into a million pieces.
I have never cried as hard for a character as I did for Violet Moore. At only 16 years old, she has always been alone. Abandoned by her family and isolated from her classmates, she lives in her own world, listening to music and writing in her diary under the stars. But her life changes as soon as she meets her new neighbors, particularly a hot, rugged older man who she falls instantly in love with. His name is Mr. “Graham” Edwards and as soon as she sees him, she falls instantly in love. Teenage crush or loneliness aside, her fears keep her from even speaking to Mr. Edwards until her 18th birthday when she gives him one drunken little kiss that ultimately turns both of their lives upside down. My heart broke at how drastically Violet’s life changed after that night. She now lives in constant fear and anxiety of people. I wanted to mention that as someone who has anxiety and depression, I really appreciated the way Ms. Kent dealt with Violet’s anxiety. I definitely related to her using “crutches” to cope with her fear of the world around her.
I love that we get to see Mr. Edwards or Graham’s side of the story. He is so much more than Violet or I, as a reader, had ever expected. I fell in love with his bitterness, his anguish, and his fears when he encounters a persistent but broken Violet. The more Violet pushes Graham to live in the real world again, the more they help each other heal. Graham is definitely a dominant guy with a sharp tongue, but he also has a passionate and sweet side that makes him definite book boyfriend material.
Age aside, these two are so much alike that it’s pretty obvious that they were going collide in a big way. I mean, their connection is so hot that it’s absolutely combustible.
From the angsty, tragic characters, the delicious chemistry and enough emotion to make me cry long after I finished the book, I loved everything about this story.
Overall Grade:
When Saffron A. Kent began teasing her next book, Dreams of 18, I grew so excited as each month passed. Each teaser acted like catnip. I became more and more impatient, culminating in an explosion of feelings when she released the first two chapters of this book. See, Violet, the heroine of this book, seeks invisibility. She finds peace in her time alone, and society is a scary place for her. There was something about that knowledge that drew me to her as a character. It’s one of my favorite literary messages: the idea of being “seen.” It’s clear from the beginning of the book, from those two chapters that Kent gifted us, that the people in Violet’s life really don’t “see” her. And there is something powerful in that image, so powerful that my heart pounded wildly as I read those chapters.
When I finally received an ARC (for an honest review, of course), I devoured Dreams of 18. Honestly, I didn’t begin it the day I received it because I knew I wouldn’t be able to put it down. Its beginning had already called to my heart, and it was clear to me that I would fall down the rabbit hole of this story quickly. And I did. \
For those of you familiar with Kent’s books, Dreams of 18 exists in the same world as her book, Medicine Man. Violet is friends with the main heroine of that book. Like that book, the relationship of this story is forbidden, an older man and a younger woman. I imagine some might wonder if this is a “daddy” book. It has those elements, but this book isn’t that sub-genre. This book is about forbidden love like you might read in a stepbrother/stepsister or brother’s best friend’s sister kind of way. If you don’t believe that you can accept that a much older man could fall in love with a younger woman, then you should read this book. Kent makes it believable, incredibly, joyously believable.
As Kent posted teasers, she almost always offered Violet’s point of view. I kept asking her for Mr. Edwards’s point of view, yet she left him quiet. After reading Dreams of 18, I am so glad she did. I love that we didn’t know his perspective going into this book because the unveiling of his thoughts and feelings is one of the strengths of this book. His struggle to accept his connection with Violet is an important part of this story because it’s suggesting that people must decide for themselves what is best for them. Since Graham Edwards believes it is wrong to be attracted to a young woman, he punishes himself in ways that destroy him. When we meet him fully, we see the damage that this wreaks on him. Even more, Kent illustrates that maturity isn’t a number; instead, it’s a person’s ability to handle life. In all fairness, Violet and Graham are emotionally the same age. It’s this lesson in the story that pushes your brain to reconsider ideas about age and love. It’s a challenge, one we should take seriously as we so often judge others based on perception instead of true knowledge.
This leads to the other heft of this story: judgment. It is the judgment of society that forces Graham into hermithood and builds Violet’s social anxiety. This is also the genius of Kent’s story. Just as she did in Medicine Man, Kent points to the trials of mental illness. In Medicine Man, the focus was on depression. In Dreams of 18, she helps her readers understand the devastation of anxiety. For both Graham and Violet, anxiety has left them helpless, living without control. When they fully accept their attraction for the other, and start living their lives helping and strengthening each other, they bloom (like the roses in Graham’s garden – Kent’s use of the image of the rose in this story isn’t happenstance). They find the power to endure. They will never be cured; Kent is so careful in writing characters like Violet to show us that people live with the pain of mental illness every day. Instead, she shows how therapy and being supported through love help us endure it, to work through our struggles with it a bit more easily. The way that Violet and Graham love each other in this story is glorious. It makes you cry and laugh and feel all the emotions because it is real.
I will say that Dreams of 18, in my opinion, is Kent’s steamiest book. What Graham and Violet do in the bedroom will titillate you. It’s fiery and powerful, and it showcases their intensity. In fact, I think that’s the best word for these two: intense. When Kent brings them together on the page whether they are $exual or simply existing together, their chemistry is palpable. You want more moments of them together. The tension of their relationship sits in your stomach and heart and makes the reader connected to their story. That’s Kent’s superpower.
It took me a couple of days to find the words for this review. Quite frankly, they don’t do this book any justice. From its beginning to the end, you will feel this story palpably. Graham and Violet are people who are a little broken, a lot unseen, and one of them doesn’t have dreams. Until he chooses to dream Violet’s dream. Then, all that is beautiful about life, the colors of it, find purchase in your heart. Dreams of 18 is a beautiful tale of two people who find completeness in each other even when society tries to tell them that it is wrong. But what is wrong about a big encompassing love? As Saffron A. Kent shows us in her book, nothing at all. Love allows us to be seen and to really see others.
If you loved Medicine Man, than you need to grab Dreams of 18. This story won’t be your average everyday type of forbidden romance. As a reader, you feel what the characters will feel. Some of the feelings were painful. Others were quite steamy.
I didn’t know if I could love and understand a character more than Willow who was the heroine in Medicine Man. But I did find someone who was like a soul sister in Violet. She was a brave soul. She was willing to be brave and die for love. Her love was amazing. Not just because she had that love with Graham. It was because she understood herself way down deep and was ready to take the leap into the unknown.
Graham… Ugh… I loved that man. He was filthy with his dirty talk and heart felt when it was needed the most. He had a transition in the story from possible book boyfriend to definite book boyfriend to hell yeah he is definitely book husband material. I want more male characters like him. Hell… there is through many of the other stories by this author. If you read other works by this author, especially Medicine Man, go ahead and one click this one. If you haven’t go in blind and be dropped into the world only this author can create.
Dreams of 18 was utterly mind blowing. I’m grasping for the words to do this Spectacular read justice! My heart is so full and overwhelmed by these remarkable characters! Let me start by saying this book was more wonderful than I ever imagined! Kent is the MFing Queen of Age-gap romance. Her characters and their stories are unforgettable! Dreams of 18 is a masterpiece of the heart, you feel these two characters deep in your soul and will be thinking of them for days to come! This book was raw and transparent, the anxiety and panic is so very real. These situations and struggles are real, for so many people. Violet is a lover of bad things. She is a beautiful kind of weird. She is unconventional in the best way! I will never be able to think about Strawberries or Lollipops ever again without thinking of Violet and her Strawberry Man Beast! Mr. Edwards is ridiculously sexy with his rugged man’s man thing he has going. The complete alpha male package, brooding, stern, mean, but he also had a soft side that is so very swoon worthy. This book takes Sexy to whole different level! Their connection alluring and magnetic! Definitely a cold shower kind of read! Dreams of 18 is a Best Read of the Year for me! I’m so completely in love with this book! *”a world full of Moon and Magic.”* My heart is still holding on to them! I know it’s gonna be a rough book hangover. I’m so happy I got my fix of the heartstone Sisters I love them so much and hope there’s more to come. I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Hmm, well this is a weird one to review. It’s kind of hard to express how I feel because I don’t want to post any spoilers which makes it difficult to really talk about what I had problems with while reading.
This is an age gap romance, which doesn’t bother me at all, but I had a very hard time connecting to the h, Violet, and her obsession, er crush on Graham. She just didn’t seem like a believable character, not because she’s different than other kids around her -that I appreciated. What made her unbelievable to me is the fact that I never felt we got to know her because all she EVER talked about was Mr. Edwards (Graham). I don’t want to just be told she’s different, SHOW me how she’s different, make me FEEL how she’s different. The chapters were mainly from Violet’s POV and they felt almost clinical to me.
I liked Graham to an extent but he didn’t knock my socks off the way I had hoped. At times I found myself wondering if he truly liked Violet and if he wanted to be with her…it was hard to feel his desire for Violet beyond anything physical.
And Lord help us all with the intimate scenes. While there were times I felt like they were hot & very naughty, some of the wording used to describe things left me, umm, how do I put this….perplexed, we’ll go with perplexed – and I like the dirty stuff in my books (cause ya girl ain’t no prude!) but some of the terminology felt grossly juvenile.
One of the aspects I really enjoyed reading about is the issue and underlying causes Violet was going through. I felt like this was handled very well, even delicately and respectfully.
I was looking for a bit more of a resolution between Violet and her bff, Brian (Graham’s son) as well as her sister (who I despised).
Again, I needed a better connection to the characters. They just felt a bit too clinical at times in their narratives. I enjoyed the book overall but, for me personally, it just needed a few tweaks.
(this is a loose interpretation on Beauty and the Beast as well)
I’ve liked the books I’ve read by Saffron Kent and will continue to read her books.
*arc provided for honest review*
Saffron Kent knows how to write taboo like nobody else, emphasising the delicacy and naivety of youth against the gruff experience of the older man. She incorporates mental health into the story in a way that is reflective of real life. In most of the story Violet was portrayed with an inner strength that she didn’t recognise, sure of her feelings if not of herself.
I have to admit that I didn’t connect with Mr Edwards the way I have with previous characters from Ms Kent, but I can’t explain why? I found it hard to see past his gruff exterior.
This book reached a new level of steam which exceeded her previous writing.
So, I’ve been a tad excited for this one, a big age-gap and forbidden read that had me drumming my fingers impatiently after reading Medicine Man by Saffron, I adored her writing in this and was just hoping it lived up to my expectations!
This was an outstandingly epic read for me – I adored the characters with a passion!
The story line was riveting and I was absolutely entranced by their romance. The chemistry between Mr Edwards and Violet is just off the scale, the sex between them is scorching and deliciously dirty. But its the emotional side of the story that got to me the most, I was welling up whilst reading so many times, I just couldn’t help myself.
So Violet is 16 when a new neighbor moves in next door, a man and his son. The son, Brian, turns out to be her new best friend, whilst at the first sighting of his dad, Mr Edwards, she falls for him big style.
Violet is no ordinary girl…. she is a girl who is not ‘seen’ by anyone. No one takes much notice of her and she lives in a world of her own. Her dad, not her biological one, is never around and her mum takes no notice of her, even her sister Fiona does not get on with her. Violet is uniquely wild and quirky and beautiful, enjoying being on the roof at night time writing her journals, watching Mr Edwards in his rose garden.
Mr Edwards, Graham, is a hulking man, the football coach at school, very cold and abrupt, everyone stays out of his way. Until the day his whole world changes and he finds Violet in his garden picking his roses at night, and she tries to kiss him…..
Their whole world implodes as his son Brian and Violet’s sister Fiona witness this. He loses his job and moves away and gets labelled as a pervert. Violet tries to tell everyone that it was all her fault, not his, but who listens to a 16 year old? Violet ends up with major anxiety and panic attacks and goes for a stay Heartstone Hospital to try and get better (this is where Medicine Man is set) and ends up being friends with Willow and a couple of other girls there – loved this small connection here!
10 months later and Violet is out and struggling on the outside of Heartstone, but cannot help but still feel guilty about everything that happened and is determined to find Mr Edwards and apologise to him for what she did.
I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed this, it really was awesome!! Graham is gruff and growly and has a dirty AF mouth when he starts, he tries to keep her away, he really does, but she breaks down his walls. Violet is a wonderful character, so delicate in ways yet to wonderfully strong in others, I loved her and her wild quirky ways. Like I said it is a very emotional read at times, both characters having been through an awful lot, and have more to get through together. Brilliant, don’t let the age-gap put you off, its not about the older man taking advantage of the younger girl, its about love and the many healing forms it can take, if you let it. A huge 5 stars for me.
Wow! Just wow! This book took my breath away. I loved the story and relationship between Violet and Graham. They were both strong and brave characters who stole my heart. In my opinion, this is Saffron A. Kent’s best book to date. I enjoyed Dreams Of 18 so much and would highly recommend it to everyone.
What can I say about Dreams of 18 by Saffron A. Kent? This book was fantastic! This is the first that I have read by this author and it will not be my last! This book was so emotional and poignant. I was crying while I was reading this book because it touched my emotions so much.
Dreams of 18 by Saffron A. Kent begin the emotional love story of Violet Moore and Graham Edwards. This is a story of forbidden love between an older man and a younger woman. Violet has been in love with her best friend’s Brian’s father since she was 16 when Brian first moved next door to her family. Violet was a loner and her family didn’t pay attention to her at all. When she first sees Graham Edwards, it was like a spark of light for her. Unbeknown to Violet, Graham is attracted to her as well when he first saw her sitting on the roof of her home reading and writing in her journal. On Violet’s 18th birthday, she decides to go next door and give in to her attraction to Graham. What happens next is a very big misunderstanding.
Graham moves back to Colorado and Violet makes it her mission to go and make things right and apologize to Graham for what happens. Will Graham forgive Violet? Will Violet and Graham give in to the chemistry that is off the charts between them? Will Violet and Graham finally get their happy ever after? You will have to read Dreams of 18 by Saffron A. Kent to find out!
This book has plenty of romance and angst that an avid reader like me loves. Dreams of 18 by Saffron A Kent was such a fantastic book that I couldn’t put my Kindle down until I finished the book! Have your tissues ready because this book will make you cry.
Make sure to grab a copy of Dreams of 18 by Saffron A. Kent! You will not be disappointed! I will definitely be reading more books by this author!
I absolutely flipping adore this book. This is that classic breathtaking Saffron that we’ve all come to know and love. This story is beautiful chaos, obsession and passion personified. I just, I can’t even articulate how wonderful this one is.
Let’s start with Violet. She’s a sweet, innocent, guilt-stricken dreamer living in her own little bubble world. She’s so brave and unique and awe-struck. I mean, I’ve never been a Violet. I’ve always been a little jaded and a lot cynical. Reading a character who is so pure and honest is refreshing. She’s truly amazing. Getting to read through her growth, her gradual development into this strong confident woman is beautiful. But the thing I love most about our leading lady? I love how she’s broken, not just that she is but specifically HOW she breaks and copes and guards herself. She’s struggling to find herself again, to get her dreams back and reclaim pieces of who she was. Now that, that alone is a story worth reading.
Thanks to Graham and his filthy mouth, this is one of the hottest books that I have ever had the pleasure (pun intended) of reading. The build-up is unparalleled, there is no instant wham bam nonsense. These characters work for their steamy bedroom fun times. They build a foundation, they struggle and clash the entire way there. But once they get there? Woah, hey. This is one of those stories that requires some special TLC, a bottle of wine and possibly even a cigarette after reading. It’s blazing passion written into a beautiful story. It’s everything.
I absolutely loved every single intricate detail that was expertly written and woven into this story. It isn’t just realistic, the madness that these two flawed characters seem to suffer from, it’s tangible. I mean, wow. What a book. If I could give this one a million stars, I would. It’s simply that wonderful. Everyone should read this one.
ARC REVIEW
I am speechless, shocked and stunned.
I had no idea what to expect from this book, but what I read was something unique, something that doesn’t even come close to other books I’ve read and something that gave me more than I expected.
‘Dreams of 18’ by the crazy talented Saffron A Kent is an age-gap, forbidden love story that has more to it than anything you could ever imagine.
This book is fresh and unique and you might say ‘How is that even possible when nowadays there are so many books that talk about the same subjects!’.
Well let me tell you, that it is not the subject that makes this book such a great book, but it’s the way it’s written, the way characters come alive with every page, the way sensible subjects are touched in a unique and absolutely new way, the way every scene stands out from any of your previous reads thanks to even the tiniest of details. That’s what makes this book different and amazing at the same time.
After reading a lot, and when I say a lot I mean it, books just start sounding similar, scenes feel like you have already read them before and relationships seem cliche.
But this book managed to make its presence known, to jump and show its uniqueness and its quirky details that differentiate it from any other book.
This book made me look at things differently, listen to see differently and think of things differently. It reminded me of how bright colors can be, how being weird doesn’t make you an outcast but more a unique thing not everyone can handle, it reminded me of the beauty of the night and the color of the moon. It reminded me how to dream again.
And if that doesn’t make this book special enough, then its characters will do the trick.
Violet is always been shy, an outcast, the weird girl with no friends but with more magic in her soul than the whole town put together. She’s something else. She’s quirky, sassy, funny, and courageous, she dances in the moonlight with no shame and is fine being the girl no one notices. Violet has her own world, a world where weirdness is a good thing, where there’s no judgment or insults, a world where she can just be, and she couldn’t be any happier like this.
Until one day her whole words tips upside-down at the mere sight of a beast of a man, all rugged and masculine, who with one look has the power to destroy Violet and make her the happiest girl in the whole world.
Said beast is called Mr. Edwards. He is as manly as it gets, he is muscular, he is powerful, he is dominant, he is that someone anyone with a right mind is scared about and knows not to cross or challenge. He is cold and mean, fierce and outdoorsy, he is someone who seems to have everything under control all the time and wouldn’t have it any other way.
But when it comes to this crazy girl with weird hair and even weirder habits, he doesn’t know what to do, how to act, what to say. He isn’t in control anymore when it comes to Violet.
Their story starts in a very unconventional way that is so powerful to change both of their worlds with the mere touch of their lips and destroy everything that is important to them.
And things just go downhill from there for Violet and Mr. Edwards. So much so that he moves away to try and avoid everything that’s happening both inside and outside his world.
But Violet is determined to open his eyes, to make him see what’s in front of him and to bring him back, even at cost of putting herself through situations she never thought she’d be in, even at cost of hurting.
With every mean comment, insult, challenge and stare Mr. Edwards throws at her, Violate just becomes more and more determined to make things better, for herself, for Mr. Edwards and for her best friends who also happens to be Mr. Edwards’ son.
This book is weird and quirky, unconventional and emotional, something that’s not for everyone, especially if you don’t like age-gaps, drama, forbidden love, challenges and promises that could lead to either the characters self-destruction or to something beautiful and magical.
This story is powerful and meaningful, that shows how sometimes your love is not enough, how sometimes you have to be brave and dare to love, how sometimes thing you never thought could happen happen, and most importantly how you need to make sacrifices and learn every day, a little bit at a time, that things are never as bad or as scary as they seem.
Love, pain, anger, frustration, passion, magic and poetry. That is what you will find if you pick this book up. If you dare yourself to be out of the ordinary, to be open, to be your own unique person and to never let anyone convince you that your dreams will never come true.
Because at the end of the day, a world without dreams is a colorless, numb and boring world.
Wowza! This book was hot hot hot! I enjoyed it. The story ended up being a little more than what I thought it would be. Which was a fantastic surprise for me for sure. I loved the deepness of it. And I really loved the steaminess of it too. I mean…wow. I don’t think I’ll look at a lollipop the same again. All that aside though…this was the first book I’ve ever ready by Saffron and it won’t be the last. Very unique way of telling her stories that’s addictive as hell!
If you like taboo reads you NEED to pick up this book. Ms. Kent knocks it out of the park writing about a brooding beast and a young women not accepted by society. Put this two together and you have one heck of a story that will hold your attention.
I am not going to give anything away from this story, it is one who needs to go into without any preconceived notions. This is a wild, sexy and angsty read.
Violet Moore, you might remember her from Medicine Man, Heartstone Psychiatric hospital. On her eighteenth birthday, she got drunk and threw herself at a man that she fell in love with at age 16, causing a huge scandal in their sleepy suburban town. Graham Edwards was her neighbor who moved in next door with his son Brian, who was her best friend. And you don’t go around kissing your best friend’s father causing a scandal in your small town and getting the called a slut. So once she gets out of Heartstone she is going to make everything right, even if Mr. Edwards has disappeared. This story is all moon and magic!
A delicious forbidden, age gap romance.
Violet was different. She was a loner and didn’t quite feel as if she fit in or was even noticed by her family. She spent so much time in her own head and her attraction to Graham was stalker-ish.
It wasn’t until the second part that we find how Graham felt toward Violet. There is so much internalized thinking and issues with trust especially on Violet’s part. Graham has his own issues to deal with and Violet doesn’t falter in her support for him.
I enjoyed this emotionally and intensely scorching story.
Omg! This is a fantastic read! It’s filled with hope and heartache, hurt and angst, lots of hot sexy times and love. I absolutely love an age gap/taboo romance and Dreams Of 18 didn’t disappoint. Violet and Graham are brilliant characters who are perfect for each other but not everyone can see that. It’s a definite 5***** must read!