New Adult 69K wordsEthan Jackson has had a thing for Ava Anderson longer than he cares to remember. But her brother is one of his best friends and there are rules and crap about stuff like that. But she’s always there, right in front of his eyes and the wanting is only getting worse as the days go by. What, exactly, is a guy supposed to do?Excerpt:Ava quickly walked through the house and … house and barricaded herself in the bathroom. Hearing the door slam shut, Ethan felt his temper rise as he followed her into the hallway and leaned against the wall, waiting for her to come out. The longer she ignored him, the more his fury grew.
She finally came out of the bathroom, still ignoring him completely. He was hot on her heels as she went inside her bedroom. He gave her no choice, he followed her inside and shut the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed.
She watched him with both anger and what looked like a tiny hint of trepidation. Shit if that didn’t soothe him somewhat. But then she opened her mouth and his ire came roaring back to life. “Get out,” she ordered flatly.
He shook his head, it was all he could manage without snapping at her.
Her shoulders stiffened. “Ethan. Get the hell out of my room.”
Other than fisting his hands, he remained perfectly still. He felt a burning itch to move across the room to impose on her personal space, but he knew that idea would be utter insanity. He soothed himself with a biting question. “What the hell was in your head when you decided to go there tonight?”
Her eyes sharpened as her mouth flattened into a grim line. “Nothing. None of your business. Get out.”
He sucked in oxygen through his teeth as he tried to calm down. “Ava. Listen to me. Ty was past irresponsible when he took y’all there—“
She cut him off with unbridled anger. “Bullshit. It was only a party.”
Well hell, she wanted to cuss at him? “Bullshit? Bullshit?” he bit out. She glared at him from across the room and he felt his temperature kick up another notch as he slammed her with his opinion. “You didn’t need to be there tonight. You took advantage of the fact that your parents are out of town—“
She interrupted him, the pretty lines of her face drawn into a scowl. “This doesn’t concern you at all. Who the hell do you think you are to lecture me?”
Her anger only pissed him off further. “Ava—” he growled.
“You’re nobody, that’s who you are. Nobody who will ever have any say-so over me.”
“Nobody?”
She stared at him in belligerent silence, her nostrils flaring.
He pushed off the door with a booted foot and took a single step forward, mounting rage mixing with never ending hunger making a volatile shitstorm of emotion damn near overflow. He contained it to one cutting comment. “Your brother is worthless when it comes to protecting you–”
She cut him off. “I don’t need his stupid protection and I damn sure don’t need your protection and I repeat—it’s not your business.” Although her anger was palpable, Ethan’s gaze was drawn to her chest, which was rising and falling in agitation.
Forcing himself to get a grip, he looked into eyes that were shooting daggers at him. “I’ve known you since you were a little kid and if Ty won’t take care of this bullshit, then you can bet your ass I will.”
She clenched her teeth, looking as if she wanted to punch him. “I don’t need another brother. You’re not my damn brother, Ethan.”
He tried to rein it in but her answer set him off. He felt a jolt of adrenaline and lowered his tone to a firmly modulated threat. “Oh, you got that goddamn straight. I’m not your brother.” The air grew tense around them, silence pulsing back and forth between them in static waves of heat. Unable to control himself any longer, he pushed forward and crowded into her personal space.
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Holy heck! Okay, wow! While this book is everything I expected from this author, it also had some angsty surprises that gutted me.
Ethan has known Ava all their lives. As his best friend’s little sister she’s always been right there in front of him. That also means when she begins to grow up and becomes a woman…she is right there in front of him. And he doesn’t miss a single thing. After fighting against his desires for so long, he finally makes his move.
Ava has had a huge crush on Ethan forever and when he finally takes a step towards her, she’s so very ready. But life can tend to get complicated and such is the case when it comes to Ethan and Ava’s relationship. They have a lot of things going against them but if they hold strong together and stick to their plans they can find their happy ever after. But again…life is complicated.
They had a long road ahead of them to get there, but he was single-minded – hell bent even – in his determination to achieve the life he wanted for them. Everything else was just details.
I absolutely LOVE Ethan. He is everything I adore in a hero. Fierce and determined in his need to claim his woman. Protective, jealous – even when not necessary, and strong enough to face their troubles without giving into them. His desire for Ava couldn’t have been more clearly shown. He could only fight it for so long before he takes what he was always afraid of never getting even a taste of.
While Ava’s character was a little less developed, she is the one that most of the angst revolves around. Her issues with her family had me on the edge of my seat so many times. I mean, really. Her mother was like psycho-mom and I never did trust her.
I’ve loved everything that this author writes because she knows exactly how I want my hero. Even if there are parts that might drive a reader crazy, it’s ultimately the hero that will keep you coming back for more. After all, she’s the queen of alpha heroes for a reason. They are just soo good and Ethan reminded me of that fact.
Ethan loved her with a single-minded devotion that brooked no resistance.
This is a fast read and holy heck the chemistry is sizzling. As in, I-hope-no-one-sees-my-red-cheeks-and-quickened-breathing sizzling. The angst is pretty high here but not outrageously so and almost all of it is due to outside forces. We have some great views of Josh and Hannah and what I hope is the foundation for Ty’s story. There’s a reason he went to Houston and I know who choose that town to live in.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who is addicted to a ferocious, all consuming alpha hero. Every woman needs an Ethan in their life!
Dual POV
In my humble opinion, you can never go wrong with a book written by Lynda Chance. Loved this story and how Ethan was with Ava.
I’m a HUGE fan of an unapologetic, OTT, and possessive alphas and Lynda Chance fits that bill perfectly. EVERY TIME! So any time she releases I am over the moon and when it’s a release that’s your favorite YA series?
We meet Ethan Jackson and Ava Anderson in the first book of the series Josh and Hannah as their best friends. Ethan epitomizes the perfect alpha to our brave and strong heroine, Ava. When they are faced with life altering challenges, Ethan does not let his girl down. He steps up and I couldn’t love him more. When he realizes despite everything It’s always been Ava for him, he commits and falls even harder.
I was constantly swooning at Ethan..
From the main and secondary characters to the plot and romance, this was everything and I absolutely adored this books.
This is the fourth book in the Redwood Falls Series but it could definitely be read as a stand alone list like the rest.