“I feel like the only place I was ever meant to be…is next to you.”Serious, by-the-book Eli Wyatt has life all figured out. He’s got a five-year plan, his future in the Coast Guard, and friends who always have his back. And then Ava Abrams breezes into his life one summer day. A free spirit, she’s on the run heading in the direction of her dreams. To Ava, music is life. She’s got her heart set on … To Ava, music is life. She’s got her heart set on country music stardom, not a happily ever after with a man she just met.
However, Eli is tempting. Very tempting. And heartbreakingly gorgeous. Just when they start to fall, they’re forced apart. Sent on different paths with nothing but the memories of what they shared that summer.
Four years later, fate reunites them. Both find themselves at crossroads, facing major life changes. But the chemistry… the passion? That hasn’t changed.
Destiny gave them a second chance. Will they grab hold of it and find what they’ve both been searching for?
A second chance, summer slow burn from IAN award-winning author, LJ Evans. Inspired by Luke Bryan’s “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” this novel shows all the ways dreams can be lost and remade, and how love can guide you through.
“LJ Evans is a unicorn author. You know the kind – they only come along once in a blue moon, but every word they write is pure magic. Every single one of her books brings all the feels and more, and Guarded Dreams is no exception.” – Novelmomma
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*Read as part of The Anchor Novels Box Set*
“The light that had guided us home…it had guided us to each other. We were here. We were our own life-changing phenomenon. We’d taken what we were and filled it with color and brilliance. A magical display. Us.”
I sometimes wish I wasn’t such an emotionally-driven person, but that’s the way it is, and being any other way wouldn’t be me. L.J.’s books really touch me, and this one was not an exception.
This is Eli and Ava’s story. And they feel real to me, like long-lost friends I couldn’t be happier for. Even if I did read book 5 in this series first, and I knew their HEA was coming, I was rooting for them from the start.
“I realized that Eli really listened all the time. To words. To bodies. To life.”
I know this is only the first book in this series, but I can already feel Eli’s going to be one of my favorites. You know, the grumpy guy, who seems detached but really isn’t, who pays attention, who loves with everything he has. The guy who dreams and fights for what he wants. And who doesn’t give up. Yes, definitely.
“Just like the moon called the tides, she had called me home. To her.”
I can relate to Ava so much I almost can’t explain it. Her lack of a relationship with her dad, who always made her feel small and unimportant. Her love for words, for writing, for telling stories – in her case, as songs. For wanting to feel like she’s a part of something. Her not knowing how to react when someone hugs her. It felt so real to me.
Maybe I should mention that I once wrote the lyrics to a couple of songs, and a friend took them and wrote the music for them. Damn, I haven’t thought about it in years! Maybe this way you can see just how much I connect to Ava.
“We were both caught there for a moment, sea and sand and grains of straw mixing together in our eyes.”
Ava and Eli meet when she’s 19 and he’s 22. She’s full of musical dreams, of being up on the stage, and he’s full of Coast Guard dreams, to follow his father’s footsteps and his love of the sea. When they meet, there’s something there. She tears his walls down, and he makes her feel, enough to even write songs about. But life gets in the way. Their dreams get in the way, and they both move on, after having shared only one kiss.
“Eli?”
“Yes?”
“I just wanted you to know that I think I could have loved you.”
This was probably my favorite quote in this book. It says so much, and it so little at the same time. They were only together for about 4 days, and they weren’t even alone, because Eli had his friends there. But what happened in those 4 short days was something some people don’t get in a lifetime.
But if they had stayed together, and hadn’t pursued their dreams, they would regret it later, and resent each other.
“My heart broke for everything we could have been and weren’t. For the once upon a time that hadn’t happened for us.”
Four years later, Eli is in the Coast Guard. Ava is at Juilliard. They’ve both been able to grab a hold of their dreams, and life gives them a second chance. Ava is singing a song she wrote about them at a bar, and Eli is there with his friends. And it all comes rushing back, the want, the feelings, the could-have-beens.
“They weren’t original words. They weren’t unique. People had said them a gazillion times a day for centuries upon centuries. I love you and I love you more. But they were new to us. They were original to this moment in time, and they could never be said for the first time again.”
The rest of it, as they say, is history. They need to get to know so much about each other, there was so much that wasn’t covered in those brief days years ago. So much has changed. They’ve changed, but what existed between them hasn’t.
“I wanted her to forget everything but the fact that our bodies already knew what our lives had been trying to figure out. That we were one. Not pieces left apart but Scrabble tiles that made up one word.”
This is a second-chance story between two people who were each other’s one-who-got-away. Two people who needed to pursue their dreams to understand dreams change, too. To understand happiness is not connected to a job, or a place, but to someone. That you can be happy wherever you are, as long as you’re with the right person, and that the person may become the dream.
Go ahead, call me a romantic. I can take it.
‘We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, we are going back from whence we came.’
My first LJ Evans book, even though this is a re-read, Eli and Ava were love at the very first page AND song for me. It is so rare to find authors who work so hard to mix the perfect song with each chapter (I only know a few) and it causes me to fall a little harder for their words, and LJ is no exception.
Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset by Luke Bryant is the perfect song to introduce Eli and his grumpy- perfectionist-self to Ava’s carefree, throw it all to the wind, self. It makes my heart happy each time I hear it now, and both times I’ve seen the words on the page.
Eli is bound for one thing, a successful career in the Coast Guard, and all he can see when he first meets Ava is all that work crashing to the ground.
“The ocean and me, we’d always been a thing. Twined together like almost nothing else in my life. It talked to my soul like some people said music or art talked to theirs.”
What he soon feels is the draw from one soul to another, one soul born missing the piece that would fit his perfectly, and the yearning might just kill him. How is he supposed to let her walk away?
Ava is the embodiment of a free spirit, she’s been a caged child her whole life, thanks to a father who’s never seen her as anything but a burden. When she meets Eli she thinks he’s a curmudgeon, surely sent there to drag her back to her Dad. When Eli proves he’s fighting tooth and nail against what he sees as the “right” thing to keep spending time with her, to allow Ava her freedom, how does she walk away from that?
“Life and death are one, even as the river and the sea.”
This slow burn made me an instant fan of LJ Evans, so much so that I begged for an ARC of Forged By Sacrifice! If Military Romance, Found Family Slow Burn is your jam then Guarded Dreams will definitely be a dream come true for you as well!!
5 super swoony stars for Eli and Ava!!
Have you ever read a book that was so good that you wanted to call every friend and tell them to run and read it? Guarded Dreams is that book! I have seen L.J. Evans books around and was hesitant to pick one up because YA is a tough balancing act. The characters are young yet I wanted them to be mature and sometimes with authors that isn’t always the case. In Guarded Dreams these two characters have very old souls and in reading their story it makes complete sense. It begins in a coastal town that three college senior military students will be vacationing in for the week. The agreement is to paint their professor’s home and they can stay rent free. Eli, Mac and Truck had the week all planned until their professor’s 19 year old free spirited daughter Ava showed up. Ava is leaving Texas behind. She had planned to hang out here for a couple of days then she is headed to Nashville to try to achieve her dream of being a country songwriter and performer. Eli is not pleased with this interruption to his perfectly planned week. He has dreams of his own, graduating and entering the Coast Guard. He may be only 22 but he has had this plan his entire life and a girl, no matter how appealing he may find her, is not going to derail his plans. Life has other plans for both Eli and Ava and in a serendipitous moment 4 years later they reconnect. Ava is now a college senior at Julliard and Eli is a stationed Coast Guard officer in New York. Fate has reconnected them but they have each changed over the years. This is a story about true love and second chances, hopes and dreams, doors closing and new ones opening. I cannot recommend this inspirational love story enough. It is told from dual POV and will make you laugh, cry and your heart beat with love. L.J. Evans wrote a beautiful love story that you definitely need to read.
This is a beautifully written book of second chances. Sparks fly between Ava & Eli and their attraction is magnetic. However, life is pulling them in different directions. Eli is a loyal to a fault hero wanting to serve in the Coast Guard. Ava wants to make a name for herself in Nashville. Their paths weren’t meant to be when they first met but they beat the odds and their paths crossed several years later. I adored this story, simply adored it. The swoon, the feels, the hilarious banter. All of it effortlessly woven together to make for one addictive read that I never wanted to end.
LJ Evans knows how to write a story where normally people shouldn’t work together but you see them grow while reading and somehow they simply click and work. This was that kinda book.
I loved Ava but was heartbroken when she couldn’t stop the voices in her head. When they met for the second time and when they realized that the connection is still there and is as strong as it was when they first met, I was rooting so hard for it to work second time around. The drama and the heartache was making me cry ugly tears. But as always the ending brought lightness and a huge smile on my face and left me feeling like we need more from this couple.
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
To be honest, I was in as soon as I heard it was based on a Luke Bryan song. I loved the fact that its chapters/playlist were all country songs. But I started reading and I fell in love with three “brothers” who had big dreams and had the need to accomplish them together. And there was this barely adult woman who blew into their world with dreams of her own. She was determined to fight any and all of her obstacles for her dreams. Life happens and people hit road bumps and sometimes separate. This is a good read about how sometimes life takes you in a different direction and sometimes the dreams you hope for change into a new and more fulfilling life.
This is the 1st book I’ve read written by LJ Evans; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the chemistry between the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
Be sure to grab this book!! It’s your next book to sit on the couch with, curl up with your favorite drink and a cozy blanket and get lost in the story. Once you start reading you’ll fall in love with this second chance romantic story and the characters. Be sure to warn your family that you are completely unavailable while you read this book because you won’t want to put it down once you start.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
**Please note, I was given an ARC for each of these books for an honest review of them. These reviews are my own thoughts and feelings and I have had no financial compensation to provide these reviews to you**
As a country music fan, reading a book based on a country song was like a dream come true! I love that LJ created a play list for the book as well and used lyrics from each song to help you feel the emotion of the chapters. Now let’s delve into the book a little. We have Eli, along with Mac and Truck aka Mac Truck, all who are preparing to enter a life in the military. Eli is the straight laced one while Mac and Truck are more laid back. The boys are taking some time before their final semesters to goof off and paint a beach house for one of their professors. Ava, said professor’s daughter, shows up at the house because she’s running away from the professor, who, we find out, is a total assjerk. Feelings are felt between Ava and Eli, but ultimately, Ava feels she has to stay true to herself to pursue her dreams. Something I totally respect as I think too many women have set their own dreams aside for men.
Cut to 4 years later in NYC, Eli and Ava reconnect, go over the crap that happened because her father is an assjerk and we move forward. Or so we think. This couple has a lot thrown at them that would make most people just give up, but they work hard to persevere through and still support each other through the changes. They both have their dreams change, Ava’s because she realizes something about herself and Eli’s due to a stupid mistake. We experience the feelings with them and my heart just broke for Eli. But I’m so proud of how they overcome those experiences and work to build a new life together in a direction that is completely unexpected to the reader.
This book is a total coming of age book, but without all the teenage angst that you would expect in a coming of age book since the characters are in their 20s. I adore the fact that through all of the crap they go through Eli works hard to ensure that Ava feels complete respect from him. He defers to her and what she wants in her life and works to have his life become compatible with hers while still being true to himself as much as possible. Oh, and there’s Gibb’s slaps! I love me a Gibb’s slap!
This was my first time reading this author and it was such an awesome read it grabbed me form the beginning and I couldn’t stop reading!!! The plot and character building were amazing and I loved Eli and Ava’s chemistry to together. There’s sorrow, pain, obstacles, laughter and hopes and dreams with an amazing love that burns bright and hot and you have a must read for any fan and I can’t wait to read more form this author!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The story about Eli and Ava wove its way through my heart and broke my heart and put it back together at times. They met when she was nineteen and he was twenty three and as they stared into each others eyes they knew their life would never be the same but they had to both go separate ways. Four years later they meet again hundreds of miles away in New York and as they both have to change their life dreams and hope they can hang onto their life dreams of each other.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
When I saw that this book was longer than most I’ve read lately and that it had a playlist of songs organized to go with it I decided this was a “3 course meal” book experience. I stopped my read each time a song was referenced to listen to the song. This book experience was amazing and unlike any other I’ve ever experienced, and I haven’t even gotten to the content. It too was amazing. Very well thought out. There was no rushing. There was very involved backstories and complete characters.
Surprisingly I didn’t rush through this book. I wanted to, but I also wanted to savor it. I didn’t want to read it when there were other distractions. I wanted to be wholly and completely immersed in the story. This story was the whole enchilada. Thorough and complete. Absolutely wonderful.
Second read through additions:
This is my second read through this series in preparation for Book 5. I am savoring it. It’s even more emotional and hard hitting the second time around. Evans sure knows her way around a heart. 😉 Our characters go through so much – both on their own and together. Life‘s storms hit, will they be anchored or set adrift?
A beautiful love story…
Eli meets Ava on a beautiful beach one day. It was love at first sight. But their dreams pull them apart and move them in different directions. Years later they are reunited, pushed together once more as if the universe was trying to tell them that they were just meant to be together. Will Eli and Ava give in to their love?
This is one of those books where you come to relate to the characters almost immediately. I personally deeply relate to Ava with her father issues. The story of Ava and Eli’s love and losing each other only to end up back together again reminds me of my husband and I… We met when I was 12 years old, fell in love, married when I was 18, divorced, and years later weary married again when I was 30. Some things are just meant to be.
This book is very romantic and there is a lot in this book that really hits home for me personally. The push and pull of the main characters is written well enough to make you want to just smack some sense into the main characters and tell them to give up the charade. YOU BELONG TOGETHER! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT YOU NUMBSKULLS!!! LOL .
I laughed, I cried, I listened to music and had a great time with this book. LJ Evans delivers again! Beautiful story, lovely characters, and of course, great tunes! Good job sweetie you did it again!
Highly recommend to all romance lovers!
*** 4.5 Stars ***
Guarded Dreams by L.J. Evans is a contemporary, new adult, second chance, military romance told in first person, dual POV. This is the first book I’ve read by the author and it will definitely not be the last because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
When Ava and Eli first meet they have an immediate connection, but the timing is all wrong. He’s pursuing a military career and she’s pursuing her dream of becoming a musician. Not only are they moving in different directions, but Eli’s professor is Ava’s father, so a relationship is strictly forbidden. When a chance encounter brings them together four years later, the sparks are still there and stronger than ever, but life is very complicated. Can Eli and Ava find a way to make things work? Will they be able to figure out how to navigate life’s transitions together?
I loved Eli and Ava’s love story! I loved the characters and felt connected to them and invested in their happiness. The story explored pursuing dreams, grieving the death of a dream, and finding the hope to open up and dream again. It’s an inspiring, heartfelt story about perseverance, love and second chances. Highly recommended!
This took wings and flew! I just cannot get these characters out of my mind!! I find myself thinking about them and not just about Eli and Ava. Mac and Truck were memorable too and I’m dying to see their stories be written as well. Ava and Eli are both such big dreamers! They have dedicated so much of themselves and time towards achieving those closely guarded dreams. When you’ve spent so much time just trying to reach your destiny it’s hard to stray from that set path, even when you meet that once in a lifetime type of love! The journey that they each take makes them change so very much, and it’s beyond beautiful to watch fate bring them together again. My emotions were pulled in every direction and I absolutely cried throughout the entire book! These two were written with such delicate attention and all those intricate pieces make their story poignant and utterly breathtaking! Ms. Evans is one of my favorite authors! I get so excited when I know that she’s writing a new story! Her words are powerful… they pack a punch and make an everlasting impact upon your heart
I’ve recently read Ms. Evan debut novel and was anxious to read another work from this author. Eli and Ava’s story is an amazing read. Their journey hits all the feels for the reader: humor, anger, longing, desire, loyalty, loss, fear, yearning, friendship, and above all love. Not only romantic love but love of family, friends, dreams. Eli and Ava both have dreams, but as those of us of a certain age know: dreams change. Sometimes that change is forced upon us and for others the dream just morphs with maturity and experience.
At nineteen, the three-year age difference between Ava and the twenty-two-year-old, by the book college student painting her father’s beach house seems insurmountable. She’s a free spirit running from her father to a dream of an artistic future. Her carefree zest for life runs counter to the straitlaced student of her father’s. But the spark between them is combustible and when she flees, their short encounter leaves a lasting impact on Eli and his housemates, who are headed to fulfill their military dreams after their final year of college
Fast forward four years and by chance they meet again, and their age difference no longer seems to be an issue. However, their connection is still burning. Fate seems to have it out for the couple, throwing obstacles in their way, almost allowing dreams to come true, and then tearing them away. But dreams and circumstances change, and when both of them decide on the dream of a future, they set to work on how to achieve it.
Ms. Evans use of words and the eloquence of the dialogue her characters use is a beauty all its own. Eli is an old and romantic soul, his descriptions of their relationship are swoon worthy and heartfelt. While Ava’s use of quotes and writing of lyrics proves their souls are aligned and have been for eternity. The level of emotion Ms. Evan give her characters and pulls the reader into their heads and their hearts.
Guarded Dreams is a book that pulled me in and spoke to my heart. I loved the characters, the storyline, and more than satisfying HEA. I look forward to more books from LJ Evans, her storytelling prowess is stellar and makes my reader heart happy.
This book is so beautifully written. The words come to life on the page. It’s like poetry in novel form. It’s a second chance, first love, slow burn story. This book will make you feel everything. It shows you that DNA doesn’t always mean family. You can make your own. Just because you’re broken doesn’t mean you can’t be put back together. Dreams change as we change. I was glad to read at the end of the book that there are more in the series yet to come. Not only do I recommend this book, but I recommend looking up her other books to read. I won a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
LJ Evans did not disappoint. Once again, her words combined with music spun a beautiful story of a love lost and then found again, of chasing your dreams and realizing new ones. Another great read from one of my favorite authors.
Guarded Dreams is a book that takes this reader down a path that I don’t usually travel, New Adult. At nearly 45, I have a hard time relating to the characters, but this book seemed different so I decided to give it a shot. It was definitely worth it.
I loved all the male characters in this book. Eli was a wonderful “straight man” and by that I mean, the guy that walks the straight and narrow and stays out of trouble Mac Truck were so awesome. Yeah Mac Truck are two guys, fun loving and just great.
Then there was Ava, our heroine. I had mixed feelings about her from the start. She was a trouble maker at the start, then you learn about her past and you feel sorry for her, but then as you get to know her choices you start to wonder about her too. Yes dreams change, but when you spend so damn much money on a dream, I really wanted her to see it through more than she did. In that respect, I felt like she wimped out, especially when she wasn’t sure of what she wanted to do with her life.
Together the two of them bring out the best in each other. Again…Eli = all my love. He is truly the guy you dream about even when things are going so very wrong for him. Seriously for all the bad stuff that Ava has to deal with in her home life, Eli’s life kicks him harder and he pulls himself up from it all.
He’s truly perfect and his love for Ava and the slow burn they have just makes me love him more. I loved that the two of them didn’t hook up until the book was nearly halfway over.
If you are looking for a new adult novel where the characters actually act like adults, this is definitely the book for you.
I won an ARC of this book and am leaving my honest review.
I loved reading Ava and Eli’s story. A second chance that is really a first chance. Fate bringing them together 4 years after a first meeting. Heartbreak and happiness. I loved all the country music quotes and references. Wonderful story!