Sawyer LaGrange.
He’s my best friend’s older brother.
He’s quiet, brooding, sinfully sexy… brave.
And I want him.
Secrets.
Everybody has them.
Big, small, innocent… forbidden.
Mindy was a line I should never have crossed.
But I did.
She was beautiful… sassy and tempting,
And rules were made to be broken.
We broke them all.
Now I’m home, released from service with hidden scars.
Now my secrets are the demons that grow stronger every day.
I try to send her away, but I can’t let her go.
She’s my reason to fight, and I’ll walk through hell to be the man she deserves.
To give her a reason to stay here with me.
(HERE WITH ME is a STAND-ALONE best friend’s older brother, second-chance, military romance. No cheating. No cliffhangers.)
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Sawyer and Mindy are everything! I love how Tia wrote this one, highlighting some real issues like PTSD that many people face after facing trauma. I loved the passion, the push and pull, the steamy heat between Mindy and Sawyer — it was all to die for, I swear!
This is a must read. Well done, Tia!
Loved this one!
Oh my gosh! This was such a deeply beautiful, emotion filled story of first love and second chances. I absolutely loved Sawyer and Mindy. They were meant for each other from the moment Mindy took Sawyer’s hand in hers at one of the darkest moments of his life. From that point onward she loved him but their road to happy ever after was laced with a bit of push and pull as they each struggled to fulfill their dreams while ensuring the other had what they needed to find true happiness.
From the first page I was hooked even as I was once more struck with how this author is able to pull me into her characters’ world and make me fall in love with her heroes and heroines as well as her writing. With Sawyer’s peach orchid as the background, I felt as though I was lifted outside of my own troubles and placed into a rich and vibrant world where I could almost smell the fruit.
Each new hero by Ms. Louise always seems to be my new favorite and Sawyer has certainly earned a rightful place on my list.
I absolutely loved Here With Me by Tia Louise. Which is definitely no surprise, as I have come to expect nothing less from this author. This was a beautifully written best friend’s older brother romance with all the feels. Sawyer had so many responsibilities and people he cared for and was strong and determined. Mindy, his little sister’s best friend, was caring and full of love to give. But when Sawyer came back from the military, he was not the same man he once was.
Mindy had waited a long time for Sawyer and was undeterred. Sawyer carried demons that haunted him. Their love was undeniable, but they had some things to work through. I just loved these two characters so much. I absolutely loved everything about this second chance romance. It was emotional, sweet and captivating. A definite must-read.
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
Mindy has had a crush on Sawyer for as long as she can remember. When she was underage he kept her at arms length but she’s not a teenager anymore, what will he do now? Can Mindy get what she wants? Sawyers been through a lot can he let her in?
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My poor heart doesn’t know how to handle all these angsty emotions in Here With Me by Tia Louise. It made me cry. It made me deliriously happy. It made me swoon and sigh like crazy. Tia Louise broke me and healed me with her amazing words in this unforgettable second-chance small town romance!
Sawyer and Mindy has shared a special bond forged through some most difficult times in their lives. But the trauma and horror of military life has changed him. He is hiding his nightmares and he is suppressing everything to take care of their family peach farm. Mindy is the light of his life. She is always there for him through thick and thin. But what will happen when the past rears it’s ugly head? Can he be the man Mindy deserves? Can Mindy keep on pushing while Sawyer refuses to open up and hurt her almost beyond redemption?
Tia Louise can make me feel the pain like a pro. She can also make me feel dizzy with pleasure and warmth. She tackled both extremes so well. The heartbreak and the sweetness. The tears and the laughter. The overwhelming and suffocating loneliness balanced with healing touch of love and care. Sawyer’s jagged edges cut me wide open. He is a great man. Protective. Caring. Loyal. Dedicated. Honourable. Sexy. Swoony. Honest. But he also has demons in dark corners of his tortured mind. And my heart broke a thousand times for his struggle. Mindy is a force to be reckoned with. She is a bright splash of colour on an empty canvas. This girl has the biggest heart ever! She cares for Sawyer even through all the heartache! She gave every thing she had and I love her strength. I adore her for trying and succeeding in making her dreams come true. Be it her love. Be it her career. She is the sweetest but also the strongest. Their chemistry set my kindle on fire. They have this intense and soul deep connection that has my heart completely. They had some difficult times but they found their way back to each other. Monsters were slain. Love conquered all.
Tia Louise is the queen of second chance romance and Here With Me proved that beyond any doubt. Her words are priceless gems. She created this enthralling story of love, loss and redemption that left me breathless and mesmerised.
Received ARC for honest review
Oh, I about cried my eyes out with Sawyer and Mindy and I am not even sure if it was warranted. I just found their story so sweet, endearing, full of demons and moving past them. They have this undeniable chemistry and their romance is just swoon-worthy. What got me was the struggles Sawyer goes through after his stint in the service and trying to move forward without letting Mindy go. This is sexy, sweet, and captivating.
5 stars
The newest book involving a band of military brothers who are discharged after an incident that changed them forever. Sawyer doesn’t remember a time when life was easy. He stepped up to be the head of his family young and has always been an upstanding man who cares for all around him. Mindy was one of those people, she has been his sister’s best friend since childhood and has been by his side during some of the worst times of his life. She is also five years younger, and they have resisted the pull and connection they have had for years. When they crash together it is a force so strong, but their path to happily ever after is not a straight one, nor is it smooth. You will feel all the emotions throughout their story and fall in love with them both. Also, seeing previous characters just makes it even better!
Cara – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
Heart full That ending…Totally SWOONED me!! Returning from the military Sawyer is just not the same. Mindy continues to love the man she has always loved. When these two are together it is like lightening strikes! The chemistry is off the charts!! But something is keeping them at a standstill. This is such a beautiful story that will have you in all your feels.
A wonderful second chance story but it is not an easy ride. There is a long travel of mixed and confusing emotions to weed through first. Fabulous characters that will draw you in wishing they can find the peace they need to take the next step.
Sawyer didn’t get a chance to grow up too early in life. Taking care of the family and the orchard at 16 after the loss of both parents. But he took on the charge 100%. Eventually taking his time and leaving to go to the military. He fights the demons of his past with good old fashioned hard work. He loves his family and would do anything for them but he is tired of missing the one thing he isn’t sure he can have.
Mindy has been around the family forever, being Sawyer’s sisters best friend. Her mom did a lot for the family when they first lost their parents. Torn between leaving this small town for her career and staying for the possible love she has always dreamed of. Is it possible to have both? Mindy is a caring woman who kind of shows her heart on her sleeve, except maybe when it comes to Sawyer.
Can these two move from the distant family friends to the lovers they both secretly desire? Will Mindy learn to stand on her own two feet and achieve her goals? Can Sawyer find peace in the world of quilt and horrors of war that he battles? Will they find their HEA?
*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review.***
I received a complimentary ARC – early release copy of this book in Kindle format from the author for review purposes.
This is book 3 in the series about three best friends who were in the military together and the repercussions related to their life after military service. This is less a romance and more about PTSD. In this story we get to know Sawyer. He is a peach orchard grower for his family and his life changed in a big way when he was 16.
He is very close to Mindy’s family, she is his sisters best friend and also his best friend even though he is older than her. Mindy has loved him since she was a teenager but because of the age difference and then Sawyer joining the military they have never had a romantic relationship. Though they have had one night stands.
Now Mindy wants a relationship and Sawyer realizes she is done waiting and while his heart belongs to her, his mind is betraying him. This is about two people who love each other but who need to work on some things before they can be together.
The author did an amazing job with this story and showing how put together Sawyer is on the outside but on the inside he is a mess and how he needs to get his head on straight she he can have the life he wants.
Finally! Sawyer, the protective, broody older brother gets his story told!! And yes, Here With Me is a total standalone (though if you want to read the other books in this collection, you won’t be let down Plus getting to catch up with the rest of the gang is always fun). This book is Tia Louise just how I like her…emotional, sexy, and charming with just enough drama to keep things from being too sweet.
I absolutely adored Mindy. Her spirit. Her kindness. Her spunk. Her talent. Her dreams. Her love of family and home. And Sawyer. The boy who held her hand. The man who held her heart. I liked that he was so sure in work and his role in his family. But he kept finding himself trapped in painful memories that wouldn’t let him go.
My heart ached for Sawyer as he battled his demons. He and Mindy were so perfect for each other. They just had to get themselves together a bit before they could barrel fast forward into the future they always wanted. But I also cheered him on because he put in the work. Made the changes that allowed him to go forward with nothing holding him back. And when it counted the most, he stepped up and did what had to be done.
From start to finish, Here With Me had me hanging on every word. Mindy and Sawyer’s story really got to me in a way I wasn’t expecting. Hats off to Tia Louise for tackling some heavy issues in this book. She didn’t sugarcoat it or play it down and it made the journey that much more authentic. And in the middle of all the inner turmoil was the sweetest romance between two lifelong friends. And that ending…beyond perfect, it left me swooning for days.
There is something about these stories that make me wanna take a road trip to a peach orchard, meet the man of my dreams, and live happily ever after! Of course we’ll have to have some ups and downs before that can happen but what good relationship doesn’t?! There’ll be laughter and tears and lots of sexiness too!
Sawyer n Mindy have the sweetest love story and it’s the rare kind too. I hope we’ll get to visit them again in another story because I wasn’t ready for it to end.
I have been anxiously awaiting Sawyer’s story and his story with Mindy did not disappoint in the least. Sawyer has his demons that he is mostly in denial of fighting and tries to just keep them away. Mindy is the best friend of his little sister and the two of them have been each other’s anchors since childhood. This story is complex, packed with the steam and mostly packed with all the feels. This book had me chuckling, gasping, tears and swooning as the whole story was unraveled.
Such an emotional but beautiful love story. Sawyer and Mindy knew each other all their life. She’s his little sister best friend and they’ve had a connection since they were young but no one knew about it. Now they are both older and Sawyer is discharged from the Marines with all this emotional baggage. Mindy never stopped loving him. Sawyer had lots of hurdles to jump and he finally after realizing what was in front of him and others telling him, he decided to get the help he needed. Mindy never gave up on him and was a great support system when needed. They gave each other the space needed. Their reunion was beautiful and their epilogue was so well deserved.
I have been looking forward to this couples book since Noel and Taron’s. I was not disappointed. Tia Louise penned a book that will capture you heart as you follow Sawyer and Mindy through the ups and downs of their relationship. This is a must read!
4.5 Stars!
I was so captivated by this beautiful, poignant, and steamy love story. I love friends to lovers romance with a bit of the forbidden. This story took my breath away as it had me laughing, or crying or swooning all the way through! Sawyer LaGrange took on so much responsibility, at a young age, after the sudden and tragic loss of his parents. He took care of his younger brother and sister along with the family business. The only thing grounding him was the sweet but fierce support of his sisters’ best friend Mindy. They grew up together, while quietly, and secretly falling in love with each other. Mindy wanted Sawyer to act on their feelings, but she was so much younger, and he didn’t want to take advantage. When his siblings were old enough, he left for the Marines. Now Sawyer is home and helping run his family peach farm. He is a different man, harboring pain and guilt that he doesn’t want to burden his family with, and especially not Mindy. He knows how talented an artist Mindy is, and her big dreams for her future after college. He keeps his distance so he doesn’t hold her back. But Mindy loves her life, her home and Sawyer with everything she is. She works hard to show Sawyer she is not a burden for him. Just when she thinks she has broken through his walls, Sawyer’s past comes back to haunt him and it could tear them apart for good. This is such a beautiful, poignant, and breathtaking story. I was so captivated by Sawyer, and Mindy’s journey, from when they were just kids protecting and supporting each other to how they changed and grew to who they are today. They know each other better than anyone, and their sizzling chemistry leaps right off the page. My heart broke for the burden and pain that Sawyer carried. Mindy was so understanding, and hopeful as she helped Sawyer begin to feel again. I loved watching them both discover a strength within themselves they didn’t know they possessed. This story was so sweet yet powerful and raw as it touched on some emotional topics with honesty and empathy. Ms. Louise’s writing is so beautiful, and moving, and the banter and levity between her characters makes them feel genuine and easy to relate to. I adored all their family and friends who were so loving and supportive, and I especially got a kick out of all the quirky retirement home residents! I really loved this mesmerizing story of hope, forgiveness, second chances, and unconditional love.
Tia Louise had me one clicking as soon as she announced a best friends brother book! Love that storyline! Plus, she’s a fabulous writer.
Sawyer & Mindy‘s story was beautifully written, full of feels, chemistry…I just adored it. .
I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author to review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.
Sawyer LeGrange. He’s my best friend’s older brother. He’s quiet, brooding, sinfully sexy….Dark hair, a scruffy square jaw, and deep lines of muscle I trace my fingers along slowly followed by my lips. He always does what’s right. Until me. They say you get in life what you have the courage to ask for. Well, I’m brave. And I want him. Secrets. Everyone has them. Big, small, innocent…forbidden. Mindy was a line I should never have crossed. But I did. She was beautiful…sassy and tempting. And rules were made to be broken. We broke them all. Now I’m home, releases from service with hidden scars. No my secrets are the demons that grow stronger every day. I try to send her away, but I can’t let her go. She’s my reason to fight, and I ‘ll walk through hell to be the man she deserves. To give her a reason to stay her with me.
Tia Louise has written a great book in Here With Me. This is a best friends brother romance that has military man Sawyer LeGrange. He is the oldest of the LeGrange siblings and when he was sixteen his entire life changed when he became the soul caretaker of his two younger siblings. This too led to that an unbreakable bond formed between him and his little sisters best friend who is five years younger than him. Melinda Ray has always been by his side and is so in love with him. No matter how hard he tried to keep in just friends with her they failed the night before he was leaving to join the Marines. And she always knew that she would wait for him. However when he returns he is not the same man that he was before he left. His scars are not something that people can see from the outside and he tries his best to keep them under control. This story was good and I like it. You will like these characters.