MOST LOVE STORIES HAVE ONE BEGINNING AND ONE ENDING. THIS LOVE STORY HAS MANY.From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker comes an epic story about sacrifice, friendship, and the awe-inspiring power of love.Maggie: Ten years ago, Cash Armstrong stole my heart. Then he promptly joined the army—dragging my best friend with him—and left me crying on the front porch in a red … front porch in a red sequined prom dress. Now he’s back. They’re both back. Cash, the one who still has my heart. And Luc, the one who saved my life.
Cash: How do you know if you’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end? That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since a traumatic brain injury made me “unfit to serve.” I’m back in New Orleans, and picking up the shattered pieces of my past means I must confront where my life’s journey began… and where it all might end.
Luc: Long ago, Maggie May was mine. Not mine in the way you might think. She was mine because she was my only friend. Then Cash came along and we became brothers by something stronger than blood. We became brothers by choice. When tragedy struck, I was forced to make a decision that changed all our lives. I thought, after ten years, it was safe to come back home. I was wrong…
more
In the first volume of the M&M series, set in beautiful New Orleans, we are introduced to Maggie, Cash, and Luc. Friends that bonded as teenagers. As Cash and Luc leave high school they enlist, leaving Maggie and return years later, changed. This is a very moving introduction to the series and I have to say that Ms. Walker hit this one out of the park! I won’t delve into this volume too much as there are 2 more that complete this story. Suffice it to say, you will not be disappointed. 4 strong, starting stars****
Okay so volume 2 of M&M picks up with them as teenagers. Maggie is head over heels in love with Cash and he just broke her heart when he left. Poor Luc. (cue the tears) I was like, can’t you see, it? He is right there in front of you! I was shouting at Maggie. It is so damn obvious who she should be with! Gah. My heart damn near broke into pieces for the guy. Such a good male. This is definitely getting so good, just like a slow burn with secrets and emotions all over the place. Lol. Just so freaking good! Onto the last and final volume. Yesssssss!!!! 4.5 stars****
In the final volume of the M&M series, I have to say that there are very few authors who leave me stunned, at a complete loss of words, as I sit here trying to write this review. I just don’t know if I can put what I felt reading this into words, but I will try. It is epic reading on a scale so large, so grandiose, that you are left emotionally bereft. I cried and cried some more and then I sighed as it ended. Just Wow! Now, I have read all of Ms. Walker’s Black Knights Inc., series. Those books are what made me fall in love with you and I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical going into this series but you have done it again. Flawlessly, I might add. Ms. Walker, please take a bow to a standing ovation, on another job very well done. 5 STUPENDOUS, OUTSTANDING, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, GUT-WRENCHING STARS******
BRAVO MS. WALKER! BRAVO!!!!
Beautifully tragic!
A beautifully tragic love story that will leave you raw and in tears.
Cassius Clay Armstrong is a young man who is battling with his mind and his heart to give Magnolia May Carter the life she deserves, even if she is not aware that it’s also the life that she wants. Cassius “Cash” strolled into Magnolia “Maggie’s” life when she was but 15 and his heart found her and wouldn’t let go, but life has a way of tricking you sometimes. He knew that he was not good enough for her and he was also a young man who carried shame for his home life. He didn’t want Maggie to know that his father was a terrible man who had no love for him.
Magnolia May Carter was a young girl who had no felt alone in her world, until one boy found her in the library and helped her realize that life could continue even with the heartache that she was carrying around. At 14 Maggie thought that no cared, and she was so lonely and depressed that life had no meaning any longer, until Lucien Dubois walks into the library and finds her in the Harry Potter section. The find that they have a lot in common and their friendship starts strong and easy.
Lucien Dubois is the outcast of their school and always being bullied by the kids at school. He found peace when he was in the library, writing poetry, or playing his guitar and making music. A humble young man who lost his father at a young age, raised by his mom in the bayou, who worked hard so that she and Luc could survive. When his mother takes up with the Mayor of New Orleans and becomes the talk of the town due to a man who will go to any length to get what he wants. He is a man in power and uses that power to keep others under his thumb.
This is a story of life, love, loss, and tragedy. The characters are vulnerable, raw, and colorful. My favorite quote of all the books is from Cash in the final chapter, “A story of friendship and sacrifice and redemption and love. I don’t suppose most folks could ask for more than that.” This sums up the story completely for me. I’ve read Julie Ann Walker’s Black Knights Inc., series and loved them. I found this story to be so different from that series but loved it just as much. I give this story 5-stars and suggest you one-click this story and read it.
Maggie missed Cash and Luc when they left New Orleans ten years earlier. When they returned from the military, Maggie was unsure of her relationship with her best friends. Never understanding why Cash disappeared one night all those years ago, she can only hope to find out why and prove to him once and for all, her love for him.
Suffering from being injured and discharged from the military, Cash is a man with a plan and despite Maggie’s advances refuses to go after her, even though he knows he loves her. He seems unwavering in his plan and is thankful for Luc to help him see through to the end.
Luc is confused by Cash’s actions yet will do anything for his best friends although his feelings run deep for Maggie, he knows she is love with Cash and would do nothing to tear them apart.
As they three begin to relive their past, Maggie gives the men letters she wrote to them over the years, letters that written from her heart telling them how she felt, not understanding why they deserted her.
I shed some tears with Maggie and laughed with them and their friends too as I read their story.
Julie Ann Walker’s Moonlight and Memories is a beautiful story and funny as we get to know and come to love the characters. She knows how to tell a story. And what a storyteller she is giving us the gift of young love and a love that turns out to be forever. I loved this story, full of mystery, unwavering friendship, and true love that is endless.
This box set is a different type of read from the BKI books that I have read of Ms. Walker’s but with the first book of the box set I was hooked on Maggie, Luc and Cash’s story. The plot of this book was slow moving as the trio go between past and present as well as reconcile some of their feelings and events from ten years ago. The story was detailed with enough mystery to keep me reading as I wanted to know what was going to happen next or to have some of their secrets from the past revealed. The characters in this story were well written and perfect for this emotional roller coaster of a read as they told the story from all of their POV.
In book two, the story of Luc, Cash and Maggie continues with the addition Maggie’s letters to Luc and Cash at the start of each of the chapters told from their POV. It continues to be an emotional tale filled with intrigue as well as continued mystery around events of the past. This story continues to still have to slow build as the trio continue with their friendship as well as struggle with their feelings, leaving me wanting for more of this story since I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Book three is the final installment of this trilogy was simply amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time. I knew that there was more to the story of Luc, Cash and Maggie than what met the eye but I did not imagine what Ms. Walker had in store for them in the end. I will admit that this is not the installment to read at work as by the end of this book I was in ugly cry mode but it was a simply amazing story that was told. All of the characters had resolution to their story and I was sorry to see the story as a whole end. I would definitely recommend this trilogy/box set to others.
This story misted out of the pages and wrapped around me, holding me close, drawing me in, invading my senses. It clouded over, parted to allow sunlight in, drenched me in dew and rain, warmed me with humidity, and cooled me with breezes. It wasn’t something I read; it was something I experienced
Cash, Maggie, and Luc are imperfectly perfect. They were closer than family back in the day, but Cash still held back and hid things. Maggie and Cash were the dream couple, but he wasn’t honest with her about who he was, why he was the way he was. Luc and Cash shared everything, even a love for Maggie, then, now, always. But this isn’t a love triangle, the friendship bonds between these three are too strong. The love flowing isn’t sexual in nature, it is pure, kind, and open. Binding them together.
As the suspense in the story grows, it builds, and it crashes down on us at the very end. We fall for our characters even more. Ache with them, and hurt with them. We feel their moments of joy, the times of hurt, and the confusion of attraction
Maggie, Luc, and Cash are stumbling forward with each other. Unsure, but committed to each other. Maggie has to face some harsh realities, experience some personal pain, and let go of the guilt she still harbours. It is a transformation, personal growth, and self-awareness. She doesn’t change her feelings, she adjusts them, to be in alignment with the now, not the then
This story let me stunned, slayed, and overcome with emotion. This story of characters who became my friends, became real, and who allowed me the privilege of coming along with them as they journeyed through this part of their story. They had a lot of life happen, and I was there with them. For the highs, for the lows, and for the memories and moments. Their story packed an emotional punch, and will stay with long after I have read it, and long after I write this
Luc, Maggie, and Cash make some big decisions. Luc finally is unable to stand for less, waiting on the side. He asks for what he wants, and push for want he needs. He is respectful, and willing to back away, but he needs some answers. The characters mature past their childhood in their relationships with each other, but the one thing they all hand onto, is the deep and true love and bond they share
This story concludes with a wealth and wave of emotions, and is truly beautiful for it all
This is the perfect way to get all three volumes of this powerful and moving series. This trilogy’s firm foundation is built on emotion. Raw, powerful, intense emotion. So prepare yourself for one epic roller coaster ride as the story unfolds.. Luc, Maggie and Cash are well developed characters that share a complicated history. The story line is very engaging and quickly pulls you in with its complex blend of drama, friendship, tension, affection, desire, pain, secrets, suspense and angst. From Luc’s unrequited feelings, to Cash’s accelerated behavior, to Maggie’s seemingly desperate, blind devotion and persistence, you are kept anxious and perched on the edge of a breaking point. I felt that it was just impossible not to care about these characters and yet, my frustration, my anger and my fear for any of them to ever truly be happy just kept growing. As compelling as it all is, I almost felt like I was watching some macabre, codependency dance of doom. I felt that tragedy was looming and yet…. I couldn’t look away! When Luc, Maggie and Cash’s haunting story of friendship and love came to an end, I was left stunned, gutted and practically speechless. There were just so many emotions bombarding me that I found myself suffering from sensory overload. I will say that nothing I read or thought while reading the first two books in this series left me in any way prepared me for the actual conclusion. Truly remarkable, amazing and not to be missed. I do suggest that: 1. You have a box of tissues at the ready, 2. You have a good supply of your preferred comfort food (or comfort beverage) of choice on hand and 3. You have freed up ample time to rest and recover from your emotional reading experience.