“Top 2019 Reads List!” -Guide To Romance Novels Just Ten SecondsThat’s all it took for my life to change forever.I left my posh life in Manhattan and escaped to the Hudson Valley in hopes of a fresh start. It wasn’t until I happened upon a bereavement group when I finally found a place I felt understood. I told them my husband was dead when, really, I was the one who had died inside. It was also … the one who had died inside. It was also where I saw the smoldering gaze of Dean Delgado, the single father whom I’d helped just days before.
Just Ten Seconds
That’s all he wishes he had with his late wife.
Despite Dean’s widowed status, he has a robust thirst for life. He’s a protector and a giver. A man who fixes things with his hands, is devoted to his child, and wants to spend his days with me. I try to avoid him, knowing a woman with my past has no business being in this man’s life. With every run-in, he makes me laugh. With every touch, he ignites me. And with every second, he makes me feel like myself again.
Just Ten Seconds
That’s all it took for me to fall in love with Dean Delgado.
I’m in too deep and my secrets are about to be exposed. I only hope he can forgive me for the lies I never meant to tell.
This is a second-chance-at-love romantic standalone.
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Just Ten Seconds…
“I was a pawn in the game of life. I just didn’t know I was playing.”
Is it a twist of fate or a twist of the truth…
“It’s like our dreams were shattered.”
This book is SO incredible! The depth of it, the unexpected twist, and the ten seconds it took to change Mara’s life.
Dean, a hot, single dad, is trying to raise his daughter while trying to overcome the loss of his wife, when he runs into the café that Mara works in with his injured 8 year old daughter, Amanda.
The chance meeting, the common denominators, the pull of the characters, their backstories…GAH! It is all so freaking amazing! The storyline, the resistance, the romance, the conflict…Author Jeannine Colette’s words just grip you and hold you tight while you experience this masterpiece!!! This is a must-read, but be warned that your heart will hurt after reading it! 5 incredible stars!!!
Loss can be felt under so many different circumstances . Just Ten Seconds is the perfect example of that. Ten Seconds to choose a different path. Ten Seconds to decide what could possibly change the rest of your life. I am a true believer that people can come into your life when you need them most. Mara and Dean were two broken souls that needed each other something terrible. At war with their feelings of right and wrong. How to move forward . There were so many wonderful characters that I fell in love with in this story. Amanda is such a free spirited and amazing child. Mara had a dark cloud over her and just needed the sunshine to come through. What a phenomenal story! I didn’t want to stop reading! Characters you can connect with and feel on such a deep emotional level.
Emotional. Raw. Gritty. Perfection! That’s what this book is. You feel so much for Mara and what she’s been through and the same with Dean. Losing a loved one is something you hope you never have to go through, but there’s so many different ways you can lose someone. Jeannine Colette nailed it with this one. Exploring the emotions of losing someone in this aspect is something I’ve never read in a book and she did it with perfect evacuation! See for yourself what I mean! You won’t be disappointed – promise!
Jeannine Colette’s Just Ten Seconds was absolutely OUTSTANDING! From the moment I picked up the book, I couldn’t put it down. The characters fascinated me, and I wanted nothing more than to finish this book. I honestly think I read it in record time! Jeannine Colette is a talented storyteller that has yet to have a book which I don’t enjoy. After reading Just Ten Seconds, I found another story by this author that is compelling and beautiful with some sweet, lots of sexxxy and just enough angsty moments to have me devouring page after page in one sitting! Just Ten Seconds is a second chance, single father romance that’s told from Mara, the heroine’s perspective. I’m not new to Jeannine’s work, and whenever I have the opportunity, I pick up books she’s written and I’ve loved them all so far—so really, I knew Just Ten Seconds was going to be a solid Five Star read. Yet, the emotions—the angst, betrayal, pain and loss, and finally the love—were so real and inspired. She wrote them flawlessly and you can’t help but love the wounded, broken woman whose life was shattered. And while single parent romances are not usually my favorites, this one was fabulous and I got lost in the story, forgetting how unsexy parenting really is. I fell helplessly for Amanda, (Dean’s budding actress daughter) and Dean–I don’t have words enough to describe the hawt factor here, but DILF is definitely on the top of my list If you haven’t already one-clicked this one, you should get on it immediately because this book deserves all the stars.
Read and voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book on behalf of Spellbound Stories.
This story, these characters and their journey touched me in way no book has maybe ever. Anyone who has lost someone they love whether a spouse, parent or friend can relate to the raw pain Dean and Mara have experienced. However the hope and healing woven into this storyline is absolutely beautiful. The amazing. impeccably articulated messages conveying the wisdom to not stay content in a state of misery and pain – but instead to let go of the past and live, truly live and not a waste a your time feeling pity or guilt for things you can’t change. Very powerful words! Jeannine Colette is an incredibly talented author. I have loved all of her work. The book was both a heart warming and heart breaking experience that I felt everywhere. Her words are brilliant and hopeful in a way that left me wrung out yet refreshed and alive in a way that left me stunned. Wow, just wow! And holy plot twists – I freakin’ love surprises and whoa were there twists I never saw coming.
These characters are fantastic. Dean *swoon* is a perfect balance of raw with pain of his loss yet manly, sexy and protective in the most delicous way possible. He is absolute perfection as a man and a father! Mara is a lovely heroine scarred by her past but yet kind and has an inner strength she doesn’t recongnize. She has so much to overcome and her journey is gritty and a rough road to navigate. I loved all of the characters – all unique and instrumental is the story and Dean & Mara’s journey. I couldn’t get enough of them!
If you are up for an emotional yet heart warming read – this book is a must!
Ms. Colette is a one click author for me but this story has to be my favorite of hers to date.
Mara and Dean’s past is each filled with loss and grief. They are brought together by chance and have a connection from the beginning.
Their story will have you rooting for them and feeling all the feels. I can’t say it enough this is an absolute must read! Make sure the tissue box is handy because you will need it!
“Just Ten Seconds…” That’s all it took for me to fall for this story!
Okay, I have to say it again, Jeannine Colette puts magic into her words. Mara and Dean were perfectly un-perfect for each other. There are many highs and many lows. My anxiety went through the roof while my heart was cracking for these characters. Mara killed me slowly with her story. When she is standing while fate came into her life, you knew her life was on a path to healing.
Dean is all heart and soul. He has so much to live for and yet, each day is a new step to move in the right direction. Just Ten Seconds is full of raw emotions. You go through a lot of ups and downs with Mara and Dean. The side characters are just as amazing! I can not choose a favorite part because I loved it all!
#MUSTREADMATERIAL
WOW!!!! I went into this book blind, and I am so glad that I did. These characters truly tugged at my heartstrings and got under my skin in the best way possible and all I wanted to do was read to find out what was going to happen with Mara, Dean and Amanda. The writing was incredible and the characters perfectly imperfect in my opinion. I HIGHLY recommend this book.
JUST TEN SECONDS drew me in when reading just the prologue. “Like sands through the hourglass… so are the days of our lives.” Right there I had memories and tears. Just ten seconds can change a lot. That is all it took for Mara (Greenfield) Williams life to change forever. That is all that Dean Delgado wishes he had with his dead wife. Ten seconds is all it takes to fall in love. “My mind wanders back to the opening credits and the sand trickling through the hourglass. So much can happen in an hour. In a minute. Even a second.”
Mara and Dean met at the Harvest Cafe, a quaint breakfast and lunch shop in Warwick, New York. She works there as a waitress, and he rushes in with his injured young daughter in his arms. Mara helps the distraught single father, by tending to her and driving them both to a local clinic. Her kindness in rushing out the door to help two strangers, might have a way of changing all their lives forever. Two lonely and grief filled adults, and one adorable eight year old girl, might make a cute family. But the past might be just too much to overcome. Mara’s name means sorrow and there is lots of that in this story.
I love the writing by Jeannine Colette: “I don’t know what brought on these troubles for you, but the only way you’ll be able to to move forward into your spring is to conquer your winter. With love comes forgiveness. Wherever you are, whatever pain you’re clinging to, know that anger at lies lasts forever. Anger at the truth lasts a moment.”
And there is a good ending: “Time stops when you’re in love. There is no hourglass spilling the seconds. A touch lingers for a lifetime. And the feeling is something that rests in your heart forever. And while the years pass quickly, it’s the seconds you should live for. Because, in the seconds, the most beautiful things can happen.”
4-4.5 stars
The author immediately drew me into the story with the prologue. Both Mara and Dean have been through horrible losses and JUST TEN SECONDS follows their journey as they navigate their second chance at love. I fell in love with Dean almost instantly. Then even more watching him interact with his daughter. Even though I “caught” on pretty early to what “loss” Mara suffered, it in no way took away from the story. These two fought and survived. This was a beautiful story about love, loss and believing you deserve all the spoils of life.
In Just Ten Seconds and one gunshot Mara’s world was sent spinning. Her entire reality changed and she was forced to start anew. But Mara was living like a turtle hiding herself under a shell, just going through the motions.
Until Dean arrives at the diner where she is working. Dean is still learning to navigate life as a single dad after the death of his wife. It takes Just Ten Seconds for Mara to drop her defenses and come to the aid of this family in need.
“… the only way you’ll be able to move forward into your spring is to conquer your winter. No sunshine or rain will help or hurt you unless you fix your roots. Get down to your problem and the thing that keeps you from growing.”
This story is at times very real and very raw. I found myself getting really emotionally involved. Add in an extremely adorable and precocious Amanda and I was all in, completely invested in hoping for these characters to find a path to their HEA. But the twists had me gasping and gnawing at my fingernails!!
Awesome story!
-5 Stars!-
This beautiful story of a second chance for Mara and Dean has all the feels. If you have lost someone very close to you, then be sure to have the tissues out because you will need them. Jeannine is spot on with the feelings and emotions that we experience after such a profound loss. My husband died several years ago, and I will say this is one of the most truthful books I have ever read dealing with this life-altering event.
Dean and Mara’s connection was very tangible and believable. I loved both of them, and adored Amanda! She was so sweet and precious and had such a part in bringing them together.
The twists in this story, man, I never saw them coming! I was shocked and blown away! I was rooting for Dean and Mara to get their HEA nevertheless! Just keep the faith and you will be as thrilled with the ending as I was! The bonus epilogue was perfection!
This Five Star Book is one you need to snatch up right away and settle down in a hideaway place because you won’t want to be disturbed!
Well written, great characters beautiful book with a lot of heartache, loss and a twist. I loved the book.
STUNNING!
This book requires that you read it slowly so you can savor all the words. I was totally enthralled by this story from beginning to end.
How do you cope with a tragic loss?
You may think you know, but there’s always something that can throw a wrench on your plans.
Dean and Mara’s story is a highly emotional and passionate gut wrenching story of love family and healing.
Both have suffered devastating losses, and as their story unfolds the author subtly gives clues about where the story may be heading.
Full of unexpected twists and surprises, the writing was flawless. The plot smart and exciting. The characters were relatable and realistic.
The best way to enjoy this story is by going in blindly!
Just Ten Seconds
Jeannine Colette
Breathtakingly beautiful. Full of emotion, distraught, sweetness, sexiness and surprises. Just Ten Seconds, that’s how long it took me to be hooked on this story. Like to the point I had left the house for the day only to have it plague my thoughts all day, then sleeping I dreamt of Mara and Dean. It’s been a VERY LONG TIME since a book had bought so much thought and emotion to me. Books like this do not happen everyday, but when they do, I say hale that author, on my knees.
Dean Delgado lost his wife through cancer and left him with a young daughter, Amanda. He has a successful construction business set up in Warwick, but still struggles with the loss everyday of his life that he loved. Cancer really is the devil, in its lowest form, I think we all know someone close to us who has suffered the big C, so there was something in this book that rang home… it’s almost a little raw! Dean was a sexy, larger than life man, he’s all alpha until his daughter in injured and his guardian angel helps out.
Mara Williams (Greenfield) has left her Manhattan apartment under a cone of shame. Devastated over the loss of her life, she moves to Warwick with long time best friend Jackie and her husband Nick for a fresh start. In Just Ten Seconds she Lost her husband and the life she thought she wanted, now she’s creating a new life not knowing who she is. Meeting a Dean has her all sorts of gitty, their chemistry from that first meeting was hot.. Just ten seconds, was all it took for Mara to fall for Dean, and in Just Ten Seconds she could lose it all.
Not everything is as it seems, and trust me when I say when everything comes out, you’ll be left mouth gaping, heart wretched and have feelings not sure what to do with them. If a normal story has a roller coaster this one had a triple loop on steroids. I can’t even out into words to explain the affect it has left on me. If you haven’t read any other from Jeannine Colette, this is he one to start with… absolutely stunningly beautiful
I’m lost for words…this book has broken me into million pieces only to put me back together again.
Everything about it was flawless. From the way they suffered to the way they made peace with their past in order to have a future together.
This book is definitely going into my favorite books of 2019 if not on my favorite of all time list!!!
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
Time stands still, but yet the world keeps moving around her.
Shes stuck, lost living a life that she never wanted for her dreams were stolen from her.
Then in walks a man with a child and everything changes.
I’m totally and utterly speechless! what a read!!!!!!
Words that define my thoughts float just out of my reach, and why because this book is so hard to write about without spoilers.
Love and loss, the unexpected and a river of hurt so deep it could last a lifetime summerises this book in my mind.
The characters are so believable and real. Their emotions become yours as you read their story.
Mara the meek, hiding from both her past and her future, she’s a walking contradiction. Strong yet weak. I felt both her pain and sorrow in my heart.
Dean is the kind of dad we all want for our children. That alone had me swooning and that’s before I found out how capable he is with his hands!
I silently prayed as I started this book that it was going to be as amazing as I hoped, and quite clearly my prayers were answered!
So much beauty hides in the pages of this book along with such sweet sorrow, pain and innocence.
The perfect combination, and I for one am glad that Jeannine took her time with all the rewrites (as stated at the back of the book) because now its truly something special!
This is hands down one of my top 10 reads of all time and top 5 of 2019. I was drawn in from the very beginning and it kept hold of my heart throughout the whole book. Mara and Dean each have their awful, heartbreaking stories. I found myself really wanting to get to know each person. I loved both of their personalities and the way each one coped with their own situation was quite admirable. Amanda was a little spitfire. I loved the connection that Mara and Amanda formed. I loved Mara and Dean’s chemistry. I also love that they were very careful when deciding the right time for them together. I am trying to mention things that won’t give the story away…I hate spoilers. Just read this story, you will NOT be sorry!!! It was amazing. Thank you Jeannune Colette!!!
4.5 Stars – One of the most beautiful stories that I’ve read this year.
I absolutely loved how the story started and I instantly fell in love with Dean, Amanda and Mara. I loved Mara’s friend Jackie as well as all the secondary characters that played a part in making this story so great. Sometimes it’s the little things that count, and in this book the big and small parts worked together beautifully.
Although it felt as if the story slowed down a bit after the great start, I think that all in all it had a good pace. The characters were both somewhat broken and branded by their pasts.
Especially Mara’s story was more complex than I expected because there wasn’t just one thing she had to overcome but she had quite the emotional baggage to carry around. Her past wasn’t so easy to let go of and always at the back of her mind, giving her nightmares and sleepless nights. Until a stranger, cradling his daughter to his chest, rushed into the café she was working at, looking for help. Those eyes of his were felt deep within her as if he could look through her wall and into her darkest secrets.
Dean Delgado was such a sexy gentleman, one I wish for myself. I might be old school but his good manners made him a thousand times hotter than any of those obnoxious book boyfriends out there. But each their own. =P
He was the sweetest guy ever and a great father; selfless, devoted, with a huge heart and so much love to give. Dean lost his wife and lived for his daughter. But what about his own happiness? It isn’t until he received help from Mara, a courageous waitress, that he begins to feel emotions he never thought would be possible for him again.
I just loved those wonderful characters and it was such a beautiful story that really moved me. It was not heavily emotional all the time like those ugly cry books but it had some very deep emotional moments throughout the story which made the story so fantastic and even more heartfelt.
It was understandable how the characters were confused about their feelings for each other since they were both still in a raw place. When you lost a loved one, it’s like either going numb or losing control over your feelings that ride a rollercoaster.
The story wasn’t unpredictable but I loved the small moments most and how the characters fought to find happiness again. I highlighted so much in this book because it was so good!
The story was told from Mara’s POV and although I loved how it was written, I think a few chapters from Dean’s view would have made it even better because he also dealt with a heavy heart and seemed a little lost and looking for directions. I was very intrigued by him and that’s probably why I loved the epilogue so much.
This story didn’t let me go so easily and I can only urge you to read it too!
This is the first book from this author that I have read and I am glad that I did. This book was so good. It was a story of heartbreak and how you can overcome it with the right person by your side. Mara and Dean were such a great couple. It was wonderful watching them find the love that they both been missing since their losses. All it takes is just 10 seconds and your life can change for the better or worse and in their case, it changed for the better. This book was so great. You will feel every emotion that they are feeling by the time you are finished reading this book.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.