At twelve years old, I was torn from my family.At fourteen I met her: my reason to draw breath.One look into Everly Williams’s big brown eyes and I knew I’d do anything to protect her. And for eight years I did. She was my world. My best friend.But afraid I’d lose her, I held on too tight. Became a dark cloud blocking her sun. So I did what I needed to, and walked away. I hurt us both.Now I’m … I hurt us both.
Now I’m home, and need Everly back in my life. Only everything is different. We’re different. My body burns for her when she’s near. And after one explosive kiss, I know she feels it too. I’ll do whatever it takes to earn her trust again.
Because I don’t want what we had before. I want it all…for a lifetime.
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“It was like a veil being lifted, revealing what had always been. Everly had dug in so deep, was a part of my soul, and I didn’t know how I hadn’t seen it before.”
I’m a sucker for a #Friends2Lovers romance…sigh. The fact that these two friends had met in foster care makes their bond even stronger. He was her protector then. He is her protector now. That will never change. What has changed is that they’ve grown up and…out.
“I mean, I’d always known she was beautiful on the outside as well as inside. Of course, I had. I wasn’t f*(king blind. I’d just programmed my brain to ignore that fact. That didn’t seem to be working anymore, though.”
Little Everly is all grown up and wants more than his friendship and protection. I know this because the story is told in dual POV and I’ve been inside her head. But, he doesn’t know that. Mostly because she’s pissed at him for walking away and he’s gonna have to work for the relationship that they once had. What she doesn’t know is that’s not what he wants now… he wants more.
These two broken characters had my poor heart all torn up over their painful past. Nobody deserves a happily-ever-after more than they do. Not just anybody will do, though. They are it for each other, if only they would get out of their own way and stop letting their fear of losing each other be the reason they lose each other. “—it was like we sparked off each other before being set alight, engulfed in an inferno of our own making.”
The Rocktown Ink series is rockin’ my world. I don’t know if there will be more books in this series or not, but there are most definitely a few characters that are throwing sparks. Fingers crossed they will get their own story. The line forms here…
MEANT FOR YOU is the third instalment in Sherilee Gray’s contemporary, adult ROCKTOWN INK erotic, romance series. This is twenty-four year old, tattoo artist Dane Calero, and twenty-two year old, ranch hand Everly Williams’ story line. MEANT FOR YOU can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Dane and Everly) MEANT FOR YOU follows the friends to lovers relationship between tattoo artist Dane Calero, and ranch hand Everly Williams. At twelve years of age, following the death of her parents, Everly Williams landed in foster care where she would be friended by Dane Calero, a fourteen year old boy would become her guardian and protector until Everly found herself taken in by an aunt she never met, an aunt whose rigid viewpoints continue to affect Everly to present day. Having kept in close contact over the years, Dane suddenly disappeared leaving Everly alone without the boy she once knew. Fast forward to present day wherein Everly has moved to Dane’s hometown in an effort to pick up the pieces of her broken heart, working the ranch owned by Dane’s brother Cal . What ensues is the rebuilding friendship, relationship and romance between Dane and Everly, and the potential fall-out as Dane’s jealousy and anger threaten his new found friendship with the woman he loves.
Everly Williams was destroyed when her best friend disappeared out of her life. Months would pass before Everly was able to move on with her life, but moving on meant giving up on her friendship with Dane Calero. A bit naïve and innocent Everly would struggle with past relationships, relationships that paled compared to her love for our story line hero. Dane had never intended to break Everly’s heart. Their friendship was something Dane had always cherished but Dane’s issues with anger (aka hothead) meant Dane had to walk away from the woman he loved.
The relationship between Dane and Everly is a friends to lovers; a second chance friendship wherein Dane must come to terms with the people in Everly’s life including the male friends and possible lovers she met while Dane was away. Dane Calero is a man who struggles with issues of anger control, and in this he takes protecting Everly over the top when someone from her past pushes Dane over the edge. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
We are reintroduced to Dane’s brother Cal and his wife Cassie (Beg for You #1),Bull and Quinn (Sin for You #2), tattoo artist Trix, Grifter aka Riff, as well as the introduction of Everly’s friend Lila, her aunt Julia, and ex-boyfriends Martin Renshaw and Tanner Rogers.
MEANT FOR YOU is a story of family, friendships, second chances and love. The premise is engaging and captivating; the characters are colorful and energetic; the romance is seductive.
Last time we met Dane he was a immature hothead, but leaving town and learning how to control his anger has turned him into a new person. Now he’s back and desperately needing his best friend.
Everly and Dane have been friends forever. He was her savior in their group home and always there to protect her. But he left her too and now she’s not sure if she can forgive him.
Y’all these two have a great story. I absolutely love them together, him the big bad wolf and her the innocent sheep. It’s explosive and very entertaining.
*review by Michelle
Last time we met Dane he was a immature hothead, but leaving town and learning how to control his anger has turned him into a new person. Now he’s back and desperately needing his best friend.
Everly and Dane have been friends forever. He was her savior in their group home and always there to protect her. But he left her too and now she’s not sure if she can forgive him.
Y’all these two have a great story. I absolutely love them together, him the big bad wolf and her the innocent sheep. It’s explosive and very entertaining.
5 Stars
Hot, steamy and full of some intense emotions, Dane and Everly’s story will have to turning pages as fast as you can read them. After too much time apart these best friends start on a road back to a friendship that was forged in foster care. What follows is a journey to a new relationship, one where they admit they are each other’s whole world and navigate the path to a happily ever after that is best for them both. I cannot wait for more from the Rocktown Ink Montana Series!!
Cara – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
I am a huge fan of the Rocktown Ink series and could not wait for Dane and Everly’s story! Their connection was evident in the previous books and it was amazing to finally get their book to see it firsthand.
I loved this story! I love how Dane was honest about his feelings about Everly from the getgo and how he knew he had to make her his. Everly likewise had strong feelings for Dane and despite feeling abandoned by him, always knew he was the most special person in her life. I loved the sexual chemistry between them and Dane’s alpha ways. This story was emotional, hot and sexy and another Sherilee Gray story to become obsessed with! Bravo! 4.5 stars! ~Ratula
We first meet Dane as the annoying “little” brother in Beg for You when Cal kicks him out of Rocktown Ink because he insulted Cassy. We continue to get glimpses of him in the rest of that novel and also in Sin for You, culminating in his leaving town to and put some distance between himself and Everly.
He’s afraid that his overprotective tendancies when it comes to her are causing a rift that might not be overcome. When, however, it is his leaving that nearly does them in. Oh, and the fact that he remains away for a year and a half, without even letting anyone tell her where he is or how he’s doing.
Everly is understandably pissed when he rather suddently returns, and expects to pick up their relationship as if nothing had happened. She does act a tad childish about the entire thing though, even running away from him at one point.
Eventually, she finally gives in and agrees to listen to his side of things. And although she understands his reasoning intelectually, emotionally she’s still really hurt. It does take her some time to start to trust him again, but there’s so much between them that of course she eventually forgives him.
Both Dane and Everly want more from their relationship now than just being friends. Truth be told, they probably always have. But they both are reluctant to acknowledge that, even to themselves. Of course, everyone in their sphere of influence has known it for years, so it’s almost humorous that these two come so late to the party. But they do finally get there.
The development of their actual dating relationship is darling. These two are so perfect together that it is just a joy to watch. There’s a chemistry between them that practically comes right off the page, making their love scenes extra spicy and fun.
I did not like how things transpired at the near end. It really bothered me that Everly gave her aunt so much leeway in manipulating and lying to her. And the way that she left things with Dane of course scared him to death. Luckily, he didn’t do anything too stupid though; well, other than almost get himself killed in a boxing match. I was happy with the small nod to mental health assistance that was finally utilized by Dane to overcome some of his anger and other long-standing issues. And I was elated that he and Everly were able to work through their issues and come out on the other side as an even stronger couple.
I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of a resolution for some of the minor players, such as Riff. I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire Rocktown Ink series though, and hate to see it end!
Dane and Everly have known and been friends since childhood. Both have been through some hard times. Everly felt smothered by Dane’s overprotective tendencies. Dane left town for 18 months after a fight in a bar without a word to Everly. Now Dane is back and wants to have a friendship with Everly again. The couple find themselves at a crossroads between being friends then becoming lovers. If they don’t try they will never know how things could turn out. I loved the way Dane showed so much growth in this story. He’s still a hothead but can control it much better. Everly is a grown woman with so much strength. This is a wonderful read as are the first two books in the series.
Dane and Everly took up residence in my heart the minute I started reading and never went away! These two people! Man did I want them to succeed more than anything! I was so super stoked at how Sherilee not only wrote these guys but the journey itself as well! This is the author I fell in love with!!
I don’t know that I would call this story just a friends to lovers trope because for me it was more a soulmate to lovers. They were kismet from the get-go. It just took them a minute to get there *shrug* Honestly, that’s what I felt when I read their journey. Such a rocky path they both had to travel and what a beautiful way to write it! Everything from characterization to world building to the narrative was done with heart and emotion. I couldn’t have asked for a better story!
Note: The Rocktown Ink series can theoretically be read as standalones, but everyone is in everyone’s book in some way so if you don’t want to be spoiled on how’s with who and how … start at the beginning lol
Sidenote: The covers still creep me out LOL but somehow, this one, not so much. I think it’s the whole soulmate thing that makes the placement of Everly not so …. weird? Lol *shrug*
Meant For You is hot and steamy with a bit of angst. I loved Dane and Everly’s story, watching them go from friends to lovers but there was a particular scene that I wasn’t all the way sold on that ultimately dimmed my overall enjoyment. However it’s still an enjoyable read, one that I recommend. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
Copy provided by author
RATING 4.5 STARS
Meant For You is book three in the Rocktown Ink series by Sherilee Gray. These can all be read as stand alones but the characters do recur in each book and the books are much more fulfilling if you have read them in order and formed an attachment to each previous couple. This is a best friends to lovers romance.
Dane is back. In the previous books we have gotten to know Dane as a troubled, young man who is dealing with so many issues related to his childhood. He is Cal’s younger brother and Bull’s cousin. But really, the three of them are as close as brothers. Dane left Rocktown for eighteen months after a fight he was in in the previous book. Cal and Bull agreed that maybe it would be better to get out of town for awhile and away from Everly.
Everly Williams and Dane have known each other since Everly was twelve and Dane was fourteen years old. It was a horrifying time in their lives and they were all each other had. Dane was Everly’s protector, her world, her best friend. But Everly is all grown up now and doesn’t need Dane to fight her battles any more. She only needed him to back off, not to disappear for eighteen months without a word. Now he’s back and he just thinks he is going to walk right back into her life again? He couldn’t be more wrong.
Dane is persistent and finally convinces Everly to listen to him, to give him another chance. He needs her back in his life. But, no matter how much Dane and Everly think they want to return to the relationship they once had, they are different people now. Everly isn’t that scared little girl any more. She’s a woman. And Dane is most definitely all man.
“When Everly was the reward, you’d wait ten lifetimes if you knew she’d be there waiting at the end.”
I loved how these two transitioned from friends to lovers. At first I was afraid that there was going to be game playing and hesitation because they were both afraid of losing what they had if they became lovers and it didn’t work out. But instead, I loved the way that they both just put it all out there. Especially Dane. He figured out that his feelings towards her had changed and he couldn’t hold how he felt in. And let me tell you, the chemistry between these two is scorching!
“She was the other half of my soul. I wasn’t whole without her.”
No matter how strongly they felt for one another, though, Dane still felt so protective of Everly. And even though he had found an outlet for his anger, it still wasn’t enough when he felt as though Everly was threatened.
This really was such a good book. I didn’t think I was going to love Dane as much as I did. He was all alpha, jealous and possessive and such a dirty talker. We also get some amazingly wonderful moments between Bull and Quinn from the previous book. I can’t recommend this series enough.
“It’s just you. It was always you.”
I haven’t read the previous and don’t feel that I was missing out on understanding the story.
The one thing that stood out for me was the loyal and deep friendship between Everly and Dane. Even though at the start of the book they are at loggerheads there is no disguising their love for each other. I really love when the reader can see something before the characters realize it. Watching Dane’s jealousy had me laughing and at times willing him to calm down. I was just waiting for him to have that light bulb moment. Love Everly so much she was strong and sassy with a do or die attitude. An enjoyable friends to lovers story that just works.
Wrapped in heartache is an inspiring tale of redemption. Meant for You does haunting, like only Sherilee Gray can. Dane and Everly take emotions on a grueling journey. Out of darkness rises a light that refuses to be extinguished. It would be so easy to get lost in the broken, but somehow Gray rises above all the bruises and finds a way to engulf hearts in a hug that is never-ending and forever changing. From the abyss of despair emerges a thing of beauty that has no trouble uplifting us all.
From the moment they met their connection was undeniable, both quickly bonding over their uncertain home life, and being thrown into a unfamiliar environment away from everything they knew. Dane was her protector, saving her from unwanted attention, and her overbearing aunt. They were the best of friends, often spending every free moment together, then he made a mistake, one that scared her and left their friendship in limbo, so he walked away, thinking it was the right thing to do.
Not realizing his leaving would be harder on Everly than anything that they had survived together, he stayed away eighteen months, but now he is back ready to mend all that he broke when he left. But she has her reservations about letting him back in, her heart can’t take another loss from him, so she tries to keep him at an arms length. But the powerful bond that lingers between them, won’t let her push him away, it keeps drawing them closer… making them crave one another. Question is will they give into their craving, or let the moment pass them by?
Meant for You is a heart-wrenching tale that will have you dangling helplessly from every word, it’s a powerful story of forgiveness, healing, love, and letting go. From the first page to the last these two kept me mesmerized with their words and passion for one another, it was clear that they belonged together, but past hurts kept getting in the way. There was a constant push and pull between them, both being scared to take their friendship into new and uncertain territory, and hesitant to embrace all the new feelings being stirred up. I absolutely adored this pairing, they complimented one another nicely, and their union brought so much emotion and angst to the pages, it was definitely my favorite in the series so far. Highly recommend this one, it’s one of those stories that will torture your heart in all the best ways!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
They’re meant for each other
Dane and Everly finally get a chance to put their pasts behind them and move on together, but not as friends as lovers I loved this story as it is essentially a friends to lovers romance but also edges on a second chance romance too
Dane and Everly have known each other for years and after an incident with Everly on a date, it throws everything into a tail spin and forces Dane and Everly apart for eighteen months. Now he’s back and he’s doing everything in his power to ensure that Everly will see him in a new light and resume their friendship, until he realises she wants help with dating tips and he becomes aware of his feelings for her….which are more than simply being friends.
However, no relationship is without its challenges and Dane and Everly discover this as well I’m hoping Sherilee will do a spin off that involves Riff, Dane’s friend and potentially Lila…as I want to know more about them now
Thank you Sherilee for my advanced copy for which I voluntarily leave my honest review
I’ve been waiting for Dane and Everly’s story since the first book in this series and it was everything I hoped it would be!
Dane protected Everly while living in a foster home together. There are some really dark moments to their story but that protective instinct that was bred in him during those days has carried over into the years following. Add in that everyone he’s cared about has been taken away from him at some point and he’s walking an emotional tightrope.
Everly too has her own insecurities and fears. Dane had promised to never leave her and yet he did. To take a chance on him is to trust that he won’t abandon her again. But now their relationship is so much more than that of teenagers supporting each other through a nightmare, they are now looking at each other as adults and all that that entails.
’Excited Everly was a sight to see, always had been. But now I was looking at her in a way that wasn’t just friendly, and it did things to me.
Seriously hard, painful things.’
I have to say that I absolutely adored Dane. Yes, he’s got issues, but at the very core of him is his driving need to care and protect Everly, even if that means protecting her from himself. While he’s made some poor decisions in the past, he’s trying to be what Everly needs. But when things take a turn he realizes he’s never going to be the man she deserves.
’I wanted to protect her from anything that would hurt her and f— up anyone who already had. What was I supposed to do when the thing that had hurt her most was me?’
This couple were meant to be together. Full stop. What they have is beautiful, a once in a lifetime love that has carried them through the worse and has the potential to carry them through the future. There is some angst as they each have to face their own weaknesses and figure out how to overcome them. My heart hurt in the beginning when Everly was so very lost from Dane’s absence in her life and then it cracked wide open when Dane later has to face his own demons.
I loved how Everly grew throughout this story. She became the woman she was meant to be and she was able to stand strong when it really mattered. The fact that Dane recognized his overprotectiveness was hindering his relationship with her and was struggling to correct it, endeared him even more to me. Because while I love a protective hero, in this case it was causing problems and I needed him to acknowledge it.
’I knew I was over-the-top possessive. Insanely protective. But trying to rein that … in, controlling it to the best of my ability, did not stop it. It was still there, roaring inside me.’
This was a wonderful read, so full of steam between the hero and heroine that I’m sure I was actually blushing a time or two…while in the isolation of my own home. There are a lot of smexy scenes but I never skimmed because each scene showcased the evolution of this couple’s emotions as they grow closer together. This also has all the characters from the previous books as well as a couple of new ones that I am desperate to get my hands on.
*sigh*
I bloody knew i was gonna love this book and i was 100% right. This book was out of this world amazing.
Seriously i can’t get over how much i loved this book.
This book needs to be read so much.
Dane and Everly was so amazing, their relationship is everything.
The connection between these two characters was out of this world, you could feel how much they hurt, how much they loved, everything.
Everly i give it to her, i understand why she was hurt, i get her feelings, i knew what she wanted down under.
Dane was life.
I absolutely loved him, i loved his character, his fierce protective-ness of Everly, the relationship he had with her and Bull and Cal everything in him called to me.
Seriously this book needs to be picked up and read, the other books too because you can’t miss them guys either!