I was expecting a proposal on my birthday, and I got dumped instead.How could I have been so clueless?Grams knew exactly how to distract me.The gorgeous former Marine next door who’s been helping her with yard work clearly needs a little therapy. Who better to call than her newly single therapist granddaughter?She even fakes dementia to get me to visit, and now that I’m here she’s doing … that I’m here she’s doing everything in her power to throw us together.
Not that I’m complaining. Ryan is the sexiest man I’ve ever met–I mean the full package, from the chiseled jaw to the massive shoulders to the rippling abs. (And yes, his package is full, and he knows exactly how to deliver it.) He makes me want to get out of my head and follow my heart. He makes me want to take chances I never thought I’d take.
He also makes me want to take my clothes off. A lot.
But he’s moody and challenging–one minute he’s an open book, and the next he’s completely closed off. He holds me like he’ll never let go, but insists he wants to be alone.
Some wounds are so deep, only love can heal them.
How can I convince him to let me try?
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I received an ARC of this book and I absolutely loved it. Ryan was written so wonderfully by Melanie and depicted all of the emotions/struggles in a real way that made it easy to fall in love with him and this story. And Grams was HILARIOUS!! Kudos to Melanie for another wonderful story in this series. Definitely my favorite 🙂
This book was so good I couldn’t put it down! Ryan is a veteran Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He came home trying to be normal and resume life as everyone expected him to, but war can take a toll on a person’s psyche and for Ryan to cope it was easiest just to turn his feeling off and not feel. You know he’s got a kind heart though because while he is renting a house he helps take care of his older neighbors yard. Gram’s is in her 90’s and takes a liking to Ryan and bakes him sweet treats for all the work he does for her since he won’t let her pay him. One week she invites her granddaughter Stella up and sets about trying to get Ryan and Stella together. Sweet practical Stella can’t help but be struck by Ryan and his tall, muscular frame and handsome good looks, he’s equally taken by Stella and isn’t sure what to do with her because she listens to him and let’s him be himself and they have a chemistry that is hard to deny. His heart tells him he wants this and his head is trying to lock the feeling down. This is a romantic story with some real life mixed in. Melanie’s stories are always written with care and heart and so much heat.
I couldn’t wait for Stella’s story and Only Love did not disappoint. I absolutely loved how Ryan and Stella’s story progressed. Only Love is a heartwarming love story. I could truly relate to this one. I cannot wait to see what is next from Melanie Harlow.
Get ready to prepare your heart for Ryan. Only Love is Stella’s story. If you’ve had the chance to read books 1 and 2 in the One and Only series then you know some of the back story behind Stella. Can I just say how much I love Grams. She just has this meddling way about her that you can’t just help but smile over and the hunk that is Ryan just happens to be her neighbor. I love how Grams brings Stella and Ryan together in every possible way she can. There is just this pull that you feel from the beginning when Stella meets Ryan. Stella recovering from Walter and Ryan you can tell is fighting his own demons when it comes to both women and what he experienced as a Marine and trying to fit back into life. I love how Ryan just seems to open up to Stella just so and you get to see the what he is hiding behind. Stella just has this caring way about her that you feel like she’s your best friend that you can tell anything too. I can’t get enough of Stella and Ryan. Melanie Harlow did a fantastic job bringing the tears to my eyes at times and making my heart heavy and full. I think this is my favorite out of all 3 books. And I smell a spinoff with Mack coming that I so can’t wait to read. This is a GO ONE CLICK BOOK.
Stella’s story is the third story in the One and Only series by Melanie Harlow. Stella is the oldest sister who was happy with how life was going on with her, but on her birthday, she’s hit by a surprised ending. Quickly, her grandmother Grams comes to the rescue.
Grams seriously was an amazing character and was my favorite!! Grams’ new neighbor Ryan is sweet and caring, and Grams thinks he would be the perfect match for her granddaughter Stella. Only catch is to get Stella to visit her grandmother and get them to fall in love! Don’t worry, Grams has some of her own secrets!
This story was irresistible, sweet, funny and addictive. Stella’s story also catches you up on how the rest of the family is doing, including Emme’s wedding. I definitely recommend this series and everything Melanie Harlow if you’re looking for a love story that’s filled with some angst, romance, humor, and steam!!
My heart just loved this book. I’m so in love with Ryan. He’s so taciturn and off putting because of it but you just want to put a sledge hammer to his walls. There is so much underneath the quiet you want to know about.
I loved all the sister’s stories and Stella’s is just as special. Stella is so looking forward to her birthday dinner and believes her night will end in a special way with her dinner with Walter. It doesn’t end the way she thought and Stella decides she needs to rethink her safe, predictable life. Then she gets a call from Grams and “Never underestimate a granny on a mission. Especially the matchmaking kind.” This story is about Ryan who continues to be tortured by his past from his experiences from the war. These emotions keep him feeling safest being alone. Stella tries to listen and be empathetic and for the first time Ryan doesn’t feel judged. When the two have a physical connection they both know this is more than just a one night stand. But Ryan does not feel worthy of Stella and this emotional love needs help from friends and family. Grams is hilarious, Emme is wonderful as the sounding board sister that Stella needs and Mack is the solid friend that Ryan desperately has to have to keep him grounded. This is a wonderful emotional, feel good, hilarious, book with the best epilogue that you won’t soon forget.
Only Love is the third book in the One and Only series by one of my favorite authors, Melanie Harlow. It can be read as standalone but I do recommend the previous books to fall in love with her younger sisters’ stories.
Stella is the sensible sister. The therapist. The safe one. The quiet one. She didn’t take risks. Especially when it came to men and her future. She thought she found the man she would marry. There was never a spark but he was safe. He would make a reliable husband and father. And on her birthday, she thought he was going to propose. Well, he didn’t. He dumps her. On her birthday. In a restaurant he was late to. She was shocked but not broken. She didn’t want to put herself out there again but her Gram has other plans.
Ryan liked being alone. He went to work. He had a beer once in awhile with his friend Mack. He helped his cute little old lady of a neighbor with things around the house. She paid in cookies. What bachelor could say no to that? Asshole ones. He was planning doing just that when Mrs. Gardner told him that her granddaughter Stella was coming to visit. He had never met her but when he saw her picture, he was already in trouble. She was beautiful and after first laying eyes on her the first day she was in town. He knew he needed to stay away.
Ryan and Stella’s relationship is adorable, complicated, sexy, and emotional. It was all of those things from the very beginning. He intrigued her. She made him feel. Feel things he was scared to feel and he wasn’t afraid of anything. Not until her. They wanted each other, that was obvious from the start even Gram knew he would be good between the feathers as she liked to call it. Stella never felt that was a reason to be with someone. She never felt that type of want before. Not until him. He might have been quiet and tense but he put her at ease. For the first time, she could relax and let go when it came to sex. And she made him feel safe outside of the sex. She listened. Never judged. He was a former Marine who could turn off his feelings. Just like that. Could she handle the silences? The inner turmoil? The hot and cold?
Aw! I loved these two. I also loved Gram! That little sneak. I might just have to make an apple pie soon and think about her. Anyway, Ryan and Stella. They made me laugh, cry, and get hot and bothered. I definitely felt their chemistry between them. I also felt their sweetness, courage, and love.
Overall…I loved it! The characters. The story. The pies. Everything. I am excited for what Melanie has coming up next! Oh man, I am excited. You will be too!!
Quotes:
Never underestimate a granny on a mission. Especially the matchmaking kind.
“I’m not the man in your dreams.”
“Prove it,” I whispered.
“You’re crazy.”
“That’s debatable. But I’ve seen grooms look at their brides with less awe and affection than he looked at you with tonight.”
“I think he was looking at the meatloaf.”
Every time I read a new Melanie Harlow book, my heart breaks more but only because I need to give it to another of Melanie’s Heroes.
Since we met Stella in the past books and her “horrible” “love story” with “Buzz” I couldn’t wait to know what her story would be. I thought her reason for that kind of relationship were different from the reality, the only thing she wants is to protect herself and her heart. Too bad her grandma has another plans for her. Including a hot ex-marine. Will he be the one Stella was waiting for? They are so alike but at the same time so different.
“My head said run. But my heart-the stubborn fool-said stay. “
Ryan is an ex-marine dealing with a different kind of PSTD, just wanting to start a new life in a new place. But he makes the “error” to be a handyman for his old neighbor, who makes her mission to find someone for her lonely-hot neighbor, and who would be the perfect match than her Stella?
“Her heart was too big and soft-how could she go around with a heart like that? Someone like me was going to come along and crush it!
I wanted to protect it. I wanted to make her feel safe again. I wanted that pie.
More than anything, I wanted her back. “
Ryan is dealing with all his emotions when Stella comes into his life, so adding a new feeling makes him unbalanced and he doesn’t know hot to deal with it, the only way he knows to do it will hurt both of them.
But Grandma won’t give up until these “blind kids” realize they are meant to be.
Stella is so understanding of Ryan even when he hurts her unintentionally and Ryan is just the perfect man, vulnerable but strong and a gentleman, what else can you ask?
“”You know, I heard somewhere that the strongest thing someone can be is vulnerable, and you seem like a very strong fellow.””
I loved every chapter of their story and fell in love, laughed, cried and hurt with both of them. It was so good to hear about her sister and their lives. I hope we get more of them in the future.
Absolutely heartwarming!! Instead of getting engaged on her birthday Stella finds herself dumped and in need of a change. When Grams invites her to visit, she has match making on her agenda. But can Stella get past the walls that Ryan has put in place? Can this tortured Marine recover from his past and let love in? With beautifully written characters and a storyline that had me laughing out loud in one chapter and wiping tears from my eyes on another this is a must read. Melanie Harlow has a way of writing that grips on your heart strings so quickly. You will not be able to put this one down.
Ryan and Stella are perfect!!!! I loved the two of them together!
I loved how despite her job, she never tried to analyze him or change him. I thought they were so strong and even better together.
This book was done to absolute perfection!
4 1/2 GRANDMA STARS!! This book has all the feels with a fun addition of a Grandma. Ryan and Stella have struggles to overcome, strong chemistry, sexiness and a Grandma to the rescue when needed. This is the third book in the One and Only series and they have all been amazing. They can be read as a standalone, but I highly suggest you read them all and get to know the sisters.
Such a heartfelt new story from the amazing Melanie Harlow! Don’t miss this one with a wounded alpha hero and a strong heroine.
Melanie Harlow is a master of writing stories that are beautiful and full of life. “Only Love” was a wonderful read. Ryan and Stella are complicated in the best way! And you’ll love Grams, too!!!
Stella is rational sister, the sister who has her life in order.
Stella finds herself suddenly alone and her life very much out of order.
In walks Ryan…a very handsome, handy, not so social former Marine with some heavy baggage.
Stella’s Grams is a magical fairy with enchanting pies.
Stella and Ryan crash into each other when each of them needs it the most, but you know Ryan being a man and all he tries to push Stella away. Stella being the rational one allows Ryan to push her away.
Once Grams gets involved again there is no stopping this love train from moving down the tracks.
If you have not read the other two books in this series you are missing out on some really good sexy, naughty times…and pies 😉
#Grams
I’ve been waiting for Stella’s story and it did not disappoint. Stella is the oldest of 3 sisters and the most buttoned up. She’s a therapist and unsure of herself in many ways. She doesn’t believe that hot sex and intense chemistry make a relationship work. After Stella is dumped on her birthday, she visits her grandmother who has duped her into visiting.
Ryan lives next door to Grams and is a sexy former Marine. He’s been doing work to help Grams out. Ryan is closed off and doesn’t let anyone get close.
Grams is a meddling little old lady. She does everything she can to get Stella and Ryan together. I loved her!!
Stella and Ryan’s story was steamy, sweet and emotional. Ryan shows Stella how much hot sex and intense chemistry can be a big part of a lasting relationship. Stella shoes Ryan how to trust and love. I loved this story so much!!!
Loved this military romance and it’s Melanie Harlow, so yeah…a must read!
I LOVE the premise of this! And OMG, is that cover hot or WHAT?
A gorgeous former Marine with a tortured soul.
The beautiful, compassionate therapist living next door.
A meddlesome grandma determined to get them together.
While this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.
The third in the series focuses on Stella, the therapist that has decided that stability and comfort are more important than love and passion. Stella is a bit aloof and detached, and you get the backstory of her early encounters with men that have made her this way. When she’s dumped on her birthday, she needs a quick escape – and in comes Gramma to the rescue!
As she’s visiting her grandmother, and taking care of her through her “senility” she meets Ryan, the loner neighbor who helps out around the house. Ryan is a former military man, and has seen too much, been through too much, and has decided to shut down his emotions.
Gramma has plans to get these two together and knows exactly what she’s doing.
Their story was heartfelt and genuine, and the two were a perfect fit for each other, accepting each other’s flaws while finding the best parts inside.
“It’s hard to remain emotionally detached from someone when his body fits so perfectly inside yours.”
Melanie did her homework, and really painted true portrait of what happens when a soldier returns home from war, and struggles with living a “normal” life. She also captured the struggles that those practicing therapy have, by sometimes asking too many questions to gain insight that others don’t want you to have.
While Ryan and Stella were great together, honestly, Gramma is killer in this book!! Such hilarity and wisdom. I really enjoyed her chapters, especially the ending.
Stella and Ryan are some sort of messed up! This was my fave of the sisters. Stella is so reserved and prude-ish such a contrast from her sisters! Ryan has a haunted past from his time in the marines that he can’t see or feel what is right in front of him. I love the pieces to this storyline. I cried, I laughed and I fell hard for this couple. Thank you Melanie, I can’t wait for the next series!