The light had been snuffed out of Xander Caine’s world a long time ago, leaving him to suffer in darkness. After a tremendous loss, he closed himself off from anyone and everyone, content to live alone in the shadows. Then a woman blew into town with the force of a hurricane and shook everything up.Sage Winthrop was looking to start over. She didn’t have a plan for what her new life would look … would look like, but when she landed in Hope Valley, she knew it was the place she wanted to call home. Then one chance encounter outside of the best coffee shop in town set her world spinning.
Sage and Xander hated each other on sight. However, when they’re forced to work together, that hate eventually turns into something neither of them expected. Their attraction proves too strong to ignore. But when secrets from Sage’s past are revealed and her life is threatened, Xander has no choice but to let go of his demons and step out of the darkness in order to save the woman he loves.
more
Lordy, I love a damn good enemies to lovers story, and that’s just what Out of the Darkness is! Sage and Xander ruffle each other’s feathers—in both good and bad ways, however their connection just can’t be denied!
I love their banter, their snark. Their inability to close off their feelings—even when they just don’t want to acknowledge the feelings are there. Simmering. About to boil over.
Especially when threatened. Then step back to watch the fireworks!
Sage and Xander have both been deeply hurt in their past relationships. Sage by her ex-husband, who just won’t take no for an answer, and Xander suffered a crippling loss that he’s still trying to work through.
But finding love again helps heal all wounds. Even those thought to be unforgivable offenses. I loved how Sage and Xander’s relationship bloomed and blossomed once they finally got out of their own way and let their hearts lead them. I can’t wait for more in this excellent Hope Valley series!
I have read all the books in Jessica Prince’s Hope Valley series, but I think that Out of the Darkness is probably my best. The main characters- Xander and Sage- both had so much depth to them that I couldn’t help but fall in love with them! I can’t wait for more in this series!!
I loved how these two characters found the light together. How the enemies to lovers dynamic worked. These two characters have had their share of darkness and I adored how their relationship throughout the book. Humors, tugged on the heartstrings, and suspense galore! If you have followed this series then you will also love meeting up with previous characters. I am so ready for the next installment!
Out of the Darkness by Jessica Prince is the sixth book in her connected standalone series, Hope Valley . This is Xander Caine’s story – the broody alpha male that works at Alpha Omega Investigations with the rest of our guys and a new character, Sage Winthrop, who is hired to help the tough guys with the paperwork they can’t handle (READ AS hate doing). Xander is a closed book. He has never opened up to anyone and usually succeeds in scaring most people off but Sage is cut from a different cloth and takes zero crap from Xander and his scone stealing self! Turns out she may be exactly what he needs to finally move on from his dark past. Another amazing story with the added awesomeness that some of this books secondary characters are getting their own series (So excited!)!!! This entire Hope Valley series has had me hooked and Jessica Prince is definitely a must-read author for me! Enjoy!
Jessica’s latest friends-to-lovers romance!
Jessica’s best friends-to-lovers romance to date!
4.5 Stars
There is not a bad book in this series. I loved Sage. She is an easy character to like. I want to be friends with her. After what she has gone through in life she deserves the life she is creating in Hope Valley. I’m so glad the girls welcomed her into their group. Xander, man that man could make you swoon one minute and then want to strangle him the next. I could totally understand Sage’s frustration. Xander’s back story will hit you in the heart and it makes you appreciate Sage being in his corner. I was super excited for Sage at part in this book.It made me so happy that it happened. This is a great addition to Hope Valley series and I can’t wait for more from this book.
5 Finding the Light Again Stars!!!
This book has absolutely become my favorite of this entire series and pretty much tops all my other favorites by Ms. Prince. Xander and Sage are a couple that are both struggling with an inner darkness that can and does sometimes literally bring them to their knees.
Sage Winthrop comes to Hope Valley to make a fresh start which she so richly deserves because her life for the last several years has been painful, fearful and challenging in every way possible. When she finds this small town that offers her some solace, she’s prepared to keep to herself and get back to herself. Only there’s another plan for her and she needs to hop on board and quickly because there’s more than fate at work in shaping her new life!
Xander is the man that no one wants to mess with. He’s brash and alpha and withdrawn around women and as we come to find out, he has a reason. But all that begins to change the day Sage comes to work at Alpha Omega Investigations. While he’s always used women as an outlet for frustration, there’s just something about this woman that worms itself under his skin and when she barges into his life at work. She’s a woman that has no problem confronting him whether it’s over a scone or keeping her newly acquired job! Their banter is freaking hilarious!!!
There’s definitely an attraction simmering beneath the surface and when they can’t avoid it any longer the moment they come together in every sense of the word is BLAZING HOT!!!! And what’s supposed to be a one night thing with no emotions and just a way to get rid of some frustration slowly becomes so much more. As much as she annoys him, Xander can feel her wiggling her way into his heart making him change everything he’s always done when it comes to women.
While there’s a connection and as much as Xander wants to give her more, he just can’t let himself succumb because of his past and the secrets he’s keeping that are also preventing him from living life to it’s very fullest. Sage tries her best to make him believe he can have everything he used to believe in but he just can’t forgive himself which truly made my heart hurt for him. This woman could be his salvation and bring so much light to his life.
As we move through the book, secrets are starting to come out and they can be incredibly painful and when Sage’s past catches up with her, Xander realizes that he almost lost the best thing that’s ever happened to him. There’s a particular scene that had me snort laughing as some very testosterone filled alpha men were making decisions for her and what happens next….
“’Dear God, Sage Winthrop here. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, how about you send down one of those bolts of lightning right about now and strike me dead?’ Apparently, the big man upstairs wasn’t feeling all the magnanimous, because I was still alive and kicking, and the insane conversation was still flowing around me.”
From the moment Xander makes the decision to protect Sage all bets are off as to whether they’ll be able to keep their hands to themselves. Their draw to each other is too strong and Xander so needs Sage’s sassiness to keep him on his toes but to also show him that love truly can heal wounds that are gaping and leaching the life out of him. She provides a balm to his rough heart.
The suspense of this story is one that brought people together to find the truth and make people pay for their misdeeds and I derived great pleasure in seeing this happen…the men and women of Hope Valley are determined to protect and help their own in any way possible!!
What it all comes down to, is that love truly can heal wounds that have long festered and when it slams into you, you’ve got to grab it and not let it go!!! I can’t wait for the next book in this series and seeing what’s up for some of the secondary characters we were introduced to in this book because they NEED their own stories!!!
4 Don’t don’t why my star ratings often don’t save. Enjoyed this book. I just wish the basic editing could have been better.
Not sure how but this series just gets better and better as it goes along! Xander and Sage were absolute perfection. How can you go wrong with a grumpy, bearded guy with secrets and a confident, take no b.s. kind of girl? The answer is you can’t. I seriously did not want to put this book down once I started. So, so good!
Jessica’s best friends-to-lovers romance to date!
Wow! I was rendered speechless a third of the way in, screaming half way in & speechless again in the end. I seriously have no words to express how much I enjoyed this story. I want to be Sage when I grow up, she is so bada$$. Seriously not sure who I love more her or Xander. We all know going into this story it will give us all the feels, just because of the quiet broody attitude Xander has in previous books. A beautiful, intriguing romance that will leave you even more in love with these characters than prior books. The raw emotions, the sassy h & the dark broody alpha will keep you entertained & turning pages hoping it will never end.
I highly recommend this book. Told in dual POV.
***5 ‘#TeamSage’ Stars***
Q: How do you know when a book totally has you hooked?
A: When you know you only have 10 mins to read before you have to deal with life and still pull out your phone figuring getting in one…maybe two…chapters was better than nothing because you really NEED to see what will happen next (even when you know you’ll all kinds of pouty in the inside until you can crack that book open again.)
That was me with this book, sneaking in any moment I could because I was all in. From the first page, I was done and simply devoured this baby and was quite unhappy when there were no more words to read.
Two pages in and Sage hit #girlcrush status. Just BOOM. Done. No if ands or buts about it. She was everything. Sweet, brash, snarky…real. This woman owned all that she was and celebrated it to the fullest. Xander. UGH. This man. He can be the biggest AlphaAHole ever – and dear lord was the urge to clock him a few times strong – but beneath the armor he is never without is a man who made my heart melt.
Their journey to their HEA was so much fun. Yes, it was also heartbreaking, frustrating and smexy as all get out…but it was fun. The chemistry between them was nuclear from the first time they collided and it only grew from there. I loved how Sage went toe to toe with Xander from the start and gave him her truth no matter what and how Xander truly saw her and loved all that she was. The bumps in the road are numerous, and I did quite a bit of growling, but I am all kinds of happy with how everything worked out for them.
This book was simply all kinds of goodness and gave me everything I love and then some. The some obviously came in the form of the crazy but lovable characters that inhabit the Hope Valley world. I love that we got to catch up with everyone in one way or another, got to meet a few newbies that I’m hoping we’ll see more of and a lot of Roxanne who I want to be when I grow up. And as for the next book in the series? After that little tease, I cannot wait to get my hands on it!
Note: This book can be read as a stand-alone, but it would be a lot better, and simply more fun, if you read them in order.
~ Copy provided by Love Affair With Fiction & voluntarily reviewed ~
By far the most emotional book of this series. It is filled with humor, steam, promise and regret but more importantly it contains some of the most heart warming and yet simultaneously gut wrenching scenes between these two addictive characters. Xander is the tall, dark, handsome, and incredibly closed off member of the Alpha Omega Investigations team. It is obvious that he has some deep dark secrets, demons from his past that keep him to himself. Sage on the other hand is out going, confident and incredibly beautiful inside and out. When she pulls into the city limits of Hope Valley, she knows she has found “HOME”. On her way to her first day of work, guess who she has the pleasure of running into? To say this is a disaster is putting it mildly. What a wild ride on the road to discovering the fine line between love and hate. It has moved into the top spot of this series for me.
By far the most emotional book of this series. It is filled with humor, steam, promise and regret but more importantly it contains some of the most heart warming and yet simultaneously gut wrenching scenes between these two addictive characters. Xander is the tall, dark, handsome, and incredibly closed off member of the Alpha Omega Investigations team. It is obvious that he has some deep dark secrets, demons from his past that keep him to himself. Sage on the other hand is out going, confident and incredibly beautiful inside and out. When she pulls into the city limits of Hope Valley, she knows she has found “HOME”. On her way to her first day of work, guess who she has the pleasure of running into? To say this is a disaster is putting it mildly. What a wild ride on the road to discovering the fine line between love and hate. It has moved into the top spot of this series for me.
Sage and Xander were HOT!!!!! Their bickering and banters could light any surface in fire with their chemistry. They were so much fun to read very entertaining and oh my she was not afraid of him lol. Sasquatch and Shortcake, Lol. They had their moments and of course his past was very sad but Sage made him feel again and live and love. Sage didn’t let her past dictate her future and I loved her for that. These group of friends are always entertaining and it’s never a dull moment in Hope Valley. Bring on Bryce!!!! Lol
SAGE IS MY NEW BFF
OUT OF THE DARKNESS is the 6th book in the “Hope Valley” Series. Hope Valley is everything I want a small town to be: Good coffee, great scones, amazing friends, hot guys and my new BFF Sage. Seriously, Sage is someone who I could only hope to be. She is fierce and loyal and amazing and so much more.
Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you that Jessica Prince is a one-click author for me and I would pre-order her weekly grocery list if it was published.
Ok, so OUT OF THE DARKNESS starts with a meet cute with Sage (who is new to Hope Valley) and Xander (we met him previously and he’s always been that guy you want to know more about). Each has toughness about them and I was rooting for them even though I assumed they were meant for each other. Sage is quick witted and strong and Xander is damaged – oh so damaged. Watching them navigate life was both humorous and heartbreaking. I truly think Sage is the star of this one and look forward to catching up with her in the future.
While Sage and Xander are engaged in their story, we also get to see what past residents of Hope Valley are up to and the town continues to build. One of the things I enjoy about this author is that no character is wasted. Everything and everyone has a purpose to move the story along and there is no filler. This is NOT an author I skim.
I am so glad that all of Jessica Prince’s books are on KU – if you haven’t read anything by this author yet and are checking out reviews to see why she is good – trust me, you want to check her out.
TAGS: KU, one-click author, am I a stalker?, book 6, Hope Valley, Sage is my bff
Amazing! I think all fans of Jessica Prince’s Hope Valley series have been patiently waiting for Xander’s story! Soooooo worth the wait! Sage was everything our damaged hero needed! All the sass and strength to break through his walls! This love story is completely swoon worthy! I am head over heels in love with this book! Not to sound like a broken record, but this may be my new favorite! I cannot wait to see what’s coming next! Five huge stars!!
Out of the Darkness Book 6 in Hope Valley
Jessica Prince
5 Stars
Very excellent story! Very emotional filled with heartbreak, romance, steam, angst, and humor but it was very worth it! Kept my interest throughout. Really enjoyed and loved!
“The sky was painted in the pinks and purples of twilight… the absolute perfect moment.”
“Lucky for you, I kinda love you back.”
Highly recommend. Can not wait to see what is next!
How is it possible that I love this series even more?
I’ve said before and I repeat: this is one of my favorite series ever. Everytime I hear of a new book, I get giddy and happy like a kid opening Christimas gifts.
I love the surroundings, the plots, I totally adore the characters and I with every book, I add each new character to a very special place in my heart.
I was intrigued my Xander from the first time I met him, I couldn’t wait for his book, I just knew it would be fantastic. And he totally lived up to the promise.
Xander had so many demons from his past, he carried such a heavy baggage, I think from the whole series, at least so far, he was the darkest and most intense one among the Alpha Omega men.
Always on edge, like a ticking bomb about to explode, he was the epitome of an überalpha in a glorious and hot Paul Bunyan package (Sage’s words, not mine, but I can totally see it).
Moody is an understatement. He was explosive, almost volatile, but also loyal to a fault, protective and even caring, despite being a half giant man, more like a sexy beast.
But getting him out of the darkness wasn’t an easy task.
That is why there was no other person better for the job than Sage. Resilient, free spirited, a rock, a fighter, a tiny biker daddy girl that knows her worth and wont accept anything less than the respect she deserves.
She was phenomenal. She called Xander on his BS, totally went head to head with him, she stood her ground and she was strong enough to yell at him if necessary, but she was even stronger to speak softly, be vulnerable and love him with all she has.
They were pure fire together. Their chemistry was off the charts. And I loved how their relationship developed.
An enemies to friends to lovers story through and through.
There were so many moments I laughed. And there were so many other moments that Sage made me so pround, dang that woman was the perfect amount of sweet and strong. There were also moments when I wanted to hug Xander until he would allow himself to love. But there were times I just wanted to slap him.
They were just so perfectly balanced. It was so intense and their personalities were so full and complete and flawed and real. I loved that they made mistakes. I loved that apologized. I loved that they were real and smart and stupid and in some level, somehow you could relate to them.
The secondary characters and their interactions were so colorful and brought so much light and life to the story. This author is definitely a story teller.
Once I started the book, I just couldn’t put it down. This book moved me and left me wanting more.
Again: one of my favorite series!