Susan's Review of Laura Trentham's When The Stars Come Out

Cottonbloom. A beautiful, faraway place where a woman can escape her past—and find reason to stay forever in Laura Trentham's When the Stars Come Out. .

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Willa Brown never planned to stay in Cottonbloom. She was on the way to somewhere else when she landed there and found work at the Abbot brothers’ garage. . .and a sense of comfort and safety that she had never known. The same holds true for Jackson Abbott himself. With one glance in her direction, he can make Willa’s heart melt. But what begins as an unrequited crush turns into something far more powerful than Willa could have ever imagined. . .

Jackson’s most meaningful relationship has always been with his car—and he’s not afraid to admit it. Still, he can’t help but become emotionally entangled with his new star mechanic Willa, who is definitely hiding some dark secrets of her own beneath the hood. Jackson desperately wants Willa to trust him, and to seek protection in his arms. But even as the two slowly surrender to their shared attraction, the danger lurking in Willa’s past remains a stubborn obstacle. Can she open up enough to give them both a chance at having real and lasting love?

Laura Trentham’s When the Stars Come Out is a heartwarming, friends to lovers romance which pairs hardworking Auto body shop owner Jackson Abbott with mechanic Willa Brown. The Abbott bothers storyline continues in book five of the author’s Cottonbloom series. The compelling storyline and the unique characters appealed to me and set this book apart from the others in the series.

Jackson Abbott is the quiet, dependable Abbott brother who oversees the repair and restoration work in the family owned business. A causal conversation with his twin brother Wyatt about Willa shifts Jackson’s attention away from the family’s finances towards the shy, mysterious woman whom he’d come to count on. Jackson’s life revolves around work and car racing until he takes a big step back and realizes that he cares for Willa. Loved his resolve to win Willa’s trust and his desire to protect her. The author’s decision to have Jackson step out of his comfort zone and take a leap of faith to pursue a relationship with Willa drew me into the story immediately.

Jackson is attracted to Willa even though he knows she has secrets. Willa’s story unravels bit by bit during the course of the novel. She accepts Jackson’s offer to bring the stray dog she’s been caring for to the vets. This act of kindness and Jackson’s racetrack crash bring the couple together. Can Willa trust Jackson with her secrets?

I enjoyed how the characters changed during the story. Jackson’s leadership role in the family business changed as he became more emotionally involved with Willa. The Abbotts wanted to find their brother Ford and needed to reach out to their estranged mother in order to find him. Ford’s gambling debts and his threat of selling his share of the family business negatively impacted the family. I admired how much Willa trusted Jackson when she chose to come clean about her past before they made love. Both characters had to believe in themselves and trust each other completely in order to find happiness. Loved that their romance took time to develop—their chemistry and desire for each other sizzled.

The resolution of Willa’s story is fabulous and is revealed in true Abbott brother’s style! The last few chapters of the book are well paced and there are several plot twists in this emotional story which is full of heartbreak, compassion and most of all forgiveness.

When The Stars Come Out has it all—relatable characters, a small town setting and a compelling love story!

Reviewed By Susan Gorman

ARC provided by St Martin’s Press

When The Stars Come Out Release Blitz !

When the Stars Come Out

A Cottonbloom Novel

By Laura Trentham

Cottonbloom. A beautiful, faraway place where a woman can escape her past—and find reason to stay forever in Laura Trentham's When the Stars Come Out. . .

Willa Brown never planned to stay in Cottonbloom. She was on the way to somewhere else when she landed there and found work at the Abbot brothers’ garage. . .and a sense of comfort and safety that she had never known. The same holds true for Jackson Abbott himself. With one glance in her direction, he can make Willa’s heart melt. But what begins as an unrequited crush turns into something far more powerful than Willa could have ever imagined. . .

Jackson’s most meaningful relationship has always been with his car—and he’s not afraid to admit it. Still, he can’t help but become emotionally entangled with his new star mechanic Willa, who is definitely hiding some dark secrets of her own beneath the hood. Jackson desperately wants Willa to trust him, and to seek protection in his arms. But even as the two slowly surrender to their shared attraction, the danger lurking in Willa’s past remains a stubborn obstacle. Can she open up enough to give them both a chance at having real and lasting love?

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An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. KISS ME THAT WAY, Cottonbloom Book 1, won the Stiletto Contest for Best Long Contemporary and finaled in the National Readers Choice Award. THEN HE KISSED ME, Cottonbloom Book 2, was named an Amazon Best Romance of 2016 and was a finalist

for the National Excellence for Romance Fiction. TILL I KISSED YOU, Cottonbloom Book 3, is a finalist in the Maggie contest. LEAVE THE NIGHT ON, the latest Cottonbloom book, was named an iBooks Best Book of the Month and a Recommended Read from NPR.

When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as big as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.

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“I’m not a damn car.” Anger heated her voice.

“I know that.”

“Do you?” She stopped and he turned to face her. “You haven’t spared a thought about how much you pay me or what I wear or why fall is my favorite season for two years.”

“I know and that’s my bad. I should have been paying more attention to you.”

She made a scoffing sound. That’s exactly what she didn’t need. Everything depended on her staying under the radar. “You want to fix me like I’m some broken-down car. Or fix my problems or whatever. But that’s not how people work. Maybe I’m unfixable.”

Half his face was in shadows from the setting sun. Even in the best of times it was difficult to get a read on his mood, but the roughness in his voice was more pronounced than usual. “I don’t want to fix you. I want to help you. I want you to trust me.”

Susan's Review of Leave The Night On by Laura Trentham

Love, betrayal, and sweet revenge--
life in Cottonbloom is about to get a whole lot hotter . . .

LEAVE THE NIGHT ON

Cottonbloom #4

Laura Trentham

Releasing Aug 1, 2017

St. Martin's Press

Love, betrayal, and sweet revenge--life in Cottonbloom is about to get a whole lot hotter . . .

Sutton Mize is known for lavishing attention on the customers who flock to her boutique on the wealthy side of her Mississippi town. So when she finds a lace thong in her fiance's classic cherry-red Camaro, she knows just who she sold it to: her own best friend. In an instant, Sutton's whole world goes up in flames. . .

Wyatt Abbott has harbored a crush on Sutton since he was a young kid from the other side of the tracks. He witnessed Sutton's shocking discovery in the Camaro at his family-owned garage--and it made him angry. What kind of man could take lovely, gorgeous Sutton for granted? But then Sutton comes up with an idea: Why not give her betrothed a taste of his own medicine and pretend that she's got a lover of her own? Wyatt is more than happy to play the hot-and-heavy boyfriend. But what begins as a fictional affair soon develops into something more real, and more passionate, than either Sutton or Wyatt could have imagined. Could it be that true love has been waiting under the hood all along? 

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An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. Then He Kissed Me, a Cottonbloom novel, was named as one of Amazon’s best romances of 2016. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.

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Sutton's hand found Wyatt's like a magnet finding its mate, and she knitted their fingers together. Music drifted through the trees.

“You know how to two-step?” Wyatt asked.

“No, but I learned how to waltz and foxtrot during cotillion, a lot of good that does me.”

Wyatt tugged her into a faster walk. “I’ll teach you.

“No way. Not in front of everyone. I’ll look like an idiot.” She pulled at his arm, but inertia was on his side.

“That’s your fear talking. Come on and take a chance on me.”

Even though he was talking about something as simple as a dance, the moment felt like a tipping point. Fearful or brave? Which did she choose?

She quit fighting and let him lead her into the circle of light. A handful of couples danced, but a majority of the partiers hung around the edges talking and watching. Before her feet could mount a rebellion and retreat, Wyatt spun her around and put a firm hand on her upper back, holding her other hand in a typical dance hold.

“The two-step is simple. Four steps, two quick, two slow. I step forward on my left, and you step back on your right. Okay?”

She made an affirmative sounding hum and tried to assimilate what he was saying, but heat streaked across her back where his hand branded her. All the eyes fixed on them didn’t help her concentration.

He counted them off, and she made it two steps before screwing up. She bit the inside of her cheek. “I can’t do it.”

“You’re acting like this is worse than a firing squad. What are you thinking about?”

“Amoebas.”

He gave a slight shake of his head before bursting out in chesty laughter that sent vibrations through his hold to her. “Dare I ask why?”

“I feel like we’re being examined like reproducing amoebas through a microscope.”

“If I recall my high school biology, amoebas are asexual. I’m not. Forget about everyone else and look at me.”

She focused on his face. The flickering fire set gold sparking in his gray eyes, and since he’d invited her to, she let her gaze linger on all his features, but especially his mouth. His lips were mouthing “quick-quick-slow-slow,” and she dabbed her bottom lip with her tongue, remembering what they’d felt like against hers.

“You’re dancing.” His sweet, sexy lips turned up in a smile.

Are you looking for a fabulous summer read?

Leave the Night On by Laura Trentham has all the feels; it’s a sweet tug-at-your-heartstrings friends- to- lovers romance with an engaging heroine and a kind, sexy hero. The honest conversations between Sutton Mize and Wyatt Abbott are exquisitely written. The storyline in Leave The Night On is perfectly paced and plotted; the story and its characters stayed with me for days.

Sutton Mize brings her fiancés car to Wyatt Abbott’s garage to be restored. While cleaning the car, Wyatt finds restaurant receipts and a sexy, black thong embroidered with a heart. Sutton recognizes the thong as it was special ordered item from her clothing store. She’s crushed when she puts the pieces together; her fiancé has been cheating on her with her best friend! I loved the scene when Sutton confronts her fiancé and best friend – she stays cool, calm and collected when she is told she is boring. Sutton explains that she’s been seeing someone, too—Wyatt! Sutton developed self-confidence and purpose as her relationship with Wyatt deepened.

Wyatt gave up a college scholarship to work with his brothers in the family garage. He is the peacekeeper in the family- the brothers don’t agree on how to run the day- to= day operations or how to increase the lucrative restoration piece of the business. The friendship and trust between Sutton and Wyatt is apparent when Sutton shows up at Wyatt’s with a homemade dinner after he texted her cancelled their date. The chemistry between the two characters exploded in the next few scenes.

Leave the Night on exceeded my expectations! The unique characters, complicated family dynamics and small town southern feeling appealed to me. Family and community are important to both Sutton and Wyatt. The author does a fabulous job threading Wyatt’s brother Ford throughout the novel. Was Ford trying to get new business for the garage or was he secretly looking to sell his share of the business without giving his brothers the opportunity to buy him out? Loved the characters of Hazel and Hyacinth and their relationship with the Abbott brothers.

Kudos to Laura Trentham – Leave The Night On is an amazing read—perfect for readers who adore a small town romance with engaging characters, family drama and a bit of mystery!

Am looking forward to the next book in this series!

5 Stars! 

★★★★★

Reviewed by: Susan Gorman

ARC provided by Tasty Tours

Till I Kissed You Laura Trentham

Review of Till I Kissed You by  Laura Trentham

‘The custodian is fixing to lock up, so you won’t be able to sneak back inside.” She stomped down the stone stairs, and he fell into step beside her.

‘Just getting some air before I head out. It’s a pretty night, isn’t it?” He sounded friendly, jovial even. 

She shot him a suspicious side-eye. What was he up to? Deciding to play along, she looked up. Even with the town’s light pollution, the sky was unusually full of stars. A cool front had moved in and cut the humidity, making the night pleasant. 

When they reached the parking lot and he should have headed left toward his truck, he kept pace with her. She pivoted toward him with her hands on her hips. “Okay, what’s going on?” 

‘It’s dark. There’s no one around. I am making sure you get to your car is all.” 

A warmth unfurled in her stomach as a good portion of her vitriol faded. “I’m a grown-up. I can handle myself.” 

“I would do this for any woman, so don’t go thinking you’re special or something. ‘Cause you’re not.” 

His words snuck past her defenses. She swallowed against a sudden wall of tears. What was wrong with her? The question had too many meanings. Why was she crying over some petty insult? Why had he cheated on her so many years ago? Why did he have the power to wound her so brutally? 

Why couldn’t she let the past go and move on?” 

As a reader, I can’t say enough good things about Laura Trentham’s Cottonbloom series! The small southern town setting, the characters and the storylines in each of the three stories captivated me! Each book focusses on one couple but each of the couples journey is unique and that held my attention.

I have been eagerly waiting for Regan Lovell and Sawyer Fournette’s story since Sawyer, his brother and uncle decided to drop several rabbits in Regan’s mother’s garden in Kiss Me That Way. The plan to ruin Mrs. Lovell’s tomato crop and Regan’s chances at winning the festival gave readers a taste of this couple. It was obvious that Sawyer loved to tease prim and proper Regan. There was a definite connection between the couple and the air sizzled whenever Regan and Sawyer were in the same room.

Till I Kissed You is a second chance at romance novel with several plot twists. Regan and Sawyer dated in high school and broke up because of a messy misunderstanding. The couple is in close contact because Regan is the Mayor of Cottonbloom, Louisiana and Sawyer is the head of the Parish Council in Cottonbloom, Mississppi. They are both competing in the Best Small-Town festival contest. Sawyer and Regan go to great lengths to spy and annoy each other during the competition; the author’s dialogue is superb! I could hear the teasing tone of Sawyer’s voice and see his grin as he tormented Regan. I understood Regan’s desire to win the competition because she is very devoted to her community—she enjoys being the mayor and working with the citizens in Cottonbloom. Although Regan is self-confident in her role as mayor and in her career as a designer; she is not confident in the romance department.

The author does a fabulous job pacing the romance between Sawyer and Regan. Sawyer’s affection and concern for Regan’s safety is apparent in the first few pages of the book. There have been a few mysterious incidents which have escalated as the competition’s deadline approaches. Sawyer has carried a torch for Regan while she finds it hard to let go of his past indiscretion—this piece of the story is presented in an honest, emotional conversation between the couple. The author does a fabulous job with continuity in the series. She effortlessly weaves the characters from the first two novels into this book. The last few chapters of the book were intense. Laura Trentham does a superb job of balancing b the festival competition, the increasing threats towards Regan and the couple’s journey. The conclusion was fabulous—full of surprises and just perfect for Regan and Sawyer!

I am looking forward to the Cottonbloom holiday novella and to the next three books in this series!

I received copies of the first three books from St Martin’s Press. Enjoyed the books so much that I bought them. I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I have and the Cottonbloom series rates a special spot on your keeper shelf!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

Photos of Celeste by Susan Gorman

Then He Kissed Me by Laura Trentham

Then He Kissed Me 
by Laura Trentham 

But Nash was the total opposite of the type of man she usually went for. For one thing, he was smart, really smart. For another, he seemed nice, adorably nice. Chivalrous even. Maybe that was something he picked up studying medieval knights or maybe it was his Southern DNA flaring to life in the humidity.
The way he swooped in last night to get her away from Heath had made her want to throw herself in his arms. And the way he’d insisted they come back to his place so she’s be safe made her heart flutter.
But, it was Nash, Her best friend. Until he wasn’t anymore.

Laura Trentham’s descriptive prose shines in Then He Kissed Me, the second book in The Cottonbloom series. I could see the town of Cottonbloom with all of its shops and the river that divides the town. Then He Kissed Me is a heartwarming friends to lovers story with several interesting twists.

Nash is my favorite character in this series (sorry Sawyer!) Ms. Trentham has written a to die for beta hero. Who wouldn’t fall in love with a sexy college professor who reads comic books? And the fact that Nash remembered every detail about his childhood friendship Tally made me fall in love with this sensitive man. Nash’s transformation from a nerd to a handsome hero hasn’t been easy. Tough subjects such as death, bullying and prejudice are issues that have impacted Nash.

Tally Fournette grew up in Cottonbloom, Louisiana—the working class part of town with her three brothers. Tally shared a bond with Nash when they were children. She never forgot Nash and their friendship. She runs a successful gym and is very independent. Tally has unresolved issues and is keeping a secret from Nash and her family.

Tally and Nash appealed to me—neither thought they were good enough for each other. The couple learned to accept and trust each other during the well -paced romance. The Quilting Bee characters of Miss Effie, Miss Leora and Mrs. Carson are fabulous! Loved that author continued the Tomato Festival competition between the two sides of Cottonbloom during the second book in the series. The contest added a touch of humor to the story and gave insight to the characters of Regan and Sawyer.

Then He Kissed Me is a fabulous read! It’s an excellent slice-of-life novel filled with passion, intrigue and endearing characters. The author added a surprise romance  between two secondary characters which worked perfectly in the storyline. The novel has a clear message about standing up for yourself and acknowledging your feelings woven throughout this small town novel. 

Then He Kissed Me is the perfect summer read! I loved the book and highly recommended it!

Reviewed By: Susan Gorman
ARC provided the publisher

Laura Trentham is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance, including Caught Up in the Touch, Kiss Me That Way, and others. She is a member of RWA, and has finaled multiple times in the Golden Heart competition. A chemical engineer by training and a lover of books by nature, she lives in South Carolina.