I've loved once. I gave everything that I had to that love. Blindly believing that nothing could ever take that feeling away from me. Away from us. And when my little world of happiness was ripped from my fingers, I felt a loss that still haunts me to this day.

Now I use that lingering grief as a shield to keep my heart from loving again. It's that fear that keeps me from letting anyone, except my daughter, get close enough to make it hurt. To make my heart bleed when I inevitably lose again.

Until the day I met Liam Beckett and everything I thought I had protected myself from was shoved back in my face.

He's on a mission to prove to me that a love worth having is a love worth fighting for.

*Bleeding Love is the second book in the Hope Town series. It will follow Liam and Megan. Each book in the series is a HEA and can be read as a standalone.*

We met Liam Beckett and Megan in Unexpected Fate and got a bit of a peek at their story.

Liam Beckett is a man on a mission--to win not only Megan's body but her heart too. But he knows that due to her past and ghosts he will be in for the fight of his life. But he is a man determined not to fail. 

Megan has forgotten how to feel and how to really live life. She has just been existing since being widowed and focused solely on taking care of her young daughter, Molly. She has secrets and regrets. Her story is more complex than any of her friends know. She is full of guilt and fearful of moving forward.

Lee is as alpha and dirty talking as his Dad, Beck, but is also as persistent, tolerant, loving and kind. He has no doubts about what he wants and has the patience to keep trying to win her over. 

Megan is so insecure and has up so many walls that Lee has to beak down. Her life has been hard. She's basically been existing and does not even realize how much she has missed while just taking care of her daughter's needs. She is so afraid of further loss that it sometimes paralyzes her, robs her of hope, and keeps her from even thinking about a different future.

This is a story about living, feeling, laughing, loving, and letting go. Liam is determined to teach her that love is worth fighting for. And he is not afraid to put in the work and time no matter how she resists. Her daughter, Molly is precocious and a complete scene stealer.

I love how this group continues to bring in new people and adopts them as their own. A lot of the gang is back especially Dani, Cohen, and Nate who are closest to Lee and Megan. But also some of the other kids, Axel and Izzy, and Beck and Dee are featured. I love seeing the Corps Security couples now in grandparent roles. Some of the interactions with young Molly and Axel, Nate, Beck, and Lee were priceless. Gotta love tough men who can act like kids with little girls. And of course there has to be at least one scene featuring Sway that is both insightful but funny as well.  

I always loved John Beckett (Beck) and Liam Beckett does not fall far from the hot, sweet, alpha tree. He was totally swoon worthy and  an easy hero to love and root for. Megan was a bit similar to Liam's mom, Dee, with her defenses and issues. So at least he had good role models to look up to and help him in his fight to win Megan.

This was a sweet, romantic, sexy read with some emotional undertones and good messages. It was not super angsty or full of too much outside drama. It was really more about Megan's journey to move forward from her past, and Liam encouraging her to embrace the hope of a new future if she can just trust, believe, and have faith in him. I am looking forward to more books in this series especially Nate's story. He is such an outspoken goofball in this one. But there are still plenty of Corps Security kids stories to tell.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Liam Beckett knows what that special love looks like. He’s seen it from his parents, from his friend’s parents, and between his best friend and her husband. He hasn’t felt it towards anyone until he meets Megan, but he knows she isn’t ready for what he wants; she is hardly feeling through her grief.

Megan is surviving for her daughter, but carries the pain of her loss even six years later. Holding herself as distant as she can, her goal is to keep her daughter safe and not risk feeling that pain ever again.

I’m in love. I’m trying to find words to describe what I felt as I read and love is the best I can come up with. From Liam’s patience while Megan heals (and then his lack of patience when he just can’t wait any more), to watching him with Megan’s daughter, to the lengths he went to so Megan could feel safe and alive, Liam Beckett is my new favorite Hope Town hero. And Megan, while she had a lot of healing left to do, she had such strength through it all that I couldn’t help cheer her on. All my notes are marked at points where I fell even harder for one character or another, or the relationship between them. And they are all very helpful descriptive notes. “Sigh.” “This? I love this.” “And I’m gone.” Ok, maybe not so helpful when writing a review.

The interactions with Dani & Cohen, Axel & Izzy, Dee & Beck, Sway, and all the other first and second generation Corps Security family members just made this an even more comfortable read. I love this group of people as if they were real and see the happy couples, and the supportive friends and family give these books a depth that feels complete.

This was a smooth, comfortable read and I loved every minute of it. There were moments that had me laughing out loud with the humor and descriptions, and those that had me choking back tears with the gravity. Liam and Megan were the perfect combination of strength, persistence, and vulnerability. Add Molly to the mix and it was a bright, warm constantly moving story.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever felt like you were living your life for a future that was predetermined? Like there was some bigger picture you just prayed you would someday see clearly? That picture has been crystal clear to me since I was old enough to recognize it for just what it was.

Or I should say recognize him for who he was.

I’ve loved Cohen Cage since I was a small child. He’s been my everything for the last twenty-two years. I’ve loved him through every girlfriend he’s ever brought home. Through his college years and then mine. I’ve loved him through two deployments. And ever since the day I told him how I felt, he’s acted like I’m a stranger.

My name is Danielle Reid, and it’s time for me to get my man. 

Axel

Cage

Beck

Uncaged

Cooper

Locke