Castle Hill: Samantha Young

by - Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Castle Hill: A Joss And Braden Novella (On Dublin Street #2.5)
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Braden Carmichael never imagined he’d fall as hard and as fast as he did for Jocelyn Butler. He also could not have anticipated how difficult it would be to convince her to give in to love. But now that he has her, he’s never letting go. He’s got it all planned—the passionate proposal, the dream wedding, the sexy Hawaiian honeymoon—even the perfect family they’ll start.

After trying to flee from her painful past, Joss is finally allowing herself to embrace the future. But when things start moving faster than she anticipated, she finds herself panicking over something Braden can’t understand. After everything they’ve been through, Joss is sure that their love can survive even her worst fears. But, this time, she may push Braden too far—and risk losing everything all over again


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Joss and Braden from On Dublin Street are moving on in their relationship after a challenging courtship. They are a couple who made great strides in understanding each other, opening up, and finding love. Initially Joss had up strong walls that Braden had to break down in order for her to let him in. She was damaged by loss, but finally learned to love and be loved. I adored Braden in the first book. He is truly an alpha male who is bossy, sexy, in control, but also loving and sweet. Joss is healing but will never truly escape her issues completely. But they make such a wonderful couple most of the time. 
"Now I wasn't the gushy, emotional type of girl who could tell her boyfriend every single day that she loved him. But Braden knew I loved him...I wondered if he knew that just watching him sleep made me scary happy, breathless even. I wondered if he knew that he was absolutely, without a doubt, everything to me."

“I love you, you love me, our family loves us and they’re right here beside us. Nothing else matters. So no fears for the future, no fear that you’ll f*ck it up beyond repair. Life isn’t perfect, we aren’t perfect, but I’m telling you now, Jocelyn, we’re indestructible...”

In this novella we get to see them plan their wedding, honeymoon, and look towards the future. But old insecurities do not always go away and when hurt, these two do not always communicate well. So they have more growing pains as a couple. And this time, Braden is the one that you really want to smack upside the head. But it also made Braden more human and vulnerable. He puts up his own walls of defense that Joss has to deal with. So they have come a full circle. There are times in this story  that are happy, sexy, heartbreaking, and maddening. But it is true to life and marriages. They are not always perfect. People that love deeply, also feel intensely and misunderstandings can be difficult, challenging, and scary. So we get to see them struggle a bit, but also see how strong their love and commitment is. 

"There will be time when we don't like each other very much, but I need you to know that I will never stop loving you."

We see more of the our old friends and family. I love all of the interactions with the characters. They have such a great network and  are funny,outspoken, and  supportive. I am looking forward to Nate and Olivia's book, Down Jamaica Lane and Samantha and Marco's book, Fall from India Place. This series has complex, damaged characters that connect on a deep level and learn to heal and love. I enjoyed getting more with Joss and Braden and it was a wonderful accompaniment to On Dublin Street and this series. .

Thanks to Samantha Young,  PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW/InterMix via Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. 





Samantha Young
Young Adult/Adult Fiction/Facebook/Twitter


Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author from Stirlingshire, Scotland. She's been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and Best Romance for her international bestseller ON DUBLIN STREET. ON DUBLIN STREET is Samantha's first adult contemporary romance and has sold in twenty-five countries.

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