Release Blitz: Every Time I Fall: Lexi Ryan
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Ryan brings you Every Time I Fall, a sexy standalone romance about a woman learning to love herself and the guy who's loved her all along.
He's my brother's best friend.
The hot guy with the heart of gold I've never let myself want.
Guys like Dean don't go for girls like me.
Curvy. Thick. A big girl. Whatever label you put on it, I know who I am and what it means. And that's fine. I'm content to be Dean's buddy and nothing more.
Or so I thought. When Dean finds out about my bedroom issues and decides to help me fix them, everything changes.
He swears there's no such thing as "bad in bed" and pleasure is all about chemistry. I'm not convinced, but he intends to prove it. With his mouth. With his body. With his dirty texts and whispered promises.
I know from the first kiss that I'm going to fall hard. That this can't last, and the end might break me. But, for these days with Dean, all the hurt might be worth it.
Abbi and Dean have been great side characters through this series, so I was interested to see them in the center of their own story.
Abbi is a successful and popular chef in Orchid Valley but doesn’t see herself in that role long term. She has self-esteem issues that stem from her weight and several well placed barbs from people she thought loved her. Her insecurities have held her back from opening up to a relationship again, but she wants to learn to overcome her insecurities.
Dean is her brother’s best friend and has long been the object of her crush. She doesn’t believe Dean would ever look her way though so has worked to point her interest elsewhere. Dean has his own problems. Starting a relationship with his best friend’s ex-wife is just the start, and his image of a guy just into women for a good time fills in the gaps. He doesn’t want to be that guy anymore, and thought he and Amy could have a real relationship. While he tries to move himself on from that illusion, he realizes he can help Abbi believe in herself with a few lessons on how she should be treated and how she can treat herself.
I was a little unsure in the beginning just how sincere Dean was with his plan to help Abbi. His intentions may have been in the right place, but as a reader knowing that Abbi had a crush on him already, it felt like he could easily hurt her without meaning to and making her insecurities even worse. But I should have had more faith in him. He struggled a bit and there were definitely some challenges, but his plan helped Abbi to see herself, not because of his attention, but because of her worth.
Abbi is one of those characters that is easy to love and easy to root for. She is every woman who struggles with self-image, who hears one thing but sees another when she thinks about herself. Those fears and scars run deep, and it isn’t an easy thing for her to build up confidence in herself.
This story had everything I love in a friends to lovers, best friends sister type story. These characters were already dear to me, so I loved watching them navigate a new aspect to their friendship. They had some bumps, both of their own doing and from a few outside sources, but they also had a strong friendship to build on.
It was so much fun to return to Orchid Valley again and see things from Abbi and Dean’s eyes. Characters from earlier Orchid Valley books are here to support the main characters, but this story could be read without knowing anything about their stories.
She’s giving me one night. I’m betting everything on making it more.
The first time I saw Brinley Knox, she was crying, draped in a ridiculous pink tulle dress for her sweet sixteen, and cursing the boy who’d broken her heart.
I was the hired help, a teenage charity case.
She was the daughter of the wealthiest family in Orchid Valley.
I knew a girl like Brinley was off-limits. That didn’t stop me from kissing her. Or from deciding that if she were ever mine, I’d never let her go.
The last time I saw Brinley, she was sleeping, tangled in the sheets of my Vegas penthouse, my diamond glittering on her finger.
I returned three hours later to an empty bed, the ring on the dresser, and a goodbye note.
We haven’t spoken in the six months since, but I’m not the kind of guy who’d file for a divorce he doesn’t want.
Until I got this damn invitation, it never occurred to me that Brinley didn’t remember our impulsive Vegas nuptials.
It’s time to return to Orchid Valley and remind the bride-to-be that I promised her forever. And I’m a man who keeps his promises.
I was excited for Abbi to have her chance at finding love. And I really wanted Dean to get his act together. Not going to lie, it was a bit of a rough start for me especially due to Dean and his issues, but as it went on, I really started to love Abbi and Dean together.
Dean Jacob has hit a rough patch. He already broke the bro-code by having an affair with his best friend, Kace's ex-wife and he also fell in love with her. She has kept him hanging on a string, but will not commit to him. So he is lonely, depressed, self-loathing, and self-sabotaging. He needs to break the toxic cycle with her. And if that is not bad enough he has carried a hidden torch for Kace's little sister, Abbi for years, but thought she was not interested.
Abbi is Kace's little sister. She is successful in her career as a chef, but still has some more dreams of her own. She has seen her friends and brother fall in love, and she longs for that herself. But she has issues with self-esteem and self-worth stemming from her weight and past relationships. She thinks there is potential for a new love in the not-so-distant future, but she thinks she needs to practice being better at seduction and bedroom activities.
So when her good friend, Dean offers an arrangement to help her build confidence and show her what she is capable of, it should be a win-win for them both. Short term, get what they need, have some fun and distraction, and move on. But she has been half in love with Dean for years. He has hidden his own feelings really well. Her brother and their friends are nosy and protective. And chemistry and feelings can be a dangerous combination. What could possibly go wrong?
This is a heartfelt, sexy, sweet, best-friends-little-sister, secret arrangement, friends-to-lovers romance. I could relate to Abbi so much. She finds it hard to trust and believe in someone wanting her since she has trouble loving herself. And at times I wanted to hug Dean and other times slap sense into him. But I also understood his own deep need to feel worthy, trusted, wanted, and loved.
They both have up walls and have fear of rejection. They were kind of a hot mess of insecurities, issues, and triggers. But they have opportunities for growth, self-awareness, and change throughout. Dean won me over with his patience and understanding of her issues and needs, and true acceptance and love. And this story is as much about her learning self-love, opening herself up to possibilities, and trying to realize her own dreams, as it is about believing that someone else could truly love her.
They both have up walls and have fear of rejection. They were kind of a hot mess of insecurities, issues, and triggers. But they have opportunities for growth, self-awareness, and change throughout. Dean won me over with his patience and understanding of her issues and needs, and true acceptance and love. And this story is as much about her learning self-love, opening herself up to possibilities, and trying to realize her own dreams, as it is about believing that someone else could truly love her.
It brings back their friends and family from previous Orchid Valley books since this is a tight-knit group.
Abbi is a successful and popular chef in Orchid Valley but doesn’t see herself in that role long term. She has self-esteem issues that stem from her weight and several well placed barbs from people she thought loved her. Her insecurities have held her back from opening up to a relationship again, but she wants to learn to overcome her insecurities.
Dean is her brother’s best friend and has long been the object of her crush. She doesn’t believe Dean would ever look her way though so has worked to point her interest elsewhere. Dean has his own problems. Starting a relationship with his best friend’s ex-wife is just the start, and his image of a guy just into women for a good time fills in the gaps. He doesn’t want to be that guy anymore, and thought he and Amy could have a real relationship. While he tries to move himself on from that illusion, he realizes he can help Abbi believe in herself with a few lessons on how she should be treated and how she can treat herself.
I was a little unsure in the beginning just how sincere Dean was with his plan to help Abbi. His intentions may have been in the right place, but as a reader knowing that Abbi had a crush on him already, it felt like he could easily hurt her without meaning to and making her insecurities even worse. But I should have had more faith in him. He struggled a bit and there were definitely some challenges, but his plan helped Abbi to see herself, not because of his attention, but because of her worth.
Abbi is one of those characters that is easy to love and easy to root for. She is every woman who struggles with self-image, who hears one thing but sees another when she thinks about herself. Those fears and scars run deep, and it isn’t an easy thing for her to build up confidence in herself.
This story had everything I love in a friends to lovers, best friends sister type story. These characters were already dear to me, so I loved watching them navigate a new aspect to their friendship. They had some bumps, both of their own doing and from a few outside sources, but they also had a strong friendship to build on.
It was so much fun to return to Orchid Valley again and see things from Abbi and Dean’s eyes. Characters from earlier Orchid Valley books are here to support the main characters, but this story could be read without knowing anything about their stories.
Every Little Promise
(Orchid Valley #.05--Prequel novella)
(Orchid Valley #.05--Prequel novella)
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One night in Vegas. One shot at a second chance.
When I fell in love with Brinley Knox, she was the spoiled daughter of the wealthiest family in Orchid Valley. I was the troublemaker orphan, brought to town to find the straight and narrow.
She was the homecoming princess. I was the hired help.
She was the perfect daughter. I was the cautionary tale.
We were young enough to think we could beat the odds. Naïve enough to think the world would make room for true love. Neither of us was prepared for the bitter cold of reality.
I haven’t seen her for ten years. Until tonight.
Face-to-face with a woman who should be a stranger, I recognize the heart of the girl I never stopped loving.
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Our reviews
It’s not every day you’re invited to attend your wife’s wedding . . . as a guest.
The first time I saw Brinley Knox, she was crying, draped in a ridiculous pink tulle dress for her sweet sixteen, and cursing the boy who’d broken her heart.
I was the hired help, a teenage charity case.
She was the daughter of the wealthiest family in Orchid Valley.
I knew a girl like Brinley was off-limits. That didn’t stop me from kissing her. Or from deciding that if she were ever mine, I’d never let her go.
The last time I saw Brinley, she was sleeping, tangled in the sheets of my Vegas penthouse, my diamond glittering on her finger.
I returned three hours later to an empty bed, the ring on the dresser, and a goodbye note.
We haven’t spoken in the six months since, but I’m not the kind of guy who’d file for a divorce he doesn’t want.
Until I got this damn invitation, it never occurred to me that Brinley didn’t remember our impulsive Vegas nuptials.
It’s time to return to Orchid Valley and remind the bride-to-be that I promised her forever. And I’m a man who keeps his promises.
Every Sweet Regret
(Orchid Valley #2)
(Orchid Valley #2)
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Our 4 star reviews
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Ryan brings you Every Sweet Regret, a sexy standalone romance about a single dad and the reformed party girl who's loved him all her life.
Her brother's best friend. Her lifelong crush. Her sweetest regret.
For as long as I can remember, Kace Matthews has been my brother's best friend and my not-so-secret crush. But I knew nothing would ever happen between us. The successful single dad doesn't fall for the hot mess party girl. Kace + Stella exists in the doodles in my high school notebooks and in my dreams. Never in real life.
Until he finds me on a hookup app and starts flirting shamelessly.
It turns out high school Stella was not prepared for Kace Matthews. Adult Stella isn't much better, but I manage to break down the walls to show Kace the real me--not just the life-of-the-party exterior, but the vulnerable pieces I hide from the world. Combine that with the combustible chemistry we have in real life, and I'm a goner.
Too bad it takes me so long to realize Kace doesn't know I'm the girl he's been falling for online. Telling him the truth now that he knows my secrets could mean losing everything, and that's one regret that could break me.
Lexi Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles. A former academic and English professor, Lexi considers herself the luckiest girl around to make a living through storytelling. She loves spending time with her crazy kids, weightlifting, ice cream, swoony heroes, and vodka martinis.
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog. You can find her at her website: www.lexiryan.com
Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and a spoiled dog. You can find her at her website: www.lexiryan.com
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