Title: I Loved You THEN
Series: Bristol Backroads, Book One: Standalone
Author: Jen Blau
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 18, 2018
Review Source: Give Me Books Promotions
Love was supposed to protect us... but sometimes,
love dies.
Emily's life
defines the American Dream.
She has a
husband of eighteen years, two healthy teenage daughters, and a thriving
business. But it's all a lie.
Happily ever
after was supposed to be enough, but her marriage is tattered, along with her
self-esteem. She’s drowning and nobody sees her struggle.
UNTIL Logan,
the town playboy breaks down her walls and reminds Emily who she was before
putting them up.
Can she risk
everything for the life she wants, or will Emily stay and continue to live the
lie?
When someone
steals your light, your glow, your life ... how do you take hold of it, once
again? Do you continue to sink down the rabbit hole, or pull yourself from from
the depths of hell, back to Mother Earth? No matter what, nobody has the right
to control your life. You are in charge of your own destiny. You write your own
history. In this case ... HERstory.
I Loved You
THEN is a very inspirational story of a woman fighting to regain her power.
Beaten down and left to nothing, Em knew that she deserved more. Her marriage
no longer as it was, she needed to find herself again. Step by step, slowly but
surely, Em learns to regain that strength that she has always needed. The
courage never being too far off.
There are
parts of this story that I didn’t agree with, although it didn’t lessen the
rating that I felt it deserved. The writing is powerful and immaculate and
real. Jen Blau writes a gripping tale of an exceptional woman, fighting to
regain her life and keep her family. Highly recommended!
$2.99 for a
limited time only
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We both
laughed and clinked the plastic together before each taking a sip.
Licking the
sweetness from my lips, I lowered my glass with both hands, eyes following it.
“Can I ask you
something?”
“Sure,
anything.” Logan drained his portion of champagne and set his glass down.
Sticking hands in his pockets, he leaned his hip against the freezer to face
me.
“Why do you
care so much?” I lifted my face, devoid of expression. “I mean about my
writing. About my work. All these years, I thought you were this tough, no
feelings kind of guy. Yet, you’ve shown so much… I don’t know. Emotion.
Why?”
Logan paused,
a soft grin on his face, then tilted his head and moved in closer. “I told you
before. You don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
Squirming, a
little embarrassed, I broke from his gaze and tucked my elbows close to my
side, still holding onto my champagne flute with both hands.
“Well I am
glad that you’re here.” I took in a deep breath and let it out slow, savoring
the moment as I looked to the rich sunset forming outside. Pinks, blues,
lavenders. Like cotton candy.
I turned back,
Logan’s face only inches from mine.
“Me too,” he
answered. Just then, the breeze whipped in through the door. “It probably
should be Ryan, though. Right?” Logan pressed his lips tight, leaned back some
and looked away towards the sunset.
My stomach
clenched at the mention of my husband’s name. “Maybe. But he wouldn’t be
toasting with me. That’s for sure.”
Lifting my
glass, I drained what was left in it. Logan didn’t miss a beat and reached for
the bottle, giving me a refill. I took a sip before continuing.
“And, I doubt
he’d care. I don’t think he wants me to succeed at anything; he has no concern
for my passions whatsoever. I’m not sure I’ll even tell him about this.”
I went quiet,
my head spinning, not only from the phone call and the champagne, but also from
the reality of my situation. The thought of Ryan dampened my celebratory mood.
“Hey…” Logan
removed the glass from my hands with the tip of his fingers and set it down.
“Let’s not talk about him right now. Okay?” Taking my arms, he pulled me close,
wrapping them around the back of his waist. Nervous, my heart pounded as I
caught the essence of carburetor mixed with his signature musky lemon cologne
from his t-shirt. He’d come from working at Monroe Auto, but he somehow smelled
good enough to go on a date.
“Okay,” I
murmured and looked up at him. He released his hands to hold my face. Rough and
calloused from working on cars all his life, his touch was still delicate as he
bent, taking my lips in his.
Logan kissed
me, light and gentle at first. Like I might break under his touch. But then, he
dragged me closer, pressing his body to mine and taking more of me into his
mouth, our kiss building intensity.
“I care,” he
whispered against my skin.
My body
wouldn’t relax fully. We lived on the outskirts of town, but with the garage
door open, anyone could see right in. That would start some gossip.
“What’s
wrong?” He leaned back, picking up on my tension. Noooo, don’t stop.
I pointed to
the open door, then wiped at my wet lips.
He smirked.
“That’s easy.” He walked to the side of the door and pressed the CLOSE button.
The walk-in door to the outside was still open, but this was enough to conceal
us.
He took back
his place with me, and I let go, running my hand up his back, feeling the
warmth of his skin. A moment later, Logan drew back again, his eyes fixed down
into mine. He kept his hands tangled behind my head in my long hair.
“He has no
idea what he has, Em. The depth of you is incredible. I see it. I see you.”
I squeezed my
eyes shut, trying not to cry again. Logan took notice and pulled me to his
chest in a hug.
With my eyes
still shut, I lifted away. Logan bent, our lips crashing again, before I opened
them. I wanted to stay like this
forever.
A minute
later, a truck roared outside the garage door. Ryan.
“Shit!” Logan
and I broke from each other. I grabbed my glass, clearing my throat; he grabbed
his bottle of beer, and we composed ourselves quickly. He stayed close, though,
enough to touch the side of my body. We leaned with our backs against the deep
freeze as Ryan walked in the side door.
Everything
that had just happened--everything that has happened--with Logan had felt
right. Unfortunately, that still didn’t make it right.
“What the hell
is this?” Once inside, Ryan planted his legs wide and crossed his arms. His
face tightened, and he glared between the two of them.
Born and
raised on a cattle farm in rural Nebraska, Jen still resides in the Midwest
with her three children, two dogs and lots of happy cows.
A proclaimed
coffee, wine, and book snob, Jen writes about women and the depth of their life
stories. Even before the "times-up" and new women's movement, sharing
light on women's real lives was an important part of her vision and life
purpose. I Loved You THEN is her first novel.
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