St. Michaels Duet
“This is so much more than a sports romance: it’s a broken boy finding the purest friendship with a lonely girl that turns into an unconditional love that should have lasted a lifetime... one heck of a ride.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1. INTERFERENCE by Harlow Cole
SYNOPSIS
Brayden
I’m a goddamn prodigy. It’s true. Ask anyone. I threw my first curveball the day I was born. The whole town is waiting on me. To live up to my father’s famous name. To reach for the stars. All I want to reach for is her. But Ashley is the sweet addiction I can’t afford. She’s my best friend’s sister. Hell, she’s practically my little sister. For years, I’ve protected her from guys that want one thing. What happens now that I’ve turned into one of them? Who’s gonna shield her from the way I was made, from my little white lies and from what I’m about to become?
My game plan sounds simple: Pitch my way into the Major League draft and stay out of Ashley Foster’s pants. That first part may be statistically difficult. The second feels damn near impossible.
Ashley
From the moment we met, I knew he was trouble. The kind my mother sent me to find. The type that ruins you for any other brand. When we were young kids, I didn’t know what to call the frogs and butterflies that danced in my belly whenever Brayden came near. Now I know they have a name. Those three little words that could heal or destroy him. Before Brayden, my life was normal. And then it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Ever again. How was I to know stealing his seat would change all our lives?
Anger and forgiveness share two halves of the same coin. Our story might make you choose sides.
BOOK REVIEW
Harlow Cole did an outstanding job with her debut novel. OMG! I couldn’t put the book down, going through three boxes of Kleenex, and occasionally sipping on Jack (to calm my racing heart the f*ck down).
Interference is a slow burn, coming of age love story that takes readers from the sweet anticipation of first times to the passion of soul mates finally staking their claim.
I'm gonna fight to give you those stars, Soot. Every fucking one of them. I'm gonna shove them down in my pockets and bring them all back to you. I promise.
Brayden and Ashley felt real with their family problems, genuine friendships, common personal flaws, and understandable obsessions. They were relatable. Their confusion over what they thought they felt and actually felt was extremely heart-wrenching but surprisingly enjoyable (and not in an annoying kind of way). I loved the transition from friends to lovers to sort of enemies. The lines always seemed blur with them, honestly speaking. But then again, this only made the storyline that good. Oftentimes, we face choices under not so favourable circumstances, we are forced to make certain decisions acceptable for the mind but not the heart. Oftentimes, we make mistakes not that different from what both Brayden and Ashley did, but unlike most of us, they actually owned the made mistakes up. By finding the strength to not blame and forgive, by sacrificing, and by making it up for those who lost the most.
NOTE: There is no particular cliffhanger in the end, but you need to know that the first book focuses on the events prior to the main action, so to say, which is covered in the second and final book.
2. STEALING HOME by Harlow Cole
SYNOPSIS
Ashley
I’ve given up. On my childish dreams. On getting out of this town. On love. On him. On everything. I’m barely treading water.
Brayden
I’m the man with it all. The pinstriped jersey covering my back garners easy cash, flashy cars, and fast women. My gilded name drapes over the city in neon. I have everything. Everything, except the thing I crave most. Ashley Foster.
There’s one addiction I never tried to beat. They say you can never go home again. I’m out to prove them wrong. But what if returning requires facing all the things you destroyed? To what lengths would you go to earn forgiveness? Would you beg? Would you borrow? Would you steal?
Stealing home is the riskiest move in baseball. But the reward... If it works? Winning her back is a chance I’m finally ready to take. My pockets are filled with stars. It’s time to follow them home. This time, I don’t want to steal her firsts, I want to lay claim on all her lasts.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BOOK REVIEW
The second and final book in the duet made me go through three more boxes of Kleenex (seriously, I should charge Harlow Cole for them) as I flipped through the pages of this rollercoaster of an emotional heart wreck.
The chemistry between Brayden and Ashley was mindblowing. The one between two adults with broken hearts and tarnished souls but not lost hope. The one between two teenagers with raw emotions, including lust and passion, and adorable urge to discover new boundaries of unfamiliar feelings. The reason I fell in love with the story is an association I had with the main characters, along with a belief in a traditional happy ever after (no spoiler from me here, but I appreciated a good love sign).
St.Michaels Duet is a stunning story about family, love, and the consequences of both, reminding us of the importance to never allow the fear of striking out keep us from playing the game. Harlow Cole tells her readers that love does exist but a happy ending comes at great cost, which one needs to be willing to pay in order to seal the deal.
