Title: Wings Over Poppies
Series: Over #2
Author: J.A. DeRouen
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: 26 January 2015
Cover Design: Mae I Design And Photography
Synopsis
Perfection. One word. Three syllables. Every reason why I’ll never have the one thing I truly want. I stand dutifully on the pedestal he’s built, waiting for the day he truly sees me.
Then one amazing night, he lets down his walls, only to leave me the next day.
Years have passed, and I’ve tried to move on with my life. But I still dream of him. I still miss him everyday. The memories haunt me. How can I look to the future when my past remains a mystery? The time has come to find the boy who stole my heart and ran away without a word.
But not everyone who is lost wants to be found.
My name is Alexandra Fontaine, and this is my story of unfinished love.
Wings Over Poppies is book #2 in The Over Series and can be read as a standalone novel.
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Review
Foxy Rating = 4.5 stars
*ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest
review
This is the second book in the Over series but can be read
as a stand-alone novel. I love stories about second chance love, especially if
it involves a soldier and West was one who absolutely just begged the reader to
fall hook line and sinker in love with him!
Alexandria Fontaine came from a wealthy background who didn’t
lack for anything in her childhood. Her loving parents have always loved and
provided her with her every wish, but it was also an expectation she would
follow a path they had laid out for her. Alex being the free spirit she is, has
carried this knowledge with her all her life but known deep down that was not a
life for her. She has her own choices be that what career she has or even down
to the friends she has, especially West.
When West and Alex meet they instantly hit it off and have
remained friends ever since. It is a special friendship but West has never felt
good enough for Alex. That is why when they grew up he would never cross the
line to move their relationship to anything other than the Sunday meet ups at
the oak tree that they have done for many years. West comes from a poor
background and has taken on extra jobs to support his mother and delicate
younger sister, which is how he found himself working for Alex’s father at the
golf course. He admires and respects him and would never step out of line which
for Alex meant a life of being the ‘friend’ rather than what she is yearning to
be.
But when they both reached eighteen, something happens to
change their lives but also deepen the bond they already held. They both know
they will be separated but little did they know on that last night it would be
six long years before they meet again.
Alex has never forgotten West, she continued to send him
emails and letters when he enlisted to serve his country but never got a
response back. She has constantly been afraid to find out what happened to him
after he went off to join the army and serve overseas. She has, in the
meantime, gone off to Art College and is now a successful studio owner. She has
not been able to form a relationship as her heart remains in the past. Finally
unable to carry on as she has been she sets out to find West again.
When they finally meet again, Alex is shocked at West’s
treatment of her. He pushes her away as if she was nothing to him but then Alex
finds out his secret and set out to win back her lost love.
Oh this was a wonderful storyline and it kept me engaged and
on tenterhooks throughout. West was one sexy soldier with an enormous amount of
guilt on his shoulders but has suffered things that others could never imagine.
His coping mechanism is to push people away and why he never sought out Alex.
How could she ever want him again being the man that he is now? This just made
him all the more lovable for me. I loved that the author touched on PTSD and
the effects this can have on a person but glad it wasn’t made the focus of the
story. Alex was a great character to read and I loved her sense of caring and
the strength she portrayed. She was instantly likeable.
There was a lot of angst and tribulation throughout as would
be expected for a man who had suffered the pain of war and loss but there was
also lots of sensuality, lust and love between the main characters. I also
loved the secondary characters and especially Cain and Celia (looking forward to
their story) There was a sense of deep friendship and acceptance in the
interactions and loved how West bonded with young Tim.
I would have liked to have had maybe another couple of
chapters or so to go further into West and Alex’s relationship once they had
found redemption of the past. This was the only thing that was missing for me.
Maybe more will be covered in Cain and Celia’s book. Overall a wonderfully emotive
and tender love story of second chances. Four and a half stars.
Excerpt
I shift closer to him and wrap my arms around his waist. I lay my head on his chest and breathe him in. His shoulders relax, if only slightly. The need to comfort him is overwhelming. I want to wash it all away for him, hold the world at bay while I erase the worry permanently etched in his forehead.
“Everything is going to be okay, West. I just know it,” I lie. I don’t know that everything will be okay. I don’t know anything at all.
We sit in electrified silence, the crackling of dead leaves under us the only sound. I memorize the feel of him, the smell of him, the rhythm of his breathing. I’m lost in the moment, already anticipating the loss that’s to come.
“I leave in a month.”
The words cut through the silence like a judgment. Instead of hurt, I’m filled with resolve. I won’t let him push me away anymore. I’m done playing by his rules.
I rise up to meet the storm brewing in his eyes. His hand wraps firmly around my neck, and his eyes dart hungrily to my lips. I swallow nervously and refuse to look away.
If he turns his head or pulls my hair, I swear I’m going to tackle him to the ground.
I lean in hopefully, somewhat expectantly, and close my eyes. His warm breath dances across my lips, and my every prayer is answered. He presses his mouth firmly to mine and stills, almost memorizing the moment.
That one small touch is the beginning of the most memorable kiss of my life. It’s hello and goodbye, I love you, I’ll miss you, and everything in between.
He sucks my bottom lip, and I inhale sharply, completely overcome. His hands dive into my hair, and his tongue slides against mine just once before he pulls away. He touches my forehead to his and chuckles softly.
“What have we been waiting for all this time?”
“You,” I whisper breathlessly, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
My admission is all he needs. He devours me, a tangle of lips, teeth, tongues, and hands. I don’t know where I end and he begins. I’m exhilarated and relieved all at once.
I run my hands down his arms and grip his wrists tightly. I pull away and look into his hooded eyes.
“Tell me something, West. Tell me something I don’t know.”
He runs a thumb over my swollen lips while he studies me. I’ve never
felt more loved, more worshipped.
“I can’t imagine a world without you in it. No matter where I am, I’ll always dream of you. It’ll have to be enough.” He places soft, scorching kisses up my neck until he reaches my ear. “God, I don’t think it’ll ever be enough.”
About The Author
J.A. Derouen lives in South Louisiana with her husband, son (aptly nicknamed "The Professor"), and her furry friend, Scout. She has earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and nursing. When she's not writing or inhaling romance novels by the stack, she works as a women's health nurse. She’s been an avid reader and daydreamer since childhood, and she's never stopped turning the page to get to the next happily ever after.
Buy Book One - Hope Over Fear
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