BLOG TOUR STOP: REVIEW, EXCERPT, AND GIVEAWAY: Double Tap by Lani Lynn Vale

 

Nico met the love of his life when he was seventeen.

Immediately, he realizes that the gap in their ages is too significant to make a move on her until she’s legal in the eyes of the law. So he joins the United States Navy, killing time until he can come home to her again.

But a tragedy strikes while Georgia is alone and vulnerable, and with no other recourse, Georgia leaves, disappearing without a trace.

After months of searching, he finds her, but quickly realizes that she needs the time to herself to work out her problems on her own.

So he leaves her be, knowing that if she ever felt anything for him, she’d come back home to him.

But it takes her years to return, and in those years, Nico changes, too.

He’s seen too much. Done too much. Lost too much.

He lives his life as a SWAT officer for KPD, goes through the motions of everyday life, but only as half a man. And not even the good half. The US military saw to that.

When the two finally come back together, one question remains. Will she love him as the man he is now, or leave him because he’s not the same man he used to be?

Soulmates for 13 years.

Apart for 8 years.

Many demons, nightmares, and individual struggles that make it seem like it will never be the right time.

This and more is what Nico and Georgia face when their lives bring them back together. They’ve never been far from each other’s minds during those years apart, and the bond that they share easily solidifies once again and makes it impossible for them not to give into the connection that has always been there.

Nico is my kind of hero. He’s honorable and brave, willing to fight for what he wants, and he most definitely wants Georgia. Georgia’s always been it for him, but their age difference was an issue before and their need to heal from their personal wounds furthered their separation, but now that Georgia’s back in Nico’s life, he’s not letting her go and he’ll do whatever it takes to abate her fears, ease her pain, and finally claim the woman he loves.

Georgia has endured way more than a woman should, but she’s done so for her brothers and for herself. She’s incredibly strong and independent, ensuring that she doesn’t have to rely on anyone else but herself. The scars of her past are ever present but Georgia does what it takes to move forward every day and live, even if it’s merely to survive. But Georgia desperately wants to do more than survive, and she knows she can do that with Nico. They can heal each other…be whole again as it should be…they just have to be willing to take the risk and accept the present versions of who each other is – scars and all.

Double Tap was my first read by Lani Lynn Vale, but it won’t be my last. I understand the pull of readers to Vale’s storylines because she creates alpha male heroes who, at their core, are created to protect and love the women who are created for them. Vale’s heroines are strong despite the hardships they faced, and they fight despite their overwhelming pain. The connection created between Nico and Georgia illustrates the deep love between them despite the separation and proves that love can conquer all as long as those involved do the work to make it so.

I can’t wait to read more of Vale’s heroes and heroines!

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

4 poison apples

“Hey, this is Nico.  I wanted to see if you could come clean my house later this week.  I’ve got a bit of a mess going on right now, and you know how I am.  Let me know when you can do it.  Thanks, bye,” I said to Candice’s voicemail.

I hung up and glared at my still dirty floors.

That was the third time I’d called her in three days.

“At least it wasn’t the thirty fifth like someone I know,” I snarled as I threw down my phone and went outside.

Feeling the need for an exhausting workout, I went outside and gathered up my axe and wedge, then took them to the large pile of wood I’d stacked in a heap at the corner of the house.

A tree had fallen a couple of weeks ago during a storm, and I’d cut it up with my chainsaw, leaving the large chunks to cut up for fire wood at a later date.

I’d been doing it nearly an hour when I heard wheels crunch on the gravel road that led up to my driveway.

I didn’t turn around.

I knew whom it was as soon as I heard the engine whine.

So the little coward had decided to finally show after three fucking days.

Imagine that.

I felt her stare, but I never stopped chopping the wood.

Set the wood up on the stump.  Swing back.  Strike hard and fast.

Thwack.

I repeated it over and over, waiting on her to say something.

It took her a long time.

Thwack.

I counted thirty five pieces before she finally spoke.

“I’m mad at you,” she said softly.

She was crying.

I hated when she cried.

I didn’t stop, however.

I just kept going, waiting for what she had to say next.  The only outward sign that I was listening was the bunch of my shoulders.

“You should’ve told me about her suicide the night she did it,” she said tearfully.

I whirled on her.  “Is that right?  And how exactly did you expect me to do that?  I fucking called you seventeen times that night, and left you at least a fuckin’ million text messages.  I know how to take a fucking hint.”

Her eyes widened at the vehemence in my voice, and she took a step away.

I was on a fucking roll, though, and really let her have it.

“All you had to do was be understanding.  If you can’t handle this, what makes you think you can handle it when I have to take down a goddamned kid because he pointed a gun at his big sister?”  I asked irately.

I walked past her, going inside to the kitchen to grab a drink.

She followed.

I heard her stomping feet behind me as I walked up to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, twisting the cap off viciously.

“I don’t like it when you’re right.  It makes me mad when I have to admit that I’m wrong.  I know I was wrong, but you were wrong, too,” she snarled.

I looked at her incredulously.  “You’re so full of shit.  You piss me the fuck off.”

She crossed her arms.  “Well, maybe if I’m so full of shit, and I piss you off so fuckin’ much, we shouldn’t be together.”

I shook my head at her and gave her a droll look.

“We fight.  We yell.  You throw shit and I glare at you.  That’s just how we are.  We don’t have the type of relationship where it’s all hearts and goddamned flowers.  We have the type of relationship that’s real.  We fight hard, and make up harder.  And you need to get over your fucking snit, because I’m so fucking hot for you that I might not be nice when you really need it,” I growled in Georgia’s face.

She tried to push me away from where I was pinning her to the wall, but she didn’t get me far.  In fact, it was only the barest of millimeters, and that was only because I didn’t want her to hurt herself when she slammed her wrists against my chest.

“I fucking love you, Georgia.  Get the fuck over it,” I yelled.