Alexia “Lexi” Hanson moved across the country to
rebuild her life after the attack that almost destroyed her. She enjoys the
simple things in her beach cottage. Life is finally complete.
Noah Matthews is Rock & Roll’s hottest star and on top of the world. After years without a break he finds the solitude he craves at his beach house. Enjoying his early morning coffee, Noah is surprised to see his neighbor sneak into his garden and crawl around.
They never saw that fateful morning coming. Someone was watching them. Someone who thought Lexi belonged to him and would stop at nothing to have her.
Lives are changed forever when they meet amongst the blooms in his garden. Even when things seem darkest, there is always light After the Storm.
Alexis “Lexi” Hampton has
moved across the country after she was brutally attacked. She is currently
living in her grandmother’s old beach house that she inherited. She enjoys the
solitude, peace, and quiet that she gets living there. It has allowed her to
heal. The only house near her is next
door, and the owner does not live there. However, she quickly becomes friends
with the homes caretakers, Martha and Sam.
Noah Mathews is taking a
much needed and overdue vacation from his band, Last Stand, at his beach house
next to Lexi’s. The two meet when he finds her crawling around in his garden
taking pictures. I really liked Noah. He is a fun, strong, and very grounded
character. He is much different than the typical rocker.
While there is an instant
attraction between the two, Lexi is smart. She does not want to rush into
anything, especially since he will be leaving in a few months to go back to LA.
She insists that they be friends. However, as they become closer, the
attraction becomes harder to deny. As they take their relationship to the next
level, incidents start to happen to Lexi and around her home.
I really wanted to like
this book. I think the storyline held A LOT of promise. Honestly, I didn’t have
a problem with the direction the story went at all. My problem lay with the
characters. They start out really strong. I really liked Lexi at the beginning.
However, as the story progresses, she began to get on my nerves. I understand
wanting to wait until you are sure about a physical relationship. I applaud
that. But she just, I don’t know, couldn’t seem to make up her mind. Then, she
is stubborn as all get out, and her “need” for independence made me want to
pull my hair out! She has been attacked before. Since that has happened, you
would assume she would be more cautious. She would be willing to let people
help when it comes to her safety. But no; she is miss independent.
I liked Noah throughout
the whole book. He was a pretty strong character. Though I don’t see what he
saw in Lexi. To me, she is just a whole bunch of drama. The duo starts out
strong, but as they become closer, the dialogue and some of the scenes become
cheesier. I’ll be honest and say that I had to skim through some of it just to
get through it. However, their relationship is built on friendship, and I DO
like seeing this in books. It just seems more real.
Lastly, we come to the
older ladies in Lexi’s life: Evelyne, Leigh, and Marie or the Troublesome Trio.
While at first I thought their behavior was a bit fun. It QUICKLY became old
and over the top. They behave like young 20 year olds or something. I wouldn’t
even say that. I can’t even imagine 20 year olds acting this way. They are just
3 crazy, horny, old women who were constantly out of line. Adults do not behave
that way, and if they did, I am sure that they would get arrested for
harassment and for some of the things they do in this book.
Don’t get me wrong, the
overall story was pretty good. That author did a great job at building up the
suspense. There were some really creepy parts, and she did those parts very
well. Just thinking about them now gives me the shivers. I totally did not see
the twist she throws in at the end coming. It really threw me for a loop. She
even sets up for a second book. Like I said, I just felt at times that the
characters/situations were a bit much. Just because I didn’t enjoy the
characters doesn’t mean someone else won’t either. So, give it a try.
*Warning this book does have some
disturbing scenes that made me shiver and might cause me some nightmares.
Granted I am a wuss when it comes to stuff like this but still I want to throw
that out there*
Where to begin, where to begin.
When I started this book I really didn’t know what I was jumping into. After
the prologue I thought WTH did I say yes to???
Noah Matthews is a rock star who
has been going hard since the day his band was discovered. He’s been on the
road the majority of that time living the single life. While he’s been single
his band mates have settled down and gotten married, some have even had kids.
After the guys pushed him a little bit to slow down he thought his perfect
vacation would be to head to his beach house.
Alexia “Lexi” Hansen is a
photographer looking to start her life over, far away from La Jolla, CA where
she was brutally attacked seven years ago. Her grandmother had a beautiful
beach house, which Lexi inherited after she passed away four prior. She knew it
was the place she wanted to live and decides now is the time to make that dream
come true. She adopts a wonderful golden retriever named Pepper from a shelter
and is finally able to feel security in her life. She loves her next-door
neighbors, Sam and Martha, who are live-in caretakers for Noah. Lexi has never
met Noah, since he’s never there. Sam allows Lexi access to Noah's garden to
take photographs and that is how they meet one morning as she's rolling around
the garden unaware that he's home.
After the two get to know each
other a little better they can sense they have a special connection. Noah
decides he needs to be around her more and starts showing up wherever she is.
Lexi really doesn’t mind and they fall into an easy relationship. Everything
seems great. Lexi feels she’s finally become herself again, even though some
things seem off. So consumed in Noah and the upcoming Talent Show at the senior
center that she is putting on, Lexi brushes off any uneasy feelings she has.
Noah is wonderful, he has the strong urge to take care of Lexi even though she
is stubborn and thinks she has everything under control. He’s starting to get
feelings for her and is thinking she could be who he wants to finally settle
down with.
After a long day, Lexi is heading
home, when out in the middle of basically nowhere, her car breaks down. She
just had her car looked at so could this really be car trouble or is a force at
work? As she waits for Noah to come to get her she sees someone in the middle
of the woods watching her. Could it be him, her attacker? He’s in jail in
California… right? She contacts the police in San Diego and they confirm that
he has been released but assure her an ankle bracelet is monitoring him…it is
all in her imagination. As Lexi and Noah grow closer, it feeds an evil that is
watching them, stalking them and ultimately makes it’s self known in a show
down that will twist you up.
Aside from Lexi & Noah we are
introduced to the “Troublesome Trio”; these ladies are Lexi's grandmother's
best friends. When she was alive they called themselves the "Fearsome
Foursome". OMG they are HILIARIOUS! Every time they were up to something I
couldn’t stop laughing. The Talent Show was awesome, couldn’t have picked a
better act for them to do. I truly hope my friends and I are just like that
when we hit their age. I mean you only live once right?! Lexi’s best friend
Evie is also mentioned throughout the book. She’s been by Lexi’s side through
everything that has happened to her. She is a very strong character and I am
happy to see that book two looks to be about her. We also get to meet all
Noah’s band mates and their families. I loved how they were very warm and
honest with Lexi, it was refreshing.
This story was addicting, I
couldn’t didn’t put it down. I only stopped to try to wrap my head around the
creepy things that were laid out in front of me. I seriously felt like I was
reading scenes from America’s Most Wanted and it made my stomach turn. I
honestly wouldn’t take it out of the book. M. Stratton can do the creepy
factor, I will say that. Beyond the creepiness there was a truly beautiful love
story going on. With Lexi’s past and Noah’s non-stop life it was amazing to see
them grow together and watch how their future could pan out. I loved how
protective Noah was of Lexi and how he was always there for her when she seemed
to need it most.
This story was different from
anything I’ve read lately and I think that is why it pulled me in so much. I
got to the end thinking NOOOO its ending like this?! I am VERY happy book 2
will be out in February since I need it like right now! I can’t wait to see
where this heads next!
M. Stratton is a wife and mother who grew up in
a small town north of Chicago before moving to Arizona. She is currently
working in accounting for a plumbing company.
M. Stratton has spent years telling herself stories to fall asleep at night before deciding it was time to get them down on paper for the world to see.
M. Stratton has spent years telling herself stories to fall asleep at night before deciding it was time to get them down on paper for the world to see.
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