by Lily Paradis (Goodreads Author)
Book Synopsis(Goodreads):
After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine.
Lauren’s first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she’s always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life?
Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her?
Quote 1:
A split second later, I was opening my eyes, but I was disoriented for a new reason. Something, or someone, ran into me and knocked my phone and paper license to the ground.
I bent to pick them up, but another hand went for the paper when I went for the phone. I stood up, completely embarrassed that I’d just let my emotions get the better of me yet again. In the DMV, no less.
Our eyes met, and I sucked in a breath. He studied what he was holding and read off my name. The sound of his deep voice caught me off guard.
“I’m so sorry, Lauren Annabelle Lindsay, five-five, hazel eyes, red hair, 3239 Summit Drive,” He said as he flashed a dazzling sideways smile at me. From anyone else, this might have been too invasive. But his guy knew he could say something like this to a girl and have it charming, rather than an I’m-going-to-stalk-you-home-and-kill-you-now kind of way.His mouth was raised up higher on one side, and I could see the faint outline of a dimple on his cheek. I had the strange urge to reach out and touch it.
—- Ignite by Lily Paradis
Quote 2:
I just sat there, wondering if I was dreaming. This was not happening. It just wasn’t. Why was Henry Cavill from the DMV in my living room? Correction, why was he in Linda’s living room, and why was he touching me?
He held his hand out expectantly.
“Dean Powell,” He said, oozing confidence and grinning in a way that made me think he did this regularly. Charming people, not rescuing girls who fell at his feet.
Well, that might be a regular occurrence too.
I held out my hand gingerly, feeling strange that Jed, not to mention Mary and Chase, were witnessing this little encounter.
“Lauren Lindsay,” I said. “But you already knew that.”
He flashed another million dollar grin and I felt my traitorous stomach drop.
“Lauren Anabelle Lindsay,” he said. “Can’t forget that Little detail.”
—- Ignite by Lily Paradis
My Review:
I really liked this book. It has a very cute love story, but there is more to the story than just that. The story is about relationships and change, which can be very hard to deal with sometimes. The story is well written and the author really brought the characters to life. Lauren and Dean were wonderful, but I adored Emma. I think she was my favorite character.
Lauren has not had an easy life. Her parents got divorced when she was younger and she decided to live with her mother, not because she liked her mother more, but because she was mad and hurt by her father’s actions. Her mother ignored her and left her to her own devices. Thankfully, she had her twin brother, Tucker. Her father was killed in a mining accident and soon after that, she caught her boyfriend cheating on her. She has not allowed anyone new into her life since then, because of her fear of being hurt. Now her step mother has died and left her with the guardianship of three children. She isn’t sure she is up to the challenge, especially when she meets the brother of her stepsister’s best friend.
Dean is strikingly handsome, but doesn’t do relationships. He was abused by his parents and after they died, he was put in the foster child care system, which wasn’t much better. Lauren’s dad got him out of the child care system and became his mentor. He helped him clean up his life and quit his substance abuse. Dean felt like he lost his best friend when Lauren’s dad died, but he was determined to continue becoming a better person. As soon as he was eighteen, he became the legal guardian of his sister Jenny, who had also been in the foster child care system. Dean had a steady stream of girlfriends, until he met Lauren, then everything changed. Can he become the man that Lauren needs?
This is a very clean romance, but there are a few swear words. Just a word of warning for those who find that offensive. The interaction between Dean and Lauren is wonderful. I especially liked the interaction between Dean and Emma. Any man that is so wonderful to a child is definitely a keeper. As I said before, this book is more than just a love story. There is a lot of action in this book as well. The story kept me entertained and engaged right to the end. The author is going to tell the story from Dean’s point of view in her next book, which will be called Arclight. I will definitely be reading it. I give this book four stars.
About the author:
Lily is 22 and recently graduated from the University of Colorado where she earned a degree in English Literature. She lives with her family and loves reading, running, and hiking. Although she’s a Colorado native, New York City is her favorite place in the world and fosters her borderline unhealthy obsession with the Empire State Building and F. Scott Fitzgerald. IGNITE is her debut novel.
