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Ideally Inspired Reviews

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tragic backstory

March 2, 2021 Emily Reviews

Emily’s Review: Once We Were Starlight by Mia Sheridan

A bed posed on a stage under a dazzling spotlight. An audience of hungry eyes. And him, the other half of my soul, our supple bodies moving as one . . .

Sundara: the lush and forbidden oasis in the desert where men travel to watch acts of sexual deviancy, and the only existence seventeen-year-old Karys has ever known. But despite a life where secrets and sin are in high supply, and freedom remains far beyond their reach, Karys and her partner Zakai find safety in each other, their passionate love the light that helps them both survive the darkness.

Very suddenly, Karys and Zakai find themselves in the bright and confusing world of New York City, navigating separation, school, and relatives who are all but strangers. If they’ve been found, why do they still feel so lost? As their new lives threaten to drive them apart, and Zakai spins out of her grasp, Karys must figure out who and what can be trusted in this strange city, seemingly filled with more venom than the desert they once called home.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Angst, fate, happy ending, Middle East, preformance, recovery, Romance, side show, Sundara, tragic backstory, Trigger Warning, true love, TW: abuse, TW: sex trafficking, TW: Suicide

February 23, 2021 Emily Reviews

Emily’s Review: Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling saw—or rather, heard—the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, he shared a perfect moment with a lovely, warm-voiced stranger. It’s a memory that’s never faded, though he’s put so much of his past behind him. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who’s uncannily familiar . . .

No matter how surprised Nora Clarke is by her reaction to handsome, curious Will, or the whispered pre-dawn conversations they share, she won’t let his plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, she sets out to foil his efforts with a little light sabotage. But beneath the surface of their feud is an undeniable connection. A balcony, a star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting—maybe it’s the kind of story that can’t work out in the end. Or maybe, it’s the perfect second chance . . .

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: childhood love, forced proximity, forced proximity romance, Funny, Grief, grieving heros, grumpy hero, happy ending, love story, reluctant friendship, rom-com, Romance, romantic comedy, Slow Burn Romance, tragic backstory

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