Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.
During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.
Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.
Release Date: Oct 22, 2019
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Gallery Books
Price: $8.99
The first thirty percent of the book was set in London. Readers take the journey with Tate and Sam as they fall in love. Honestly, I thought it was rather fast, but I held my reservations because let’s face it, the authors know how to set the tone for any book they write.
Tate shares with Sam her biggest secret and it blows up in her face. My heart was pounding when it was all revealed as I felt horrible for her. To be thrust into the spotlight like that and hurt by your first love is devastating.
Fast forward fourteen years later, Tate is now an actress in Hollywood. She is presented with a new role co-starring her estranged father. The first day on set, she runs into Sam. He is the writer of the script. To say she spirals out is an understatement. They have a very tense first encounter but they both try to put the past in the past.
Sam and Tate felt disjointed somehow. I couldn’t connect with them as a couple. I understood that in the first part of the book it was young love and I left it at that. When we got to the second half of the book I expected to see why they would still be in love with one another. The tingles and “aww” moments were not there. I think they finally came around at the end but who wants romance at 90%.
The supporting characters were okay but they couldn’t hold up the story and at times, they felt like major distractions. Even the glimpses of the script that the authors threw in the story didn’t hold my attention. If they would have shown some sort of romantic side to Sam, I would have swoon a bit.
Despite me not loving this one, I did enjoy it. I am keeping the authors right on my “must check it out” list.
~ Samantha
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