Release Day: To Have and To Hold by Serena Bell: A Returning Home Novel
RATING/REVIEW: ☕☕☕☕☕ ( 5 cups for this emotional rollercoaster ride guaranteed to keep you up at night finding out how it all ends!)
To
Have and to Hold
is the third book in Serena Bell's
Returning Home series which is about the men in uniform who have come home
after their tour of duty different from when they left. In this third book the
injury that the male protagonist's has sustained is more psychological,
amnesia. Not of his whole life but a year of his memory. He has no recollection
of how he sustained his injuries and worst of all, the woman he left behind. Trina
is that woman who was expecting a heartfelt and emotional reunion with the man
she fell in love with but instead is confronted by one who doesn't remember who
she has become in his life much less what he had promised to her. And as the
pressure of what was and what could have been bears down upon them, the age old
question remains, can two near strangers fall in love once again?
To Have and To Hold had all heartfelt emotion, poignancy and the bittersweet angst of a relationship falling apart. The premise might be amnesia secondary to PTSD for Hunter but in a general sense it can also be about two people in a committed relationship suddenly finding themselves confronted with a stranger. Both Hunter and Trina suffered through that and in many ways it really did feel like when a relationship ends because the person you fell in love with isn't the same person. And so to actually start fighting for that love and to start literally falling in love again was truly wonderful. Hunter's pain, Trina's heartbreak, their frustrations it was deeply described and dealt with in a very real way. This makes To Have and To Hold a great love story.
To Have and To Hold had all heartfelt emotion, poignancy and the bittersweet angst of a relationship falling apart. The premise might be amnesia secondary to PTSD for Hunter but in a general sense it can also be about two people in a committed relationship suddenly finding themselves confronted with a stranger. Both Hunter and Trina suffered through that and in many ways it really did feel like when a relationship ends because the person you fell in love with isn't the same person. And so to actually start fighting for that love and to start literally falling in love again was truly wonderful. Hunter's pain, Trina's heartbreak, their frustrations it was deeply described and dealt with in a very real way. This makes To Have and To Hold a great love story.
Title: To Have and to Hold
Author: Serena Bell
Category: Contemporary romance
ISBN: 978-1-7328948-2-2
Format: e-book
Publication
Date: April
23, 2019
Pages: 200
Price: $3.99
Available
from: Amazon,
Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play
TO
HAVE AND TO HOLD (RETURNING HOME, BOOK THREE)
He doesn’t remember her. She cherishes
every moment of their time together. Is there any hope for a second
chance?
Hunter Cross has lost a year. There’s
a gap in his memory, and the woman who is living in his house has disappeared
into it. He slept with her, fell for her, loved her—and he
doesn’t remember any of it.
He knows he should send her
away—except for one little thing. At night, when she slips into his bed, his
body remembers hers.
Trina Levine is heartbroken, alone
with her memories. Hunter won’t claim any of it—not the joyful days, not the
steamy nights. It’s like Trina Levine dreamed it, and it hurts like nothing
else could.
Except when Hunter cries out in his
sleep and Trina comforts him. At those moments, Hunter’s body knows hers, and
for a few, brief, blissful moments, Trina’s sure everything will be okay again.
Until morning comes.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD EXCERPT
Copyright © 2019 Serena Bell
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
There he was.
Stepping
through the glass gate doors at SeaTac. Striding, head up, not uniformed, as
she’d expected, but clad in jeans, a gray T-shirt, and hiking boots. A backpack
slung over both shoulders.
Trina
felt like she’d never seen him before, and maybe she never really had.
Because before, he’d been somebody’s dad. Somebody’s
husband. And then friendship had morphed into love, so she’d never had that
first-time-I-laid-eyes-on-you, love-at-first-sight moment. No heart stopping,
no breath catching, no hormones firing in one big surge—
Not
till now.
Because, damn. Dark hair
and dark eyes, stubble smattered over his jaw, shoulders that poured off
strength. Six-foot-plus of him, moving with intention. He was a guy who’d catch
your eye on the street, pheromones setting you back on your heels before you’d
registered that you’d turned to look. The hardness of his features, the
everyman handsomeness, made an impression only after it was too late to decide
how you felt about his appearance.
There
were more lines in his face than she remembered—the laugh crinkles at the
corners of his eyes, yes, but deep lines in his forehead, too. His eyes combed
the crowd, looking for someone.
I’m right here.
Then
his gaze swept past her and locked somewhere else, and his pace quickened until
he was almost running. Behind her, someone broke away, flip-flops smacking
heels.
“Daddy!”
Clara
ran to her father and threw herself into his arms, forgetting Trina’s and her
grandmother’s warnings to be gentle with him. Clara was laughing and crying and
trying to tell her father everything that had happened in the last year, all at
once.
“Slow
down, baby.” Hunter knelt so he could hug Clara in earnest. “Slow down. We’ll
have plenty of time.” He was smiling, looking so much like the man Trina
remembered, and she realized she was silently pleading for him to raise his
eyes and search her out. To turn that smile on her. And she shook her head,
because this moment wasn’t for her. It was for Clara and Hunter. Trina would
have her moment later. When she and Hunter were alone.
Hunter
raised his head, and her heart skipped.
But
his eyes caught on something behind her, and he rose and strode forward: “Mom.”
Trina
wasn’t going to panic. She clutched her welcome home, hunter sign tighter, and
tried to slow her pulse down.
Homecomings are weird, Hunter’s mom had told her when
Trina met her flight several hours earlier. Don’t get your expectations up too high. He’ll need some time and space, and
then it’ll be like he never left.
Plus,
Trina had known they’d have to play it a little cool, to maintain the fiction
for the girls.
In
the meantime, Trina would remember what he’d said to her. Not only I love you, but
also, I know my
feelings, and they’re not going to change.
Hunter’s
mom, Linda, was getting the full Hunter. Or the half Hunter, maybe, because
Trina was pretty sure that Hunter at full strength would have swept both mother
and daughter off their feet. Certainly in all her fantasies he’d swept her off her feet.
But
with his chest wound just barely healed—a wound that had almost killed him—he
wouldn’t be sweeping anyone off her feet for a while.
A
hand snaked around her waist. Phoebe, at her side. Her daughter, awkwardly
twelve and yet so beautiful, with that coltish mix of woman and little girl.
Phoebe
was clearly feeling as awkward and left out of this homecoming as Trina was,
and wanting solidarity.
That
was the moment when Trina started to feel really, truly freaked out. Because
she was fine with the fact that homecomings were weird and fine with Hunter’s
priorities being for his daughter and his mother and fine with the secrecy that
they’d agreed to keep up a while once he got back, but—
He
hadn’t made eye contact with her. Not once.
Something
was wrong. Even Phoebe could sense it.
WHAT READERS
ARE SAYING
“I
have loved every second of this series and I hope that there will be many more
installments to come. This series has everything that I look forward to in
getting my love and romance fix.”—Twin Spin
“An
absolute must-read . . . To Have and to Hold is fabulous.”—The Romance Reviews
“Five
stars . . . [To Have and to Hold is a] crackling read that’s
full of emotion and drama.”—Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews
“A
great story that unfolds beautifully . . . There’s a great balance of drama and
romance, and I really liked the characters and their journey.”—The Escapist Book Blog
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
USA
Today bestselling
author Serena Bell writes contemporary romance with heat, heart, and humor. A
former journalist, Serena has always believed that everyone has an amazing story
to tell if you listen carefully, and you can often find her scribbling in her
tiny garret office, mainlining chocolate and bringing to life the tales in her
head.
Serena’s
books have earned many honors, including an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, Apple Books
Best Book of the Month, and Amazon Best Book of the Year for Romance.
When
not writing, Serena loves to spend time with her college-sweetheart husband and
two hilarious kiddos—all of whom are incredibly tolerant not just of Serena’s
imaginary friends but also of how often she changes her hobbies and how
passionately she embraces the new ones. These days, it’s stand-up paddle
boarding, board-gaming, meditation, and long walks with good friends.
SOCIAL
MEDIA LINKS
Web
site https://www.serenabell.com
Newsletter https://www.serenabell.com/newsletter
Facebook
page http://www.facebook.com/serenabellbooks
Facebook
profile https://www.facebook.com/serena.bell.3954
Instagram http://www.instagram.com/serenabellbooks
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