Title: A Mess of a Man
Authors: A.M. Hargrove & Terri E. Laine
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 21, 2016
From USA TODAY BESTSELLING authors of Cruel and Beautiful, A.M. Hargrove and
Terri E. Laine bring a new full-length standalone New Adult Contemporary
Romance. This novel includes mature content, not suitable for younger readers.
(Rated R)
Womanizer,
Man Whore, Player, Heartbreaker are all familiar names to Ben Rhoades. He
prefers Money Man or Sex God, but he doesn’t let other people’s opinions rule
him. And he’s only gotten worse without his compass, his best friend, whose
devastating death at a young age has taught him a valuable lesson about not
getting too close to anyone … ever. Until one smart and stubborn woman with
eye-catching curves throws him for a loop and refuses to be tamed.
Samantha
Calhoun has her life on track even after the shattering break-up with the guy
she’d thought she’d wanted to marry. With her chin held high, she focuses on
her career, building her business and making a success of it all. Only a chance
meeting has her lost in a set of alluring steel gray eyes that have her steps
faltering and her heart leaping out of her chest. Forewarned by
not-so-flattering rumors plus his no-holds-bar rules, she tries desperately to
play his game while guarding her heart.
Only they have no idea of the journey they’re about to undertake when their lives collide. Ultimately they’ll tackle the biggest test of their lives because she is his game changer. The one, who through the ensuing wreckage, can domesticate the mess of a man that he is.
Only they have no idea of the journey they’re about to undertake when their lives collide. Ultimately they’ll tackle the biggest test of their lives because she is his game changer. The one, who through the ensuing wreckage, can domesticate the mess of a man that he is.
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I stare holes in the walls as if I can still see her, the one woman I let in.
Sweeter than peach cobbler, she hardly has a bad thing to say about anybody—until now. Her parting description of me, beginning with ass and ending with hole, reverberates through my hollow heart, as I stand here rooted to my spot. I’m not even shocked, as this isn’t the first time I’ve been on the receiving end of that sentiment. I’m only surprised because I don’t think I’ve ever heard her so much as mutter a single curse word before. And the first time I do, it’s aimed squarely at me.
My hands tighten around a tumbler filled with amber liquid before I toss back its contents hoping for oblivion or something close to it. This road is so familiar. Only this time is different. I never cared like I do now. She means more to me than a quick fuck. Hadn’t I been about to tell her just that? How could things have gone wrong so fast?
Don’t be a dumbass. You can still fix this.
Instead, I stubbornly stay embedded to my spot because nothing can change the outcome. It’s a truth she and I know will haunt me until my last breath. And it’s created a wall between us I’m unable to climb … even if you gave me a damn ladder.
I’ve never been much of a risk-taker when it comes to matters of the heart. I can fill a bank account with a number having many zeros behind it from my astute choices in the market. But I can’t be a man a woman stays with. Hadn’t I warned her about that too?
Unable to see past my own shitty existence, I long for her to come back. I want to believe it’s all been some kind of mistake and I can forget what I know to be true. As the seconds continue to tick by, the inevitability that things are really over sinks in. My window of opportunity quickly closes as fast as her car door slams and the engine fires to life.
She’s so close, yet miles away. The longer I let the minutes expand between us I know distance won’t make the heart grow fonder. But maybe it’s for the best. Love, or whatever masquerades as it, just isn’t enough for the dirty, fucked up truth. Right when things were better than I ever expected, facts messed it up.
Groaning, I launch the crystal glass worth a small fortune at the door I can’t seem to force myself towards. A beautiful show of light plays off the shards as they cascade down in an explosion of fireworks. Visually, it’s what I feel inside as desolation constricts and then obliterates my chest because the best thing I ever had is gone … leaving me with only the certainty I’m meant to be with her.
I love you, I whisper for the first time and in place of goodbye. She left me and will never hear it. I can only pray we both survive what’s to come.
Andrea's Review
*ARC received in return for an honest review
They've done it again! Another emotional and powerful 5 star read from the pens of A.M. Hargrove & Terri E. Laine.
I had high hopes for Ben's story after being blown away by Cruel and Beautiful and I definitely wasn't disappointed. I have laughed, smiled, shouted and bawled my way through A Mess of A Man. My heart is battered and bruised. I love this book, once I started I couldn't put it down! I adored Ben and Sam, they were so perfect for each other.
I loved Ben and really felt for him, he sure was a mess of a man! Ben was lost after his best friend died and couldn't seem to get over losing him. When it came to relationships, he didn't let any woman get too close to him...until Sam.
Sam came along and made him feel again. She was just what Ben needed to help him understand and cope with his grief and unravel that mess. I have to admit though he did behave like a total ass at the beginning which made me want to shake him until he saw sense and later, when Sam really needed him, I was shouting at my kindle and ready to throttle him!!
Sam was such a strong character, she got Ben to see that it was alright to grieve and still carry on living without feeling guilty for being alive. She was there for him when he needed her and even when he thought he didn't.
At one point my heart was so sad for Sam. I really felt like I was going through her turmoil with her, I could feel her panic, fear and heartache. My throat hurt so much from the lump lodged there trying, unsuccessfully, not to cry.
A Mess of a Man is the perfect follow up to Cruel and Beautiful, so different but just as poignant and heartfelt and is right up there in my top five of the year so far.
I can't recommend this highly enough, it's a definite MUST read!!
Go 1-click now but be warned...you'll need plenty tissues for this tear-jerker.
Andrea gives this a rating of...
A.M. Hargrove
One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, USA Today bestselling author, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So she made a quick decision to quit her job and reinvented herself as a Naughty and Nice Romance Author.
She fancies herself all of the following: Reader, Writer, Dark Chocolate Lover, Ice Cream Worshipper, Coffee Drinker (swears the coffee, chocolate, and ice cream should be added as part of the USDA food groups), Lover of Grey Goose (and an extra dirty martini), #WalterThePuppy Lover, and if you’re ever around her for more than five minutes, you’ll find out she’s a non-stop talker.
Terri E. Laine
Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young age.
In her early years, she and her best friend would tell each other stories over the phone when they were bored. They called them their "soap operas" and generally revolved around whatever boy they liked at the time.
Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come.
