The Coffee Shop By Lauren Hunter
Blurb
If Derrick thought
experiencing alternate timelines and glimpses into the future was strange then
he had no idea it was about to get far more strange than he ever imagined.
When Derrick Sloane meets Annie Maddock and falls madly in love, he believes
he's met the girl of his dreams. Only he then awakes to discover she is exactly
that...nothing more than a dream. Disheartened, he goes to the first coffee
shop he can find. There he meets Annie. She is at the same table, reading the
same book, and he fast realizes his dream has shown him his own future. But
when a misstep alters that perfect future he tries to fix it, every attempt
only making it worse.
Can
he fix what he has changed? Should he even try?
Excerpt
There was a rap at the
door. “Your hot chocolate is ready.”
“Thanks, I’ll be right
down.”
There was a pause.
“You sure you’re all right?”
“Why do you keep
asking me that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I
can hear something in your voice.”
“In my voice? What are
you, part dog or something?”
Derrick chuckled.
“There might be a girl from college that may just agree with you on
that.” Again there was a pause. “May I come in?”
“Actually, I was about
to get dressed.”
“So, you’re saying
you’re not decent?”
“No, I’m wearing a
bathrobe.”
“Well good, because
I’m coming in.”
“No, Derrick…” But he
had already opened the door, and setting the cocoa
aside he came over standing
before her as she sat on the bed.
“Okay, now I know
something’s wrong. Annie, why didn’t you tell me how bad you hurt yourself?”
“It’s not that bad.
I’m not about to make a big deal out of nothing.”
“You don’t need to be
brave for me. If anything it’s really important that you be as honest as you
can, with both yourself, and me, about this. I don’t want you doing any more
damage because you are trying to force yourself to do something you shouldn’t
be.”
“All right, I’ll
admit, my ankles are a little sore. I must have stretched the muscles or
something.”
“It looks like they
are a lot more than a little sore.”
“Well you know what
they say. A sprain is a lot more painful than a break. Although that would
obviously depend on the break. But I’ve sprained something, and I’ve broken
something, and I’d have to agree with that assessment, the sprain was much more
painful. But as far as that goes this isn’t even that bad.”
“Pain is our body’s
way of telling us we are hurt.” Derrick looked concerned.
“You do realize you
sound like Mr. Rogers?”
“Those people that
feel you have to be in pain to accomplish something.” He shook his head.
“Well, I’ll agree with
you on that score.”
“If they hurt you need
to stay off them. You don’t want to make it worse.”
“You can’t be
serious.”
“Well, look at it this
way, by using them while they’re sore you will probably lengthen the time it
takes for them to heal.”
The idea of
experiencing what she was now for any longer than she absolutely had to, was
not an appealing concept, to say the least. “I’ll try to take it as easy as I
can.”
“Try?”
“Well I am not going
to spend the remainder of the weekend in this bed.”
“No need.”
“What are you saying?”
Before she had a
chance to reply, Derrick had slipped one arm beneath her knees, the other
around her back and under her arms.
“Whoa! What are you
doing?”
“Well, I would have
thought that was obvious.”
“Oh, you have to be
kidding me.”
“What makes you think
that?”
“You are not serious.”
“Completely.”
“What? So, you’re going
to carry me everywhere?”
“Pretty much.”
“Oh now that’s just
too much!”
He was already lifting
her into his arms as though she was nothing, and she wrapped her arms around
his neck as he carried her out the door and onto the balcony. He was wearing a
sweater but she could still feel his taut and rippling muscles beneath it. The
muscles in his arms flexing against her as he carried her carefully down the
stairs. The heat from his body reached through her bathrobe as she held her
face close to his, the scent of soap and aftershave wafting up around her as he
grasped her tightly to him. Setting her on the sofa next to the fire, he turned
his face to hers. For a moment they just stayed like that, holding each other,
their lips close as his eyes moved down her face to her mouth.
Author Bio
Lauren Hunter is a writer of paranormal romance and
Regency paranormal romance novels, with plans to write in a variety of other
genres, including time travel, angel, ghost, and contemporary romance. Her
paranormal romance, The Coffee Shop, and her paranormal Regency, The Promise,
are now available through Musa Publishing, with the second and third installment
of a paranormal regency trilogy soon to be released.
Links
Review
Wealthy, handsome Derrick Sloane stops at a coffee
shop and meets the love of his life. Annie Maddock is a sweet, vulnerable,
smart woman trying to define herself under her own terms. I liked her
immediately. (Derrick is also sweet and vulnerable, and perhaps a little too
good to be true, but I found it impossible to resist his charms.)
What appears to be a traditional sweet romance takes
a turn about one hundred pages into the story when Derrick wakes up one morning
to find that his relationship with Annie was nothing but a dream. He races back
to the coffee shop and ‘meets’ his love all over again. I found the dream
sequences a bit confusing, but ultimately Derrick finds himself waking up to
different ‘timelines’or realities. In each timeline, the lovers’ relationship
has changed based on small details or advice offered in the previous sequence. Through
the course of the story, Derrick is faced with the possible death of his best
friend and the death of his beloved Annie. Each time he tries to ‘fix’ the
problem, unexpected consequences arise.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The story
idea is interesting and unique. I liked the characters and I really liked the
premise that love transcends all things. The conversations between Annie and
Derrick could have been edited for a speedier, more comfortable read and I
would love to have the first realization of the timelines occur much, much
earlier in the narrative. However, if you love the tender romance of The Notebook or The Time Traveler’s Wife, you’ll be hard pressed to put this book
down. And it’s impossible to read the
ending without a few tears.
Review By Kristi J. Thank you so much for helping me out.
Buy Links
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