*~*Throwback Thursday: Let Love In by Melissa Collins – Author Interview, Reviews & Giveaway*~*

In honor of the cover reveal for Let Love Heal, the third book in the Love Series by Melissa Collins, I decided to post the long lost interview I did with Melissa on her first blog tour for Let Love In.

What would happen if you lost everything? If the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally were no longer there for you, how would your world change?

That’s exactly what happened to Madeleine Becker when her parents died when she was ten years old. Ripped from her home and everything that she has ever loved, she is forced to start all over again. The only way for her to move on is to build walls around her heart and keep everyone at a safe distance. Her logic: she can’t get hurt if she doesn’t fall in love.

That theory is blown to pieces when she meets Reid Connely during her freshman year at college. He is gorgeous and darkly mysterious. He understands Maddy’s pain all too well, but sharing his pain would mean breaking down the walls he put up around his own heart. Conflicted between loving Maddy and hiding his dark past, Reid starts to reevaluate his world. Maddy’s inner strength, snarky personality and breath taking beauty help Reid to make peace with his past.

Together they find out what happens when they let love in.

 

 

Let Love Stay – Book #2

Check Out My Interview with Maddy and Reid as well as my review

 

If you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love – truly, madly and deeply in love. But what happens when that honest and pure love isn’t enough to erase your fears? What happens when your past rears its ugly head and threatens your future?

Maddy and Reid had that kind of love – the all-encompassing, Earth shattering, once in a lifetime kind of love. Then life happened. Old wounds that were thought to be long healed and scabbed over are ripped opened and they are forced to face the possibility that, maybe, they are not strong enough to fight their demons and embrace the light.

Together, they found out what love is, but now they will each need to heal on their own before they can ever be together again. They must face their fears and beat down their pasts in order to find their way through this crazy uphill battle called love.

They’ve let love in, but now, they need to find out how to Let Love Stay.

 

Let Love Heal – Book #3

 

Perfection. We all strive for it, but what happens when the desire to be perfect consumes you? What happens when the need to bury your mistakes blinds you?

Melanie Crane has always been the perfect daughter, friend, student – she’s been perfect at everything, in fact. But when she lets her insecurities, the ones that she keeps hidden from everyone, get the best of her, she falters in her pursuit of perfection. Melanie crumples under the pressure and buries her pain. Numbed by sadness and guilt, she is determined never to let anyone find out how broken she really is.

Bryan Mahoney may appear to have everything in order. He’s charming, witty and completely swoon-worthy. In short, Bryan has life all figured out, but appearances can be deceiving. When the landscape of Bryan’s family changes in an instant, he’s left to pick up the pieces.

Not all bruises leave a mark. Now, weary and afraid, Melanie and Bryan must find a way to let love heal their broken and jaded hearts.

 

Check out the Prologue for Let Love Heal

Now that you’re all caught up with The Love Series…check out what Melissa had to say when I put her in the hot seat! 🙂

Where did your inspiration from the story come from?

I wanted to create a story where one character had something that the other didn’t. In this case, that “something” is a family. I know lots of readers hate Maddy at the end, but really what’s motivating her is her own loss.

Did you have specific inspiration/people in mind for Reid and Maddy?

For Maddy, a lot of her personality inspiration – the sarcastic snarkiness – came from me. Yes, I’m openly admitting to being sarcastic. Those of you who know me in real life can see the similarities. Where Reid is concerned, I know many people think he’s a big old mush, so my personality inspiration for him came from every girl’s dream boyfriend. He’s totally swoon-worthy, right? This is how I see them.

Maddy

Reid

Did you swoon over Reid? I have to be honest, in the beginning I was worried – but he turned out to be quite the softy, was that all Maddy’s doing?

He does have a major character change and some people have said it’s a bit unbelievable, but love does some pretty crazy things to be people. There’s enough heart-ache in the real world, so yes, I wanted to make Reid extremely swoonable (ß not a real word, but I’m sticking with it). I think Reid wanted to find love, but he was so scared. Maddy’s innocence and vulnerability make him feel safe enough to finally open up. Every man needs a good woman. Maddy is most certainly Reid’s woman.

Did either character give you any “trouble” while writing? If so…which one was the most difficult?

If I’m being completely honest (which I have been, I promise), this is the first piece of fiction I’ve ever written. I studied English Literature and I’ve been a teacher for the last 10 years, but I’ve never written anything that wasn’t for school or work. So I was very surprised to see that both characters, and the minor characters as well, came to me fairly easy – as did the smut, that was fun to write as well. I will say that some of the guy banter was a bit difficult for me, because, well, because I’m not a guy.

If you have to pick one POV to write the entire book from, who would you choose – Maddy or Reid and why?

Reid. Definitely Reid. He’s a total guy’s guy. He’s hot. But then he’s a total sweetheart. Who doesn’t want to get inside the head of a man like that?

What was your favorite scene to write? What about least favorite/scene that nearly kicked your ass? 😛

I really (wink wink) enjoyed writing the scene where they “get together” (insert favorite euphemism for sex if you’d like) for the first time. It was sweet and romantic and pretty much every girl’s dream first time.

Reid’s nightmare was difficult for me to write. I knew how important the scene was to the book and I wanted to do it, and him, justice. The end was also a pain – for those of you who have read it, you understand. I just brainstormed that scene for a few days, started writing, scrapped what I had written and then started all over again. My husband reads all of my work and when I shared the end with him, he said “Nooo, it can’t be over. I want to read more.” And he’s not a reader, so I knew I had finally gotten it right.

Obviously…without spoilers…what’s in store for Maddy and Reid next – you left their ending very…mean/torturing/heartbreaking? (nope…I’m not bitter :-P)

Well, before they can get their happily ever after (which they do, I promise) they both have to work out the issues of their pasts. We all hate Maddy at the end, but in part she’s right. You do need to at least heal from your past before you can move on. They both have a lot of growing up to do, but it’s really very sweet to watch them do that together.

5 words you would use to describe yourself?

• Sarcastic – but then again, I already openly admitted to that 🙂
• Hard working
• Crazy – I have 3 kids under 4; I work full time; and I decided, quite randomly one day to write a book. Maybe I should be evaluated!
• Kind
• Dorky

Favorite Word?

Is it sad that I don’t have one?

Least Favorite Word?

Fag / Homo – Because most of the time, they’re used in blind hatred and ignorance.

Favorite Curse Word?

Fucker. Said in the right context it just has so much punch. A close second is Twatwaffle – just rolls off the tongue.

Favorite quote or saying?

My life is crazy and chaotic so to make it through the day I usually have to tell myself that “This too shall pass.”

If you could meet anyone (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

Dead – George Carlin – the man was a genius and freaking hilarious.

Alive – Morgan Freeman – is there anything the man can’t do?

Biggest regret and why?

I know it sounds lame, but I don’t have any regrets in my life. Every road that I’ve taken has brought me right to where I am. Sure, I’ve cursed that path every now and then, but without that journey, who knows how different my destination would have been.

 

Let Love In by Melissa Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*ARC Give to Blog for Honest Review*

4 “you make me happy” Kisses

You know those books that you think are going to be nice, cute, sweet, easy reads…that’s what I thought Let Love In was going to be. A nice, cute, sweet, easy read. Something that would give me that perfect little balance of angst, romance and sexy appeal. A heroine I could love, a hero I could drool over and a happy little HEA at the end. I had to take a step back and give myself time to let this book sink in before I wrote a review…this is a direct quote of the first thing I typed after finishing the book… ‘I am going to try…try being the operative word here…to calmly and rationally write out my thoughts and feelings about this book. I will be challenged greatly because while I loved this book through about 80-90% of it, the last 10% just knocked me so flat on my ass, I dunno what to think, say or feel. I live for books to bring out emotions in me, it’s like my crack addition, but lord sweet JESUS…I was not prepared. *Breathing exercises* I can do this….maybe….’ Yeah…so that all those nice, cute, sweet, easy feelings…that’s not all I got!

Madeleine Renee Becker…5’7”, soft wavy golden blonde hair and bright vibrant green eyes – she’s a gorgeous, sad girl. Maddy has suffered more tragedy in life than one should have to deal with before the age of 18. At 10 years old she lost both her parents in a car accident ‘It seem like my life was plagued by death and I was only in fourth grade.’ …how can you read a statement like that and not internally break for this character. She’s raised by her elderly Aunt until she passes away and then lives with the only other family she knows, her best friend (Melanie Crane) and her mother, Momma Crane. Maddy pulled on all my heart strings…she’s strong, resilient, but oh so very sad and fragile…she just holds it in too well.

‘The tears are quickly followed by sobs – gut wrenching, chest heaving sobs. I sink down to the sand and cover my face. I’m crying because I’ve hurt Jay, but more so because I hurt. Just when I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could start to feel better about my life, it all comes crashing down around me. I know I don’t love Jay, but not loving him makes me feel like I’m never going to love anyone. If I can’t love someone like him, then I am broken beyond repair.’

So she’s getting ready to go off to college with her bestie and what’s a better way to start off a new school year then to crush your boyfriend of 2 years. It’s not that Maddy isn’t capable of love, it’s just easier to keep people at arms length when you’ve suffered such an enormous loss. She has walls that are 10 feet thick and if poor Jay couldn’t break them down in two years, you would think she’s a lost cause. She even thinks she’s a lost cause. So she goes off to college with a set of rules…

‘They’re very simple promises, but ones that I hope will wipe the slate clean.
1. Choose happy.
2. Appreciate beauty.
3. Let love it.
Like I said, simple, refreshingly simple.’

And it really is…so enter Reid Connely, ‘…six feet two inches of solid, gorgeous, beautiful man….’ – he’s a droolworthy little sucker but I gotta be honest…I didn’t like Reid at first. It worried me because even when my hero’s are ass holes, there is still a small masochistic side of me that secretly loves them despite it. You love them because of their flaws – Reid’s flaws just pissed me off a little bit. He’s fragile and broken like Maddy, they need each other so very badly – and he fights it because he is not the relationship guy. It doesn’t last…it never does. 😛

‘For the first time ever, I want a girl for more than just one night, for more than just sex. She’s alive and vibrant. I just feel like she sees me, the real me. Scares the shit out of me, but I can’t deny it any longer.’

I really enjoyed watching Maddy and Reid’s relationship develop, I think that this was one of the best developed couples I’ve read. You get to seem them piece by piece as they go thru, not only do they ‘talk’ about their relationship and their feelings but you really do actually get to see a lot of it, which helped me fall in love with them more. They grow with each other, which in turn brings them together more as a couple. It wasn’t an easy or fast love, it took time to mature…but once again, it makes you appreciate it that much more. It feels genuine and real.

“You’ve completely knocked me off my game. I’ve never met anyone like you and it scares the shit out me. It’s like you don’t see my.” My brow furrows in confusion and I move to interrupt but he continues before I get the chance. “You don’t see me; you see straight through me. You see beyond the outside and it’s like you see the me that no one else sees. I saw it in your eyes that first night I met you and it knocked me on my ass. I was a goner and since then I guess I’ve just been trying to push you away.”

There was quite a bit of angst throughout the book…you’re dealing with two people who have never really been in a relationship like this before – fuck up’s are bound to happen, and they do…but it’s how they deal with them that matters. How they let those mistakes shape them as individuals and as a couple, which in turn makes them better together. But the last 10-20% I mentioned – lord have mercy, I was not expecting that angst.

“You’ve completely knocked me off my game. I’ve never met anyone like you and it scares the shit out me. It’s like you don’t see my.” My brow furrows in confusion and I move to interrupt but he continues before I get the chance. “You don’t see me; you see straight through me. You see beyond the outside and it’s like you see the me that no one else sees. I saw it in your eyes that first night I met you and it knocked me on my ass. I was a goner and since then I guess I’ve just been trying to push you away.”

It took me by surprise…I did not know this wasn’t a stand alone – not that that is a bad thing, it just took me by surprise cause the closer I got to the end, the more it hit me that ‘wait a minute’ feeling when you finally realize this book is not going to be able to wrap it up in time! And then holy cliffhanger from hell! OMG my emotions….I wanted to clap and be proud but then cry and scream and be frustrated…the ending messed with my poor little brain big time.

“Happy? Are you kidding? Maddy, you are the reason I breathe. Without you, my life would have no meaning at all, so saying that you ‘make me happy’ is a huge fucking understatement.
You bring more happiness into my life than ever thought I deserved.”

So we bounce back and forth with POV’s between Maddy and Reid…it was clear and never confusing, and I did enjoy seeing things from both perspectives. And we also get a good dose of Maddy’s best friend that I mentioned earlier, Melanie. It’s actually really cute, because Reid is no dummy – he knows the quickest way to a girls heart is thru her best friend…so what does he do? Becomes good friends with Mel. It’s actually pretty adorable. Oh and I forgot to mention the ‘six degrees of Kevin Bacon’ – Reid is roommates with the boyfriend of one of Maddy’s suitemates.

‘And then there’s the impossible to ignore fact that he makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I could be lame and quote some cheesy ass chick flick saying that he completes me, but that’s a load of crap. He doesn’t make me whole; he doesn’t erase the pain I’ve felt for most of my life. Being with him isn’t some cure all to everything I’ve ever dealt with, but when I’m with him, I’m me. I’m the person I have always wanted to be – fun, lighthearted, playful, flirty, sexy, seductive, and loving. He’s opened me up to the possibility of a completely different future than I ever envisioned for myself – a future that I just can’t imagine him not being a part of.’

Melissa has set this up for an amazing sequel and I can’t wait to see what she does with it. Reid and Maddy have a lot yet to accomplish and I know there will be an HEA well worth the aguish and havoc that was unleashed upon my psyche. I can act like I was mad and frustrated that it was a cliff, but at the end of the day, what matters is that Let Love In evoked enough emotion out of me to be mad. I’m invested in the characters and story enough to care that it didn’t end HEA. So now I just have to anxiously await Let Love Stay. 🙂

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I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no brainer. Becoming a teacher and instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it. When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new genre that sparked my creativity. My passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Check out Melissa’s Website