*~*Wish I May by Lexi Ryan Blog Tour – Excerpt, Review & Giveaway*~*

I grew up wishing on stars.

My father taught me to believe…in destiny, in magic, in happily ever after. Dreams were my scripture and the starry night sky was my temple. Then Mom stopped believing, left him, and took us with her. At the age of sixteen, I cashed in my dreams to pay the rent, pawned my destiny to keep my sisters together.

Now, seven years later, I’m returning home, grieving the death of my mother, and settling my sisters back into the life Mom threw away. I never intended to stay. I don’t want to deal with my father, who is so invested in the spiritual world he forgets the physical. I don’t want to face William Bailey, whose eyes remind me of the girl I was, the things I’ve done, and the future I lost.

This would all be easier if Will hated me. As it is, I have to hold my secrets close so they won’t hurt him more than they’ve already hurt me. But he wants to be in my life. He wants what I can’t bring myself to confess I sold. He wants me.

I find myself looking to my stars again…wondering if I dare one more wish.

 

Have you read Unbreak Me, the first book in the New Hope series?

 

© 2013 by Lexi Ryan

I can hardly breathe. My brain doesn’t have time for something as trivial as oxygen when it’s so busy cataloguing her features, memorizing the exact shade of her mocha eyes, warring with the anger and regret that have sprung to life as if they never left me to begin with.

I never thought I’d see her again. I didn’t think I wanted to.

The moment I step closer, I realize my mistake. Being near her is like a sip of water to desert-parched lips. It whips something through me—memories, lust, first love. Heartbreak. She tilts her lips up to mine, and I actually think for one goddamned ridiculous minute that I might kiss her, that I want to. That I would swallow all my pride and forgive her for just one taste.

I step back before I can give in to the impulse, and her cheeks blaze to life, her blush as cute as the rest of her. That’s the word for her: cute. Sweet smile and peppy ponytail, she exudes cuteness.

Except her ass. Her ass doesn’t even land in the same stratosphere as cute, and those tight little pants do nothing to hide its soft, round curves. And her breasts. There’s definitely nothing cute about the way her T-shirt stretches across their fullness. Or her go-for-miles legs. Not to mention the narrow strip of skin exposed between her shirt and pants. Just looking at the single inch of flesh below her navel, and I practically taste strawberry wine on my tongue.

Moonlight. Her warm skin under my tongue. The sound of her moan as my tongue dips lower.

The memory grabs hold of my senses and won’t let go.

Fuck. I can’t even lie to myself. Nothing about her says cute. Everything about her says sex. And mine.

 

 

 

Wish I May by Lexi Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4 “Strawberry Wine” “Hello.” Kisses

You never forget your first love. The first person you give you heart to…the first person you share your dreams with…they will always hold a piece of your soul. That is what Wish I May made me remember. This book is e-freakin-motional to the 10th degree and I loved every agonizing second of it. After Unbreak Me, I was aching for Will to get his HEA and I’ll be damned if that boy didn’t earn it. Oh…and if you haven’t read Unbreak Me…I highly recommend it. Wish I May is the second book in the New Hope series, and a lot of the characters and story line might not make as much sense if you haven’t read Unbreak Me.

Cally Fisher…every now and then I get hit with these agonizingly broken heroines that just make me want to scoop them up and save them. Because they need it. Badly. And Cally needs more than saving. She needs healing…she has spent her whole life not living for herself. Since she was 16 she hasn’t been able to make one choice for herself. She is possibly one of the most selfless heroines I have ever read and my heart broke for her for every decision she had to make. She is brave, she is strong and she is an amazing big sister. Every choice she has ever made was for Drew and Gabby, her little sisters, and what she could do to make their lives better, to save them from going through what she has had to. And even when she is finally given the opportunity to do what she wants…with the boy she has always loved…she still struggles.

‘”Look at you. You’re all grown up.” He grins, and my knees go a little weak. How could I have forgotten the effect this man’s smile has on my knees?
“I could say the same for you.” I bite my lip. Hopefully no drool has escaped.
That knee-killing grin grows wider. I’m toast.’

William Bailey…I fell in love with Will in Unbreak Me…so I was already swooning for him before he even said one word in Wish I May. My poor Will is just as broken as Cally, but in very different ways. He has never had a family and he wants so desperately to have one. He wants a life that he can share with someone, he wants a marriage and his forever…we saw that clearly with his actions in Unbreak Me. And now…against all logic, the girl that has always owned his heart comes back into his life. He shouldn’t want her, he shouldn’t still love her, she broke him seven years ago…everyone keeps telling him to move on. But you can’t fight fate and there is nothing about Cally and Will that doesn’t scream forever.

‘I never though I’d see her again. I didn’t think I wanted to.’

So Cally and Will have my kryptonite…history. They were each others first loves! GAH! I love that. Love Love Love! They have history…history so deep that even after seven years, countless secrets, unending heartbreak, they still cannot deny their feelings for each other. That’s another thing that is amazing to me about Will…even after Cally broke his heart, he is willing to see past all of that. Why? Because he cares more about keeping her in his life than holding that against her. She means more to him than that…because he can see it written all over her face that what they had years ago is still there. An oh boy is it.

‘I push myself out the door before I can change my mind and I’m greeted by a night of glittering stars. The stars in New Hope are brighter and more plentiful than anywhere else I’ve ever been. When I was a little girl, I’d would look out my bedroom window each night and pick my favorite one and only then would I make a wish. My father taught me to believe in the magic of wishes and destiny, and I was such an adoring daughter that his words were my scripture and the starry night sky became my temple.’

Cally and Will have some ah-freaking-mazing chemistry. Let’s just say I would kill to have Will take me out to dinner! 😉 Of course he is swoony, he was swoony in Unbreak Me with Maggie and they weren’t even together! Did you think I stood a chance in Wish I May? Nope…not even close. And it wasn’t just the stuff he would say, which trust me…was pretty fantabulous – but it was the little things. How receptive he was to her…the little looks, the small actions, he did anything and everything he could for her, even if he knew he shouldn’t. He is the quintessential nice guy – he went above and beyond to do whatever Cally might need and all because he loved her. Never stopped.

‘He lowers his head and glides his lips over my neck in a movement so sweet, so simple, my breath leaves me in a rush. “I’m supposed to be pissed at you,” he whispers. “You broke my heart.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
“When I saw you again, there was no room for my anger. I want you too much.”’

So my poor sweet Cally…so many ways I hurt for her. She comes back to New Hope to bring her sisters to live with their dad…and in doing that, she brings back all the history of her past. Or really…her mom’s past…a stigma that she is now plagued with and never wants to live up to. She is her own worst enemy in this book…which is partly due to the ghosts of her mother and also her past that haunts her and why she won’t allow herself to be free. Not only is she plagued with her decisions but she’s also hiding behind them. It was a little frustrating because up until the end of the book, you do not know the entire truth. You are fed bits and pieces but it was a good kind of frustrating…you want to pull your hair out, but you’re enjoying it the entire time.

‘He presses his mouth against mine as his hand returns between my legs. It’s not a gentle kiss. It’s hard— punishing and demanding— and I need it. I could lose myself here, in this kiss that is equal parts desire, anger, and regret. I could forget who I am, what I’ve done, and become the stroke of tongue against tongue, become the pleasure of his hand working between my legs as I moan into his mouth.
He breaks the kiss and leans his forehead against mine. “You feel so damn good.” His hand moves slowly, smoothly.
How can he affect me so much more than any other man I’ve ever been with? He’s always been the standard by which all other men have been measured and come up short.’

I felt bad for Cally though…she carries the weight of her entire family on her shoulders…and oh boy, her family. I already said it, but I cannot stress it enough, Cally is hands down the best big sister in the world. Her mother recently passed away from a drug over dose (and there is a huge twist with that – can’t spoil but I did not see that coming!), her dad hasn’t really been in their lives since they left New Hope…Cally has had to be the adult! Making sure her sisters ate and went to school, taking care of them, dropping out of high school to get a job – oh wait, make that two jobs. Worrying about everything that she shouldn’t have had to. See what I mean about the pressure?

“I don’t need my memories to be head over heels in love with you, Cally. All I have to do is know you.”

There was a lot that I didn’t see coming with this book…I was very pleasantly surprised. It was similar to Unbreak Me with the alternating POV’s, except this time we were only in Cally’s and Will’s. Every now and then we got a flashback to seven years ago…different points in time…like before she moved, their last night and strawberry wine and Will telling her hello instead of goodbye *sigh* (you have to read to understand)…or when Will’s heart was breaking because Cally was pulling away….or when Cally had to make some very hard decisions…I know I keep eluding to them, but like I said, some you don’t even find out the full weight of until the very end and I can’t spoil it.

 

“I want your heart. I have no interest in buying it or controlling it. I want you to give it to me freely. Because you already own mine. You always have. You always will.”

I am so into the New Hope series – which is another thing I loved about this book, it’s a series! Seeing Maggie (and a little bit of Asher), hearing about what’s going on with them and loving it. I have so many thoughts about who could be next…I am hoping it’s Hannah, but for some reason I think she might be last…maybe it’ll be Lizzy (they’re both Maggie’s sisters). I am also hoping that down the road we might get a Drew book (Cally’s sister)…Drew is a little spitfire! This series is beautiful combination of emotional writing, loveably heartbreaking characters, over coming secrets and the power of forgiveness and has quickly become one of the best series I’ve ever read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Once a college English professor, I now write full time. I live in rural Indiana, where, when I’m not writing, I get to hang out with my husband and two kids–a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old hellion, er, girl. Not surprisingly, reading and writing remain my favorite activities, though both come in bits and pieces these days, not the big hunks of time I enjoyed before I had children. When I’m feeling virtuous, I like to go running (I use that word liberally. I’m really, really slow) or do yoga. Don’t worry, I’m always careful to balance out such activities with a hearty serving of ice cream or a chocolate martini.  I love hearing from readers, so I hope you’ll drop me a note.

Representation: All questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of my books, inquiries regarding foreign translation and film rights should be directed to Dan Mandel of Sanford J. Greenburg and Associates.