He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.
He speaks Spanish. I speak English.
He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.
He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.
He’s married and has a five-year old daughter.
I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.
Until now.
Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.
To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.
Mateo is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo Casales is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something…more.
Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time.
Something that can never, ever be.
Or so she thinks.
“She sat beside me on the bus – and she changed my whole life.”
Successful, wealthy and absurdly handsome – Spanish ex-football player Mateo Casalles seemed like he had it all. A high-society wife, an adorable little girl, and flashy apartments in Madrid and Barcelona only sweetened the deal. But there was more to Mateo than met the eye – a life of uncertainty and regret that colored his black and white world.
That was until Vera Miles came into his life like a shooting star. Tattooed, wild and young, Vera seemed like Mateo’s polar opposite at first. But you can’t choose who you fall in love with and the two lost souls did everything they could to be together, all while suffering the grave consequences.
Now with Mateo divorced and living in Madrid with Vera, there is a whole new set of challenges and setbacks facing the couple and rocking the foundation of their star-crossed relationship.
Unfortunately for them, the brighter the star, the faster they burn.
Mateo is the sweetest…
Keep reading to see the full Love Note!
As you know, it is Valentine’s Day. It is on this day that I know that I am supposed to do something special for you. Here in Spain you will notice that it is not so big as it is around the world. In fact, this will be the first time I am celebrating it.
And, forgive me, but I am not really sure how to do it the way you may be used to. In the movies the men always give women a teddy bear or roses or a box of chocolates. I will not be doing that. You deserve more than what men are told to give. In fact, you deserve so much more than one day out of the year. I wish for Valentine’s Day to be every day for you.
So I have found a way to make that happen. Instead of getting you something that is too ordinary for a star like you, I have decided to give you the only thing that can measure up to your brightness.
I have gotten you your own star. It is registered and official. Along with this card, you will find the coordinates on where to find it when you look up. Tonight I plan on driving us out to the country where the night is dark and the sky is clear. Together we shall search the skies for you. Tonight we will make love under your starshine.
It is called Vera Estrella. And every night from this day forward you can look up at the stars and see it shining down. You can see my love for you. It will forever be a reminder of how I feel. May it be the last thing you see before you fall asleep in my arms. May your dreams be full of stars, too.
Happy Valentine’s Day, my Estrella.
I love you.
Your universe,
Mateo
Love, In English by Karina Halle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*
5++++ “Estrella” “buzzzz” “The heart has no regard for time.” “Don’t give up on us.” Kisses
Holy fuck….my mind has been blown…
I’m never short for words…if anything, I have too many of them but with this book and my feelings and emotions, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get them all out and make any kind of sense. I l-o-v-e-d this book. I was already super excited to read it from the blurb, excerpts and teasers that I had read…but seriously, I really had no idea. Holy-sexual-tensions-and-out-of-control-emotions Batman – I just got taken for the ride of my life.
Vera Elizabeth Miles…I fuckin love her. She is so just…unapologetic…she is who she is and while she’s not perfect, I think she’s pretty fucking kick ass. She’s a 23 year old with aspirations to be an astronomer, 11 tattoo’s and random piercings…topped off with an attitude filled with fire, spunk and sass. Now package all that up in a younger/curvier version of Nicole Kidman and ta-da…you’ve got Vera. I loved her freedom…her personality…she was not made to fit a certain mold and I truly liked that about her. She’s never really felt like she belonged…she had family and friends who cared for her and loved her but there was always something missing. Don’t get me wrong…she has friends and she’s really close with her brother Josh but…it’s not the same. Maybe that’s because of her parents divorce…maybe it’s because she’s not like her sister Mercy…or maybe it’s because where she grew up and called home wasn’t where she belonged. Who knows…but after flying half way across the country and spending 30 days with people who she truly connected with…she found home…happiness…and love.
‘“How many do you have?”
“Ten,” I said off the bat. “No, wait. Eleven.” I had gotten one from my favorite artist on Main Street right before I left Vancouver for London. I turned over the inside of my right arm, the ink still vibrant. It was yet another constellation, this one of the archer, or the symbol for Sagittarius. I was actually an Aquarius, but I loved the stars that made up the bow, the idea of shooting for something. Instead of plain stars like so many of my tats were, I incorporated skulls into them. My arm looked like skeletons flying through space. I was super proud of it.
“So many stars,” he commented, his eyes lingering all over my body.
“I study astronomy.”
His eyes widened. “You’re joking? You study? In school?”
And here we go – I couldn’t possibly have eleven tattoos, multiple earrings, a nose ring and a tongue ring, and go to university, earning a science degree. I heard it all the damn time, I just thought Europe was more progressive in that area, too. I guess you could find morons in every country.’
Mateo Cassalles…is it sad, weird or creepy that I can hear his accent in my head? Mateo is officially my oldest BBF but that in no way, shape or form diminishes his sex appeal. This man oozes confidence…he doesn’t even have to try…and whether dressed in a suit and tie or jeans and tennis shoes…he brings me to my knees. It’s interesting because Mateo is not overly dramatic or romantic all the time…he just is…it’s like part of his DNA. The things he does and says are just naturally amazing and I couldn’t help but fall in love with him. He’s alpha but not in an over the top way (it’s a Spanish thing…he’s just innately primal and it’s fucking hot)…he’s sweet, kind and caring….he’s funny and every time he said the word ‘ buzzzzz’ he made me smile. He’s an amazing father…a successful businessman and a hot shot former athlete…*sigh* and he’s ruined me possibly forever. He’s also complex…Mateo internalizes a lot and I both loved and hated that, but it’s all a part of his character. I loved his strength…even not being in his head you could feel him trying to resist Vera…and God bless him, he did try…but they were like magnets…just drawn to each other.
‘“Ice breaker?” Mateo said to me. The sun broke through a few high clouds and bathed his face in light, showcasing his eyes. I could see that brown was an understated way of describing their color; they gleamed like a dark teakwood deck on a sailing ship. They went rich and layered and oh so deep.
I needed to look away, but I didn’t. I brushed an unruly hair behind my ears and shrugged. “You know, like getting to know you.”
“But I already know you,” he said with an easy smile. “Why do I have to know anyone else?”
My heart did a funny little flip. Damn his accent. And eyes. And everything.’
I think what I liked most about Vera and Mateo was their love was not fast or impetuous…it was slowly built over long conversations and days of them getting to know each other. They denied what the felt…held back from doing what they ‘shouldn’t’ for so long that it became all that I craved…even seeing them in a purely platonic setting…with the group at Las Palabras or just having a meal, interacting – that’s all it took for me to get my fix. Now granted…once that bridge had been crossed and they were finally giving into those feelings…I was done for. Their passion and longing…their chemistry and sensuality…holy Jesus…there was nothing better. I felt complete. All they ever wanted was to be happy…and when they are together…there is no denying how happy they make each other.
‘“Ugly?” Mateo said in fervent disbelief. “No. You are terribly beautiful, Vera. So beautiful that it hurts. You would outshine her like the star you are.”
Whoa.
I felt as if lava had been poured down my spine.
I slowly lifted my eyes to meet his and was taken aback by what I saw in them. The last four days I’d felt this thing building between us, always so subtle and so hard to place my finger on. Even calling me beautiful was just a complement, albeit a wonderful one. At least, it would have been. Now there was something in his eyes that I’d only seen hints of before. Now, his gaze, his brows, those strong, wide cheekbones, they smoldered with what could only be described as lust.
Lusty Mateo. This was a new side of him.
The most dangerous side of all.
Because I was certain I’d been nothing but Lusty Vera from the moment I saw him. Never acting, always thinking, always feeling. I did not need the temptation from him to make what we had – which was just friendship – into something more.
And yet the carnal way he was just looking at me, it seemed inevitable.’
Okay…so I’ve admitted to the fact that I figure books out – sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously….for 95% of this book – there was absolutely nothing I wanted to figure out. I just held on for one hell of a rollercoaster and Ms. Halle delivered in spades. But at the very end…the last 50 pages, when I was reading through blurred vision with snot running down my face and just begging for relief…I was absolutely certain that I was not going to get the HEA I wanted. I had a glimmer of hope, a thought that maybe I might be right…but it was slowly drifting off into the distance, never to be seen or heard from again along with my soul…I was already writing a letter to Karina in which I would detail how she destroyed my spirit and I was trying to calculate what the postage would be if I included my bruised and battered heart that had been split into tiny pieces…because there is and was no way around the pain. But then I was saved…I was right…but kudos to Karina for making me a sobbing mess before she brought me back from the brink.
‘But Mateo was passion. He was now full of the life we both sought after all these years.
He placed his forehead against mine, nose against nose, and closed his eyes. “You bring light into my life. When you leave, there will only be a black hole inside of me. You’ll take my heart with you.” His breath deepened and he looked into my eyes. “Vera, I am in love with you.”
Now I felt like I was drifting in space. I couldn’t do anything but float on his words.
He brushed my hair off my face. “I love you.” He then kissed my forehead, long and warm and sweet. I wanted to overdose on that moment when my chest grew wings.
But I couldn’t. I found my breath again, my voice. “You can’t,” I croaked. “You don’t know me.”
He smiled. “I know you.”
“There hasn’t been enough time.”
“I don’t care about time,”he said confidently. “When I know something, I know it. Now, I know what love is. And I love you. And I cannot imagine going back to the life I had before, because that was no life at all. That was just existing. That was just chasing down the next day so I could feel it pass under me.” He placed his large hand over my heart. “You made me stop chasing the days. You made me hold onto them.”’
This book is not cut and dry…black and white…right or wrong – it’s fucking messy, emotional, difficult and painful…but that’s what love can be sometimes! None of the decisions Vera or Mateo had to make were anywhere close to fucking easy…but loving each other was the easiest thing they could ever do. It was effortless and beautiful and breathtaking…as natural as breathing. The emotional rollercoaster I went on while reading this was of epic proportions…I felt their turmoil…and I was torn because I was both proud and sad at the choices Vera was making. While I applauded her for being strong and being the ‘better woman’…I simultaneously wanted her to be weak and give in to her feelings. I seriously felt bi-polar at times! I’m all for being moral and ethical, I don’t want it to come off as it seeming like I’m a proponent for cheating – but in this situation when two people are so lonely and unhappy…and being together fills them with joy and makes them complete…I can see how easily lines can get crossed. I completely understood her rationalizations but…it’s Mateo!!! I wanted her to give in…I wanted them to have a chance, I was begging for it at times because I knew how great they would be together.
‘“Vera,” he said sharply. He pulled back and peered intently into my eyes, commanding me to listen to him. “Do you know why I love you?”
I tried to think and in my frazzled state, came up with nothing. “I have no idea.”
“I love you because you are you. You’re a little bit crazy, and I find that more interesting that being normal. You’re passionate and I find that more fascinating than being calm. You’re curious and adventurous and sexual and you’re full of life and you make me want to be a better man, to live louder, to bend and break all of the damn rules.” He kissed me hard and I was so shocked by his words, I didn’t have time to reciprocate before he broke away.’
Karina Halle is a genius with words…I love her writing style – it’s so different. She’s witty and sarcastic while still being emotional and poetic…her descriptions painted a beautiful picture without being over the top and flowery. Her words just flow…it’s just perfection…my eye never jumped off the page. I have always taken my highlighting very seriously…I never hesitate, if something inspires me, I want to remember it forever. Good grief I have so many highlights, selecting my quotes for review was…painful. And also I noticed a trend of not just lines or paragraphs…but pages of dialogue and content that I just could picture playing out before my very eyes…it pierced my heart with how beautiful and breathtaking and emotional it all was. Karina built such an exquisite tension with Mateo and Vera…I was tortured and loving every second of it! The entire book is from Vera’s POV and I lived and breathed her words…I was there with her every step of the way emotionally and it felt like physically. I actually really enjoyed being in Vera’s head…she’s dry and hilarious and beneath the tattoo’s is a really caring, sweet girl…I feel like she’s one of those girls that very few really ‘get’ and understand…and who woulda thought a 38 year old former soccer player would be the one to understand her the best.
“Vera,” he went on, now a tear rolling down his cheek. I looked away, unable to handle the sight of Mateo crying. “Vera you are my star. I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I know this isn’t easy, I know you’re hurting and that I am doing things that hurt or don’t make sense to you. But you must believe me that together we can get through this. It is just a bump in the road, if we just hang on, just hang on we can make it out alive, with each other hearts intact. We will be stronger.” He wiped angrily at his eyes and swallowed hart. “Please don’t leave. Please don’t let this be the end of us. Please just give us, give me another chance. You are my universe and I have nothing if I don’t have you in my life. Please, Vera, I love you like I love the stars, like I love the sky, like I love this earth. I can’t do this without you. I can’t. You are my starshine.”
Love, In English is a completely compelling, all encompassing romance that blew me into another solar system. Fabulous characters, fantastic story line and absolute page-turner…my heart overflows with how much I love this book. Beyond amazing…by far and away one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year.
With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible.
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiance and rescue pup.”
interesting
I want Jameson Kane! He’ such a fab a**hole!! lol
Mateo Casalles!