*~*Everything I’ve Never Had by Lynetta Halat Blog Tour – Excerpt, Review & Giveaway*~*

Cover Designer: Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations.

 Release Date: 9/2/2013

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blog Tour Hosted by: Angie’s Dreamy Reads

Celeste Hebert has always appeared to have it all, but there are many things she’s never had, been forbidden from having.

One night. One song. One kiss. The perfect trifecta to unleash the floodgates of a forbidden attraction between the widow and her husband’s bad boy cousin, Adrian.

Celeste endeavors to rebury the feelings that surface after this one night since her powerful family despises him. Kindred spirits, best of friends they attempt to douse their attraction; however, Adrian always seems to know exactly how to push her buttons and may prove too much to resist.

Having defied his family by making his way on his own terms, Adrian struggles to regain their acceptance. When he meets his cousin’s wife and wants her for his own, he feels he’s finally lived down to the title—black sheep. But, when his cousin dies unexpectedly, Adrian fights his attraction and swears to honor them both by helping her raise her boys.

Finding himself enveloped in a cocoon of love and acceptance, Adrian knows it’s more than just physical attraction. However, unforeseen events threaten to destroy those he now holds dear and his newfound peace.

Will the ties that bind them be their undoing?

Want to read one of my favorite parts of Everything I’ve Never Had??? 🙂

Adrian runs his hands up my arms and shoulders until they grasp both sides of my neck to tilt my head back so that I’m staring straight into his arctic blue eyes. I immediately start trembling, and it’s not with fear. “Celeste, I’m begging you not to leave here looking like that. You look gorgeous, babe, but I can’t sit here all night wondering who’s hitting on you, who’s imagining moving that scrap of fabric over to get a glimpse at what is…”

“What is what?” I breathe heavily.

“What is underneath it all.” His brow wrinkles, and I feel his hands tighten their pleasurably painful grip. “What is underneath it all?”

“Just me, Adrian, just me,” I breathe. “That’s all.”

“So everything then. Just like I thought.” He removes one of his hands to run it up the back of my thigh. My eyes widen and I swallow hard.

“That’s not a good idea,” I whisper. His hand wraps all the way around my thigh, his fingertips coming to rest along the crease of my left cheek. My thigh pulses with fire.

“Why not?” His fingertips tease back and forth a little. Even though it’s a light touch, it feels like his calloused fingertips mark me.

“Why not? Look at us. We can’t even have a civil conversation for everything that has passed between us, and you want to further complicate it. What you’re doing will further complicate matters.”

His hand stills. He exhales loudly and lets his head drop on my chest. “You do this to me. I don’t act like this. That day in the park, watching you cross and uncross your legs. Throwing your hair over your shoulder. Laughing without a care in the world. Cheering me on like it was your favorite thing to do! It killed me. Killed me. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you. Never.”

His words rain down on me like fiery drops of lust. I close my eyes and rewrite that memory. I thought he was just being an ass, but his unexpected anger was because he was yearning for me. I bite my lip, open my eyes, and shake my head. “It’s just because you can’t have me, Adrian. I’m nothing special.”

“Oh, baby, you have no idea.” He runs his nose up my throat, scenting me as he goes. I lean my neck back, giving him more access even as my brain screams at me to run—not walk—out of this room. But when he says, “You’re everything to me.” My head falls back even further and my eyes close again as I feel him slant his head and attack my chin, throat, and neck with closed-mouth kisses. I hear myself moan and give myself one more little jolt to try to spare myself from this delicious torment that will only end in frustration.

Everything I’ve Never Had by Lynetta Halat

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4.5 ‘mimi’ ‘Give Me My Blues’ Kisses

OMG I loved this book. Loved it. Straight up, lots of reasons why I loved it but that doesn’t even begin to really justify my love for it…I just freaking did. The characters were amazing, the angst was off the charts, the love…omg their love…yeah. I just freaking couldn’t put this book down. Like finished it in 24 hours kind of thing.

Celeste Marie Dubois Hebert…at 37 she is a widow and a single mother to her three boys (Archer, Paris and Finn – but I’ll get to them in a minute) and she wow’d my socks off. Losing your husband to cancer is hard…period. Add in the fact that she grew up with him, basically spent half her life married to him and he was kind of all she knew. They didn’t have this all-encompassing, passionate love, but what they had meant the world to her. She’s also got an over bearing family – yeah…not just mom and dad, there’s a whole slew of people ready to run her life for her…and they kind of have been, for a while. I have to say, I really enjoyed watching Celeste’s development through the course of the book. If it was even possible, she grew stronger in my eyes…and I’d like to think that was thanks to a certain super hot and dreamy Marine/Guitarist.

‘It’s that moment. That moment when we think everything is happening on course. No ripples, no waves. We’re just trying to get through another day, feeling like all the little things overwhelm us and they do because they end up making up our day. We get so focused on the little things that we forget the bigger picture. Sometimes we forget to appreciate the little things that truly matter because our vision is so clouded by all of the mundane. The here and now become our obsession, and we forget the concept of our finite state because with all the little things vying for our attention it feels like we’ll go on forever.’

Adrian Gabriuel LeBlanc Hebert is amazing. I love him. Do you want the laundry list of reasons why I love him? Good…
1. He’s a marine – I LOVE a man in uniform – Oorah!
2. He plays the guitar & is in a band – that should need no further explanation
3. He has a motorcycle – yum!
4. And a truck – double yum!
5. He loves kids – it might just be the way he is with Celeste’s kids, but still…damn! Panty melter alert!
6. He has gorgeous blue eyes
7. He’s T, D & H – tall, dark and handsome…triple yum!
8. He likes to hold hands
9. He has a very talented mouth 😉 He can sing you perverts! And do other stuff 😛
10. He’s sweet and romantic and kind and passionate and so many other freaking things!
I could literally write a list a mile long with the things I loved about Adrian. Because I am seriously struggling to think of anything I didn’t like about him. That’s not to say this man is perfect, he did piss me off a couple of times…but he can’t be 100% perfect, we all make mistakes and while his mistakes hurt…and some hurt pretty deep…they are not unforgiveable mistakes. I think the one thing that made me love him the most was the fact that not once from page one till the end did his love for Celeste ever waiver. Ever. I never questioned him…even though there were parts where Celeste did, I knew better.

‘But when I make eye contact with those ocean-blue eyes of his, images of kissing him, joking with him, him playing with my boys, him holding my hair back while I was sick all come rushing to the forefront. All my emotions are jumbled with these memories. Like seaweed they weave their way through my brain and tangle themselves so thoroughly with everything that I am that all I can see is love when I look at him—and it’s not friendly love or familial love—it’s all-encompassing, I-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-loving-you love.’

So Adrian and Celeste may have had insta-attraction…but their love is a beautiful thing. It’s cultivated over 2 years of the tragedy of losing her husband, Adrian being there for her and especially for the boys, sharing things with each other, bonding, building this friendship and relationship over time. They had this incredibly strong foundation so while yes, there was a tremendous steam factor with their attraction, you were more in love with them as a couple. But please don’t get this dirty book whore wrong…there was plenty to lust over. Oh boy…some of those kisses…just damn. Oh…and this is not a wham-bam-thank you ma’am book! These two make you work for it…

“It’s just because you can’t have me, Adrian. I’m nothing special.”
“Oh, baby, you have no idea.” He runs his nose up my throat, scenting me as he goes. I lean my neck back, giving him more access even as my brain screams at me to run—not walk—out of this room. But when he says, “You’re everything to me.” My head falls back even further and my eyes close again as I feel him slant his head and attack my jaw, throat, and neck with closed-mouth kisses. I hear myself moan and give myself one more little jolt to try to spare myself from this delicious torment that will only end in frustration.
Adrian works his way back up my throat, but this time, it’s his tongue that leaves a scorching path of devastation. I feel as though I’ve been flayed open and am just a quivering pile of nerve-endings. “Oh my God, Adrian, what are you doing to me?” I manage.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he murmurs against my throat. “You’re driving me insane. We shouldn’t be here. Doing this. Yet, here we are again. And I can’t stop.”

So I think what did me in was the angst. The push and pull, the flow of their relationship, the longing and desire and oh my sweet goodness the passion. They had it all and I felt every last ounce of it. I ached with Celeste, I pined for Adrian and I couldn’t get enough. Their reason for not being together while slightly frustrating is still understandable. Adrian’s reasons and logic were completely understandable, just slightly grrr inducing. I felt for Celeste because every time she would get that resolve to stay away from him, move on or at least try to, all it took was a touch, a smile, a look and all her strength came crashing down. It’s that kind of love you cannot deny.

‘He draws my forehead to his lips and places a light kiss there. “I love you so much, Cel. I didn’t think it was possible, but every day that we’re together I fall more in love with you. I…it blows my fucking mind.”’

So there are a lot of characters to love (and dislike and sometimes hate) in this book but I would say there are three that almost stole the show. Archer Finn and Paris…Celeste’s sons. OMG…LOVED them. They each have a very unique personality and were just these fabulous little characters…I almost want each one of them to have a book…just because! No other specific reason…yeah, I’m a dork like that. Another couple that deserves their own book…Bonnie (Celeste’s best friend) and Garner (Adrian’s best friend) – tell me that isn’t genius in the making?!? Now, seriously…I would beg for that book…Bonnie is just a riot and her relationship history combined with her relationship with Garner…even though we only get to see glimpses of it is just brilliance.

‘“Anyway, how many of you have ever been in love?” Lots of hooting and hollering. “Yeah, well, this one is about the kind of love that compels you, that takes you on a ride like no other. The kind of love that wraps you tight in its embrace before it sinks its teeth info you.” Lots of catcalling and whistling. “Yet you gravitate toward its hold and scream with joy from its sweet torture, knowing you wouldn’t have it any other way.” The bar is a riot of emotion, and I’m blown away by my otherwise quiet leading man.’

What else did I love besides the characters…the plot and story line were original, I mean it’s the same ‘unrequited love’…we can’t be together and I’m protecting you so I can’t tell you why…but there were a few twists to it, so it wasn’t a rinse/lather/repeat scenario. The concept of her being older, him being younger was really different and I loved that! And I don’t know if you caught the whole last name thing…yeah, the family dynamics are another interesting aspect to the story. My absolutely favorite part was the epilogue…drum roll please…ADRIAN’S POV!!!…OMG, LOVED it. SO freaking much and we got to see them in the future, but oh my it just melted my HEA loving heart. But there was one thing that kind of made my eyebrow arch…there is a man, he’s involved with Celeste’s late husband – he plays the most minor of all roles I can ever think possible…and while I thought I could see his purpose, I kind of thought it was a little bit of a stretch and by the end of the book…it was the only thing that stuck out as odd to me.

‘His voice is as strong as his body as he proclaims, “I was never anyone else’s to have. You own me, Celeste. Always have. Always will.” My heart melts, yet my fear ignites. I can’t lose this. I can’t lose him. Pulling him to me, I devour him as he carries me into the bathroom.’

Clearly…I am over the moon for this book…I mean I didn’t even touch on the writing, which did it for me in every way possible. The style, the flow, the dialogue – OMG the banter back and forth was perfect! Just all in all, Everything I’ve Never Had completely exceeded my expectations. *Sigh* So there comes a time at the end of a book when I know I need to let go…the book is over and I must move on. I will move on, because I have to. But I can definitely say Celeste and Adrian will stay with me. I will never forget their story, their love and just them as characters.

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For as long as she can remember, Lynetta Halat has lived to read and has written countless stories and plays since she was a young girl. A teacher by day and an avid reader and closet writer by night, she has always dreamt of penning books that people could connect with and remember; and her first novel, Every Rose, was the perfect catalyst to launch her into the world of publishing. Her love of the English language prompted her to attain her master’s degree in English from Old Dominion University in Virginia. A self-proclaimed “Coast Girl,” she lives in Mississippi with her adorable husband, two amazing sons, and two loveable dogs. She is currently at work on her third book.