Blog Tour & Review: Stealing Home (St. Michaels Duet #2) by Harlow Cole

Title: Stealing Home

Series: St. Michaels Duet #2

Author: Harlow Cole

Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance

Release Date: August 1, 2019

Ashley

I’ve given up. On my childish dreams.

On getting out of this town. On love. On him.

On everything.

I’m barely treading water.

Brayden

I’m the man with it all.

The pinstriped jersey covering my back garners easy cash, flashy cars and fast women. My gilded name drapes over the city in neon. I have everything. Everything, except the thing I crave most. Ashley Foster.

There’s one addiction I never tried to beat.

They say you can never go home again. I’m out to prove them wrong. But what if returning requires facing all the things you destroyed? To what lengths would you go to earn forgiveness?

Would you beg? Would you borrow? Would you steal?

Stealing home is the riskiest move in baseball. But the reward... If it works? Winning her back is a chance I’m finally ready to take.

My pockets are filled with stars.

It’s time to follow them home.

This time, I don’t want to steal her firsts,

I want to lay claim on all her lasts.

“Now for my thoughts on Stealing Home / this duet. I can already guarantee you, there is NO DUET that will ever come close to this one. St. Michaels Duet is a raw, poignant, touching read that will make you feel every emotion from the good, bad, to the ugly.” - Reviews from the Heart

“This author has become a favorite of mine after this series.” - Read.Review.Repeat

“The first book almost ended me but this one finished me off to declare that I FRICKING LOVE this duet.” - OMG Reads

Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers. I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own. 

Good lord, I feel like there is a hurricane wreaking havoc on my insides right now. There are just so many emotions overpowering me. I can literally feel the turmoil roiling around inside me. All the feels. All of them, okay?

This is one of those books that you read and have absolutely no idea what to do with yourself once it is over. I almost feel lost because my heart and mind are still securely nestled in this story. I really don't want to leave these characters. 

These characters are pretty much everything. Especially the two main characters and love interests, Ash and Brayden. The character development for these two is full of so much depth. It's insanely intimate too. I felt like these two were in my life and not only in the pages. Cole really makes them come alive and she writes them so beautifully. The best thing about them is that they are so inherently human. They are real people with passions, flaws, feelings, and problems. The reader gets to see the good and the ugly parts of them throughout this series. I absolutely loved Brayden's path to redemption in this book of the series. I loved him in the first book, even throughout his mistakes. He grew so much in this book and it was such an amazing journey. I totally identified with Ash in this one. She had the weight of the world on her shoulders with no one to help her through the mountains of bad luck that kept falling into her path. Her strength and sense of self even in the throes of tragedy and great pain was so admirable and uplifting. Nathan's fall from grace was portrayed fantastically. His bitterness was so real and tangible. I love that he finally came around, though I honestly would have loved to see more finality to his part of the story. I wanted to see his HEA as well. I felt that all the side characters were great as well. Every character had their place and they played their parts perfectly. 

The romance in this series is all-consuming. You can feel it like tension in the air. The romance in the first book was all about the build-up, but in this book, it is all about redemption, absolution, and following your heart. The way that Brayden kept showing his love for Ash in this book was so very touching. He knew what he wanted and he was persistent, though not abusive in any way. Irritating for Ash at times, yes, because she was fighting against her feelings for Brayden because of their past. Brayden stuck to his guns and pulled out all the stops for Ash. It was romantic, it was hot as hell, and it felt so right. The chemistry between them is really off the charts. They have been childhood friends since Brayden was 12 and their history together is written into the lining of the love for each other. The phrase "meant to be" sounds awfully corny, but it fits these two so perfectly that I can't fault myself for using it. 

The plot of this entire series is fantastic. It elicits emotions, surprises the reader with twists, and ends so beautifully. Everything was orchestrated flawlessly and I loved seeing all the pieces fall together at the end of this book. 

Some contemporary books can be kind of bland when it comes the world-building because, as readers who live in the here and now in our world, we already know most of the settings that we come across in contemporary fiction. Not this book. This book had a perfect balance when it came to the world-building. It wasn't overly descriptive on the day to day normal things that we all see in our world, but it brought the settings to life in the reader's mind. It was easy to feel the wind and sun at the marina, easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of New York City, and easy to fall into the home town life of St. Michaels. You felt like you could step into the lives of these characters and live their lives. 

Overall, this book and the series as a whole totally obliterated my expectations. I haven't been this impressed with a story in a while and it's a damn good feeling. I am still a little shocked that this book and the first book in this series are the first books that have been written by this author because they are flawless. I honestly can't wait to revisit this story in the future. Read this series now if you want a story that will give you all the feels. You won't be disappointed. I expect such great things from this author. I am so jazzed to see what comes next!

Harlow Cole is a former journalism student, turned techie, turned mother, who finally decided at age forty-plus what she wants to be if she ever she grows up. Her writing journey first began in sixth grade, when she and her best friend penned boy band fanfiction in an old spiral notebook. Harlow is a connoisseur of peanut M&Ms, brand-new school supplies and angst-filled love stories that always end happy. At fifteen, she met her first love. They’ve now been married for twenty years. They reside in suburban Washington, DC, where Harlow moonlights as a taxi driver for their farting beagle and teenage twins. Interference and Stealing Home are her debut novels.

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