Title: A
Graceful Mess
Author: Nacole Stayton
Genre: Contemporary
Romance/Erotica
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Hiding behind the anguish from my past, my coyness seeps off of me like an aroma. I have felt like a stranger in my own skin, trying to claw my way out for far too long, allowing very few people to see past my façade…until my eyes met with his. I felt a sudden rush of energy all the way to my core. It jolted me in ways I never thought possible.
Never in a million years would I have expected to be in the mess I am today. It all leads back to the night Parker Porter turned my world upside down. The night his hazel eyes undressed me, peeling away the layers of the woman I tried so hard to be. He awoke desires that burned deep within me and changed me in one quick glance, leaving me vulnerable and exposed, picking up the shattered pieces of my carefully constructed life…a life I should not be living…a life I was not born into, but placed into by the state of Maine.
Parker opened a door that I am far from closing until I have answers and am able to face the life I was destined to live. I just have to decide if his love is worth the mess.
“They say be careful of the quiet ones.” –Grace
Warning: This book is intended for readers 18+ due to explicit language and sexual encounters.
Never in a million years would I have expected to be in the mess I am today. It all leads back to the night Parker Porter turned my world upside down. The night his hazel eyes undressed me, peeling away the layers of the woman I tried so hard to be. He awoke desires that burned deep within me and changed me in one quick glance, leaving me vulnerable and exposed, picking up the shattered pieces of my carefully constructed life…a life I should not be living…a life I was not born into, but placed into by the state of Maine.
Parker opened a door that I am far from closing until I have answers and am able to face the life I was destined to live. I just have to decide if his love is worth the mess.
“They say be careful of the quiet ones.” –Grace
Warning: This book is intended for readers 18+ due to explicit language and sexual encounters.
Find it on Goodreads
Our Review:
This may tell you everything you need to know about this book: I read it in one sitting. I think it took 4 hours--only stopping for coffee and donuts. So, as you can guess, I really enjoyed it! Hahaha, it did read really, really fast. Although you could've shared the donuts! ;)
At the very beginning we have an interesting scene from Grace's past--that will come in to play later--and then we plunge right into her current life. She's graduating from college and has a summer before law school and it's in this time frame that we get to see the romance blossom between Grace and Parker. Because this novel is shorter than others, the pacing of their story is fast and I quite liked it. Nacole Stayton explained the gaps in time very nicely and I never felt that I was missing out on any part of their story.
I completely loved their story because Grace is pretty inexperienced and awkward. And that is so awesome and great. There is a part fairly early on that I seriously laughed for five minutes straight because you can just see the train crash coming...and it just cracked me up...Let's just say she caught him doing something he should've waited to get home to do...and had NO idea...giggling now just thinking about it. That being said...I enjoyed the happy and carefree first half of this story because it was simply that. It is obvious angst is coming, but I pretended it wasn't!
I completely loved their story because Grace is pretty inexperienced and awkward. And that is so awesome and great. There is a part fairly early on that I seriously laughed for five minutes straight because you can just see the train crash coming...and it just cracked me up...Let's just say she caught him doing something he should've waited to get home to do...and had NO idea...giggling now just thinking about it. That being said...I enjoyed the happy and carefree first half of this story because it was simply that. It is obvious angst is coming, but I pretended it wasn't!
I found the adoption storyline interesting and I absolutely loved that the families involved were shown in a positive light--no abuse or horror stories about evil parents or siblings here. I also enjoyed the secondary characters; none of them were strongly featured but their contributions were important to adding conflict, relief, and humor throughout the story.
I was grateful for that too. As all of the events unfold, she is hurt by not knowing things...but really at the end of the day they meant her no harm and loved her so much. Not every adoption story goes that way, so it was a refreshing direction. She has some growing up to do, and it was cool to see it play out. Park...he didn't handle a few things the way he should have, and again I could see the train crash coming but this time I was not laughing. The last few chapters are hard for Grace in way too many ways. Whoo!
We both discussed how much writing growth we see having read a previous novel of Nacole's before (and enjoyed that) so it is even more enjoyable and exciting because she writes sooooo good!
I was grateful for that too. As all of the events unfold, she is hurt by not knowing things...but really at the end of the day they meant her no harm and loved her so much. Not every adoption story goes that way, so it was a refreshing direction. She has some growing up to do, and it was cool to see it play out. Park...he didn't handle a few things the way he should have, and again I could see the train crash coming but this time I was not laughing. The last few chapters are hard for Grace in way too many ways. Whoo!
We both discussed how much writing growth we see having read a previous novel of Nacole's before (and enjoyed that) so it is even more enjoyable and exciting because she writes sooooo good!
I liked this story so much that I wish that it was longer and that Nacole Stayton would write a new story about ANY of the secondary characters; I'd love to read more about them all. As would I. Can we have Carson up first? I need to know more about that guy!
Shelley: 4 Stars
Courtney: 4 Stars
Courtney: 4 Stars
About the Author
Christian “Nacole” Stayton is twenty-something years young
and currently resides in the Bluegrass state. She spends her days working at a
local hospital in the billing department and nights writing vigorously on her
current novel. She has a passion for helping others and wears her University of
Kentucky gear proudly. While her husband loves all things outdoors, Nacole
enjoys the finer things in life like getting pedicures while reading on her
Kindle Fire. She is passionate about her faith, family and The Bachelor. Her
hair color changes with the seasons and she has a weakness for tattoos, iced
coffee, and happy endings.
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