VINES

Series: A Killers Novel #1

Author: Brynne Asher

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 1st, 2016

In the Virginia countryside outside of Washington, DC, Addy Wentworth was on a mission to make a new life for herself. When the opportunity arose, she settled in horse and wine country. Experiencing more than her fair share of tragedy and loss, she had plans for her future, one where failure wasn’t an option. And not just because people and cows were counting on her. She’d poured everything she had into her struggling vineyard, because once she’s in, she’s all in.

After giving himself wholly to the job for ten years, Crew Vega was done. He’d fulfilled his commitment, done his duty, gone above and beyond to settle the score. And the score was high. All he had to do was train his replacements and he’d be out for good.

He had a plan, one that didn’t include getting involved with his new neighbor, a woman who not only kept cows for pets, but treasured her employees as family, and understood him better than anyone ever had before. But when he learned a high level CIA target being investigated for treason was keeping tabs on her?

No, he never planned on that.

And like everything Crew Vega did in life, when he goes in, he’s all in.

Warning: I’m a devout member of the mama club and don’t want to get kicked out by angry mamas. If you aren’t eighteen, turn around, go drink your milk and eat your veggies, it’s good for your bones. And go to bed early, you’re still growing, your body needs sleep. And don’t text and drive. And be nice, sit with the kid who sits alone at lunch. And read a PG-13 book, it’s good for your brain. And go tell your mama you love her. Chop-chop, run along now. I’ll see you back when you’re eligible to vote.

Amazon US

BLOWN AWAY!!! That’s how this book made me feel, and that’s how I expect you to be after reading it. Completely blown away with Vines!

It had been some time since Brynne Asher has released a book – if you haven’t yet read her Carpino Series, you MUST!!! – but I had not forgotten what an incredible writer she is, and this book only reinforced it in a way that I will never forget. What an incredible story!

Vines is the first installment of Brynne Asher’s new series, Killers, and what an beginning it is! It gets you hooked from the very prologue, and Crew and Addy’s story is the perfect intro to what it’s looking up to be an extraordinary series.

Crew Vega, a recently retired ‘Soldier of Fortune’ has spent the last ten years of his life on the dark, in every possible way. After all this time he thinks he will find the peace and quiet he needs in a remote enough place, which will allow him to train the next generation of professional assassins/killers.

Of course all his well planned solitude goes down the drain when a stubborn and charismatic cow – yes, you read correctly and I promise you will love these cows’ role and participation on the plot, lol – decides to cross his fence as if it’s her right, much to her owner’s aggravation, and brings Addy to his path.

Addy Wentworth has been living for the last year and a half, a peaceful and successful life as a vineyard and country business owner. She made a huge bet when she decide to acquire the struggling business, but due to her hard work and full dedication she succeeded and is recognized for it. So control and profound reasoning and pondering have always been ingrained in her, until Harry – her cow – decides to take a tour, and ends up inforcing her meeting of her new, dark and handsome, neighbor.

  A simple enough situation that will end up changing their life forever, because even after only a couple of words exchanged, their physical reaction to one another it’s impossible to deny. 

A smirk spreads across his scruffy face, and as if out of nowhere, a dimple appears.  Smack dab on his left cheek.  A dimple.  Proof there’s soft under the sharp.  Hell if that dimple isn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, even if it is covered in scruff, sweat, dirt, and hidden under a sharp toughness.

Damn if I don’t feel that in my dick at the same time my chest seizes.  When the muscles ripple up my back, I have to clench my jaw to overcome it.  This strange sensation is foreign, something I’ve never experienced.  I can appreciate a hot woman, but my entire body seizing?  I’m fighting the urge to charge across the room to get her away from him, when I don’t even know why he’s here.

They are both caught of guard with their bodies and minds reaction to each other, because never before in their life someone caused any of these feelings in them. It’s all so new and so foreign that even though they don’t understand them, and after the initial shock, they are curious and expectant to where it will lead them.

With Addison at my side, I find myself wanting nothing more than to fall into some sort of normal with her.  I’ve never had normal, whatever that is.

I absolutely ADORED both main characters, and yes, Crew may have made me melt on more than one occasion, but come on, I’m only a hot blooded female, how could I not?! 

This time I kiss her slow.  She tastes and feels like she did earlier—perfect—but salty from her tears.

He was so enchanted with Addy, and that just made him even more captivating for me. Anyone could see their attraction. With that sizzling magnetism, how could they not? There was no hiding there!

It’s easy to see she can dish back your shit but still be all woman for you to enjoy, protect, and love on.  You put that together with being targeted by old KGB, there’s no hope.  You’re a fuckin’ goner.”

And come on, anyone could see it in him, and even with the teasing, he was not one bit ashamed by it and that had me sighing. Even during a tease he managed to come around and make the situation HOT!!! Lordy, the mouth on this man!

“Trust me, Grady.” I turn to him one last time before leaving.  “There’s nothing soft on me when it comes to Addison Wentworth.”

Crew really was the PERFECT damaged hero. He never thought he had a change of something so good as Addison, so when they start getting involved we can really feel his care and affection for her. Like she is the most precious thing in the world for him.

“Never wanted something so much.  Can’t stay away from you, can’t even get you out of my head.  I’ve never had a shot at anything good, let alone someone like you.”

He sees her as his reward after his life of barely surviving, lonely and mechanic existence, and he says and shows it to her over and over. Really, completely swoon-worthy, unforgettable hero! Directly to my top ten list of ‘all time best-book-boyfriends’!

“You’re what I get.  After ten years of doin’ what I needed to do, I settle next door to you.”

“Worth every minute of ten years.  Never thought I’d say this, but I’d do it all again if I knew you were waiting for me at the end.”

Don’t get me wrong, Addy was just as incredible, and given her secretive past, she has proven to be a strong and resistant female character beyond belief! No wonder Crew fell for her the way he did! And she was one of the best heroines I have had the pleasure of reading. The way she made me connect with her and feel what she felt really was a testament of the author’s incredible writing talented. Through her eyes, Crew was even more captivating, and I didn’t think that was possible!

For some reason, I can’t take my eyes off his hands.  Hands that have touched every part of my body.  He’s comforted me with those hands.  He’s aroused me, he’s gently yet firmly bound me, he’s washed me, and he’s woken me with his soft touch.

Of course that off-the-charts chemistry and palpable magnetism translated in some scorchingly HOT sex scenes and their no-bounds, all-in attitude and his dominant and filthy mind took it to whole new level. They were so perfectly and organically written, they became an extension of their feeling and smoking proof of their love. They were perfection!

“Why do you always talk about it in the third person?”
“Because my cock is its own person when it comes to you.”

After everything is revealed and they are absolutely transparent and vulnerable with each other that made all the scenes that more deep, where we could really feel their personal relief and appreciation for what they had in the other’s full acceptance! A real case of the truth will set you free, where their love really shined through!

“Not once did I think I could be who I am with anyone, let alone someone like you.”

I don’t care if he has to go back to keep his friend safe, or if he decides to go back on his own to take care of justice his own way, ridding our world of threats.  Even if this does make him a killer.  I’ll wait.  I’ll hate it, but I’ll wait because he’s mine, and having him back is more perfect than anything I could’ve dreamed.  Because I love him.

She knows it all and accepts me, my choices, my life, and she did it for me.

 

Imagining my life with Crew is a thing of the past because I know it’s real.  He’s the foundation of my future, and knowing this, I can relish the present and live my life.

I apologize for the extensive quoting, but really, there was no way to translate the perfection of their – actually Ms. Asher’s – words. You can see for yourself that really, they could be any more perfect, and again I have to repeat myself, but really, there is no better word to describe this story.

And like the main characters weren’t enough to have us completely enraptured in this book, Brynne Asher gave us a splendid group of secondary characters that created a stunningly humorous and light dynamic in the plot and made me fall in love and want more of them, almost as much as Crew and Addy. And these teasing with the potential couples for the next books, wow! But the author also showed us a incredibly appealing vulnerability in these men, these killing machines, that left me simultaneously shocked curious to find out more, because they’re so much more than their steel hard facades.

The life these men have chosen seems to come with solitude and loneliness.

I can’t wait for Grady and Maya’s story!!! Seriously!!! After this beautiful and unforgettable book, I can’t imagine it getting any better, but with these enticingly delicious elements that she already presented for the couple, I think Ms. Asher will yet again surpass herself and knock it out of the park once again, and I will be counting down the days and stalk her mercilessly – I apologize in advance, LOL – until the next book comes out! Please hurry up, I want it NOW!!!!

Suspenseful Contemporary Romance at its BEST! I give it 5 Perfect ‘Let’s Live’ Stars, but I would really give Vines 5 THOUSAND stars!

What an extraordinary story!!! Loved EVERYTHING about it, from start to finish! Crew and Addy’s story is now one of my Top Ten Favorite Reads of the year (and considering how many books I’ve read, that’s saying something, lol)!!!
Wow, just wow….

“Never once had a homecoming.  Never had a home to come to.  I thought I was traveling, seeing the world between jobs, but I wasn’t.  I was wandering with nowhere to go.”

“When I was gone, I made the decision to start living my life with you.  I’m done lamenting death—I want to live.  Don’t you want to live with me?”

“Move away from death with me.  Let’s live.”

ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

 

Brynne Asher grew up in the Midwest and now lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, three children and her perfect dog. When she isn’t creating pretend people and relationships in her head, she is running her kids around and doing laundry. She enjoys cooking, decorating, shopping at outlet malls as well as online and is always seeking the best deal. A perfect day in “Brynne World” ends in front of an outdoor fire with family, friends, s’mores and a delicious cocktail.

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