Blog Tour, Review & Excerpt: LAKE + MANNING by Jessica Hawkins

LAKE + MANNING on sale NOW!

iBooks
Amazon
Nook
Google Play
Kobo
Goodreads
Paperback

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

BLURB:

Manning and I have what happily-ever-after is made of . . .
A home he built us on the unshakeable foundation we fought for.
A life of laughter carved out of heartache and betrayal.
A love story to stand the test of time.

But between a trust that can’t be broken, joy that can’t be bridled, and passion that would scorch the sun, the empty spaces are becoming more and more difficult to ignore . . .
Fears that keep Manning up at night as he slips from our bed.
Our complicated relationship with a man he respects and one I don't know how to forgive.
And a sprawling, beautiful home with one small room I'm afraid I'll never be able to fill.
 
Manning and I have what happily-ever-after is made of . . . 
But I'll beg the heavens for just one thing more.
✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

REVIEW:

“I love you, Lake Sutter. I don’t know why you trusted me that first day or any day after it. You mesmerized me. There was, and still is, something in the way you are. Your blue eyes brought peace and light to my dark and noisy head.” He drew back and took a moment to collect himself. “I think you saved me, Birdy.” With his last words, my tears finally slid free. I shook my head. “You saved yourself.” “You did. More than once. If my life wasn’t everything it is,” he said, nodding over the crowd toward our house, “it would be nothing.”

*happy tears* #WhatAmISupposed2DoWithMyLifeNow I've just finished what must have been the most emotional character journey OF. MY. LIFE! And because of that, I am forever changed. Words cannot fully express my love for this saga and the couple within it. I want EVERYONE to read it! LAKE + MANNING (Something in the Way #4) was EVERYTHING I hoped for and WAY MORE. I didn’t realize just HOW MUCH I NEEDED this ending for their story, until I read it. I know Jessica Hawkins had originally planned to end the series with MOVE THE STARS, but I am over the moon happy that she continued Lake and Manning’s story and gave them (and us fans) this HEA. She couldn’t have done a more extraordinary job with how she completed this saga. It is truly remarkable and utterly unforgettable!

You that book that you've been waiting what seems like FOR.EVER. to read...THIS is that book for me! I was BURSTING with emotions while reading LAKE + MANNING. #AllTheFeels I feel as if I've grown up with these characters while reading their story. I’ve gone through their obstacles with them, experienced their heartaches, their ups and downs and I’ve also watched their unshakable love continue to grow with each trail thrown their way. Their love for each other has truly lived through the test of time. So to FINALLY get their HEA, it's both beautiful and bittersweet in equal measures. I am sad to see their story come to an end, but this ending was EXACTLY what I needed for them. Their story will be forever etched onto my heart and I know every time I look to the sky, I will be looking for them... summer triangle. This is truly an EXCEPTIONAL story and couple that I will NEVER forget for the rest of my life. 

“Once in a great while, we get the timing right.”

#GreatBearAndHisBirdy
#ThisHasAlwaysBeenTheirStory
#HotSummerDay
#SummerTriangle
#BlueberryPie
#YouCanMoveTheStars
#L+M
#FavoriteForbiddenRomanceSeries

10 Stars!

xoxo, Vivian💋

🐻🐦🐻🐦

Check out my Pinterest novel board for L+M here 

(will contain spoilers if you haven't finished the saga)

🐻🐦🐻🐦

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Other books in the SOMETHING IN THE WAY series:

MOVE THE STARS (Something in the way #3)

Amazon ➜ http://smarturl.it/mtsonamazon
iBooks ➜ http://bit.ly/mtsibooks
Nook ➜ http://bit.ly/mtsnook
Google Play ➜ http://bit.ly/mtsplay
Kobo ➜ http://bit.ly/mtskobo
Goodreads ➜ http://bit.ly/movetsgr
Paperback ➜ http://amzn.to/2qezLXS

Series Links
​The series on iBooks ➜ http://bit.ly/sitwseriesibooks
The series on Amazon ➜ http://amzn.to/2qiC2lt

⭐⭐⭐My Pinterest novel board for MtS⭐⭐⭐

Somebody Else's Sky (Something in the Way #2)

Amazon ➜ http://smarturl.it/sesamazon
iBooks ➜ http://bit.ly/sesapple
Nook ➜ http://bit.ly/sesnook
Google Play ➜ http://bit.ly/sesgp
Kobo ➜ http://bit.ly/seskobo
Goodreads ➜ http://bit.ly/somebodyesgr
Paperback ➜ http://amzn.to/2rs6n54

​Series Links:
The series on iBooks ➜ http://bit.ly/sitwseriesibooks
The series on Amazon ➜ http://amzn.to/2qiC2lt

⭐⭐⭐My Pinterest novel board for SES⭐⭐⭐

SOMETHING IN THE WAY (Something in the Way #1)

Amazon ➜ http://smarturl.it/sitwamazon
iBooks ➜ http://apple.co/2hOCBPh
Nook ➜ http://smarturl.it/sitwnook
Google Play ➜ https://goo.gl/B6vVos
Kobo ➜ http://smarturl.it/sitwkobo
Paperback ➜ http://amzn.to/2q0rbji
​Series Links:
The series on iBooks ➜ http://bit.ly/sitwseriesibooks 
The series on Amazon ➜ http://amzn.to/2qiC2lt

⭐⭐⭐My Pinterest novel board for SITW⭐⭐⭐

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

EXCERPT from L+M:

I found Manning waiting at the base of the porch steps with Blue, looking every inch a man in jeans and fishing boots, the porch swing’s floral printed cushions under one arm. Any fears I had vanished. This was about the man I loved, a man both tough and sensitive, determined but attentive.

“Why are you wearing galoshes?” I asked, taking his outstretched hand. I started for his truck but he pulled me around the side of the house, toward the back. “And what’re the cushions for?”

“Guess,” he said.

Manning and I had explored the woods behind the house plenty of times. Usually we went back there for two reasons—to walk Blue, or to go on the lake. Neither of those seemed like great after-dark activities. “I’m stumped,” I said.

As we crossed from our backyard into the woods, Manning kept me close with an arm around my shoulders. Blue darted through the trees but always sprinted back when we whistled for her. Perhaps if I’d been anywhere except the place I called home, I might’ve been spooked by the cover of darkness. By the rustling bushes, or the haunting hoots and flapping of wings echoing around us. Instead, I snuggled into the side of the man I knew would kill to protect me or die trying.

The closer we got to the edge of the forest, the more convinced I was that Manning had lost his mind and decided to recreate the night we’d snuck out of camp, gone for a drive, and wound up in the water.

The woods spit us out into a clearing that opened up to a tiny lake we’d come to know well. It was shallow, mostly off the map, and small enough for us to drift aimlessly. Manning kept the first dinghy he’d ever made there, tied to a stake in the ground. He’d built other boats—some he’d sold, and with help, a larger one we kept at one of Big Bear Lake’s marinas—but we had this little slice of heaven all to ourselves most of the time.

“We’re going on the lake?” I asked.

“Bingo,” he replied. “Go on. Climb on over the starboard side.” Manning winked before he added, “And into my lap.” It was the same thing he’d said to me my first night at the house in Big Bear.

No matter how endearing his invitation, I stayed where I was. We’d made love in this boat. I’d laughed until my sides had ached watching Manning try and fail to catch a fish with his hands. We’d drifted around in it on hot afternoons eating orange slices as the sun had set. But we’d certainly never taken it out at night.

Blue whined, probably sensing she was about to get left behind. “Blue and I are going to need a bit of an explanation before we proceed,” I said.

He squatted to untie the boat, and I heard the smile in his voice. “What’s wrong? Don’t trust me?”

“To steer this thing in the dark?”

“The stars are out.” He gestured up at the sky. “They’ll guide us, Birdy.”

“Actually,” I said, hands on my hips, “it’s a crescent moon and particularly dark tonight.”

“I know,” he said. “I wish I could say I planned it that way, but we just got lucky.”

Warily, I climbed over the starboard side and set up both cushions. Once I was seated at the bow, he pushed the boat through the weeds and waded in after it.

“Stay,” he told Blue.

She barked once to get her point across but plopped down at the edge of the lake, watching us go as she had many times before.

“Where are we headed?” I asked once Manning had climbed in.

“To the middle.” Slowly, he rowed us out on the water. As the night spread around us, complete stillness punctuated by occasional splashes and croaks, I began to wonder if the journey was the destination. Though Manning and I had planned a fairly low-key weekend, there was no getting around the chaos that came with having friends and family in one place. It’d been days, maybe even weeks, since I’d experienced this kind of stillness and peace.

“Okay, this was a good idea,” I admitted, shutting my eyes and relaxing against the back of the boat to enjoy the warm breeze.

“We’re here,” he said.

I opened my eyes. “Where’s here?”

“Middle of the lake. Best spot to see the show.” He reached for me. “Come.”

Taking his hand, I let him guide me forward to sit between his legs.

He enveloped me, hugging my back to his chest. “Look up.”

I relaxed against him, resting my arms on his as I scanned the countless stars. In the pitch black, they shone especially bright. “They’re beautiful,” I said.

“You know I’ll always move the stars for you if need be,” he said. “Whatever it takes.”

Though I appreciated the warmth behind his words, wasn’t it possible some fates couldn’t be rearranged? The vastness of the black sky and the sheer number of stars overhead made me feel small and insignificant—but not in a bad way. Did the universe have plans for us? Or had Manning and I really defined our own destiny? And what did either of those realities mean for our future?

Manning bent his mouth to my ear. “Lake?” he asked.

“Hmm?”

“Did you hear me?”

Whatever it takes. It occurred to me as we sat under the glittering stars that Manning would do anything in his power to move them in our favor—but what would it do to him if he couldn’t?

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩