Book Review: Last First Kiss (Brightwater #1) by Lia Riley

Last First Kiss
Brightwater, #1
by Lia Riley

Release Date:
June 23rd, 2015

Publisher:
Avon Impulse

Source:
Publisher

eARC received in exchange of honest review

Synopsis:

A kiss is only the beginning...

Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her popular blog. Reality is... messier. Especially when it lands her back in one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous six-foot-four reason she left. 

Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the big city. Simple, easy, perfect. Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful, wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to? And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.

Purchase links:

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

Brightwater Series on Goodreads:

Lindy's Thoughts:

Last First Kiss is the first story that I've read by Lia Riley.  My co-blogger, Mikki, really enjoyed her Off the Map Series, and I was really excited to get the opportunity to read a story by her.  Myself and Mikki tend to have similar taste in books, so for the most part if she enjoys a book, I usually will as well.

First Kiss an adorable, sweet, and heartwarming story about a second chance at love.  Annie is recently divorced, and has a five year old son.  She was devastated when her husband, Gregor, left her for a much younger woman.  Annie's father is getting ready to sell the family ranch in Brightwater, California.  So, Annie offers to fix it up and get it ready to be put on the market.  Afterwards, she plans on moving to San Francisco, so that she can be close to her sister, Claire.  

While she's in Brightwater, she runs in to her first crush; sexy, attentive, and caring, Sawyer Kane, sheriff of Brightwater.  Sawyer has always regretted the way things ended with Annie.  Now is his second chance to be reunited with the one woman he could never get out of his mind.  Will Sawyer be able to convince Anne to change her plans and stay in Brightwater?

I loved Last First Kiss.  The romance was perfectly paced.  Sawyer became Annie's friend, and also embraced her son.  He didn't want to rush her, and was a very patient man.  The attraction between these two characters was there from the very beginning, but it grew in intensity as these two got to know one another all over again, and rediscover the feelings that they once had for one another as teenagers.  

I loved Annie.  She was very likeable as well as relatable.  She ran her own blog, and we even get short little excerpts from it that help guide the story.  Annie put her son first, and I could relate to her, being a mother myself.  She was the kind of person that was friendly, caring, and put her own needs last.  Sawyer was a top notch "nice" guy.  He loved the town of Brightwater, and enjoyed being of service.  He was very giving, without expecting anything in return.  Sawyer was a gentleman.  He was gallant, and knew how to treat a woman.  He also had a very sexy, take charge personality when it came to intimacy.

This story was hopeful and light-hearted.  The more I read, the more that I didn't want to put the book down.  It just kept getting better and better.  It was such a feel-good story, with all of the awesome 'feels' that I enjoy reading in a romance!

Rating:

I give, Last First Kiss, by Lia Riley, 4 Light-Hearted, Swoon-worthy Devotion, Sweet Adoration Filled Stars!  I'm looking forward to reading, Right Wrong Guy, next!  This will be Sawyer's younger brother Archer's story. 

Mikki's Review:

Last First Kiss is the first installment of Lia Riley's new series, Brightwater. I was really excited when I found out that she was writing a new series. I absolutely loved her Off the Map series. I can't really compare the two series since the genre is different. Off the Map is NA and Brightwater is Adult. The one thing that both series have in common is the fantastic writing style! Like always I got hooked from the first pages! It's easy to relate to the main characters and that is really important to me.

Annie and Sawyer fell for each other as teens, but things did not work out between them and Annie left Brightwater with a broken heart. Years later, she comes back to her hometown to sell the family farm. The feud between the Carson and Kane family is still pretty much alive and she feels it. Her life is a mess at the moment and it becomes even more complicated when Sawyer Kane comes back in her life. She has never forgotten her first love and seeing him again turns her world upside down. When Sawyer learns that Annie is back in town, he is determined to do whatever it takes to get a second chance. As days go by, Annie and Sawyer get close again, but will the family feud that has been going for years come between them?

Last First Kiss was everything I was expecting it to be! It was sweet, fun and heart melting. The author did a fantastic job with the main characters. I really connected with both of them from the beginning of this reading escape. I was rooting for them to find the HEA that they both deserved. This second chance at love romance will make you wish you were a part of the small town of Brightwater. I loved that Annie was not a perfect heroine. Her life may be perfect on her blog, but the person that hides behind the blogger is a single mom that is trying to find herself. Annie made mistakes, but she learned from them. She was determined to step out of her comfort zone and give her life in Brightwater a chance.

Sawyer was the perfect gentlemen! He took such good care of Annie and her son. He was determined to make things right and he slowly made Annie fall in love with him all over again. He knew that she still had feelings for him, but she was scared of what she was feeling. Everything he did to make her life easier made me swoon. He's a keeper!!! What I loved as well is his relationship with his grandmother. Grandma Kane is a tough cookie and I really hope we get to see more of her in the next books.

Annie and Sawyer's love story was beautiful. Their relationship was rocky at the beginning, but the more time they spent together, the more they grew closer. No family feud could keep these two apart. They are simply meant to be! If you are a fan of small town romance and second chance at love, Last First Kiss is exactly the kind of book you are going to love! I'm really excited for the next books in this series. Sawyer's brothers will get their own book and Archer is up next! I can't wait to read his book! I really liked him in Last First Kiss.

Rating:

I give Last First Kiss, by Lia Riley, 4 swoony, sweet, heart melting stars!

About the Author:

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. 

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.

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