Carly's Book Reviews: Meant For Me by Ann Lister #Review #Excerpt #Giveaway @AnnListerAuthor

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Meant For Me by Ann Lister #Review #Excerpt #Giveaway @AnnListerAuthor

Cover: Kellie Dennis/Book Cover By Design

Meant for Me

(The Rock Gods, Book 5)

by Ann Lister

Length: 85,000 words

Genres: Gay, Erotic, Romance

Tony Wilcox, the quiet keyboard player for Ivory Tower, has always believed he was straight. A sexual encounter with his best friend leaves Tony questioning his heart and the unwavering attraction he has for Jared. Living and working together is no longer enough for Tony... he wants more. He wants Jared as his.

Jared Baker, the bass player for the band, has a past that is getting in the way of him fully embracing what he wants... Tony. He's tried everything to create distance between them, but none of it eliminated the feelings he has developed for Tony.

Trying to suppress the anger and confusion from Jared withdrawing from his life, Tony does his best to get beyond the feelings he has for his friend. When Jared becomes deathly ill, it's Tony that he calls for help and Tony has to decide if he can heal Jared without giving away too much of his heart.

Can best friends find their way to true love and discover if they were meant for each other, or will the challenges of life force them to choose separate paths?

Jared continued to gently rock his hips against Tony to ease them through the aftershocks, then leaned in to offer Tony a soft, lingering kiss. When Jared's eyes opened, Tony was staring up at him. The intensity of that gaze took Jared's breath away and he rose up to his elbows again.

“You okay?” Jared asked with tenderness.

“Isn't this where you freak-out and leave?” Tony asked.

Jared's eyebrows bunched together. “I told you, T, I'm not leaving,” Jared replied. “Being with you like this only makes me want more, so much more.”

Tony pushed his fingers through Jared's hair and tucked a piece behind his ear. “There's no girl here between us to act as a buffer, and no other logical way you can pretend this didn't happen. Can you blame me for thinking you might bolt once the buzz of this wears off?”

“I know my track record with you isn't the greatest, but things are different now—I'm different,” Jared proclaimed.

“How so?” Tony questioned.

Jared ran the back of his fingers across Tony's cheek. “I guess you could say, I finally found the balls to admit to myself what it is I'm feeling,” Jared said. “More importantly, I found the backbone to come here and tell you.”

Tony shook his head. “I'm sorry if I'm being skeptical about this, but you've either run or pushed me away at very pivotal moments. At this point, I'm finding it difficult to understand where you're coming from, and what's really going on inside your head.”

Jared dropped down to Tony's chest and his face rolled into the bend of Tony's shoulder. It took a few seconds, but Tony's arms finally wrapped around Jared's back and Jared nuzzled in closer. God, he loved the warmth of Tony's embrace. It offered so much more than comfort. It felt safe.

“I'm so sorry for putting you through that, and if there was a way I could take it back I would,” Jared said with his lips against Tony's neck. “Truth is, I had trouble...accepting things.”

“Do you think it was easy for me?” Tony asked. “Jesus! How do you come to terms with wanting your best friend like this? There's no easy way to accept something like that. You either go with what you're feeling, or walk away, and that's what you seemed hell bent on doing.”

“I'm here now, T, and that has to count for something,” Jared whispered.

Tony shifted beneath Jared and they both felt the come cooling on their skin. Jared eased off to Tony's side and rolled from the bed. He walked into the bathroom and returned with a towel to clean them both. When he reached the bed, Tony was already using tissues from the nightstand to wipe the mess off his stomach. Jared climbed back onto the bed and finished cleaning Tony with the towel, then tossed the towel onto the floor and stretched out on his side facing Tony. He slid his leg over Tony's thigh again, dropped his head to Tony's shoulder, and ran his fingers over Tony's chest and stomach. He loved the way Tony's soft dusting of hair tickled the pads of his fingers.

“I don't know how I can prove it to you, T, but I will. And, I'll keep on proving it to you every fucking day you'll let me,” Jared's voice was soft, but he knew Tony was hearing every word loud and clear. “I'm not running, and I was serious about wanting more.”

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The ultimate in best friends to lovers, MEANT FOR ME builds upon the angst that was beginning to develop between Tony and Jared in LOOKING AT FOREVER and magnifies it x100. While Tony is confident in his feelings, Jared is a mess. His emotions are all over the place, and he drags Tony down into his misery with his inability to face the love that is right in front of him. It's both heartbreaking and captivating to watch as their journey unfolds.

Interwoven with their relationship, the heartbeat of MEANT FOR ME, is a melody that is the stories of Ivory Tower's other band members. Their ongoing relationships continue to unfold with a depth of emotion that adds exponentially to the story line.

Although I wasn't thrilled with the amount angst, I'm completely in love with this series and Ann's characters. The groundwork is set for book 6, and it can't come soon enough!

Fall For Me (Book 1) - Take What You Want (Book 2) - Make You Mine (Book 3) - Looking at Forever (Book 4)

Ann Lister writes erotic love stories using beautifully drawn characters; flawed and emotionally damaged, and at the height of their careers, each in search of the one thing that still eludes them: love.

The Rock Gods series gave her Bestselling Author status on Amazon. Each book in this series brings her two favorite elements together: musicians and the love between two men. These stories focus on what it truly means to love; love unconditionally, love without restrictions or labels, love without fear or judgment – to just simply love.

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