BOOK REVIEW and GIVEAWAY for If This Is Love by Jewel E Ann

IF THIS IS LOVE

by JEWEL E ANN

He's mine ... don't ever forget that.

Milo lives in the barn, a cowboy through and through.
I live in a castle, but I'm not a princess.

When the only person who loves me dies, Milo's there.
As I get older, I no longer look at Milo like a big brother. I look at him like the man God made just for me.

With the first glimpse of freedom from my pathetic excuse for a father, I imagine a future with Milo. I dream of the day when we won't have to hide our feelings.

But Milo has a secret. He is not free.
The man I love is marrying the woman I hate.

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REVIEW: 5 STARS

"This need I have to protect her feels admirable until I realize the person I need to protect her from the most is...me."

Since JEA is my drop everything and read kind of author, it doesn't matter what I am doing - if she announces a book, I adjust my calendar, my chores, and my family schedule (okay, probably not to that extent 😂) to make sure she is going to get the full attention her books have proven to me they deserve. I know I sound crazy, but when you find that one author...your "unicorn" if you will, you know what you need to do to give their books your completely undivided attention, right? JEA is that one for me. Having said that repeatedly over the years, you know I am always going to give you my full and honest opinion on how each book was individually. 

This book made me fall in love, courted me....broke my heart, and slowly put me back together. That is the M.O. of JEA, is it not? But, I'll tell ya - it was the in-betweens that mattered. How did I fall in love with Milo and Indie? Slowly and effortlessly. I watched them dance around the forbidden and come together. I also watched them snap like a brittle twig with no due recourse. It was hard watching them hurt. It was hard growing and realizing...the understanding more difficult than the outcome. But, as JEA does, she put me back together. I won't say it's seamless because there are some jagged cracks in there, but she gave me this life lesson and story with heaviness and a smile. She gave me a love that fought against all odds and made me hold me breath. But above all else, she gave me a book hangover and it's been a while since I've had one of those. I wanted to bask in it!!

While this one made me feel slightly uncomfortable in the beginning - and I don't say that lightly, it set the stage for a very deep conversation within the pages of this book. The fact that she said this is super taboo completely proves to me, once again, she can write anything and get me through the story with a chokehold on my heart. We all have childhood crushes, right? I had one with an 18 year old when I was 12. Completely innocent, but a crush nonetheless. Well, Milo and Indie are seriously and truly the embodiment of age gap, taboo, and everything in between - one you love, but can't quite describe completely. I had very wide eyes while I was reading this because the innocence of Indie was put. into. words. and I was left gasping a few times. Again, I knew JEA was going to put me in a state of shock by the time this was all said and done - and she did just that. 

"If his lips touch mine, the last thread will snap. I know it. He knows it. Memories have never felt as tangible, concrete and alive as they do now."

The book hangover I had after this probably wasn't fair to every other author I had to read after because it held steady over my head and heavy over my heart. I loved that she had me angry for Indie, gritting my teeth for Milo - and pissed as hell about the evil held over their heads. And the thing was, it was actually something I can see happening once it was all explained and meshed out - in true JEA fashion. I hung on every word and pored over the pages with my emotions hanging on by a thread. I was mesmerized and completely breathless in some spots, while huffing and puffing from anger in others. But it was amazing. Beyond amazing. It was my favorite kind of journey and one I cannot recommend enough...but go in with an open mind and a strength in your heart. You may not know when you'll need to draw on it. She works her magic effortlessly and I for one am here anytime she's willing to serve it up.

I wish everyone wrote with the humor and the heaviness like Jewel E Ann does. She is so unique and one of a kind, and her voice just "hits" me in all the right ways. Hands down, she's a stop-everything-and-read author for me. I will end this review with this - I read my books to take the journey from start to finish. I take in ALL the happenings and reactions and I soak in them. Marinate. Ruminate. Whatever you want to call it. But, if an author makes me think about something, whether I like the outcome or not - it's a positive, because I THOUGHT ABOUT IT. I think that's one of my favorite things JEA does for me. She makes me think and I feel every facet of her story as it plays out. 

I couldn't get enough and I couldn't put the book down. I felt like I needed to pace but couldn't take my eyes off the pages! It seriously had me wrapped up and the anxiety was real! Milo and Indie definitely have my heart and will for a very long time coming...

"You're the sun...so fucking bright, blindingly beautiful."

~BEE

PURCHASE: AMAZON - Kindle Unlimited

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~MEET JEWEL E ANN~

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree a a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course . . .heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

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