By: Lisa Edward
Published By: Lisa Edward
Released : Available Now
Details: Mobi file from author for honest review
RATING: 4.5 COLE STARS!!!
Blurb : Goodreads
A promise to wait six months for Riley to come home from his tour of duty, so they can be together.
But as secrets and lies are uncovered, it leads Tara to question their commitment, and she is finding it difficult to keep that promise.
The distance between them is growing, and only one person can fill the void, Tara’s best friend Cole.
As Cole tries to support Tara, he is struggling with demons of his own, that threaten to tear him away from the life he has built for himself.
After devastating news is received, who will be there to pick up the pieces?
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:
I’ve got to give this second installment in the Songbird trilogy a 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed it, but at the same time...oooo the angst!!!
Holy mother of pearl!
I sometimes find it hard to like the female lead in an angst read because so often the author writes our sex as the one I get so frustrated with.
Tara frustrated me. I wanted to put a hot poker in my eye...sometimes, and sometimes I didn’t.
I wanted to yell at her for stringing Cole along. I wanted to yell at her for the way she managed to bring her short givings and flip them at Riley through a letter. She found ways to convince herself that she was the better person when she was doing what she was doing with Cole.
She had all these excuses for touching , cuddling... but when Cole looked at some one...
“You’re not causing trouble for Riley and I. Riley is doing that all by himself.”
I must say, Cole is the most patient guy I have read since Kellan Kyle from Thoughtless. Cole often reminded me of a Kellan type character. They are the bad boy who reforms for this one girl. They have flaws. They make mistakes. Going cold turkey on being a man whore is not an easy thing for these guys.
“You know you’re my exception to every rule.”
“You’re not causing trouble for Riley and I. Riley is doing that all by himself.”
I must say, Cole is the most patient guy I have read since Kellan Kyle from Thoughtless. Cole often reminded me of a Kellan type character. They are the bad boy who reforms for this one girl. They have flaws. They make mistakes. Going cold turkey on being a man whore is not an easy thing for these guys.
“You know you’re my exception to every rule.”
I loved Riley in Songbird, but I was hesitant to love him too much because I knew there was a second book.
Lordy. Lisa made me love Cole so much in this book. Sure he made a few bad mistakes, but he is so suited to Tara. I loved reading Cole.
When you watch them together they are like ying and yang.
We harmonized, and somehow knew when to sing, and when to let the other person take the lead.
I was mesmerized by Cole and how he could be so thoughtful and constantly attentive. Sure he did slip up a few times, but Tara doing what she did to him with no promises...well, he needed to oil his pipes. He was single.
I got grrrrrr at Tara and how she allowed what she did with Cole, and I felt awful for Cole sometimes with how hurt he looked.
I got to give it to him, he was on a mission with Tara and he used all of himself to get into her heart, to get her into his apartment.
I really think Lisa has written Cole, so well. We feel for him, we love his character, we want to shove Tara out the road and take him for ourselves.
“Cole, I can’t,” I said breathlessly.
“God, I want you, Tara,” he growled into my ear. “You make me so hard, babe.”
I loved his dialogue.
“Please, babe,” he begged. “I need you. I need to be inside you.”
I loved his humor when he knew he wasn’t getting the response he wanted.
“Cole,” I called. “I need help to get my dress off.”
Cole’s head poked around the bathroon door instantly, a cheeky grin on his face. “You’ve come to the right place. Undressing women is my specialty.”
I always had Riley in the back of my mind, but it felt like a lot of the time Tara didn’t. She thought she did, but she didn’t.
Or else what was she doing with Cole?
Cole is a very hard character to resist.
“I thought I’d lost the game earlier,” he said as he moved his hands back over my bottom, and down to my legs again.
“You did,” I sighed.
“It doesn’t feel like it. I’m getting to run my hands all over your body. Feels like a win.”
I did predict the ending, because there is another book. It felt inevitable.
This is an angst filled trilogy, it’s gotta happen.
I LOVE Pops. He is such a fun character, even though...
“Dancing with the right person can be quite...intimate, quite magical, like there’s no one else on earth but the two of you moving as one to the music.” He gave me a wink. “Let’s see, shall we?”
I love characters like him. They are older, wiser and don’t mince their words.
I had a couple fave scenes or areas of this book. Now it’s not a spoiler because the Eiffel Tower is on the front of the cover. I thought Lisa did a wonderful job of the time spent in Paris.
Cole was just uber dreamy and he treated Tara like a Queen, err, well...but there were great moments of absolute beauty in his character on that trip.
And then...
So we sat there in the little tattoo parlor, with a mean-looking teddy bear and a slutty-looking wannabe Cole groupie, and we sang ‘Songbird’ together.
I would have loved to hear that scene.
There were a lot of emotional parts in this book. It is a read that I was going for a slightly lower rating for the first half of the book , due to Tara’s behavior. She baited Cole a lot with her comments.
I'm going to be honest and say, she drove me a bit bat-shit crazy.
But then... dang, I was just swept away.
“You could play with me. You’ve done it before.”
Cole bit his lip. “I’d love to play with you, but you won’t let me.”
Cole will sweep you away.
I could feel myself falling for him a little more every day. It was worrying, but it also gave me those nervous butterflies that were so exhilerating.
He stroked my cheek. “You’re the only one who knows me-- all of me. You’re the only one who could also live one foot in each world the way I do.”
Oh, there was a smexi scene.
Oh, my.
Oh. Myyyy.
It was crazy good. It was crazy hot. It sizzled. But the pickle did not make it into the bun. I love a smexi scene like that.
I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. All I knew was that I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone in my life.
Angst reads can kill me, sometimes, but it is always the lad that keeps me engrossed and turning the pages.
Cole is simply a rather outstanding lad.
But then... dang, I was just swept away.
“You could play with me. You’ve done it before.”
Cole bit his lip. “I’d love to play with you, but you won’t let me.”
Cole will sweep you away.
I could feel myself falling for him a little more every day. It was worrying, but it also gave me those nervous butterflies that were so exhilerating.
He stroked my cheek. “You’re the only one who knows me-- all of me. You’re the only one who could also live one foot in each world the way I do.”
Oh, there was a smexi scene.
Oh, my.
Oh. Myyyy.
It was crazy good. It was crazy hot. It sizzled. But the pickle did not make it into the bun. I love a smexi scene like that.
I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. All I knew was that I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone in my life.
Angst reads can kill me, sometimes, but it is always the lad that keeps me engrossed and turning the pages.
Cole is simply a rather outstanding lad.
Lordy, what is Lisa going to do to me in the final installment???
“I’d like to take you out.”
I looked at Cole, slightly amused. “We go out all the time.”
“No, we go to your place, we come here. We go to the gym, for a run on the beach, or we go to Songbirds. We don’t go out.”
Michelle
“I’d like to take you out.”
I looked at Cole, slightly amused. “We go out all the time.”
“No, we go to your place, we come here. We go to the gym, for a run on the beach, or we go to Songbirds. We don’t go out.”
We were sitting on Cole’s couch in his apartment, looking at light fittings for Reds on the Internet.
He was wringing his hands. “Would you like to go out with me?” he asked.
I frowned. “What, like on a date?”
“If that’s what you want to call it. I don’t know, I’ve never been on a date. But if going out to dinner and then a club together is a date, then sure, let’s call it a date.”
I looked at him warily. “You do know I’m engaged, right? You haven’t forgotten?”
He shrugged. “In theory. But there’s no harm in letting me take you out. I mean, officially take you out—on a date.”
I had to think about this for a minute. Was it asking for trouble to let him believe we could actually date when I had made a commitment to Riley?
“You know, even if you pay for dinner, I’m not going to sleep with you,” I said with a smile.
“So what’s the point of paying for dinner, then?” he asked cheekily. He took hold of my hands in his. “I wouldn’t expect you to sleep with anyone on a first date. You’re not that kind of girl.”
I exhaled slowly, weighing up how to respond. “Okay, we can go out on three conditions.”
He nodded.
“Firstly, we need to have other people there, so maybe Marcus and Nicole can come with us.”
“Like a double date,” he said, teasingly.
I chuckled, and shook my head. “Secondly, you have to stop calling it a date.”
He grinned at me cheekily.
“Thirdly, you have to wear your Calvin Klein jeans, the ones that fit your butt really well.”
I awoke with a start.
My arm had gone to sleep from laying on it all night, and my face was squished into someone’s neck. It was Cole’s. I inhaled his warm cedar and musk scent. Even after sleeping on the couch all night, he smelt unbelievable.
Sitting up, I moved my head from side to side, trying to stretch out the kinks.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Did you just sniff me again?”
I looked down at Cole. He was grinning up at me as I rubbed my shoulders and numb arm.
“Good morning,” I replied with a groan, as I stretched my arms over my head. “You know I’m staying here so I don’t have to sleep on a couch. Kind of defeats the purpose, spending the night out here.”
He sat up and started rubbing my arm, trying to get the blood to flow back into it.
“I disagree. I’m sure I’m much more comfortable to lay on than your lumpy couch.” He moved his attention to my shoulders, and I sighed. “Besides, it’s not every day I have someone dribble all down my neck.”
I wiped my hand across my cheek. It was damp. Oh my God, I had dribbled in my sleep. I checked Cole’s neck and quickly wiped it dry.
“You should be used to it,” I said, trying to make light of the embarrassing situation. “You have girls drooling over you everywhere you go.”
He chuckled. “No one who matters.” He took my hand away from his now dry neck and held it. “Until now, that is.”
Every relationship changes you, some for the better, others can shatter your confidence and almost destroy you.
For the musically talented, twenty-four year old Tara O’Connell, her relationship with Stephen almost broke her, until Tara found the strength to leave.
Now she is on the road to discovering that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and follow your heart.
As Tara’s self-belief grows, she meets two men she is instantly drawn to who will change her life forever.
Corporal Riley Hammond is a soldier in the Australian Military Special Forces. With his smiling sapphire blue eyes, Tara falls for him instantly. He is thoughtful and caring, and gives her the support and love she needs.
While Cole Michaels is the overconfident singer in a popular local band. His charisma, emerald green eyes, tattoos and piercing, have girls falling at his feet. But while Cole pushes
Tara’s buttons, he also pushes her to reach for the stars.
Both men couldn’t be more polar opposites, but both offer Tara different qualities that she needs to fulfill her destiny.
As Tara continues her journey, she will discover fate can offer you more than one path. Her fate is in her own hands, and the choices she makes, will shape her life forever.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
While Lisa Edward has called Melbourne Australia home for her entire life, she has lived and worked in England, and travelled through most parts of Europe and the United States. She loves nothing more than spending time with her husband and beautiful daughter, or curling up into the early hours of the morning with a great novel. By day, Lisa works in the analytical IT field, so relishes the opportunity to foster her creative side through writing. Her deep appreciation for literature was nurtured from a young age, being taught to respect books and get lost in their stories. She enjoys reading honest and realistic novels that are relatable, thought provoking and leave a lasting impression. She can’t write without music playing, using the emotions from different songs to invoke that of her characters. Lisa takes inspiration from her own life experiences, the people around her and those she has met in her travels.
He was wringing his hands. “Would you like to go out with me?” he asked.
I frowned. “What, like on a date?”
“If that’s what you want to call it. I don’t know, I’ve never been on a date. But if going out to dinner and then a club together is a date, then sure, let’s call it a date.”
I looked at him warily. “You do know I’m engaged, right? You haven’t forgotten?”
He shrugged. “In theory. But there’s no harm in letting me take you out. I mean, officially take you out—on a date.”
I had to think about this for a minute. Was it asking for trouble to let him believe we could actually date when I had made a commitment to Riley?
“You know, even if you pay for dinner, I’m not going to sleep with you,” I said with a smile.
“So what’s the point of paying for dinner, then?” he asked cheekily. He took hold of my hands in his. “I wouldn’t expect you to sleep with anyone on a first date. You’re not that kind of girl.”
I exhaled slowly, weighing up how to respond. “Okay, we can go out on three conditions.”
He nodded.
“Firstly, we need to have other people there, so maybe Marcus and Nicole can come with us.”
“Like a double date,” he said, teasingly.
I chuckled, and shook my head. “Secondly, you have to stop calling it a date.”
He grinned at me cheekily.
“Thirdly, you have to wear your Calvin Klein jeans, the ones that fit your butt really well.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I awoke with a start.
My arm had gone to sleep from laying on it all night, and my face was squished into someone’s neck. It was Cole’s. I inhaled his warm cedar and musk scent. Even after sleeping on the couch all night, he smelt unbelievable.
Sitting up, I moved my head from side to side, trying to stretch out the kinks.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Did you just sniff me again?”
I looked down at Cole. He was grinning up at me as I rubbed my shoulders and numb arm.
“Good morning,” I replied with a groan, as I stretched my arms over my head. “You know I’m staying here so I don’t have to sleep on a couch. Kind of defeats the purpose, spending the night out here.”
He sat up and started rubbing my arm, trying to get the blood to flow back into it.
“I disagree. I’m sure I’m much more comfortable to lay on than your lumpy couch.” He moved his attention to my shoulders, and I sighed. “Besides, it’s not every day I have someone dribble all down my neck.”
I wiped my hand across my cheek. It was damp. Oh my God, I had dribbled in my sleep. I checked Cole’s neck and quickly wiped it dry.
“You should be used to it,” I said, trying to make light of the embarrassing situation. “You have girls drooling over you everywhere you go.”
He chuckled. “No one who matters.” He took my hand away from his now dry neck and held it. “Until now, that is.”
Songbird, book 1
For the musically talented, twenty-four year old Tara O’Connell, her relationship with Stephen almost broke her, until Tara found the strength to leave.
Now she is on the road to discovering that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and follow your heart.
As Tara’s self-belief grows, she meets two men she is instantly drawn to who will change her life forever.
Corporal Riley Hammond is a soldier in the Australian Military Special Forces. With his smiling sapphire blue eyes, Tara falls for him instantly. He is thoughtful and caring, and gives her the support and love she needs.
While Cole Michaels is the overconfident singer in a popular local band. His charisma, emerald green eyes, tattoos and piercing, have girls falling at his feet. But while Cole pushes
Tara’s buttons, he also pushes her to reach for the stars.
Both men couldn’t be more polar opposites, but both offer Tara different qualities that she needs to fulfill her destiny.
As Tara continues her journey, she will discover fate can offer you more than one path. Her fate is in her own hands, and the choices she makes, will shape her life forever.
For a limited time, purchase Songbird for only $0.99!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
While Lisa Edward has called Melbourne Australia home for her entire life, she has lived and worked in England, and travelled through most parts of Europe and the United States. She loves nothing more than spending time with her husband and beautiful daughter, or curling up into the early hours of the morning with a great novel. By day, Lisa works in the analytical IT field, so relishes the opportunity to foster her creative side through writing. Her deep appreciation for literature was nurtured from a young age, being taught to respect books and get lost in their stories. She enjoys reading honest and realistic novels that are relatable, thought provoking and leave a lasting impression. She can’t write without music playing, using the emotions from different songs to invoke that of her characters. Lisa takes inspiration from her own life experiences, the people around her and those she has met in her travels.
