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A review by alleskelle
Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Small town romances. Are you drawn to them like I am? I think it was Jill Shalvis who gave me the virus. I remember loving her Lucky Harbor series so much. You know why? Because it truly felt like living inside the book with all its characters. A real happy place.
And this is exactly why I loved Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham so much. She managed to capture the small town feel to perfection. And it doesn’t matter that I’ve never set a foot in Louisiana or Mississippi. I can tell by all the little details, the way she has to describe the light, the smell, the humidity of a southern small town, the walks along the river, the secondary characters… It all felt so genuine. I was charmed from the very first pages, and fell in love with this place, with this book. My happy place!
Kiss Me That Way is the first book in the Cottonbloom series and it gripped me from the very first page. I love second chances at love stories and with a start like this, having a peek in the past of both our heroes, I knew I was in for a treat. Kiss Me That Way promised just then to be everything I love a good romance story to be, some unrequited love, second chance at love all wrapped in a small town setting reunion 10 years later.
What more is there to ask?
Oh wait, the author if you’re new to her, has a gift to bring fictional characters to life. She gives so much details, so much flaws and so much care into character’s development, that she literally inflates life into them. And that’s pretty much the most important thing for me in my books. I need a dose of realism even though I’m reading fiction. It’s that thread of realism that makes me able to relate and immerse myself in a book. And let me just say that Laura Trentham does a hell of a good job a it.
Let’s chat about the story!
Told in a dual POV, Kiss Me That Way tells the story of Cade Fournette, unfortunately born on the Louisiana side of the river, and Monroe Kirby, the golden kid from the Mississippi side.
By one fateful night Monroe Kirby is going to meet the boy from the wrong side of town, Cade Fournette. And it’s no matter to Monroe that the Fournettes have the reputation to be no more than swamp rats nor it is that Cade is 17 to her 13 years old. What matters to her is that he was the one saving her that night her mother’s new boyfriend tried to molest her. She’s going to grow the infatuation she has for Cade through the years, until that day Cade leaves town suddenly without even saying goodbye. Short of ever discovering if her feelings could have been returned, Monroe is forced to forget about the man from the other side of the tracks.
Fast forward 10 years later, Monroe is a successful grown up woman, working as a physical therapist in Cottonbloom and as well giving self-defense classes to the women of the community.
I loved Monroe! She was definitely an heroine I could identify myself to. I loved her sass, loved that she wasn’t one to stop at first appearances or give importance to hear-says. She is this strong young woman, growing and upraising herself from a bad experience while trying to give back o the community.
Cade Fournette is back to Cottonbloom after 10 years due to an injury. His brother Sawyer arranged for him to be back in his hometwown to get some rest and the services of a physical therapist. He is not too pleased to be back, all this only serves to unearth too many memories, most of which he’d prefer to stay buried. Especially those few light hearted nights spent with that young Monroe Kirby ten years earlier…
I adored Cade Fournette. Latest addition to my book husband palmarès! He was close to perfection to me. Strong and down to earth type of hero, alpha but not over the top. Capable, protective, rough around the edges, sweet and sexy at the same time. There’s nothing more appealing than a real man and Cade Fournette was definitely ALL man.
Both of them shared great banter exchanges as well as a slow building tension, and I for one loved that the author took her time reuniting those two! It made it all the more powerful in my opinion, all the little jabs and sparks between them served a purpose and damn but the reunion was explosive!
Sexual chemistry? Off the roofs! We are not talking smut here, but the sex scenes were more than hot and perfectly written, with impeccable balance between steam and emotions, rightly in tune with the character’s feelings.
Kiss Me that Way was a sublime mix of sweet and slow burn romance, great banter, sexual tension and chemistry ( that delivers!) and perfect southern setting. Once I started I just couldn’t stop, and you’ll understand within the first pages how easy and addictive Laura Trentham's prose is.
I loved the attention given to introduce all the secondary characters, Tally, Nash, Sawyer and Reagan, Miss Lorna, Uncle Delmar… It felt as if I was part of the story somehow, knowing all the people of Cottonbloom.
All the books in the Cottonbloom series read as perfect standalones, I loved all three and would recommend them to any reader in search for a happy place with a thing for small town romances!
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
“I could take you right here, right now, with all the Tarwaters and all of crazy Cottonbloom a few rooms away. And I’d make it good, Monroe. I’d make your body sing. I’d make you beg before giving you everything you need. Then, you could walk back out into that damn party like nothing happened. No one would know the things you want to do in the dark with a poor, dirty boy from Louisiana.”
Small town romances. Are you drawn to them like I am? I think it was Jill Shalvis who gave me the virus. I remember loving her Lucky Harbor series so much. You know why? Because it truly felt like living inside the book with all its characters. A real happy place.
And this is exactly why I loved Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham so much. She managed to capture the small town feel to perfection. And it doesn’t matter that I’ve never set a foot in Louisiana or Mississippi. I can tell by all the little details, the way she has to describe the light, the smell, the humidity of a southern small town, the walks along the river, the secondary characters… It all felt so genuine. I was charmed from the very first pages, and fell in love with this place, with this book. My happy place!
Kiss Me That Way is the first book in the Cottonbloom series and it gripped me from the very first page. I love second chances at love stories and with a start like this, having a peek in the past of both our heroes, I knew I was in for a treat. Kiss Me That Way promised just then to be everything I love a good romance story to be, some unrequited love, second chance at love all wrapped in a small town setting reunion 10 years later.
What more is there to ask?
Oh wait, the author if you’re new to her, has a gift to bring fictional characters to life. She gives so much details, so much flaws and so much care into character’s development, that she literally inflates life into them. And that’s pretty much the most important thing for me in my books. I need a dose of realism even though I’m reading fiction. It’s that thread of realism that makes me able to relate and immerse myself in a book. And let me just say that Laura Trentham does a hell of a good job a it.
Let’s chat about the story!
Told in a dual POV, Kiss Me That Way tells the story of Cade Fournette, unfortunately born on the Louisiana side of the river, and Monroe Kirby, the golden kid from the Mississippi side.
By one fateful night Monroe Kirby is going to meet the boy from the wrong side of town, Cade Fournette. And it’s no matter to Monroe that the Fournettes have the reputation to be no more than swamp rats nor it is that Cade is 17 to her 13 years old. What matters to her is that he was the one saving her that night her mother’s new boyfriend tried to molest her. She’s going to grow the infatuation she has for Cade through the years, until that day Cade leaves town suddenly without even saying goodbye. Short of ever discovering if her feelings could have been returned, Monroe is forced to forget about the man from the other side of the tracks.
Fast forward 10 years later, Monroe is a successful grown up woman, working as a physical therapist in Cottonbloom and as well giving self-defense classes to the women of the community.
I loved Monroe! She was definitely an heroine I could identify myself to. I loved her sass, loved that she wasn’t one to stop at first appearances or give importance to hear-says. She is this strong young woman, growing and upraising herself from a bad experience while trying to give back o the community.
Cade Fournette is back to Cottonbloom after 10 years due to an injury. His brother Sawyer arranged for him to be back in his hometwown to get some rest and the services of a physical therapist. He is not too pleased to be back, all this only serves to unearth too many memories, most of which he’d prefer to stay buried. Especially those few light hearted nights spent with that young Monroe Kirby ten years earlier…
“- I grew up fast and tough.”
“- You were nice to me.”
“- Don’t fool yourself into thinking I’m nice. I wasn’t then, and I’m sure as hell not now.”
He pulled her braid, forcing her toward him, she didn’t fight him. He dropped his face next to hers, his coarse beard hair caressing her cheek, his mouth close to her ear. “ If I see something I want, I go after it and get it by any means necessary.”
I adored Cade Fournette. Latest addition to my book husband palmarès! He was close to perfection to me. Strong and down to earth type of hero, alpha but not over the top. Capable, protective, rough around the edges, sweet and sexy at the same time. There’s nothing more appealing than a real man and Cade Fournette was definitely ALL man.
“Her husky, sexy as hell near whisper shot through him lie lightning, setting all his muscles at alert. Was she flirting? Was he? And why the confirmation of her single status settled like a ball of warmth in his chest? What did it matter?
“ -You lied to me. You are wearing underwear.
-No. I said, ‘What if I’m not wearing underwear?’ And you shouldn’t be peeking. It’s shockingly unprofessional, Miss Kirby.”
Both of them shared great banter exchanges as well as a slow building tension, and I for one loved that the author took her time reuniting those two! It made it all the more powerful in my opinion, all the little jabs and sparks between them served a purpose and damn but the reunion was explosive!
“She brushed her lips against his. The hand in her hair clamped tighter, holding her in place. The slight tug sent pleasure to every nerve in her body.
– ‘What are we doing?’ His lips moved against hers.
– ‘I’m trying to kiss you, and you’re sitting here like a bump on a log.’ ”
Sexual chemistry? Off the roofs! We are not talking smut here, but the sex scenes were more than hot and perfectly written, with impeccable balance between steam and emotions, rightly in tune with the character’s feelings.
“His gentleness only threw tinder on the fire, making her frantic for more. More of his mouth on hers, his hands on her body, his body over hers, easing her ache. More of everything.”
Kiss Me that Way was a sublime mix of sweet and slow burn romance, great banter, sexual tension and chemistry ( that delivers!) and perfect southern setting. Once I started I just couldn’t stop, and you’ll understand within the first pages how easy and addictive Laura Trentham's prose is.
I loved the attention given to introduce all the secondary characters, Tally, Nash, Sawyer and Reagan, Miss Lorna, Uncle Delmar… It felt as if I was part of the story somehow, knowing all the people of Cottonbloom.
All the books in the Cottonbloom series read as perfect standalones, I loved all three and would recommend them to any reader in search for a happy place with a thing for small town romances!
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞