Love in the Light by Laura Kaye
Contemporary Romance. Sequel to Hearts in Darkness.
When I heard Love in the Light by Laura Kaye was coming out, I was so excited, yet I was also a little fearful. Hearts in Darkness, four years after reading it, is still one of my favorite novellas ever. As much as I wanted more of Makenna and Grayson, I was a little scared of ruining one of my favorite couples. Wanting all the details to be clear, I decided to re-read Hearts in Darkness before reading Love in the Light. I was actually surprised by how much I remembered.
They’d met after spending a night trapped in a pitch-black elevator together, and their bond had been fast and deep— built on conversation that had revealed how much they had in common and a physical attraction that transcended appearances.
Love in the Light begins two months later. Caden and Makenna have been doing great, but they still haven’t admitted out loud that they love each other. Caden has no family, and has always spent Thanksgiving working so the other paramedics could be with family. But this year he is going home with Makenna to meet her father and brothers.
This is where Caden’s insecurities begin. He was so down on himself! He immediately thought they wouldn’t like him because of how he looked, with tattoos and piercings. When they were nice and welcoming, he was surprised. And when a little competition shows up, instead of being an alpha man and proving he deserves Makenna, his doubts grow and he begins to think she deserves someone “better” than him.
He shouldn’t burden her with all the doubts and fears and uncertainties that had been building up inside him lately, should he?…
She deserves better than you…
And he felt so amazingly privileged that Makenna James maybe wanted all that with him. But he also felt undeserving. Always.
Makenna was just so damn sweet and perfect, she was completely the light to his dark.
Makenna… Makenna was everything good and light and loving.
Yet she had to walk on eggshells around him, always afraid he would take something wrong. And he did, spiraling into an episode of clinical depression.
My personal feelings have a lot to do with my review of this book. I live with a Caden. The descriptions were so on-target it was like reading about the dark times in my marriage, and after over 25 years of it, I almost wanted to yell at her to run the other way.
Caden couldn’t do anything but sleep. Even though nightmares tormented him. Even though his muscles ached from lack of use. Even though life passed him by.
Honestly, Caden just turned whiny to me. Never thinking he’s good enough, and Makenna had to constantly reassure him. He was so un-alpha.
Yet I did love how he grew and helped himself. I wish she was a bigger part of his healing for their future together, because it will happen again, but the story of how he found himself again was really captivating.
“I will fight for you until you can fight for yourself.”
At one point, I considered DNFing this book. Not because it didn’t capture my attention, but because I didn’t want it to ruin one of my favorite couples. I’m glad I continued, because I really enjoyed where they ended up.
Likes:
- She remained very true to the characters in the first book.
- I enjoyed seeing the characters I loved again.
- Seeing how Caden found himself and healed.
- Makenna’s family.
- Hot, good sex.
- The ending.
Dislikes:
- Caden was too whiny and and down on himself…’wah wah, I’m not good enough so I should leave to make her happy’ crap. It’s one thing to be depressed, another to have so much self doubt.
- Makenna was too sweet and perfect.
- 3rd person felt more like telling rather than showing.
- Typical plot device made the story fairly predictable.
The Down and Dirty:
“I still love…that elevator.”
Rating: 3.25 stars 4.5 Heat
Makenna unbuttoned her jeans, pushed them down, and took them off altogether, leaving her standing there in an oversized, faded red and blue Penn sweatshirt that was just long enough to cover her panties. “You should get undressed, too,” she said, coming to Caden and starting on the buttons of his shirt.
Press and release, press and release. Until she was pulling his shirt from his dress pants and exposing his skin.
She gave a little moan and kissed the center of his chest. “Just like unwrapping a present.” She trailed a line of kisses and licks from one nipple to the other.
“Fuck, Makenna,” he whispered. “What are you doing?”
“Tasting you,” she said.
The words were like a blowtorch to his blood. He was hard in an instant. “We can’t,” he said, though his hands went to the back of her head, encouraging her, guiding her as she continued to kiss and tease and drive him wild with her mouth.
“We can if we’re quiet.” Slowly, she dropped to her knees and bared him to mid-thigh. She took his cock in hand and gripped him firmly, tearing a soft grunt from his throat. “I’ve been wanting you all day,” she whispered, her lips teasing his head with soft kisses. “Wanting to touch you and kiss you and hold you. I can’t hold back anymore.” She licked him from root to tip. Once, twice, three times. And then she sucked him into her mouth.
It felt so fucking good that Caden’s hands flew to her hair, digging in, grabbing hold. She moaned at the contact and pushed herself deeper, burying his cock in the back of her throat. The intensity of it nearly took his knees out from underneath of him.
Makenna pulled off his length. “Lay down on the floor.”
He was too far gone to debate the wisdom of having sex in her father’s house. He needed this. He needed her. He needed the connection and the coming together of the act. Caden locked the door, took the rest of his clothes off, and spread himself out on the beige carpet.
She undressed, too, all that beautiful red hair spilling around the bare porcelain of her shoulders and making him think of peaches and cream. And, fuck, he was starving.
Caden grasped his length. “Take me back in your mouth.”
He didn’t have to ask twice. Makenna settled herself between his legs and wrapped her lips around his cock. She sucked him deep and slow, than fast and shallow, her baby blues flashing up at him so fucking sexy. He needed to see her eyes, so he fisted her hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. He used his grip to urge her harder, faster, deeper. He needed it. God, he needed it. And she took it. She took everything he gave her and so much more.
“Fuck, Red, I’m gonna come if you don’t stop,” he whispered.
She pulled off him, her lips shiny and swollen. “I want you inside me first,” she said, already
crawling up his body.
Loraine Oliver says
Great review I loved it, and now will buy these!
Ana's Attic says
Thanks! Good to see people buying a book from a review!