One and Only by Amy Knupp

Hi there!

Welcome back to the Saturday edition of Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're shining the bookish spotlight on an ebook I read not so long ago as part of a First Readers Club on Facebook.  They are really lovely folks, if you don't know of it and you're interested in some fab writers and their works, you should totally check it out.  Anywho, the last read to spring from their domain was my latest venture into Marilyn Brant's wordy world, but today, we're trying a new-to-me author.  The work is Contemporary Romance and it happens to be BOOK SEVEN in the series, but  with my experience between the epages, that just means there is more to dive into at any given moment!  Ladies and gents, please welcome today's ebook of choice...

One and Only

Hale Street, Book 7

by

Amy Knupp

About the book...

Drummer Micah Sullivan lost his music and his dreams when his wife died unexpectedly. In the emotional aftermath, he quit his successful country band and pushed away his family and friends. Three years later, he’s opened a music shop on Hale Street in Nashville and tells himself he’s content trying to make it a hit. What he failed to consider is that success requires connections—including the very ones he turned his back on.

Sloan McGuire is up for a new challenge…never realizing it might lead to heartbreak. When she takes a job as entertainment manager at a bar not known for its music, she doesn’t bargain for running into Micah, whose late wife was her best friend. She can tell within minutes that he’s still grieving. Out of love for her friend, she attempts to reconnect with the reclusive drummer. Falling for him isn’t in the plans, though—not only because he was married to her friend but because she’s been second-best before, and she never wants to play that role again.

As Micah starts finding his rhythm, life throws him a different beat. But with a little improvisation and a lot of courage, he just might tap into the one and only connection he needs.

   

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If you follow me on GoodReads you may have noticed, this title had a severe lack of updates posted once I added it to my "current reads" list.  It's not that it wasn't good or worthy of letting you know what was happening...it's that it was THAT good and stopping to tell you about the moments I was in would have taken me away from the book for too long.  Sorry....not sorry.  ^-^  Anyway...

This was a refreshing take on the Contemporary Romance novel, being mostly from a male POV and he being the one that truly needs to open his heart to find his way.  Often times when stories lean this way, author's tend to make the male lead overbearing, overtly crass, or otherwise draw a line that your typical CR reader (*raises hand*) doesn't want to cross.  Here, Micah is no doubt a man's man but he was raised right.  He may be easy on the eyes (he is) and pleasant to the ears (voice and drumming talent wise), but he also knows how to treat women as more than a trophy or a way to pass the time...in fact, that very insight is what plays into hardening his heart towards a real connection.  Once upon a time, he found that...love that was meant to last the ages, but in the blink of an eye, it was gone and he's never recovered from the loss, not forgiven himself.  Does he need forgiveness, truly?  Not from outside, but from within...and Sloan may be just the woman to help in that area whether she knows it or not.

Sloan is equal parts, beauty, brain, and heart.  She's made a name for herself in chosen field, keeps up with friends the best she can, but closer familial connections are harder.  She's been hurt by her past, but learned from it and she's not about to let it control her future....funny thing about futures though, the past is in their shadow whether we like it or not, and as much as others have to work through, Sloan had a few things needing to be put to rest too.  Even though she's stubborn, it's gonna take more than her own backbone to really tell it like it is...too bad we don't know any good guys that love nothing more than great music and the chance to see others at their best.  Or do we?  *wink wink*  Let's just say, push comes to shove (quite literally) making the decision for Sloan and Micah both a no-brainer.  Now, if they'll only get their brains out of the way and let their hearts do the talking.

My thoughts...it's a musical walk through the streets of Nashville tinged with the loss and heartbreak the music is known for...but colored by hope, forgiveness, and the possibility of second chances.  With friends both old and new to guide them on their way, there's nothing this potential friends-to-couple duo can't do...and we're right in the driver's seat watching it all unfold.  The story was well written, the characters (both lead and support) were people you'd want to know, and the lessons learned were things that would certainly resonate with many readers, either from personal experience or simply of the heart.  Whether you've been reading this series from the start or are now being introduced (like moi), I can certainly see this title finding a home on the shelves (virtual or otherwise) of Contemporary Romance fans round the world.

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About the author...

Amy Knupp is the author of contemporary romance, a freelance copy editor for Blue Otter Editing, a freelance technical writer, and a marketing consultant for a local start-up company. She loves words and grammar and meaty, engrossing stories with complex characters.

Amy lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two teenage sons, four cats, and two box turtles. She graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in French and journalism. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, breaking up cat fights, watching college hoops, and annoying her family by correcting their grammar.

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Special thanks to author Amy Knupp for the ebook for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or her other works, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is newly available this month, so be on the lookout for it at a virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!