Blurb:
Tucked away at the base of the Rocky Mountains lived a little boy with one singular dream: leave this broken and battered home and become someone.
Be somebody’s hero.
That boy was me—Colby Brooks. Except I’m not that same little boy anymore.
My dreams might still be the same, but my reality isn’t.
I’m smarter. Stronger. A man.
And I learned a long damn time ago, the only way to achieve my dreams was to avoid distractions—at any cost.
Focus. Resolve. Determination.
But all it took was one single night. One night and my entire life…changed.
One night had me colliding head first with the biggest distraction of my life; Rory Oaks.
Smart. Charming. Beautiful.
Rory changed everything.
Quickly, my one-track mind started to bend.
Each kiss faded decade-long dreams.
And with one single incident, I fly off course.
Excerpt:
Head turned down, pushing the sleeves of his white Henley up his arms, he swaggers toward me. His jeans hang low on his hips, held up by the same brown belt he wore the other night. His narrow waist directs my eyes to the center of his jeans, and I can’t help wonder what might be behind the crotch of his pants.
And then there is his chest. Barrel like, broad and prominent. His thick biceps showcase his strength, and the fabric of his shirt stretches over his shoulders and forearms. Having spent a lot of time at the gym, I’ve seen every body type, but Colby’s is different. He’s strong, built, but not like a body builder. His body seems to suggest the only kind of weight he’s been lifting is his own body, pushup after pushup. I can’t imagine there being barbells in his workouts, but I can imagine logs, cadets, and heavy machinery. He has working muscles, the kind you earn from hard, dedicated work on the field. In a word? Impressive.
Walking up to Stryder, he grips his friend’s shoulder and says something into his ear. A smirk crosses Stryder’s face before he moves over to our side of the bowling alley and takes Colby’s place.
Is he leaving? Already?
Might as well at this point. It’s not like he’s going to talk to me, not after my pathetic attempt at a bet. I should have known I was going to hang out in the gutter all night. It’s where I usually am when I’m bowling. I blame the ball. The thing has a vendetta against me.
Sighing, I prop my chin in my hand and watch Stryder expertly toss his ball down the lane, getting a strike . . . once again. And just like every other strike, he pumps his arm up in the air and celebrates. We get it, you’re good, no need to—
“Hey.”
That voice . . .
Stunned, eyes wide, not able to move, not wanting to scare him away, I keep my eyes trained forward, soaking in that beautifully deep voice of his for a brief moment before saying, “Hey.”
“Can I sit here?”
Still keeping my eyes trained forward, I say, “Sure.”
My body tingles with awareness of how close he is to me, that fresh laundry scent invading my senses, prickling the little hairs on my arm. My body leans toward his, wanting a little more, searching for anything else he might give me. I don’t know why he’s choosing to engage me in conversation, but I’m sure as hell not moving while he does.
“Sorry about tonight,” he says and he actually sounds sincere.
“Why are you sorry?” I mumble.
Reaching around, he takes my cheek in his hand. The callouses on his palm rubbing against my skin is a welcome sensation. As I’m turned toward him, I steady my breathing. I’m having a hard time slowing my heart rate because of his close proximity, and the unexpected touch shooting a wave of heat through my veins.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to ask me any questions. I didn’t think you were going to suck that bad.” A playful smile tugs at his lips, and my heart sinks to the floor. Oh God, he’s so gorgeous, especially when he smiles.
Matching his smirk, I say, “I didn’t think I was going to suck that bad either.”
“I feel bad.”
“You should.” That garners a laugh, deep and throaty, the sound cloaking me like a shield, protecting me from the outside world, bringing me into a little bubble where we are the only two that exist.
“Ask me a question.”
Shocked, I swallow hard and say, “Really?”
He nods and holds up his fingers. “You get three.”
“Oh, three? Wow, I feel like you just gave me the key to your soul.”
Rolling his eyes, he adjusts his stance on the barstool and leans back, giving us some space, our knees still knocking into each other. “Easy killer; it’s just three questions.”
“Yeah, three questions I didn’t have before.” Tapping my chin, I try to think of good questions, but now that I have him willing and waiting, nothing comes to mind. I wasn’t prepared for this, he caught me off-guard, and now I feel I can’t be strategic about my probing. “Hmm . . . what do you like to do on the weekends?”
“Jump,” he answers.
Searching his eyes, lips quirked, I say, “Uh, you’re going to have to be more specific than that. What kind of jumping are we talking here? Like jump roping? Because that seems kind of weird to do on the weekends, and if you tell me you’re in some kind of jump-roping club at the academy, I’m not going to believe you.”
His lips curve up as he scratches the side of his jaw. “Jump out of airplanes.”
Oh.
Oh.
That’s . . .
Uh, that’s really hot.
“So you just casually jump out of airplanes?”
“I’m part of the Wings of Blue, the academy’s parachute team. We jump every day, at least two to three times a day after class and before dinner, depending on wind and ceiling limits. On the weekends, some of the guys, including Stryder and me, go to Springs East Airport and do civilian jumps. The more jumps we get in, the higher the chance we’ll be considered for big demonstrations, like parachuting into football games and major sporting events for the Rockies and Broncos.” Ummmm. Did anyone else just hear how many words he gifted me? And seriously? Does the man have no clue how incredibly sexy he is when he talks about something he loves? The expression on his face . . .
“Wow, that’s . . . that’s really hot.” I chuckle. “Sorry, I don’t mean to fangirl over your parachuting, but I guess I wasn’t expecting that answer. You just jump out of planes?”
He slowly nods. “Every day.”
“Anything to get you up in the clouds, huh?”
“Yeah,” he answers shyly, rubbing his jaw. “Okay, next question.”
Our Reviews:
Louise's Review:
Colby and Rory took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with this book. This is my first Meghan Quinn novel and to say I thoroughly enjoyed it is an understatement. This is book 1 of The Blue Line Duet and I was blown away, leaving me hanging on the edge of the cliff waiting to see what happens next.
As a small child Colby had 1 goal in life be just like Gramps, Join the Airforce and become a Fighter Pilot. Serious goals for a 10 year old boy who was about to embark on the hardest years of his life. Wanting to prove that he was good enough to be everything he wanted, Colby wasn’t interested in distractions his life. He was all about the Air Force and being accepted into the next program. Colby never was one of for socialising but when forced to go out with his BFF he meets the gorgeous Rory who he knows straight away is the biggest distraction of his life.
Colby was a very straight down the line guy he knew what he wanted and went for it, which is a great quality for man. He showed Alpha dominance and heart but he had to give up the fight and bring down his very high walls. Rory is a very determined young woman, giving up her own hopes and dreams for her family. She is pushy, persistent and never gives up something that she proves to do very well.
“There is no doubt about it; He’s the most eye-catching man I’ve ever met”
They both felt the attraction from across the patio, Rory had to meet him and Colby couldn’t get far enough away from her. When Colby gives in to temptation their sexual chemistry is through the roof and you get to meet a whole new side of Colby, one that I personally don’t want to ever lose.
Meghan has done an amazing job of writing both these characters and incorporating real life issues that couples go through in the Air Force life. Colby grows as man and we get to see that throughout the book with flashbacks to his younger years which are done perfectly, it left me feeling like I knew exactly how Colby felt and why he was living his life as he is.
I personally loved this book, I read this book in 1 day and struggled to put it down. I cannot wait to see where she takes this story as I am hanging onto every single word. The Downside of Love is on my to read list and I am counting down to find out the ending, will they get their Happily ever after or be left falling out of the aeroplane with no parachute.
Star Ratings;
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Heat: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Johnaka's Review:
“Freefalling into love, 5 stars”
If your needing a story that will make you fall in love with a couple and then shatter your heart, then keep you with a bated breath hoping and praying that everything will work out then this is your story. I am personally married to a military man and I got this story even though it was different than mine. But my husband and Colby have a few things in common and I loved it. I want the second book like yesterday and I just got done reading the first not even five minutes ago.
Colby is solely focused on becoming a fighter pilot. He has time for no one and nothing else, until he meets Rory. She shows him there is another side of life he didn’t know he was capable of having. Is he willing to take a chance on Rory? If he does what does that mean for the life he’s always wanted?
When Rory sees Colby from across a room she wants to know him. When she meets him she cant help but want him? When she gets him can she keep him? Her life has her firmly planted in Colorado Springs and Colby’s can take him anywhere, is she willing to risk her heart for him?
Everything about this story called to me. I loved every single thing about it. The next book needs to appear on my kindle right now because I want to keep devouring these two’s story over and over again. This is one series I know I will continue to read later on. And I can tell you I hope that I hope Quinn doesn’t end the series after these two’s story is over.
Star Ratings:
Plot-5/5
Character-5/5
Heat-5/5
Writing style-5/5
Overall-5/5
THE DOWNSIDE OF LOVE – July 5th
This isn’t a story about a love triangle. There is no triangle involved.
This isn’t a story about an accidental pregnancy. Although having a baby with her . . . I would.
This isn’t a story about lies and deception, even though at times I’ve lied to myself.
No, this is my story.
A story about sacrifice.
A story about a man who fell in love with the wrong girl.
A story I wish I never had to tell.
This is a story about the true meaning of the downside of love.
Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.
Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.
Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!
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