What if your soul is so intertwined with someone else’s that it’s impossible to imagine yourself without them?
Blake McIntyre and Liane Kelly’s families have spent their vacations together on Sanibel Island their entire lives, and the two have always been the best of friends. But as they get ready to go to college, they admit that friendship isn’t enough for them anymore and spend a whirlwind two weeks daring to dream of their future together.
But building sandcastles and lazy beach walks filled with moonlight kisses isn’t the same as real life, and soon they are faced with a new reality. Can their hope of forever survive past their summer, or does fate have its own twisted plan?
Stepping into the warm water with her, I need her like I need my next breath. I snake my arms around her and pull her to me. I can’t stop the groan that comes out when her wet skin hits mine. I’m a guy; I know all about showers. However, a shower with Liane is beyond my wildest fantasies. Our tongues come together as I step us backwards and press her gently into the wall, hoping it’s not cold. She doesn’t make a sound, so she either doesn’t care or it’s warm enough. I smooth her wet hair away from her face as I deepen our kiss, tilting my head so I can tell her everything I want with my mouth.
She moans, her hands finding me and making my eyes roll in my head. Yeah, this entire night is going to be what saves me for the next few months, thinking about all of this right here. I slow down our kiss and pull away, putting my lips at her ears. “Wanna race?” I tease. I love playing with her; it’s one of my favorite things to do.
“Race?” She looks at me, a gleam in her eye. “We’re starting a new kind of race?” Her hands are still caressing me, and I can barely form words at the sensation.
“Yeah,” I mutter, putting my hands over hers so she will stop for a second. “We’ve raced our whole lives, right? It’s part of who we are. So why not have a race now?”
“What are we racing to?” She looks me up and down, her eyes stopping at the evidence of my desire for her.
I lean over and whisper in her ear, and she giggles, looking up at me with wide eyes. “Really? And what does the winner—or loser—get?”
I wink at her. “The winner gets to pick the next location.” She gets exactly what I mean, and I see the competitive gleam come into her eye.
“Well, let the best man—or in this case, woman—win,” she says. All I know is, I’m not losing because I already have the grand prize. Her.
Life is a series of choices, and every one we make sends us down a different path…
It is easy to look back at your life and see the mistakes you’ve made and wonder how it all could’ve been different. But when the path you thought would last forever comes to an end and you have to choose a new one, do you follow the route that looks the straightest and easiest? Or do you follow your heart and choose the one that might have more twists and turns but could lead you to the happiest tomorrows?
Twisted Paths is not a standalone. This is meant to be read after book one in the Twisted series, Twisted Souls.
The first thing I notice is that the man is seriously beautiful. His body is cut and sculpted like he spends hours a day in the gym, and even in the dim light from the pool deck, I can tell he’s tan. His board shorts hang low on his hips, and the defined cuts of muscle on his chest and abs is enough to send women running to him and dropping at his feet. Had I been a single woman, he would definitely be my type. My eyes lift past his impeccable body to the face and head that’s attached, and that’s when my heart completely stops. I must’ve gasped out loud, because I feel Mia turn and look at me as he gets closer.
I feel my mouth drop open as his eyes meet mine for the first time in years. “Blake.” He stops in his tracks, both of us staring at each other for what seems like every moment of the time we have been apart. I can’t believe he’s standing here, and had it not been for Mia standing next to me, I might’ve thought I was dreaming.
This series had me wanting to throw things while reading Twisted Souls and wanting to bawl my eyes out while reading Twisted Paths. GOOD GOD.
Twisted Souls – the first book in the series is good. It is. it’s classic NA in that there are young emotions at play that make for terrible decisions. Throwing things while reading was not out of the question. I spent a large portion of this book reading through my fingers, cursing loudly and making murderous threats to fictional characters, so…um, yea. don’t say i didn’t tell you what you’re signing up for.
I honestly don’t think that I could have hated Ronan more. He’s an utter piece of shit from the beginning and his assholery only increases exponentially throughout the series. He deserves SO MUCH MORE than he gets. Fuck him and the truck he drives in on. Liane is left to make what she feels is an impossible decision. Have I mentioned I hate love triangles? I DO.
But yet, even though Liane makes – what I think – are the worst decisions on the face of the planet, my heart bled for her because she was doing what she thought was best. A confused young girl is manipulated into making awful choices and I wanted to beat my head against the wall. YET I ENJOYED THIS BOOK, I SWEAR I DID.
Twisted Souls is actually really good and sets you up the way you need in order to fully appreciate Twisted Paths – just know that you’re signing up for LL Collins’ special brand of torture. 😉
I was pretty emotionally wrecked after Twisted Souls and I didn’t know what the hell LL Collins was going to do to me in Twisted Paths, but pretty soon I was lifting my kindle in front of my face to hide the rivulets of tears that were running down my face to avoid my husband’s raised eyebrows.
Twisted Paths was an incredible ride that shows you exactly what happens when you allow yourself to love who you love and fuck the rest. This book jumps 18 years into the future – so, no longer are we talking about naive 18 year olds. While these characters have aged, not all of them have matured. Yes, I’m talking about you, RONAN THE ASSHOLE.
However, the love that dripped from the pages was definitely worth all of the suffering I endured in Twisted Souls. Blake is an incredible man. He’s absolutely everything and his reappearance in this book was a refreshing cool breeze on a stiflingly hot Florida day. His honesty & vulnerability make him such an incredibly loveable character. Liane became more likeable as each page turned and she began to stick up for herself more and more.
Heartfelt and beautiful writing wash away the pain of Twisted Souls – it’s so worth the ride. I loved this series and can’t wait to see what’s next!
[I received a free copy of these books in exchange for an honest review]
LL Collins is a teacher who loves spending her days in the Florida sun with her husband and boys, reading, and writing. Her love of writing has found a home in the self-publishing world. The Living Again series: Living Again, Reaching Rachel, Guarding Hearts, Finding Forever, and Breaking Free: A Living Again Novella are available now in both eBook and paperback. The beginning to her new series, Twisted Souls, was released March 3, 2015 and the second and final book in the series, Twisted Paths, will release April 7, 2015.
LL has been writing since she was old enough to write. Always a story in her head, she finally decided to let the characters out to try to make her lifelong dreams of becoming an author come true. She has been a teacher for over ten years, a wife for 15, and a mom to two boys, 13 and 11.
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Renee Ericson is the author of the These Days series.Originally from the Midwest, she now resides in a small town just outside of Boston with her husband and three children.
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