Title: Paper Hearts
Author: Brittany Taylor
Genre: Enemies to Lovers Romance
Release Date: March 26, 2021
BLURB
Asher Owens.
Gorgeous. Arrogant. Liar.
It’s been ten years since Asher left me with nothing but the remains of our shattered dreams.
The last place I expected to see him was at a small bar in a city of over eight million.
With my heart set on expanding my business, I needed one of New York City’s best real estate executives. Little did I know it would be the same man who had torn my heart like a piece of paper before setting it on fire.
Once my gaze lands on his, I know Asher is no longer the boy I loved when I was eighteen. No, this Asher treated me like a stranger. All for the sake of not wanting to sift through the ashes of our past.
Yet Asher’s arrogance rivaled any sort of rejection, even mine. Using his own selfish ambition, he needed me to claw his way to the top.
Despite his true motives, I had foolishly let him back in.
I’d fallen in love with Asher Owens once before and this time I would try my best not to make the same mistake twice.
PURCHASE LINKS
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
Paper Hearts was a phenomenal enemies-to-lovers second chance romance! It is one of those books that I started reading around 8 pm and stayed up way into the night, finishing it because I could not put it down! This is the first book I’ve read by Brittany Taylor, and I absolutely loved it. It is well-written, the pacing is perfect, Asher and Charleigh’s story is heartbreaking, and their journey back together is full of tears but so beautiful!
Ten years after Asher gave her the brush-off the night of their high school graduation, Charliegh is shocked to run into him in NYC. And even more shocked that their best friends are married to one another. But since he’s one of the best realtors in the city, she’s kind of forced to work with him in finding a new space to expand her floral shop.
It’s not an easy feat, and spending time together brings up all kinds of bad memories for both of them. But as they face their past hurts and address the issues between them and where things went wrong — and rediscover the love that brought them together in messages left behind on paper hearts — Asher and Charleigh realize that they never stopped loving one another. A marvelous, emotional, second chance story! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
EXCERPT
I step forward, closing the space between us. It’s the closest I’ve been to her in ten years. She steps backward, her back hitting the wall behind her. Her scent fills the air around us, a mixture of vanilla and flowers. Even with her heels, the top of her head still doesn’t meet my chin. I’m hovering over her, looking down at her as she tips her chin up. Breaking my eyes away from hers, I take a glance at how many floors we still have to go—only ten more left. Her whole body turns rigid with mine pressed against hers. She presses her lips together and swallows, her eyes dancing between my mouth and my eyes.
“What bothers you more, Charleigh? The fact that I won’t work with you or that you think I’m a shit friend? Because it seems to me it might be both.”
She bites down on her bottom lip, pulling it between her perfect teeth.
Fuck.
Suddenly I’m remembering how those lips once pressed against mine. Standing this close to her was a mistake, my reaction to her beginning to grow within the black pants of my suit.
Despite my question, she remains silent, so I continue. “And don’t pretend to be shocked by my question. We both know the truth behind how you really feel about me.”
Her bottom lip pops out from between her teeth, the flesh pink from the pressure she placed on it. “Wow.” The word slowly seeps out of her mouth, letter by letter. Her eyes narrow once again, and it’s as if she’s pierced me straight in the chest. “How arrogant you must be to assume how I feel about you after ten years of silence. Don’t act like you’re the victim here, Asher. You made your choices and I made mine.” Her words are laced with venom, meant to poison me.
It took nearly ten years to put Charleigh out of my mind. The pain of what happened, her forcing me to make the decision to leave her, is still fresh, even after all this time. We both lost something the night I left, but in a way, I feel I lost more than Charleigh did…my mother, and Charleigh.
I thought I was doing what was best for the both of us, but the differences between her and me couldn’t be more apparent.
The elevator settles before the doors slide open. I’m still standing in front of Charleigh, pressing her body against the wall. She pushes against my chest and quickly walks out. I hold my breath, knowing I should let her go. But like the fool I’ve always been, I don’t.
AUTHOR BIO
Brittany Taylor grew up all over the world including places such as California, England and Texas. Today she resides in Connecticut with her husband, two sons, two cats, and a dog. She loves reading but loves writing even more. Her favorite things in life are her family, binge watching Golden Girls, and tacos.
AUTHOR LINKS
After serving a decade long prison sentence for an accident that resulted in my husband’s death, Noah Reid returns. Even if he was my childhood best friend and the first man I secretly loved, I refuse to make it easy for him. But the heart never forgets and those old repressed feelings quickly bubble to the surface.
Sunny Shelly Reads 