Reviewed by Jacqueline
Trace + Olivia Boxed Set Micalea Smeltzer
ARC received for honest review
How can you go wrong with a boxed set from Micalea Smeltzer?! Starting with Finding Olivia which introduces us to Trace and Olivia and then the set ends with Saving Tatum, Jude and Tatum’s story. Each story is about finding yourself and getting over the past that has stopped you from doing it. Although the books have been released before, this is a chance to get them all together and be able to read straight through them without having to wait.
Micalea Smeltzer, you are one of my favorite authors and this series is just another reason why! Thank you for bring this series to us and making people remember why we love your writing!
Finding Olivia: How far would you go to find yourself? That’s the question that’s been haunting Olivia Owens for years.
Chasing Olivia: How far would you go to reignite the spark you once had? Two years later, Trace and Olivia are as much in love as they’ve always been. But the spark they once had for life is waning and Trace is determined that they find it again. His solution? A road trip. But he doesn’t tell Olivia the real reason they’re heading north.Tempting Rowan: I’m drowning in the numbness. It’s pulling me under and I can’t see the surface. It’s easier to pretend I can’t feel. And the longer you pretend, the easier it is to believe. But he wants to save me. Only he can’t. I have to save myself…and I don’t know if I want to.
Saving Tatum: Even tough girls need saving. Jude Brooks is bad news. He’s the kind of guy that leaves behind a string of broken hearts and Tatum O’Connor is not about to be one of those girls, despite all of Jude’s advances. They have a past, and Tatum’s determined to make sure they don’t have a future.
Excerpt
heel of my hand. “No! You’ve got to be kidding me!” I pulled off the road, my
tire bumping along.
complete and utter carnage.
straight to my car, like a path of breadcrumbs.
safest road.
looking for the necessary tools to change a tire.
the first thing about changing a tire. My father had made sure that I only knew
how to do a woman’s work.
side, pulling at the ends of my hair. I glared at the offending nail, that had
to be four inches long, sticking out of the tire. How many nails did people
drive over a day and I was the one to get a flat freakin’ tire?
roommate to come pick me up.
the wind gusted around me, blowing leaves off of the nearby trees. I watched
the red, yellow, and orange leaves fall down and scatter over my car. One,
unfortunately, got caught in my hair. I reached up and pulled it out before
letting it drift to the ground.
getting out of a black car that looked like something old, but classic.
rapist.
dark brown, almost black, hair and the greenest eyes I had ever seen. Five o’
clock shadow covered his cheeks and chin. My eyes trailed down, over the white
t-shirt glued to his chest, and stopped there. I could see black ink underneath
the white shirt and licked my lips. The fact that he had tattoos only made him
hotter. To protect against the cold, he was wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt.
putting my earlier fears about him being a murderer or rapist completely to
rest.
you need some help?”
shivered at the sound. I was pretty sure I’d be happy for him to help me with a
lot of things, and none of them included my tire.
where the trunk was.
down, next to the ruined tire.
me,” I ran my fingers nervously through my wavy brown hair. “He said something
about it not being appropriate for a girl to do and if I ever got a flat tire,
I better hope Prince Charming came along. My dad’s very—uh—old fashioned,” I
stammered.
grinned.
he-uh-usually rides a white horse or something… I think.”
black ’69 Camaro doesn’t count as a white horse. You watch a lot of Disney
movies or something?”
from the orange glow of the setting sun.
wasn’t trying to be funny.
was warm and calloused, swallowing mine whole. “Trace Wentworth,” he grinned
when my hand jerked at his touch.