Run to You cover

Ethan Hunter (a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming, so there’s a visual for you) is trying to open Off the Grid Adventures with his two best mates who he has known since they were in foster care. Besides those two lads, his family is his Gram, his mother’s mother, who adopted him in his teen years. Gram is a forced to be reckoned with, and the revelation that she has an inoperable aneurysm at the beginning of the book rocks Ethan on his emotional heels.

Gabrielle “Gabby” Winters is a video game designer (tech heroine alert!) who has moved to the sleepy town of Haven, North Carolina to escape her controlling douchecanoe of an ex. She plans on spending the summer holed up in her rented cabin, ignoring everyone and healing. Then she runs into Ethan and her whole world is turned upside down.

Ethan and Gabby meet as she’s getting stung by yellowjackets and falling ever so gracefully into a stream. He’s absolutely gorgeous and lets Gabby know he’s interested immediately, but she just got out of an abusive relationship and wants to rebuild her life by herself. He respects her space and backs off, until he’s forced to make a promise to Gram that involves them spending a whole lot more time together.

Run to You is a complete delight from start to finish. I adored Gram, appreciated Lacey‘s treatment of domestic violence in both Ethan and Gabby’s pasts, and was rooting for the two of them from the get go. There’s nothing ground breaking in here, but lawd did I make happy book noises when finished. This is the start of a new series that I will be following in earnest. For fans of contemporary romance, especially arranged marriage and insta-love tropes, this one is definitely a one-click.

Don’t believe me? The author has graciously provided me with an excerpt to share with you so you can see for yourself.

When Ethan awoke, sunlight was streaming through his window, and based on the tent in his sheets, Gabby was still on his mind. He closed his eyes and started counting backward from fifty, his morning tradition to relieve the pressure so that he could leave the bedroom without being indecent in front of Gram.

His dick was just starting to relax when his phone pinged with an incoming text. Welcoming the distraction, he reached over and grabbed it off the nightstand.

The text was from Gabby. Thinking about you this morning and hoping that problem we talked about hasn’t gotten too hard to handle.

She’d inserted a little winking emoticon at the end, followed by a sunrise and a tree. Morning wood. And yep, that problem had just gotten really hard again.

Killing me. He texted back.

That bad, huh?

Oh yeah, it was bad. Getting worse by the second.

I’d be happy to help you with it if you want to stop by… This was followed by several colorful hearts.

His poor cock ached at the thought. But… No can do. Gotta take Gram to an appointment.

Oh. Bummer.

No kidding. Gotta go. Chatting with you is not helping the issue.
He thrust his phone back onto the bedside table and lay there, concentrating on the sounds of Gram moving around in the kitchen until his dick finally accepted defeat. Then he went down the hall and took a long, cold shower.

I read this one in almost one sitting (it was a long flight, so the sitting was admittedly forced), with a Diet Coke in hand, chuckling out loud along the way.

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Further Reading:

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I got a copy of this book as a participant in a release tour in exchange for a fair review. Thanks, Tasty Tours!