Blog Tour ~ Review & Giveaway ~ When You're Ready by JL Berg @authorjlberg

Book Description:

When Clare Murray suffers the tragic loss of her husband Ethan, leaving her alone to raise their infant daughter, she feels the grief overwhelming her, seeping into her very soul. Weeks later, she stumbles upon an envelope with the words “When You’re Ready” written in Ethan’s familiar messy handwriting, but can’t bring herself to breach the seal. Ready for what? He was her entire world, and Clare has accepted a life without him, without love. Until, years later, fate brings her to an emergency room, and face to face with stormy eyed doctor intent on changing her mind.

Logan Matthews is the son of a billionaire who has spent his entire life trying to make his absent father proud. Years of living up to man who more ghost than father, and a public failed marriage has left Logan cold and emotionless until he walks into an exam room to discover a woman who stops his heart, makes his body burn with desire and leaves his entire world altered.

But how far are Clare and Logan willing to go for love? When their love is tested, is Clare ready to put her whole heart on the line again? Can Logan learn the true meaning of love, even if it means sacrificing his own happiness? When a second chance at love is given, Clare and Logan learn you never know you are truly ready until you’re ready to risk it all

Find it on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17906490-when-you-re-ready

Excerpt:

*Contains Adult Content*

A knock on the door marked the entrance of yet another person. As I turned my head, I found myself face to face with the real-life version of Dr.McSteamy entering the exam room. Is this our doctor? Holy hell, I think I just whimpered a little.

Tall and built like a swimmer, he was sexiest thing I’d ever seen in a pair of scrubs. Like the sky right before a summer storm, his eyes bordered between gray and blue, and I couldn’t help but stare into their thunderous intensity. His hair was dark brown that edged near black and had that “just fucked” look to it. The kind of hair that made you want to run your hands through it. How did guys do that? Did they spend time creating that look in a mirror, or was it really a product of being fucked? I suddenly wanted to know. Oh shit, was I drooling? Did he say something?

He was looking right at me, waiting

“Are you the mother?” he asked. His eyebrow arched in question. A really hot question.

Seriously, Clare…get your mind out of the gutter.

“Uh, yes. I’m Clare Murray. This is my daughter Madilyn, uh, Maddie,” I said, trying to cover up the fact that I had probably been standing there for an ungodly amount of time, lamely staring at him and forming my own mini puddle of drool, while he tried to get my attention back on my sick daughter.

Yup, best mother ever.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Murray, I’m Dr. Matthews.” Turning to Maddie, he said “And this must be the princess.”

Calling Maddie a princess earned him major brownie points, and I think I even heard a faint giggle. She immediately looked up, her big brown eyes connecting with his as he began the examination.

Dr. Matthews bent down, leaning over her tiny frame and ran his hand over Maddie’s head. I knew he was checking for any bumps or abnormalities, but his gesture seemed protective and my heart did a little flip flop seeing my daughter in the arms of another man.

Done with his physical exam, he settled himself at the end of the hospital bed and motioned for me to take a seat in the chair positioned next to Maddie. It was a small room, making us all very cozy. I could feel the heat radiating off his body. His really, really hot body. His eyes lingered on mine briefly, and I felt the blush start to creep up my cheeks. A quick smirk flashed across his face before he began speaking.

“Well, your nurse already gave me some of the details on what lead to Maddie’s injury this afternoon. Sounds like you had an eventful day,” he said, giving Maddie a gentle smile. She looked up at him like he’s the king of the world, which surprised me. Maddie’s generally not a fan of men, having not been around many in her life.

“But it looks like a classic concussion. Her skull feels normal, and I don’t see any signs of swelling or bleeding. I’m going to go ahead and order a CT just to rule out anything major and make sure we’ve covered all of our bases. But more than likely she’ll be back to her old self in a few days,” he said, offering reassurance.

I nodded absently, those stark white walls starting to tighten around me. It’s not the fact that he wanted a test that sent me into an instant panic attack. I understood the precaution. I was glad Dr. Matthews was taking the time to do so, and I appreciated his thoroughness. It was the way in which he said it. The exact phrasing. One sentence, and the memory came back to haunt me, flooding my mind and taking over my senses.

Ethan sat down next to me on the bed. He looked at me with those dark brown eyes and concerned, loving look. He knew I always worried about everything.

“Baby, I don’t need any more tests. The doctor says they’re only migraines,” he said. “The CT came back normal which rules out anything major. I don’t want to fight with the insurance company to get an MRI. You know they aren’t going to pay for it, so why bother?” He pulled me down onto our bed so that we were laying side by side.

“It’s going to be fine. So please, stop worrying.” He pleaded, leaning in to kiss me slowly, desperately trying to change the subject. He pulled away, looking at me with a devious grin plastered on his face. “Besides, we have more important things to think about right now,” he whispered, looking down my body slowly and appreciatively.

“Oh, yeah? I can’t think of anything,” I said, faking a yawn and stretching my arms out wide. “I think I’m going to go to sleep. Night!”

I tried to keep my face steady, but I couldn’t help the grin that escaped, and before I could cover my mouth to hide it, he attacked and I squealed with laughter. He straddled my body, pinning me to the bed with his knees, and trapping my wrists above my head in his tight grasp.

“Shhh! This is the first night in weeks the baby has been asleep for more than an hour, and you’re going to ruin it with your squealing horse laugh!” He leaned down to kiss me, chuckling.

“I do not laugh like a horse!” I pouted.

The annoyance in my voice melted as his trailing kisses reached my neck and meandered down to my shoulder, taking the strap of my nightgown with him. He pulled my body firmly against his and slowly made his way back to my mouth, kissing me so fiercely that every other thought melted away. Tests and headaches were left in the past.

If only I had been more persistent, more demanding…taken him to more specialists…

“Are you sure the CT will be enough? Nothing will be overlooked? I asked, escaping from the memory that had held me captive. Fear was evident in my voice. I knew everything was fine, and what happened with Ethan had been rare, but the irrational panic was there nonetheless.

Maddie is not Ethan. Maddie is not going to die. I silently chant, feeling the calm beginning to return.

I looked up at Dr. Matthews, and he was watching me with concern and confusion painted all over his gorgeous face.

Awesome. Good job, Clare. Now the hot doctor thinks you are crazy.

Our Review:

Reviewed by Willow ~ 4 Stars

**ARC received for honest review**

I'd been looking forward to this book and couldn't wait to start it. The prologue starts off three years earlier and is told from Ethan's POV. Ethan knows he doesn't have much time left and sits down to write his wife, Clare a letter for after he's gone. He puts it in an envelope marked "When you're ready"

Jump to three years later and Clare is in the Emergency room with her 4 year old daughter Maddie after she's fallen. It brings back horrible memories for Clare of Ethan being here, but her daughter is hurt and she has no choice. Enter Dr Logan Matthews:

"I found myself face to face with the real life version of Dr. McSteamy entering the exam room. Is this our doctor? Holly hell I think I just whimpered a little.
Tall and built like a swimmer, he was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen in a pair of scrubs."
"Oh shit, was I drooling? Did he just say something?"

As you all know I'm a fan of dual POVs and it alternates been Logan and Clare which is great because you get to see both their reactions to each other. There is an attraction for both of them, but nothing is acted upon then.

Days later Clare is at an home improvement store, completely not knowing what's she's doing and Maddie spots Dr. Matthews. They start talking and he offers to help and starts flirting.

"What did I just f**king say? Shit, I should not be allowed in public anymore. I had just dropped the lamest pick up line ever, in the middle of the home improvement store, right in front of Clare's daughter, no less"

It's obvious that they are both attracted to one another, but Clare never thought she'd love another but Ethan and isn't sure she's ready to move on.

Logan has his own past and issues. Son of a very rich well known man, there was a public scandal surrounding Logan's divorce and he hasn't spoken to his father since. On top of that since since his divorce he's steered away from relationships, feeling that he can't love, opting for one night stands instead and has a reputation for it. Now I must admit here that I thought here we go again, hot, rich womaniser, being tamed for a relationship, but I was so wrong and have begged JL's forgiveness, because Logan's story is nothing like I expected.

As I was reading I was thinking that this is a lovely sweet book, no drama, just one of those books where you watch love blossom between two people, sure there was tragedy with Ethan but watching Clare discover if she can love again and Logan realising that he could, teaching Clare and taking it slow it was lovely.

Clare about Ethan: " my heart still ached for him and I missed him every day, but Logan helped me heal and I felt my wounds closing tighter the longer he was around"

while this is going on Clare is trying to decide if she is ready to read the letter Ethan left 3 years earlier:

"Taking one last look, I placed the letter back in the draw, hoping one day I'd be ready for whatever lay sealed in the envelope. But it was not today."

But this isn't just a sweet romance book, there were some hot scenes too, we just had to wait for their relationship to develop a bit first:

"If I take you home with me Clare, I'm going to f**k you. Repeatedly" " I just want you to remember it. All of it. In vivid, technicolor clarity. And that can only be achieved when you're sober. When you and I come together for the first time, I want you to remember every touch" I ran my hand up her arm and down her back causing her to shiver. "Every moan".
She did just that as I leaned into her body, slowing kissing her neck and tugging on her earlobe with my teeth. "Every wave of pleasure"

And then BAM! At 88% this lovely sweet romance I thought I was reading got angsty! Although there was a clue something might happen earlier on in the book, it was a small one and JL did a good job of making you forget about it because you are so wrapped on in the here and now of their growing relationship.

Now those of you that have read some of our reviews before know I don't usually cry at books, and I didn't, but I could see that some people could find this book emotional.

This book wasn't quite perfect for me, so I'm giving it 4 stars, but I did really enjoy it and definitely recommend it. I cannot wait to get my hands in the next book, which I believe is going to be about Leah, who is Clare's best friend and is a funny sassy character.

Buy Links:

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/333007

Amazon.co.uk:
http://amzn.to/15o3hhr

Amazon.com:
http://amzn.to/1b2JjZk

Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/13DCXxv

About the Author:

I’m a California native, who lives in the South – Virginia to be exact. I still prefer sushi to fried chicken, avocado to okra, and I absolutely loathe humidity, but I love watching the seasons change. My husband and I have been here for ten years, and I still get giddy like a school girl every time it snows.

I’m married to my high school sweetheart. We were married young, barely out of high school, when everyone told us we were crazy and stupid. We’ll be celebrating 12 years of marriage this year, and I love him more every single day. We’re living proof that true love knows no age limit.

We’ve been blessed with two beautiful daughters who continue to amaze and inspire me, and are probably making me go a bit insane. I’m obsessed with yoga and pilates and am a complete chocoholic. I apologize in advance for the amount of sweets in my book.

I’m absolutely obsessed with romance novels (duh) and probably could have built a vacation home with the amount of money I’ve invested in them over the years. Romance novels take you to another place, making your heart race, emotions swell, passion run free. After so many years of meeting hundreds of fictional characters and discovering their worlds, I found myself creating my own.

My debut novel, When You’re Ready, a novel about about finding love after loss, will be released August 1st!

Author Links

Website: http://jlberg.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjlberg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorjlberg

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7084780.J_L_Berg

Giveaway:

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