Forever Your Heart Tour Stop!

 I’m a journalist—Adam Kincaid, BBC reporter, to be exact, so I’m not going to bury the lead. I’m about to see the woman I never got over.

I know that because I’ve been back in America for years now, and I still don’t date American girls. My dad would say I’ve come to my senses, sticking to my own British patrician kind, but that’s crap. Mum, the psychologist, would more wisely say it’s my unresolved issues around Nicki. My teenage years are long behind me, yet my guilt over her remains. So I’ve avoided all things Nicki, though the irony is she’s the one avoiding me.

Maybe if we see each other, we can both move on. Could she ever forgive me? Can you forgive yourself when you hurt someone you love?

But please, don’t answer yet. I’ve jumped ahead of the story, and as a reporter, I should give you more background to get to the root of it all.

So let me tell you my story. Then you can be the judge.

NOTE: While this is the third in the series, it can be read as a standalone book.

Forever Your Heart is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.  I found that I wasn’t as connected to this story by only reading this book as other readers have been because they fell in love with these two characters from the start.  This book is from the POV of Adam regarding his relationship with Nicki.  I had a very hard time getting into this book at the beginning but by the half-way point I was beginning to see the tender relationship that these two had been battling for many years and I was finally able to connect somewhat with the characters.

Adam and Nicki had a long history.  She lost her virginity to him years ago and for some reason they went their own separate ways. 16 years later their paths cross again, both in a high status professional capacity, they were going to have to be careful of not only their careers but also the people that were currently in their lives. 

Nicki was involved with a man who filled the needs she had right then, but looking into Adam’s eyes again for the first time started to unravel her resolve that they were truly over.  Adam set this play into action by requesting the transfer at BBC that would put him in position to see her daily and try to win her love back.

This journey was a beautiful thing to watch after the cards had been stacked and it was left to chance for him.  David and Lisa were secondary characters in this story that not only had me laughing and excited by their involvement in this book, they were also key factors to Adam and Nicki finding their way back together. 

This was a sweet romantic story and as a standalone I gave it four stars.  I do believe that if I had read the first two books, I wouldn’t have found the beginning slow and not entertaining.  I am glad that I stuck with the book because the last half made up for my lacking connection in the first half.  Watching Nicki and Adam reunited, making major life choices and seeing her support him in a moment of sadness made their story real and endearing.  I would recommend this book as a good light read leaving you with a sense of sweet romance.   

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! I have not read the previous books in the series and while it may have added to the experience, it was not necessary in order to understand what was going on and fully enjoy the book. This is the second chance love story of Adam and Nicki, two people who met in high school and had a short, yet intense relationship that ended when Adam had to return to England with his family (I believe this is the subject of the first book in the series). Forever Your Heart is told primarily from Adam’s point of view (POV), with the occasional scenes presented from Nicki’s POV to add depth and insight to the story, and Ms. Whitney does an excellent job in smoothly transitioning from one character’s POV to the other.

The prologue and first chapter provide enough backstory so that readers are able to enjoy Adam’s story and connect with him almost immediately – or at least I did (and I’m sure the sexy British accent had little to do with it). While we don’t know the exact details, it’s easy to discern that Adam did some stupid things their first time around – he was a 17 year-old boy – and he’s never gotten over the “one that got away,” Nicki. So when the opportunity arises for him to insinuate himself in her life, he makes it happen. And what ensues is a story that made me laugh, cry, cringe, fan myself (hot sex scenes), smile as big as my mouth could physically manage, and fall in love with Adam and Nicki.

Forever Your Heart is a beautifully written love story and even though I know how it ends, I will going back to read Beside Your Heart and Disclosure of the Heart because I suspect that it will only make me fall in love with Adam and Nicki that much more. I can only hope that Ms. Whitney has more books planned in the series as I’ve love to see what the future holds for Adam and Nicki, as well as for Lisa and David.

Muff gave Lisa a not very discreet once-over. I could tell she judged her to be a stereotypical, poorly dressed American backpacker and thus no competition for her. Of course, that didn’t mean Muff didn’t view Lisa as a threat. When she greeted her, her voice held the effortless insincerity of the British upper-class. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lisa.”

Lisa didn’t respond well to being appraised by a snooty Brit. I wondered what she would say. It wasn’t in her nature to be insincere. I watched as she nodded with a slight snarl. “Yeah. Hi. Adam mentioned you.” Lisa then raised her eyebrows at me. She wasn’t impressed with my choice of women, but when she spoke, her voice was friendly. “Adam, I’m glad I ran into you. Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Certainly,” I said, though terrified at the thought. I turned to Muff to confirm it was okay. She dutifully smiled and walked a respectable distance away.

After a last glance at Muff, Lisa wasted no time in putting me on the spot. “Do you have anything to say to Nicki? You left before I could ask you.”

I stared blankly at Lisa as her question reverberated in my mind. I had so much to say to Nicki, but would she listen? I could hear Muff’s voice in the far background and turned to see her. With her mobile to her ear, she chatted away. I considered her for a moment. She was a good girlfriend, my father adored her, and we had a great many friends in common. As the daughter of the Earl of Selbourne, Lady Mary Selbourne was considered a special girl.

But she didn’t make me laugh. She never caught me off-guard. She never tripped me up. There was never a time when she was the absolute first person I wanted to tell a story to. Muff was special, but she wasn’t special to me. As David had said, she wasn’t Nicki.

I focused on Lisa, someone who had always been skeptical of my intentions with her friend. Yet here she was, asking to deliver a message to her. After what I’d done to Nicki, I couldn’t request anything of her. She needed to come to me, and I’d learned to live with the fact that it wasn’t going to happen.

My voiced tightened as I said, “Please…just tell her that I miss her.” I gulped hard and added, “I really do.”

   

Mary Whitney blames Laura Ingalls Wilder and Margaret Mitchell for her obsession with romance novels. At an early age, Mary fell in love with the Little House series and its dreamy hero, Almanzo Wilder, who only wanted Laura to be Laura. Like many women, Mary later graduated to the ultimate, tall and dark bad boy, Rhett Butler, who loved Scarlett despite her flaws.

Mary has lived around the U.S., and after a first career in the non-profit world and politics, she's settled in Northern California with her husband and daughters. She spends her days writing characters she hopes somehow capture the romance of Rhett and Scarlett and Almanzo and Laura. She's a firm believer in what Rhett says to Scarlett: "You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how.

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