Series: A Sign of Love #8 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 10th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review
Kira Dallaire is desperate.
Some challenges in life seem too hard to overcome. With little money, and even fewer options, the quick-witted and vibrant twenty-two-year-old needs to reinvent herself. Known for her generous heart and impulsive personality, she devises a survival plan, possibly her most outrageous idea yet.
Grayson Hawthorn is losing hope.
Some obstacles in life seem too hard to overcome. Betrayal definitely being one of them. With limited capital, and dwindling resources, he is attempting to resurrect his failing family vineyard, a self-imposed vow seemingly destined to fail. That is until a young woman enters his office with an outlandish, unexpected proposition impossible to refuse.
What begins as a temporary business arrangement, soon evolves into more as vivacious, spirited Kira challenges detached, arrogant Grayson to want more from life. To want more for himself. But as their wills clash and fiery passion ignites, they’ll realize that sometimes the past creates walls too difficult to climb, and that lies and deception rarely precede a happily every after.
As Kira and Grayson race toward their destiny, they will discover that some vows are meant to be broken, and others are worth risking everything for . . . even your very own heart.
Mia Sheridan is an author whose books I will never hesitate to read. Her books – her words – pack such a powerful punch, it’s honestly exhilarating to read her stories. And her stories are so gorgeous and romantic. Her latest A Sign of Love novel, Grayson’s Vow, very much felt like a fairy-tale romance. I loved the setting of the vineyard and I loved how Mia Sheridan created two flawed, broken characters who find love and hope in each other. I wholehearted enjoyed Grayson’s Vow, and though it may not be my favorite of the series, THIS book is the only one that made me tear up.
“Love is not always smooth and easy. Love can be piercing. Love means exposing yourself–all of yourself, every tender part–to being hurt. Because true love is not only the flower, true love is also the thorns.”
Grayson Hawthorn is trying to restore the failing family vineyard his father left him, but with no money, no working equipment, and so few workers, he’s losing hope that he’ll be able to fulfill his final vow to his father. Then, like a godsend, Kira Dallaire comes into his life and makes him a deal – they get married and convince the public that their marriage is real, and Kira will give Grayson enough money to restore the vineyard. But Kira isn’t really making this deal out of the kindness of her heart – she’s desperate herself, broke, and in need of the money that she only has access to once she gets married. So theirs is an arrangement made out of desperation, but one that ends in hope.
Kira and Grayson may need each other, but it’s clear that from the very first moment they meet, they don’t like each other. Grayson is quite the ass to Kira, making quick judgements about her that aren’t necessarily true. Kira definitely doesn’t hold back against Grayson, and the two go head-to-head, fighting and provoking each other. Underneath it all, though, is an intense sexual tension that the two try to ignore, but can’t.
“Oh, I dare you,” she said, something fiery and thrilling in her eyes. “Show me that dragonish side. Do your worst.”
I stepped in immediately to the challenge. “Dragonish? Oh, my little wife, you haven’t even glimpsed dragonish yet.”
Grayson holds so much pain and hurt within him because of the lonely life he’s lived, that he lashes out against the people around him, especially Kira. This is why it was difficult to like him for pretty much the first half of the book. He’s just so… mean to Kira, so he had a lot of making up to do in my eyes. Kira, thankfully, stands up to Grayson, and she was the highlight of this book. I really enjoyed her warmth, her huge heart, and the way she views the world so optimistically, unlike Grayson. These two are very different characters, but they manage to balance each other out in the most perfect way. And the way they slowly fall in love… it’s breathtaking and beautiful and so heart-wrenching.
She was everything to me: my dreams, my weakness, and the person who made me want to be strong. She was the one woman who showed me I mattered, that I was wanted. That I was enough.
I liked this book, I really did, but I just didn’t LOVE it like I expected to. It was slow going for the first half of the book, but once the pace picked up, I couldn’t stop reading. I didn’t really connect emotionally for the majority of the book, though, since Grayson and Kira are at each other’s throats for so long. It took a little too long for me to become invested in these two characters, but when I finally did, the story swept me away. I even TEARED UP at some parts of the book, I was so swept up in the emotions this book brought out in me. I wholeheartedly suggest you don’t give up on this book if, like me, you feel the story dragging a bit, because the end will be so worth it (the epilogue is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever read!). Grayson’s Vow isn’t quite as epic as Mia Sheridan’s previous incredible works (Becoming Calder/Finding Eden will forever be my favorites of the series), but with the author’s beautiful writing, I couldn’t not enjoy it. I still think this book is a fantastic love story, a very worthwhile read, and one fans of the series should not miss.
“True love is the greatest leap of faith there is.”
Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.
Reading Order: A Sign of Love series
Note: Each of the books in the A Sign of Love series can be read as complete standalones that have no connection with each other, with the exception of Leo’s Chance, which is the hero’s POV of Leo, and Becoming Calder and Finding Eden, a two-book story featuring the same cast of characters. None of the characters in the different Sign of Love books are connected.
#1 ~ Leo: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Leo’s Chance: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Stinger: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Archer’s Voice: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Becoming Calder: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Finding Eden: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#7 ~ Kyland: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#8 ~ Grayson’s Vow: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#9 ~ Midnight Lily: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
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