SYNOPSIS
One single summer changed them forever, and one moment of devastating silence destroyed it all.
Growing up with six siblings, Leo Preston has always struggled to find his voice.
While his brothers are loud, greedy, and somewhat obnoxious, Leo is forever the quiet one.
The thinker.
The listener.
He watches his life pass by as an outsider in his own world, absent and alone.
Lost.
Until he finds her.
For Leo, Mia Kovács is like a prize, a gift wrapped in passion and devotion.
And she’s his—his very own secret he doesn’t have to share.
Together, they can overcome anything…
heartache and destruction, guilt and regret.
Mia gives Leo everything he didn’t know he needed,
including her fragile heart.
The only thing she doesn’t give him…
are secrets of her own.
*****Patty’s Review*****
*****FIVE STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}
I reach up, swipe my thumbs across her cheeks, expose my flesh to her liquid agony. My eyes search hers, and I wish I could sink in her tears until there was nothing but her pain in my lungs. I would drown in her heartache.
If you’ve read any of Jay McLean’s previous books, then you know your heart and mind are about to be put through so much gut-wrenching torment but her stories are beyond phenomenal and so you just keep coming back for more torture. None of her characters ever have a straight and easy path to their happily ever after, and that certainly wasn’t the case for Leo and Mia. Their love story will be filled with about a decade’s worth of heartbreak and unbearable angst. I loved every minute of reading this one. Leo surprised me. Who knew the quiet Preston brother would become the biggest swoon-worthy Hero?!
Leo has always been the quiet and introverted Preston sibling, but you learn in his story that he does not waste words. When he does speak, the most beautiful heart-wrenching words come out of his mouth. When Leo gives his heart to a girl…it’s the forever kind of love. The moment he laid eyes on Mia at the tender age of thirteen, Leo was a goner. It takes him a full year to get the courage to even speak to her and when he does, the two form a fast friendship and create sweet memories that will carry them through some dark times.
Mia is a shy and insecure young girl. Both of her parents abandoned her and she’s only ever known what it feels to be loved by her grandfather and her childhood best friend. She’s been ridiculed for years over her looks and her weight. When gorgeous Leo Preston starts spending time with her and makes his feelings for her known, she can hardly believe that this is really happening to her. Just when it looks like her life is taking the turn for the better, it all falls apart, and it’s Leo’s silence that speaks volumes in Mia’s mind. His silence will cause him to lose the girl.
Years go by and somehow fate has brought these two back together, but Mia hasn’t forgotten what happened in the past and she’s not so eager to give Leo another chance to rip her heart apart. So much heartbreaking angst transpires between these two. Ultimately a secret that Mia’s been keeping will have the power to tear these two apart forever or will destroy the Preston family.
This was a truly epic story and Leo is now my favorite Preston brother!
Here are my overall ratings:
Hero: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Plot: 5
Angst: 5
Steam: 4.5
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 5
”LEO” is currently available!