Love Meets Story In A Small Town Way In "Kiss Me That Way"

Title:  Kiss Me That Way
Series:  (Cotton Bloom #1)
Author:  Laura Trentham
Review Format:  eARC
Length:  320 pages
Publisher:  St. Martins's Press
Rating:  5 Stars

A river divides Cottonbloom in two: the upscale enclave on the Mississippi side and the rundown, rough and tumble side in Louisiana. They’re worlds apart—but nothing can build a bridge like love…

Cade Fournette never had it easy Cottonbloom. He stuck around long enough to raise his orphaned siblings and then hightailed it out West—and never looked back. Even though he’s made a success of himself in Seattle, Cade never lost the toughness and the angry edge that helped him survive down South. His only weak spot: the girl he left behind…

Monroe Kirby came from the wealthy side of town, but that didn’t protect her from her mother’s drinking—or her mother’s boyfriend. It was Cade who did that, on a long-ago hot September night, before he disappeared…along with a piece of her heart. Now Monroe is a physical therapist who can fight for herself, and it’s Cade who could use some conditioning when he makes an unexpected return back home. Will he and Monroe pick up where they left off and finally explore their mutual passion—or will the scars and secrets of the past divide them once more?  -Goodreads

Monroe's lips silenced the rest of his question. The champagne on Cade's tongue was almost as intoxicating as his scent. The music from the great room drifted, muted and unrecognizable. As if slow dancing, he wrapped his arms around her and turned them enough so he could close the door, leaving them in silence, except for the ticking of a clock. His hands roamed her bare back, slipping inside of her dress to brush the top curves of her buttocks. She pushed him backward against the wall. Infinitely stronger than her, he could have held his ground or taken charge at any point, but the fact that he let her lead only made her want him more. She was done listening to logic, done fighting her hunger for him. She wanted him. Cupping her cheeks, he pulled his lips from hers. “And again you do the unexpected.” “Unwanted?” she whispered. “Does it look like I’m protesting?” His breath puffed against her cheek before he kissed her once more, slipping his tongue alongside hers, before his mouth retreated once more. She tipped into him seeking more. He took her weight, bracing his legs farther apart, but evaded her mouth. “I watched you dancing with Tarwater. What are you playing at? Is he the man you want to be seen with and I’m the one you’re keeping for the dark?” A thread of emotion in his voice tied itself around her heart and bound her. Was he jealous? Hurt? Angry? “Do you think I’m using you?” She pushed off his chest. “You know I’m not staying long.” She did know. She just didn’t want to think about the day he would walk away from Cottonbloom. And from her. “What are you getting at?” “I think you get something from him you can’t get from me and vice versa. He has clout in this town, but I’m the man that you want in the dark and in your bed, aren’t I?” “If you think all I care about is my standing in this town, why did you follow me?” “Because I want you. That’s why I came.” Belligerence instead of seduction beat at his words. Underneath was a boy who did care what Cottonbloom thought of him. He hadn’t always been the poor swamp rat sneaking around in the dark. “All you want is sex?” “If that’s what you’re offering.” His voice softened, and he squeezed her hips and fit them together. “I can be rough and dirty and a little bit dangerous if that’s how you want me.” Arousal flared even as the gentleness of his touch belied his coarse words. He skimmed his good hand from her hip to settle under her breast, his thumb running up and down the exposed skin in between. Her nipple puckered, begging for his touch. “Is that what you want, sweetheart?” Her body shifted toward his instinctively, seeking to anchor itself to him, needing to draw from his heat and strength. “Th-that’s not what I want.” Before the words were even out, she knew they were untrue, or at least a partial truth. Sex wasn’t all she wanted. But she did want it. “Don’t lie to yourself or me.” He dropped his lips to the shell of her ear and nuzzled. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket. “I could take you right here, right now, with the Tarwaters and all of crazy Cottonbloom a few rooms away. And I’d make it good, Monroe. I’d make your body sing. I’d make you beg before giving you everything you need. Then, you could walk back out into that damn party like nothing happened. No one would know the things you want to do in the dark with a poor, dirty boy from Louisiana.” Her body sang a song of longing and need. She wanted to stay in the dark with him the rest of the night, but there was something even more important she needed to do. With the effort of separating strong magnets, she pried her body from his, opened the door, and took him by the wrist.

My Thoughts

The self-made world traveller and multi-patented inventor that is today's Cade Fournette, is a man far removed from his 'swamp rat' past, in Cotton Bloom, Louisiana. A past filled with the heartbreak of losing both his parents, and any hopes and dreams for his future. A past filled with being mother, father, brother, and provider to his younger siblings. A past that Cade has gone everywhere and done everything to escape.

A past filled with her.

Monroe Kirby never strayed far from her Cotton Bloom, Louisiana roots. As such, she has never been able to fully escape her past. The on again off again sobriety of her alcoholic mother. The dated social hierarchy that still has the power to make or break those living in Cotton Bloom. The boy who saved a terrified 13-year old Monroe from an unthinkable fate. Becoming her friend, and as time went on...and so much more.
A boy who left without a goodbye, taking nothing with him but her heart.

This first book in the Cotton Bloom series, is the perfect blend of charming Southern Romance and emotion driven Contemporary Fiction. Though Cade Fournette crossed the line between the haves and the have nots quite some time ago. An unexpected return to his roots; after a catastrophic accident on El Capitan. Brings both Monroe and Cade face to face with each other, and the past that they have each in their own way, tried so hard to escape.

Laura Trentham's Kiss Me That Way, is a story within a story. A place where small towns and big hearts come together to star in even bigger stories. Stories so vibrant and so relatable, that they become friends to the reader as the story progresses.
Both Cade and Monroe are prime examples of this. They are survivors of tragedies that could have killed them. But because they were able to find ways to rise above what happened. They are able to be the successful people that they have become.

While Cade's story focuses on his struggle to reconcile his past and his present. Monroe's story deals with ghosts from her past coming back into her life in a very real way.
This is a very honest and relevant story. Told with the perfect blend of humor, emotion, and good old Southern happily...

Reviewer's Notes: This is the first title in a companion series that may be read as a stand alone. It may also be enjoyed as part of its intended series.

I was granted a copy of this literary work for review purposes. The opinions expressed herein are solely mine, and have not been influenced by the publisher or their agents.

I was born and raised in a small town in Northwest Tennessee. Although, I loved English and reading in high school, I was convinced an English degree equated to starvation! So, I chose the next most logical major - Chemical Engineering- and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years. Now I live in South Carolina with my husband and two children. In between school and homework and soccer practices, I love to get lost in another world, whether its Regency England or small town Alabama.

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