Dissonance by Drew Elyse
The first time
Logan ever saw Charlotte, she was staring up into the rain.
Logan is searching
for direction when his new roommate makes that entrance. With a body of pure sin,
giant bright eyes, and the voice of an angel, she has his attention
immediately. But everything about Charlotte is also screaming "hands
off."
Charlotte is
hiding. She made a life of pretending, and she is happy to keep it that way.
Physically and emotionally scarred by the secrets of her past, the last thing
she needs is a gorgeous roommate asking all the wrong questions. Their mutual
attraction and devotion to music may be too strong to keep him at arms length,
though.
Can they find a way
to resolve the dissonance between them?
A
genuine heartfelt story of two people falling in love.
Charlotte
struggles with memories from her past. No one knows the pain she’s suffered.
She keeps her past hidden from everyone. Living in Chicago is no longer working
for her and she makes the decision to move closer to her brother Eli and his
girlfriend and her best friend, Alex. Moving to Seattle and becoming roommates
with Eli’s best friend Logan has her a little uncomfortable and nervous once
she realizes just how gorgeous he is.
Logan’s
known for ‘playing the field’ and not ever wanting to commit to a relationship.
His passion for music has him struggling to make a decision about his future
career path. Working for his father’s company or pursuing a music career with
his band, Sinners and Saints. What he wasn’t expecting was to have this brown
eyed, shy, sweet woman get under his skin and it just so happens to be his best
friends sister, which he has already been warned to keep his hands off.
Logan
feels he is unworthy and tries to keep his word to Eli but he can’t stay away.
He’s infatuated, addicted, and so far gone. Charlotte won’t let him in and
keeps him at arm’s length but once he decides there is no way he can stay away,
he does everything he can to prove himself. Will he be able to gain her trust to let him
in?
This
was such an amazing story. Drew did an absolutely fantastic job in this debut.
The story line was incredible and keeps you captivated from beginning to end.
The characters were very well written. Logan and Charlotte’s journey was
beautiful, magical, and emotional and a perfect balance for each other. I
completely fell in love with Logan. He was so caring, loving, patient and
gentle with Charlotte as she struggled with her fears.
Drew
draws you in from the very first page. You can feel the emotions pouring right
off the pages. Dissonance was emotional, funny, heart breaking and frustrating
at times. I was completely consumed and devoured this story in a day.
An
absolutely amazing debut novel which I highly recommend and can’t wait to read
the next one.
**ARC received in exchange for an honest review
“Dance with me,” he
repeated.
I nearly dropped
when he asked. Even following him through the crowd, I was unsure if it was a
good idea to dance with someone who turned my heart into a jackhammer. But,
with my hand secured in his and determination radiating off of him, there was
no going back.
When we made it
onto the dance floor, the crowd had thickened and Eli and Alex were no longer
in our sights. A stranger bumped into me, sending me staggering backward a few
steps and tugging my hand free from Logan’s. He was on me again almost
instantaneously, pulling me to his chest to steady me. I looked up at him,
breathless from the proximity of our bodies, feeling his toned chest and
abdomen beneath his t-shirt. They were even more alluring pressed against me
than they had been that afternoon in the living room.
“You okay?” he
asked, leaning in close so that I could hear. Chills shot down my exposed arms
and neck from the warmth of his breath. I couldn’t form words. I could only nod
and try to keep my face from looking like a deer about to be struck by an
18-wheeler.
Pulling back just
enough so that he could see my face, he smiled. It was the same knowing smile
that I’d seen from him before, the one that seemed at once charming and almost
disgustingly cocky. If there was one thing I did not want, it was for the
arrogant man with his arms around me to know the effect he was having on me.
Silently coaching myself, I regulated my breathing and turned around. With my
back pressed against his front, I began to move to the pulsing rhythm echoing
through the club.
If Logan was at all
surprised by my sudden command of the situation, he managed to not let on. His
hands immediately went to my hips and pulled me tightly against him. Even once
I was pressed so close that I could feel every muscle of his toned core move
and flex behind me, the pressure of his fingertips against my gyrating hips did
not let up. He was holding me there, giving me no room to pull myself away.
There was no need to
hold me. When Logan began to move, his pelvis rocking sensually against my
backside, I was so enthralled that I doubt I could have gotten my body to pull
away from his. I never would have expected Logan to be able to dance the way he
did, with a sensual power over me that was far more intoxicating than the rum
we’d been shooting.
Song after song
bled together but neither of us made any move to pull away. The thought never
even crossed my mind until the music slowed. The constant pressure of his hands
had never let up – although it had traveled around the curves of my hips and
waist – until that moment. When those deft hands slackened their grip, I
assumed he wanted to stop, so I started to pull away.
I was wrong.
He caught my hand
and turned me back to face him. I expected to see the same arrogantly dashing
smile, but instead his face looked serious and pleading. I allowed him to pull
me into his arms again. I placed my right hand against his chest, which was
overly warm, and I felt the fluttering heartbeat under my palm that matched my
own. He took my left hand up to his neck. The thin layer of sweat on his skin
made me want to run my tongue along his neck. The sensual response my body had
to him was wholly unnerving. I had never felt such raw desire for anyone. Given
my history, I could hardly ignore the way that Logan ignited my blood, even if
I wanted to.
This was no middle
school, arm length slow dance. Moving with the deep beat, Logan let his body,
which was touching mine from chest to knee, lead. His eyes were locked on mine,
his irises reflecting back the colors of the changing lights around us. His
hands moved from resting on my hips and slowly skimmed up my back. When his
rough fingertips touched the slightly damp skin of my arms, a shock ran through
me, just as it had when he touched my hand in the car. He continued a soft,
tickling path up the length of my arms, pushing my right hand up to encircle
his neck.
As distracted as I
was by his hypnotic touch, I did not realize that his hand had reached my wrist
until I felt his thumb graze the scar. I froze. I kept the raised, red line
hidden beneath a thick layer of make-up, but there was no disguising the raised
edge from his touch. I never let anyone get close to the spot, let alone
actually touch it as Logan had. How it slipped my mind, I didn’t know. It was
impossible to forget it now, as his fingers traced the line down the center of
my arm.
I couldn’t look up
at Logan, couldn’t stand to see the confusion, or pity, or judgment that would
have settled into his expression. I had to get away from him. Yanking my arm
from his hold, I muttered a feeble apology as I rushed away.
Drew graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BA in English. She was born and raised in Chicago, IL, and still lives there with her boyfriend, a rabbit named Lola, and a bird named... birdie.
Besides writing, she loves reading, music, and
crafting. She has a slightly-less-than-healthy obession with all things Disney,
and is an avid fan of the Chicago Blackhawks.
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