Release Blitz & Review: ★Pocketful of Sand★ by @mleightonbooks

“She’s beauty for my ashes. And I’m hope for her heartache.”—Cole Danzer

I don’t know what makes a great love story. Is it that instant attraction when boy meets girl? The passionate kisses and the fairy-tale ending? Or is it a lifetime of tragedy, paid in advance, for a few stolen moments of pure bliss? The pain and the suffering that, in the end, you can say are worth it for having found the missing piece of your soul?

The answer is: I don’t know. I don’t know what makes a great love story. I only know what makes my love story. I only know that finding Cole when I did, when Emmy and I were running from a nightmare, was the only thing that saved me. That saved us. He was more broken than I was, but somehow we took each other’s shattered pieces and made a whole. If that is what makes a great love story, if that is what makes an epic romance, then mine…ours is the greatest of them all.

Contains material that some may find disturbing. Not intended for readers under the age of 18.

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He was more broken than I was, but somehow we took each other’s shattered pieces and made a whole.

I don’t know what it is about this book that touched me on such a viscaral level, but I still can’t stop thinking about this story or the ending. I’ve read other books by this author and I already knew she could write, but this book just blew the other ones out of the water. It was THAT good. Emotional, gripping, and unforgettable story of second chances and redemption, this is one story I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Eden is running from a past that still haunts her. Together with her young daughter they finally find the peace they’re looking for in a small town on a cabin on the beach. Eden isn’t looking for a man in her life. All she wants is stability; stability for her and especially for her daughter. But when they stumble onto a handsome stranger silently building a sandcastle on the beach, Eden and Emmy are both inexplicably drawn to him. Eden doesn’t know what it is about the silent and brooding man. Maybe she recognizes his inner turmoil and pain in his eyes? Or maybe it’s just a connection that can’t be explained with simple chemistry. Whatever the reason may be, she finds her eyes gravitate to him at every chance…

He’s capturing me.
And I’m captured.
He wants me.
And I’m all his.
And I love it. I love it all. More than I ever thought I could.

At being just 23 years old, you would think that Eden would be yet another cliche early 20’s character. But she was so much more than that. Maybe it’s the mother in me that connect with her so much and seeing how much she loved and protected her daughter? She just always had this quiet and unassuming strength to her that was incredibly endearing.

Now Cole….oh my poor broken Cole.

You make me feel all sorts of things. Too many things. Things I never wanted to feel. But you just wouldn’t stop. You just. Wouldn’t. Stop.

This is a man that you just know has some deep pain. A pain that can only stem from a loss that’s so great, the wounds from it will never heal. And he doesn’t want it to either. He welcomes the pain, the heartache. That’s his atonement for being the cause of his loss.

I loved seeing the relationship slowly develop between these two broken souls. They’re both struggling with their own demons, but together they help heal each other’s wounds. While it is a slow burn, this story was completely unputdownable for me. I just couldn’t get enough of both these characters. While you get bits and pieces of Cole’s painful past right away, Eden’s doesn’t fully come out until the end and boy does it pack a punch.

I loved how the author aged to weave together an incredible intricate story of loss and survival along with a touching and emotional romance.

His lips. I knew they’d taste like heaven. And they do. They’re the perfect mixture of firm and soft, and they move over one with a power I always knew him capable of. It prowls in him, just beneath the surface, like a caged animal. Right now, the animal is barely contained.

I really wish I can give you more than that, but it would just take away from the story. This is just one of those books that you would best enjoy going into absolutely blind. This was a very solid 4 star read until that ending. That ending? It brought it up to a 5 star for me for the uniqueness alone. It completely caught me off guard and I found it simply perfect for the book. If you’re looking for a unique romance unlike most you’ve read lately that will capture your heart and make you cry tears of joy and pain right along with the characters, this is a book that NEEDS to be on your TBR. I cannot recommend it enough.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author M. Leighton is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you’ll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren’t roaming in that direction, she’ll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.