A Kiss at Midnight

Forbidden Series #1

by Melody Anne, Emmy McCormack (Illustrator)

What would you do to save your family? It’s easy to make a snap judgment when you aren’t in the middle of hell, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ll do whatever it takes to save my brother . . . and I might even enjoy myself while I do it. My name is Jewell Weston. I’m twenty-four, living in a studio apartment, and struggling to survive. I quit my job to care for my ailing mother and young brother. The cost of this care cleaned out the family savings, as well as my own. Now, the state won’t give my ten-year-old brother to me because they say I’m not fit to be his provider . . . yet the nightmare foster home he’s in will destroy him if I don’t get him out. ` The tides begin to turn when I get hired at Astor Corp. If I can hold this job for three months, I’ll get my brother home, and though we miss our mother and our lives will never be the same again, we’ll at least be together. This is the answer to my broken prayers. Everything is fine until the boss walks in and I come up with a new plan. What he doesn’t realize is I’m not some weak little girl. I might have been broken in the past few years, but I don’t roll over for anyone. He might think he can control me . . . but he has no idea how to come out on the other side of hell and still be standing . . . and I definitely do. *****I’m Blake Astor, and to most people I’m known as coldhearted. Some even think I don’t have a heart. I run a billion-dollar corporation with my two brothers who think they’re amusing. What starts out as a business transaction, ends up being just what I need. I know I should keep my hands off, but there’s no chance of this happening. What even my brothers don’t know is that the cold exterior I show the world is nothing but a façade, and it won’t take much for the walls to come crashing down. My brothers and I watched our parents get brutally murdered when we were six, eight, and ten, and we haven’t healed from this, the images burned into our minds, shaping our lives. We’ve tried to forget, but it’s shaped every decision we’ve ever made from that point on. Can anyone reach our guarded hearts? No one has yet, but then I meet Jewell . . . and now I’m not sure of anything anymore.

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2023

About the author

Nobody likes sexy men, sassy heroines, and emotionally charged books, right? WRONG! We all want to feel extraordinary when we read, and that's exactly what you'll get when you pick up a Melody Anne book. She has the feel-good stories of a damsel in distress with prince charming riding in to save the day . . . and she also has emotionally charged books that take you through a journey of emotion as you try to figure out if you love or hate the characters as they find themselves. What you get at the end of every Melody Anne book is a resolution that has you begging for more.

Melody Anne is a NYT best selling author of more than 70 books about strong women, strong families, and sexy strong men. Each series has its own theme, and each is different. Melody touches subjects others might not want to touch and you won't get away from reading one of her series without laughing, crying, and thinking about the journey you've just gone on even months later.

See her website and subscribe to her newsletter or text messaging service at: www.melodyanne.com. She makes it a point to respond to her fans. You can also join her on facebook at: www.facebook.com/authormelodyanne, or on Instagram and TikTok @authormelodyanne. Also, follow her blog at authormelodyanne.blogspot.com. Come say hello and peek beneath the covers of her books to go to a whole new world.

Reviews

[Brenda Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wanted more

You never regret reading a Melody Anne book. This book started slow but it soon became unstoppable to read. You wanted to turn the next page. Jewel needed to prove to the court she was stable and that she could take care of her brother. She had three months then her brother would go into the system of foster care. She was ready to sell her body if that was would it took.
Blake Astor was a hard businessman who didn't believe in relationships. Until he crosses paths with Jewel Weston, when an over came from her would he accept her proposition to close a deal?
Must read you won't regret it

[Lisa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow.

Ok this story about Blake and Jewel is seriously emotional 😭. Blake was little witness the death of his parents murder. Which resulted in not trusting women or relationship. Jewel comes from A loving family. Her mother and little brother were everything to her. Her mother died of cancer, she was determined to get custody of her brother. She lands a job at Blakes company and their lives come together but not without emotional drama.

[Rhonda Mellons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This is a great steamy romance. It says a lot about what people will do for family...and what happens to those families who are broken. A good read. Ready for the next in the series.

[Mary J · Rating 5 out of 5]

The good and bad of Love.

Reread the book just as good as the first time love, the beginning how they never said that they love each other and she left him and the marriage to protect herself from not being valued...

[Silver Q]

dnf 30%

I don't like the trope "I have to save somebody, so it's ok whoring myself". I struggle whenever I have to deal with this situation in books. I guess I'm fed up so I'm stopping right then and there.

[Carol Gil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good

Blake thought he had it all until he met his newest employee. That spun him for a loop that really took him for a ride and made him look at himself and his life. Can't wait to read his brothers books!

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now I love melody Anne books and have read alot of them but something about this book I just didn't like. It felt really ammeteur writing and honestly I hated Blake. what a class A prick. will I read the others I'm not sure.

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

This was a good book from beginning to end. I loved the characters and their chemistry and connections to each other

[Pamela Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A kiss at midnight

I really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed the up and down with jewel and Blake. I was happy that in the end everything worked out for them.

[Jacqui Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Well she did it, she managed to breakdown Blakes walls, she had a hard job but it was worth it for Justin

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly I’m disappointed, I got the feeling I’ve read this before and it turns out I kind of have
The brothers names have changed to the surname Astor. But basically it’s the same story from 2015