Love Held Me Still

by SUNSHINES URBAN NOVELS

STORMII'S BEEN SURVIVING HER WHOLE LIFE.

BUILDING A LASH BUSINESS OUT OF NOTHING, DODGING THE SAME STREETS THAT SWALLOWED PEOPLE SHE LOVED, AND HOLDING ON TO HER DREAMS LIKE THEY'RE THE ONLY THING KEEPING HER BREATHING. LOVE? THAT FELT LIKE A LUXURY SHE COULDN'T AFFORD. UNTIL ONE NIGHT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

SAMIR SEES HER FIRST-COCKY, MAGNETIC, AND HAUNTED BY THINGS HE DOESN'T SPEAK ON. THE GOLDEN BOY QUARTERBACK WITH THE WORLD IN HIS HANDS AND A HEART STILL STUCK IN THE PAST. LATER THAT NIGHT, KNOX FINDS HER TOO— STEADY, PROTECTIVE, AND QUIET ENOUGH TO FEEL LIKE PEACE. THE LEFT TACKLE WHO'S LEARNED TO CARRY PAIN IN SILENCE.

THEY DON'T KNOW THEY'VE BOTH FALLEN FOR THE SAME GIRL... UNTIL NEITHER ONE WANTS TO LET HER GO. STORMII WON'T CHOOSE-BECAUSE HER HEART WON'T LET HER.

WHAT FORMS BETWEEN THE THREE OF THEM IS RAW, REAL, AND COMPLICATED BUT IT'S THEIRS AND WHILE THE WORLD TRIES TO TEAR IT APART

-FROM PRESS RUMORS TO OLD EXES- STORMII, SAMIR, AND KNOX REFUSE TO LET GO BECAUSE LOVE DIDN'T SAVE THEM. THEY SAVED EACH OTHER

451 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2025

Reviews

[Jahda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A why choose story but it was stale … it started off interesting but then it just got bit boring after a while.

[Melise]

D N F
This was supposed to be juicy and passionate, but it fell flat. Stormii cutting ties with her duo over Kori’s messy lash appointment stunt made zero sense. The romance felt rushed, the drama lacked bite, and everything was told instead of shown. I came for tension and heat—I got lukewarm tea and barely there romance

[TheTBRWhisperer · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is how “why choose” is written

Why Choose Romance
Strong, Independent FMC
Two Strong MMC’s (NFL teammates)

_________________________________________

First off, kudos to this author for this writing! I heard her say that this was her first “why choose” book.

I believe the goal is to make the readers love and feel the palpable connection between the central character and each of their romantic relationships. You don’t have a favorite because everyone brings a uniqueness and necessary component to the central character.

For her first time, she did an awesome job with this trope. For a “why choose” romance in general, she did an AMAZING job!

Our couple’s story was so well written. Genuine, passionate, with a lot of spice! Their love’s foundation was good vibes and deep attraction.

I can’t speak highly enough about the author’s ability to write this story.

I am very torn about one aspect of this book though- I do feel like there were too many antagonistic situations and they occurred too often.

On one hand, I do understand the author wanted to show the opposition to this “unconventional” relationship.

However, IMO, it took away from how powerful the love story is that she wrote for them. At times, it diminished what they had built versus showing the strength of their foundation.

I would have loved if that antagonistic time/space was used to explore more of them. Or even, exploring the side characters Rae and Dre.

But that’s my only critic of the story.

The epilogue. We love a good epilogue! Baby, this epilogue was epic!

“A Letter from Mama”🥹🥹🥹

I would definitely recommend this book and plan on reading more from this author.

Also, I would love to read another “why choose” from her. I know I had a critic but she can write an amazing “why choose” story. Even with all the drama, she encapsulated the passion and inclusion of all parties. There was no rooting for one or the other but clearly a “we all need each other” love story. Very palpable!



*some formatting issues & issues with the text message bubbles. Per a post, the author was aware and addressing the issue. However, it wasn’t enough for me to notice/not enjoy the book!


Also, old school reader- I love and appreciate unique chapter titles.

[YuannaReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good very cute book. It’s the type of book that makes you think about DNF’ing but then something happens and you keep reading and then later you’re glad you did. There is alot said but also not enough said all at the same time. For a lot of the book I felt like a lot of it was unnecessary but we needed more of the parts that were. For example, when she started calling Knox bubba? And why?, they never went back to Samirs Anxiety/panic attacks, why was Knox stuck over his so called first loved? What was the story behind that? and a few others. The writing is like reading their thoughts or a journal and not like a regular book so it can be harder to build the world in your head but once you get into the book it gets much easier. It’s also very repetitive, at first I was thinking because of it being writing in journal format but all in all I think it’s an editing issue. the character development was good it had that HEA that you look for in these types of books. I loved that this urban book showed true soft love and the Fmc being in her soft era. Even her friends and family loved her in a way that was so loud and bold so every one knew it but soft in a way that heals parts of you, you didn’t know were broken. You don’t see that in a lot of urban books and this one portrayed it beautifully. Those men loved her with their whole soul and it flowed through the book. You felt every emotion in the book and it was displayed beautifully. The main thing that lacked in this book was the spice. I say spice level 2.5/5 , the spice isn’t very detailed and there isn’t much dialogue which is fine because it’s not what the story is about however these men had clear BDE as expected but you don’t get to see that until the last half of the book. You don’t get to see the dominance and true BDE between them until the end. Overrall it really was a good book! I definitely would say give it a try, it’s a great palate cleanse and it’s light and refreshing.

[Chelé-----4 The Love of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imma be real was this book perfect? No. There were some formatting issues, a few things I felt needed to be fleshed out a bit more and needed more depth. Parts that may have dragged a little and some areas that were kinda glossed over.

BUT did I devour this and let it consume me for 3 days straight? Yessss! Knox and Samir and Stormii definitely held my attention! There were times that I truly couldn't put this book down wondering what the hell was gonna happen next. I was irritated, I was pissed, I was shocked, I was shook! I swooned, I gasped, I rolled my eyes and I wanted to slap a character or two and THAT'S what a roller coaster of a ride this story was!

It's intense and it’s complex. The author really made me believe in their love and that it could over come all of the obstacles and drama why also staying realistic to the trials a why choose relationship can have, especially while navigating it through the public eye.

I cant tell ya'll how much I cackled...loudly! Omg, some parts were freaking hilarious. Some were harder and tense, sad and serious, maddening and frustrating everything you'd expect from flawed human growing and learning together.

I kept waiting to favor Knox or Samir more but it never happened, I love them both equally and they compliment Stormii to perfection. Stormii is THAT girl! So much respect for her.

The end was beautiful and everything I wanted and honestly by the end I could have read even more. I sobbed and it was perfect.

[Candy Nicholas]

This book was okay but it kinda fell short. Why choose romances aren't my usual go to but I decided to give this one a chance. I still can't understand why a woman would want 2 men when only 1 gets on my nerves🤣🤣 but it's alright to read about. Her 2 men did get on hers at one point, too 🙄🤣. Anyways, it started off good. Once she told them she'd Iike to continue to see the both of them, something changed. It's like their relationship skipped ahead or something, and the story started to be told on what happened instead of the reader seeing it. It's like their relationship had already developed, and the reader missed out on seeing it develop. They moved in together and the reader didn't even get to see them decide to do that. I honestly kept reading for the smutty parts, and they were kinda blah. The throuple lacked chemistry. it was so weird to me and kinda cringey. something was missing. I didn't finish the book

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

emotional rollercoaster

The amount of emotions I went through reading this book should be illegal! I’m so happy but so mad because it’s over. I could’ve easily read another 200 pages with these 3.

Stormii really got the best of both worlds with Knox and Samir. I love how they loved her and held eachother accountable for the mistakes that were made. Them mamas!? Whew! They better be lucky that one smack down was all they got because so much more was deserved.

This is definitely one for the vault - this book was that good.

[Yolanda St Clair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great storyline

I love how the story started off. You could tell from jump there was a strong connection with both guys and they balanced each other out. The story was a bit repetitive and not consistent but it was great all around.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m literally speechless

Now that’s how you write a love story…. I just finished this book and already missing the characters…. Miss Sunshine take a bow cause you ATE with this one…

[Finesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but terrible

Strong idea, terrible execution. This book was ridiculously annoying to read , I had to force myself to finish it. A bunch of words but I didn’t feel anything! I give an A for effort

[Valencia turley · Rating 5 out of 5]

fye

This is my new favorite book. I love how they overcame the hate and ignored anyone who was against their Union.

[FAIRY✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true why choose!

Despite some of the editing issues I truly enjoyed this story . Knox and Samir did not play about Stormii and she always held her men down.

[. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁Brianna . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁]

i will be picking this book back up at a later date. dnf 37%

[Nadia Jonesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

😳