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Love Happens #4
Have a Heart
If he had a heart, she’d be the woman he’d give it to.
A runaway bride, searching for happily ever after.
A Navy SEAL, who doesn’t believe in such things.
A bar, in the middle of nowhere, and fate, who’s been awaiting this day.
Tessa
When I left my groom at the altar, I didn’t care where I went, or who I met along the way.
When I walked into a roadside bar in Nowhere, California, I wasn’t planning on staying.
When I sat down beside Jason Reynolds, I had no idea who he really was.
My world turned upside down.
Now all I want to do is save him.
Jason
I tried to ignore her. The beautiful train wreck who’d crashed my pity party.
I tried to fight temptation. Her sweet smile and smart mouth threatened my misery.
I tried to walk away. My blackened soul didn’t deserve her bright, hopeful light.
My team calls me Tin Man for good reason.
Love has no place in my life.
All books in the Love Happens series are standalones:
Next to Me (Sam)
Wrong then Right (Beckett)
True to You (Asher)
Have a Heart (Jason)
A runaway bride, searching for happily ever after.
A Navy SEAL, who doesn’t believe in such things.
A bar, in the middle of nowhere, and fate, who’s been awaiting this day.
Tessa
When I left my groom at the altar, I didn’t care where I went, or who I met along the way.
When I walked into a roadside bar in Nowhere, California, I wasn’t planning on staying.
When I sat down beside Jason Reynolds, I had no idea who he really was.
My world turned upside down.
Now all I want to do is save him.
Jason
I tried to ignore her. The beautiful train wreck who’d crashed my pity party.
I tried to fight temptation. Her sweet smile and smart mouth threatened my misery.
I tried to walk away. My blackened soul didn’t deserve her bright, hopeful light.
My team calls me Tin Man for good reason.
Love has no place in my life.
All books in the Love Happens series are standalones:
Next to Me (Sam)
Wrong then Right (Beckett)
True to You (Asher)
Have a Heart (Jason)
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 9, 2018
229 people are currently reading
497 people want to read
About the author
Jodi Watters
7 books278 followersJodi Watters writes contemporary romance that’s flirty, dirty, real, and fun. With witty dialogue, loads of emotion, and super steamy times, her novels will suck you in until the very last page.
Her love for romance began in junior high, when she and a friend noticed a dumpster of discarded paperbacks behind a local dime store. Covers missing and each book split down the spine, she scanned the pages for any love or lust words—and curse words, too. From that point on, she scoured the public library and the paperback racks at every store, reading anything labeled romance. She said a tearfully grateful goodbye to Judy Blume, and Jackie Collins began ruling her world.
She lives with her high school sweetheart husband in the desert Southwest, and just wants to be a stay-at-home dog mom.
Her lifelong goals are to think before she speaks, smile more and swear less, and actually weigh what her driver's license states she does.
Connect with Jodi at:
jodi@jodiwatters.com
www.jodiwatters.com
www.facebook.com/jodiwattersauthor
Her love for romance began in junior high, when she and a friend noticed a dumpster of discarded paperbacks behind a local dime store. Covers missing and each book split down the spine, she scanned the pages for any love or lust words—and curse words, too. From that point on, she scoured the public library and the paperback racks at every store, reading anything labeled romance. She said a tearfully grateful goodbye to Judy Blume, and Jackie Collins began ruling her world.
She lives with her high school sweetheart husband in the desert Southwest, and just wants to be a stay-at-home dog mom.
Her lifelong goals are to think before she speaks, smile more and swear less, and actually weigh what her driver's license states she does.
Connect with Jodi at:
jodi@jodiwatters.com
www.jodiwatters.com
www.facebook.com/jodiwattersauthor
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January 17, 2023
R A T I N G: 3 stars to Have a Heart ★ ★ ★
‘But, the intoxicating power she held was heady, the sacred promises she offered undeniable to a man on the wrong side of heaven and the right side of Hell. Salvation. Redemption. Deliverance from evil.
Promises that made him do something he swore he never would.
Surrender.’
‘A sweet spirit.
A wicked sense of humor.
A heart so caring, she’d given it to a man made of tin.’
Fourth in the ‘Love happens’ series by Jodi Watters, ‘Have a Heart’ is the trembling, terribly tragic story of what happens when love enters a battlefield known as a disabled heart. You’ll get your HEA. You’ll get a lot of pain and emotional upheaval along the way. You’ll let some tears freely slip. You’ll catalogue and highlight the memorable, heart-hitting phrases. You’ll get wit, wisecracks and sharp rebuffs from a Special forces vet who runs like it’s his lifeline and a perfectionist who chases the big, unfading dream like its reach is only fingertip to fingertip.
T H E_S T O R Y
There’s a woman. THE woman. A woman whose hands have penned 19 years of annual purging, casually heartening written sentiments that have bound a deeply jaded Navy SEAL to a hopeful trooper through kindred kinship and a cumbersome calamity that blemished them as two star-crossed survivors on opposite sides of tragedy. A 19-year-old relationship pf words and far-flung fellowship. An intimacy that can only come from foreign neighbours and familiar unknowns.
Pitted at a crossroads, foreboding Jason Reynolds, grizzly like the most dangerous of bears and unpitying like the soulless of castaways, is set to leave his SEAL life behind in search of the woman linked to him by volatile misfortune on a day that had darkened every sunset and sunrise. A morbid commemoration that salutes the dusk of July as a relief and a mark of his scuffed history that has since painted his absent heart the colour of steel. He’s a walking example of how tragedy bred ruin. A mark nobody fled unscathed. No space within an organ that beats just because it has to. Not for people. Not for hope. Not for happy endings. And especially not for an emotion that ripped the tidy seams of familial bliss into the dust and ash that follows his step and wraps around his fighting fists like knuckle-duster steel.
Jason is not the sympathetic hero careful to temper himself to find a destined mate. He’s not the charming prince poised to climb towers and save red-headed maidens. The best he can do is roughly drag your inebriated body to bed and let you sleep off a savage hangover that was your fault to begin with. You can forget charm, he’s the unpitying godfather. The unsafe ogre with a bad attitude and an even badder kill score.
He wears misery as a second skin, ill-being as an impenetrable third, and good old raw hostility as the armour that seals a phantom heart; pulsing with the deepest, unhealed cramp that maps and wraps what is so imperfect. Dashed and dotted and ruptured from affliction, he goes by a namesake that heralds him as a man made of tin.
But it’s weapons surrendered, fears up in the air, perfection locked in a box, sprawled intentions, pivoting paths and desire strewn about the air of a purple room when two estranged strangers meet at the crossroads to Nowhere. With the look of a woman bursting with restriction, not just thanks to her costly designer gown now bedraggled with pre-matrimonial miscarriage and perfumed with the fresh aroma of unfaithful hours-old indignity, in barrels Tessa Johns.
In walks the nightmare dressed in a dream, where an embellished idea of love lands Tessa next to a loner. A loner who meets dishevelled love clad in beauty, wit and a big white dress. An encounter that incites the most unpredicted attraction. To each other. To unspeakable desire and a depth that’s not welcome. To candour. To dreams covered in ash. To the ash-worn unthinkable.
His youth is a faded dream condensed into a 31 year old, thick-skinned body. His memories slush-soft, shard-sharp and worn to the bone. How to live with war over, with weapons obsolete, with no enemy to beat into defeat but the stormy hellfire within waving a flag of surrender…because a man with profound limits is not a free man. We can’t assume that an untouchable heart is free of pain, not when a damaged heart can take the appearance of an absent one. Not when a witty, smart, on-the-ball red head becomes a phoenix to ash. The jolt of blushed zest that sees life in him. Tragedy was the breaking of him. She would be the making of him.
T H E_G O O D_&_T H E_B A D
The premise itself wasn’t the specific drawing point for me, but when I tapped the first page of the book I knew what would be - the writing. It’s lyrical, touching and completely heartfelt. It’s deep and melodic with a canny charm that lulls the reader into a dance with the words, moving with them, swaying with them and docile enough to be led around by them. The writing really does speak for itself. I smiled, felt the depth of emotion and felt some tears unexpectedly slip past my lids.
I really couldn’t see this story falling sideways for me. At all. I was dreamily imagining up all the ways I’d boast about a fantastic read that would sit proud and pearly like a star topper on a delicately decorated Christmas tree. I didn’t think I’d sit with a bowl of sour grapes through half of the book with a sad pit in my stomach wondering what went wrong. As you can imagine, It was a mixed barrel of feelings for me. The better portion of those feelings came from the first half of the read (where I was praising every word and collecting every passage) and the more unwelcome feelings came from the second half of the book (where I frowned like a bruised juice-less peach). I’ll get into the details of why this story took startling spin on its axis that shook the gloom and bitterweetness right into me…
The 60% mark was where I mentally checked out because the big issue came knocking when I sat privy to what I knew was going to be an outmatched coupling with a mismatched emotional balance. Balancing the chemistry - emotional or otherwise - is so crucial between two protagonists. It’s KEY. In any relationship. With any bonding. The fragility is present. The emotion is present. But the compatible connection is not. It’s necessary to enable and mould a two-sided, compatible connection. In this case, Jason is always the favoured and Tessa the unfavoured. Jason has the higher terrain, Tessa always reaching for him. The ball is always in his court and she approves it. The power play was unequal and both are to blame. I was either upset with Jason for being too hard, or Tessa for being too soft.
Jason is someone who has the emotional value of a rock and Tessa has the emotional value of a dreamer. She’s too forgiving in her quest for everything she wants. He’s too unforgiving. She fights for him. He doesn’t for her. She’s tough, strong and uplifting, but too soft for him. She’s got the qualities of a self-made woman but is too desperate. She’s there to stroke, sooth and caress and he’s there to bite, bark and bid goodbye. He’s too much of chalk. She’s too much of cheese. She gives so much, puts herself in vulnerable positions (and this can take on an unappealing appearance) for him but typically gets burned. He gives too little. His needs always seem to outweigh hers and he dents her feelings without consequence from her.
All in all, I think this story would have worked better with a different persuasion, if Jason had a love interest who was bolder and harder and if Tessa had someone who was more reachable and reliable. I wasn’t sure if her vehemence came from the idea that she knew he was ‘it’ for her or because she might still be a chaser of her perfectionist, picturesque dream or anything that just might cut close to it. Her optimism with him is sometimes misplaced as it’s been conditioned in him to be self-involved.
We know Jason’s emotional redundancy is a matter of his history. It’s safe to assume that he has no space or reserve for anyone else and their feelings, which is correct as he’s so torn up by his own, but this makes him self-absorbed, uncaring and characteristically callous. The issue with this is I’m not sure if I can have faith that he’d be an emotional support for Tessa in future as he doesn’t do sympathy or compassion. She tries to smooth edges for him whereas he might as well have razors for fingertips.
Aside from this, we’ve got a repetitious cycle of the same issues and problems making a play. Sometimes I just wanted a light hand to lighten the tensity or take the edge off of the main couple. After the 50% mark, the story started to feel forced and wooden. Generally, it was a mix of all these things that with the addition of the conflicted romance, had me losing the levels of faith I was brewing for the story and love connection as a complete picture.
T H E_F I N A L
I was desperate to dole out some glowing, blustering 5 stars this year, and once I began what I considered to be a complete gem of a story, I sharpened, shined and polished those stars ready for dispatch. The result was different, it’s reasonable to say. But by no means is this a write-off to a first time author for me. Even though I had pitfalls, there were many likeable elements to a story that did make a circled comeback for Tessa, if not always for me. For a story that has a notable and distinctly reachable energy. I loved Tessa’s entrance and I loved the strange meeting in Nowhere. I might have dined on their conversations even more. Witty, blunt and clever exchanges with an underlying substance that gives weight to them and their words.
They both had a faith. Now misplaced, it’s paper-thin and dandelion-visible, buried deep under the fires that forged them. He’s on a blind pursuit for an unexpected something and she sees a sweet-looking daydream worth 27 years of wishful thinking. A need that punctuates a need for fairy-tale aspiration. A night of breaching, sharing and a first-meeting companionship made of thorns and unthinking charm brings together a man who believes In the meaning of nothing and woman who believes in the meaning of everything. A mini-universe where time freezes while moving lightning-fast. Two flawed somebodys without the desire to part and a stronger desire to speak to familiar strangers.
A highly experienced SEAL with a deadly need to defeat love. A tight-lipped surface expressionist content to run and ravage. Not expecting to meet one who builds to restore. She wants what he has zero faith in. The charm of a perfect life is troubling quest. An unreachable foretelling crafted from the threads of fate’s humour. On an anniversary that commemorates a history of pain and punctured living swiftly turns from a day best forgotten to one that clamours for rememberence. To living over and over again for that reason.
The closer she gets, the closer a different life comes into focus. A deeply gratifying one. An inaccessible one. He’s not stuck between a rock and a hard place. He is the rock and the hard place. And she’s a part of the war between. A three day rendevouz in Nowhere leaves a mark on two star-crossed troopers. A mark astronomic enough to wash out the marks that made them. He outruns it. She embraces it. I hope you do too!
P O T E N T I A L_C O N T E N T_W A R N I N G S: Mentions PTSD, gambling/drug addiction. Profanity, sex scenes, and mentions of repeated suicide attempts with graphic details of one such attempt. Also mentions depression and overdose.
S O M E - A D D I T I O N A L - T H O U G H T S…
------------------------------------------
Visit my blog for more reviews: V.L. Book Reviews
T W I T T E R: @VicariousHearts
I N S T A G R A M: @Vicarious.Hearts
------------------------------------------
‘But, the intoxicating power she held was heady, the sacred promises she offered undeniable to a man on the wrong side of heaven and the right side of Hell. Salvation. Redemption. Deliverance from evil.
Promises that made him do something he swore he never would.
Surrender.’
‘A sweet spirit.
A wicked sense of humor.
A heart so caring, she’d given it to a man made of tin.’
Fourth in the ‘Love happens’ series by Jodi Watters, ‘Have a Heart’ is the trembling, terribly tragic story of what happens when love enters a battlefield known as a disabled heart. You’ll get your HEA. You’ll get a lot of pain and emotional upheaval along the way. You’ll let some tears freely slip. You’ll catalogue and highlight the memorable, heart-hitting phrases. You’ll get wit, wisecracks and sharp rebuffs from a Special forces vet who runs like it’s his lifeline and a perfectionist who chases the big, unfading dream like its reach is only fingertip to fingertip.
T H E_S T O R Y
There’s a woman. THE woman. A woman whose hands have penned 19 years of annual purging, casually heartening written sentiments that have bound a deeply jaded Navy SEAL to a hopeful trooper through kindred kinship and a cumbersome calamity that blemished them as two star-crossed survivors on opposite sides of tragedy. A 19-year-old relationship pf words and far-flung fellowship. An intimacy that can only come from foreign neighbours and familiar unknowns.
Pitted at a crossroads, foreboding Jason Reynolds, grizzly like the most dangerous of bears and unpitying like the soulless of castaways, is set to leave his SEAL life behind in search of the woman linked to him by volatile misfortune on a day that had darkened every sunset and sunrise. A morbid commemoration that salutes the dusk of July as a relief and a mark of his scuffed history that has since painted his absent heart the colour of steel. He’s a walking example of how tragedy bred ruin. A mark nobody fled unscathed. No space within an organ that beats just because it has to. Not for people. Not for hope. Not for happy endings. And especially not for an emotion that ripped the tidy seams of familial bliss into the dust and ash that follows his step and wraps around his fighting fists like knuckle-duster steel.
Jason is not the sympathetic hero careful to temper himself to find a destined mate. He’s not the charming prince poised to climb towers and save red-headed maidens. The best he can do is roughly drag your inebriated body to bed and let you sleep off a savage hangover that was your fault to begin with. You can forget charm, he’s the unpitying godfather. The unsafe ogre with a bad attitude and an even badder kill score.
He wears misery as a second skin, ill-being as an impenetrable third, and good old raw hostility as the armour that seals a phantom heart; pulsing with the deepest, unhealed cramp that maps and wraps what is so imperfect. Dashed and dotted and ruptured from affliction, he goes by a namesake that heralds him as a man made of tin.
But it’s weapons surrendered, fears up in the air, perfection locked in a box, sprawled intentions, pivoting paths and desire strewn about the air of a purple room when two estranged strangers meet at the crossroads to Nowhere. With the look of a woman bursting with restriction, not just thanks to her costly designer gown now bedraggled with pre-matrimonial miscarriage and perfumed with the fresh aroma of unfaithful hours-old indignity, in barrels Tessa Johns.
In walks the nightmare dressed in a dream, where an embellished idea of love lands Tessa next to a loner. A loner who meets dishevelled love clad in beauty, wit and a big white dress. An encounter that incites the most unpredicted attraction. To each other. To unspeakable desire and a depth that’s not welcome. To candour. To dreams covered in ash. To the ash-worn unthinkable.
His youth is a faded dream condensed into a 31 year old, thick-skinned body. His memories slush-soft, shard-sharp and worn to the bone. How to live with war over, with weapons obsolete, with no enemy to beat into defeat but the stormy hellfire within waving a flag of surrender…because a man with profound limits is not a free man. We can’t assume that an untouchable heart is free of pain, not when a damaged heart can take the appearance of an absent one. Not when a witty, smart, on-the-ball red head becomes a phoenix to ash. The jolt of blushed zest that sees life in him. Tragedy was the breaking of him. She would be the making of him.
T H E_G O O D_&_T H E_B A D
The premise itself wasn’t the specific drawing point for me, but when I tapped the first page of the book I knew what would be - the writing. It’s lyrical, touching and completely heartfelt. It’s deep and melodic with a canny charm that lulls the reader into a dance with the words, moving with them, swaying with them and docile enough to be led around by them. The writing really does speak for itself. I smiled, felt the depth of emotion and felt some tears unexpectedly slip past my lids.
I really couldn’t see this story falling sideways for me. At all. I was dreamily imagining up all the ways I’d boast about a fantastic read that would sit proud and pearly like a star topper on a delicately decorated Christmas tree. I didn’t think I’d sit with a bowl of sour grapes through half of the book with a sad pit in my stomach wondering what went wrong. As you can imagine, It was a mixed barrel of feelings for me. The better portion of those feelings came from the first half of the read (where I was praising every word and collecting every passage) and the more unwelcome feelings came from the second half of the book (where I frowned like a bruised juice-less peach). I’ll get into the details of why this story took startling spin on its axis that shook the gloom and bitterweetness right into me…
The 60% mark was where I mentally checked out because the big issue came knocking when I sat privy to what I knew was going to be an outmatched coupling with a mismatched emotional balance. Balancing the chemistry - emotional or otherwise - is so crucial between two protagonists. It’s KEY. In any relationship. With any bonding. The fragility is present. The emotion is present. But the compatible connection is not. It’s necessary to enable and mould a two-sided, compatible connection. In this case, Jason is always the favoured and Tessa the unfavoured. Jason has the higher terrain, Tessa always reaching for him. The ball is always in his court and she approves it. The power play was unequal and both are to blame. I was either upset with Jason for being too hard, or Tessa for being too soft.
Jason is someone who has the emotional value of a rock and Tessa has the emotional value of a dreamer. She’s too forgiving in her quest for everything she wants. He’s too unforgiving. She fights for him. He doesn’t for her. She’s tough, strong and uplifting, but too soft for him. She’s got the qualities of a self-made woman but is too desperate. She’s there to stroke, sooth and caress and he’s there to bite, bark and bid goodbye. He’s too much of chalk. She’s too much of cheese. She gives so much, puts herself in vulnerable positions (and this can take on an unappealing appearance) for him but typically gets burned. He gives too little. His needs always seem to outweigh hers and he dents her feelings without consequence from her.
All in all, I think this story would have worked better with a different persuasion, if Jason had a love interest who was bolder and harder and if Tessa had someone who was more reachable and reliable. I wasn’t sure if her vehemence came from the idea that she knew he was ‘it’ for her or because she might still be a chaser of her perfectionist, picturesque dream or anything that just might cut close to it. Her optimism with him is sometimes misplaced as it’s been conditioned in him to be self-involved.
We know Jason’s emotional redundancy is a matter of his history. It’s safe to assume that he has no space or reserve for anyone else and their feelings, which is correct as he’s so torn up by his own, but this makes him self-absorbed, uncaring and characteristically callous. The issue with this is I’m not sure if I can have faith that he’d be an emotional support for Tessa in future as he doesn’t do sympathy or compassion. She tries to smooth edges for him whereas he might as well have razors for fingertips.
Aside from this, we’ve got a repetitious cycle of the same issues and problems making a play. Sometimes I just wanted a light hand to lighten the tensity or take the edge off of the main couple. After the 50% mark, the story started to feel forced and wooden. Generally, it was a mix of all these things that with the addition of the conflicted romance, had me losing the levels of faith I was brewing for the story and love connection as a complete picture.
T H E_F I N A L
I was desperate to dole out some glowing, blustering 5 stars this year, and once I began what I considered to be a complete gem of a story, I sharpened, shined and polished those stars ready for dispatch. The result was different, it’s reasonable to say. But by no means is this a write-off to a first time author for me. Even though I had pitfalls, there were many likeable elements to a story that did make a circled comeback for Tessa, if not always for me. For a story that has a notable and distinctly reachable energy. I loved Tessa’s entrance and I loved the strange meeting in Nowhere. I might have dined on their conversations even more. Witty, blunt and clever exchanges with an underlying substance that gives weight to them and their words.
They both had a faith. Now misplaced, it’s paper-thin and dandelion-visible, buried deep under the fires that forged them. He’s on a blind pursuit for an unexpected something and she sees a sweet-looking daydream worth 27 years of wishful thinking. A need that punctuates a need for fairy-tale aspiration. A night of breaching, sharing and a first-meeting companionship made of thorns and unthinking charm brings together a man who believes In the meaning of nothing and woman who believes in the meaning of everything. A mini-universe where time freezes while moving lightning-fast. Two flawed somebodys without the desire to part and a stronger desire to speak to familiar strangers.
A highly experienced SEAL with a deadly need to defeat love. A tight-lipped surface expressionist content to run and ravage. Not expecting to meet one who builds to restore. She wants what he has zero faith in. The charm of a perfect life is troubling quest. An unreachable foretelling crafted from the threads of fate’s humour. On an anniversary that commemorates a history of pain and punctured living swiftly turns from a day best forgotten to one that clamours for rememberence. To living over and over again for that reason.
The closer she gets, the closer a different life comes into focus. A deeply gratifying one. An inaccessible one. He’s not stuck between a rock and a hard place. He is the rock and the hard place. And she’s a part of the war between. A three day rendevouz in Nowhere leaves a mark on two star-crossed troopers. A mark astronomic enough to wash out the marks that made them. He outruns it. She embraces it. I hope you do too!
P O T E N T I A L_C O N T E N T_W A R N I N G S: Mentions PTSD, gambling/drug addiction. Profanity, sex scenes, and mentions of repeated suicide attempts with graphic details of one such attempt. Also mentions depression and overdose.
S O M E - A D D I T I O N A L - T H O U G H T S…
------------------------------------------
Visit my blog for more reviews: V.L. Book Reviews
T W I T T E R: @VicariousHearts
I N S T A G R A M: @Vicarious.Hearts
------------------------------------------
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August 23, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/23/2019)! 🎁
February 16, 2019
It's been a while since I've read some of the other books of the series, so the cameos from the previous couples were lost on me. I usually love that kind of thing, but in this case I sort of drew a blank. Ah well.
As to the rest of this story, it's a mixed bag. I don't personally enjoy the pairing of an H with the emotions of a rock with an h who is willing to make herself vulnerable over and over again to the point of being a doormat. I'm sorry for the run on sentence, but I'm too tired to fix it. Anyhoo, the whole "I had a sad childhood and can't ever trust love" backstory has been done to death. And there's a difference between someone who's willing to make themselves emotionally vulnerable and someone who just jilted her cheater groom at the altar and embarked on a fling the very same day. And the worst part is that while the H keeps telling her a fling would be temporary in nature, the h would outwardly agree but secretly hope for more. I mean, why do that to yourself? Of course, she gets completely crushed when he leaves, reiterating that the fling is indeed temporary, even after she begs him to stay and take a chance on her. I mean, I just can't. And I realize that I typed the phrase "I mean" twice in the past couple of sentences. Apologies.
The rest of the story was a bit contrived. However, I did manage to read it all fairly quickly. And I have to give points for the fact that it was a completely safe story. There was no OP drama at all, and absolutely no mention of the women in the H's past. The writing was engaging, but there were just too many F-bombs, sex scenes, and general crass language for me to enjoy this one. Added to all that one of my least favourite premises, and this garnered a mere two stars. I do enjoy Jodi Watters' writing style. Maybe the next book's couple will be a little easier to like. Here's to hoping.
As to the rest of this story, it's a mixed bag. I don't personally enjoy the pairing of an H with the emotions of a rock with an h who is willing to make herself vulnerable over and over again to the point of being a doormat. I'm sorry for the run on sentence, but I'm too tired to fix it. Anyhoo, the whole "I had a sad childhood and can't ever trust love" backstory has been done to death. And there's a difference between someone who's willing to make themselves emotionally vulnerable and someone who just jilted her cheater groom at the altar and embarked on a fling the very same day. And the worst part is that while the H keeps telling her a fling would be temporary in nature, the h would outwardly agree but secretly hope for more. I mean, why do that to yourself? Of course, she gets completely crushed when he leaves, reiterating that the fling is indeed temporary, even after she begs him to stay and take a chance on her. I mean, I just can't. And I realize that I typed the phrase "I mean" twice in the past couple of sentences. Apologies.
The rest of the story was a bit contrived. However, I did manage to read it all fairly quickly. And I have to give points for the fact that it was a completely safe story. There was no OP drama at all, and absolutely no mention of the women in the H's past. The writing was engaging, but there were just too many F-bombs, sex scenes, and general crass language for me to enjoy this one. Added to all that one of my least favourite premises, and this garnered a mere two stars. I do enjoy Jodi Watters' writing style. Maybe the next book's couple will be a little easier to like. Here's to hoping.
December 8, 2018
I had read another book in the series, True to You, and really enjoyed it. Although in that story, I had trouble with something the guy, Asher, had done to the girl, Olivia, and so that kept me from being able to give it 5 stars. But the couple in this book, Jason and Tessa, well I got all of their issues, and even when I was a little frustrated with how they might push the other away, I understood how much their pasts had created the way they were. The banter in this one was so fun. I loved the beginning when Tessa walked into the bar in her wedding dress. The steamy parts in this one, well, yeah, there might have been a bit of fanning on my part as I read them. But it wasn't all fun and sex, nope, there was a lot of emotional parts to this story, and I know that I was fighting tears once or twice. There was a little twist at the end that I didn't quite see coming, and can I just say, WOW! But I loved the way that Jason handled it.
A few other things I liked had to do with when we got to see characters from the other books at the place they all worked now, well, most of the guys anyway. I always like when authors tie the stories together that way, but still keep it so that each story is definitely a standalone. And something silly that I commented on as I read, there's this game a lot of people have played, you know, where you throw little bean bags into holes on a board? I'd just always heard it called like a bean bag toss. A couple years ago at the school where I work, one of my assistant principals emailed that we'd all be playing a game called "corn-hole". Well, I don't know about you, but just as in this book, that word, corn-hole, means something else, something sexual. So I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought that was what the word meant.
Another great story in this series, and just as when I finished the other one, I think I want to go and read the other books in the series so that I can learn all the other characters' back stories as well.
Review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.
A few other things I liked had to do with when we got to see characters from the other books at the place they all worked now, well, most of the guys anyway. I always like when authors tie the stories together that way, but still keep it so that each story is definitely a standalone. And something silly that I commented on as I read, there's this game a lot of people have played, you know, where you throw little bean bags into holes on a board? I'd just always heard it called like a bean bag toss. A couple years ago at the school where I work, one of my assistant principals emailed that we'd all be playing a game called "corn-hole". Well, I don't know about you, but just as in this book, that word, corn-hole, means something else, something sexual. So I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought that was what the word meant.
Another great story in this series, and just as when I finished the other one, I think I want to go and read the other books in the series so that I can learn all the other characters' back stories as well.
Review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.
November 24, 2018
Stumbled upon a GREAT read
Nothing unusual here - sexy, emotionally aloof hero, runaway bride. What’s unusual is the dialogue, the smart heroine whose not afraid to poke the SEAL. The chemistry is great, the emotions real and painful. I had to slow down the final third because I didn’t want it to end. Jason and Tessa are amazing. Highly recommend.
And free on KU too.
Nothing unusual here - sexy, emotionally aloof hero, runaway bride. What’s unusual is the dialogue, the smart heroine whose not afraid to poke the SEAL. The chemistry is great, the emotions real and painful. I had to slow down the final third because I didn’t want it to end. Jason and Tessa are amazing. Highly recommend.
And free on KU too.
November 9, 2018
I’m not sure that I can write a review that will do this book justice, but I’m going to try. For me, the perfect book is one that you can get lost in. Where you meet characters who claim your heart, have you laughing, drive you crazy and make you cry. A book where, long after you close the last page, you’re still thinking about it. Still thinking about them, the hero and heroine who sucked you into their world.
This book is everything and more. Tessa and Jason stole my heart with their amusing first encounter, their unconventional romance, their witty and wicked dialogue, and the way their lives were so indelibly linked. There were so many things to like about this story. Our heroine, Tessa, has done a runner from her wedding to an incredibly boring man after she finds him having sex inside the church rectory half an hour before they are due to exchange vows. She decides to treat herself to a week in Palm Springs to get over it, only to have her car break down in the middle of Nowhere, a small town in the Californian desert.
She stumbles upon Jason in the town’s only bar, where she proceeds to spill her guts and get drunk. Jason is intrigued by this hot mess of a woman and is attracted to her, but he’s not going to take advantage of her in her current state. After hearing her tale of woe and making sure she gets to a room at the local motel safely (which happens to be owned by his aunt), he leaves her to sleep it off. Tessa finds herself strangely bereft when she wakes the next morning, but Jason hasn’t gone far.
They then proceed to spend the day together, exchanging some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read. Alternating between playful and fun to downright dirty, it’s clear there’s a spark between them. When they can no longer deny their desire for each other, they give in to temptation, and their coupling is so hot it’s a wonder the pages didn’t catch alight.
Jason has already set the wheels of retirement from the Navy in motion, so he’s due to finish up in three months. He already has a new mission: he wants to track down the woman who has been writing to him once a year since he was a child. He lost his father in a violent crime, and every year her letter shows up like clockwork. Her letters are what have given him strength to get through the years sometimes, and he wants to find her in person and see if they might have a future together.
But the latest letter from Matilda has been left unopened since he met Tessa. For the first time ever, a woman has piqued his interest and made the heart he no longer believed he had beat faster. He’s known as the Tin Man for a good reason, but this redheaded whirlwind of a woman might change all that, if he lets her in.
Jason has made it clear there is no future for them, but Tessa finds herself in love with him anyway. The night before she leaves Nowhere, they have unprotected sex and she tells him she’ll let him know if she’s pregnant. She’s not bothered by the notion of creating a little human with this man, and the scenes in which she does the pregnancy tests are cleverly ambiguous, so you don’t actually know if she is pregnant or not for a couple of chapters.
When Jason’s out the military for good, he already has a job lined up with a security firm, but he can’t stop thinking about Tessa. So he seeks her out and they see if maybe that spark is still there. When they decide to try and make something of their relationship, it’s threatened when Jason discovers a secret about Tessa. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are a few twists that were so brilliantly done it left me speechless.
But the love they have for each other turns out to be deeper than any secrets which could tear them apart, and the epilogue was so touching that I cried. I don’t cry much reading books, but this was so heartfelt and beautiful that I couldn’t help it. I also adored Jason’s nickname for Tessa: bud. He started calling her bud (short for buddy) just after they met, in an attempt to keep her at arm’s length and remind them both they’re just friends, but it became oddly endearing to have him call her that, even when they were a couple. This book will stay with me for a very long time, and if you give it a read, it will stay with you, too.
This book is everything and more. Tessa and Jason stole my heart with their amusing first encounter, their unconventional romance, their witty and wicked dialogue, and the way their lives were so indelibly linked. There were so many things to like about this story. Our heroine, Tessa, has done a runner from her wedding to an incredibly boring man after she finds him having sex inside the church rectory half an hour before they are due to exchange vows. She decides to treat herself to a week in Palm Springs to get over it, only to have her car break down in the middle of Nowhere, a small town in the Californian desert.
She stumbles upon Jason in the town’s only bar, where she proceeds to spill her guts and get drunk. Jason is intrigued by this hot mess of a woman and is attracted to her, but he’s not going to take advantage of her in her current state. After hearing her tale of woe and making sure she gets to a room at the local motel safely (which happens to be owned by his aunt), he leaves her to sleep it off. Tessa finds herself strangely bereft when she wakes the next morning, but Jason hasn’t gone far.
They then proceed to spend the day together, exchanging some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read. Alternating between playful and fun to downright dirty, it’s clear there’s a spark between them. When they can no longer deny their desire for each other, they give in to temptation, and their coupling is so hot it’s a wonder the pages didn’t catch alight.
Jason has already set the wheels of retirement from the Navy in motion, so he’s due to finish up in three months. He already has a new mission: he wants to track down the woman who has been writing to him once a year since he was a child. He lost his father in a violent crime, and every year her letter shows up like clockwork. Her letters are what have given him strength to get through the years sometimes, and he wants to find her in person and see if they might have a future together.
But the latest letter from Matilda has been left unopened since he met Tessa. For the first time ever, a woman has piqued his interest and made the heart he no longer believed he had beat faster. He’s known as the Tin Man for a good reason, but this redheaded whirlwind of a woman might change all that, if he lets her in.
Jason has made it clear there is no future for them, but Tessa finds herself in love with him anyway. The night before she leaves Nowhere, they have unprotected sex and she tells him she’ll let him know if she’s pregnant. She’s not bothered by the notion of creating a little human with this man, and the scenes in which she does the pregnancy tests are cleverly ambiguous, so you don’t actually know if she is pregnant or not for a couple of chapters.
When Jason’s out the military for good, he already has a job lined up with a security firm, but he can’t stop thinking about Tessa. So he seeks her out and they see if maybe that spark is still there. When they decide to try and make something of their relationship, it’s threatened when Jason discovers a secret about Tessa. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are a few twists that were so brilliantly done it left me speechless.
But the love they have for each other turns out to be deeper than any secrets which could tear them apart, and the epilogue was so touching that I cried. I don’t cry much reading books, but this was so heartfelt and beautiful that I couldn’t help it. I also adored Jason’s nickname for Tessa: bud. He started calling her bud (short for buddy) just after they met, in an attempt to keep her at arm’s length and remind them both they’re just friends, but it became oddly endearing to have him call her that, even when they were a couple. This book will stay with me for a very long time, and if you give it a read, it will stay with you, too.
June 10, 2019
4,5 💗💗💗💗💘👰✉📮📆🍕🍩🔥🍸
November 9, 2018
Tessa Johns was having a real bad day . . . until she showed up at a bar in Nowhere, California as a runaway bride. She wasn’t planning on sticking around, but a chance encounter with a very gruff Navy SEAL on leave who claims he has no heart, and a bottle of chardonnay have Tessa changing her plans.
Jason Reynolds didn’t want company. All he wanted was his Maker’s Mark whiskey and to be left alone. But when a gorgeous train wreck of a woman plops down on the bar stool next to him, he knows he is in big trouble. He’s known as the Tin Man, after all, yet the harder he tries to leave Tessa behind, the more he wants to stay.
Tessa wants a happy ever after and Jason doesn’t believe in love, yet fate has brought them together on the one day a year they both dread. What happens when you find your soulmate in the middle of nowhere when you both know this isn’t meant to last past a few nights stand?
Oh, Jodi, you’ve completely done it again! The books in the Love Happens series have all been glorious and Have a Heart is no exception! When we caught our first glimpse of the Tin Man, I knew it would take one heck of a woman to make his heart beat again, and Tessa Johns - train wreck is simply perfect!
Jason, Tin Man, Reynolds has truly seen the worst of humanity, both in his home life and as a Navy SEAL. Once we learn his back story, it’s no wonder that he has walls warding his heart from anyone trying to get to close to him. But, Tessa wiggles herself right in there without him even realizing the impact she is having on him and it’s amazing to watch! And, it doesn’t hurt that he’s a sexy as sin natural born protector.
Tessa, train wreck, Johns just wants to be loved and to be happy. She carries her own set of guilt and secrets, yet, from the minute she saw Jason sitting at the bar, she knew that sexy pirate of a man was supposed to be hers. The way she is able to get him to open up and get in touch with his feelings is so enjoyable to read. She’s really an amazing character and I couldn’t wait for her happy ever after fantasy to come true . . .with Jason!
Honestly, this book runs the gamut of emotions from heartbreakingly sad, to laugh out loud funny, to sweet and even romantic. The dialogue really makes this story special, as while there are other characters the focus really stays on Jason and Tessa as they begin experiencing life together after meeting on that fateful day of July 29th.
Have a Heart can absolutely be read as a standalone, but do yourself a favor and grab the other books in the series as well and binge away with over-protective yet sweetly romantic alpha makes and the women who know exactly how to handle them. 5 stars!
Jason Reynolds didn’t want company. All he wanted was his Maker’s Mark whiskey and to be left alone. But when a gorgeous train wreck of a woman plops down on the bar stool next to him, he knows he is in big trouble. He’s known as the Tin Man, after all, yet the harder he tries to leave Tessa behind, the more he wants to stay.
Tessa wants a happy ever after and Jason doesn’t believe in love, yet fate has brought them together on the one day a year they both dread. What happens when you find your soulmate in the middle of nowhere when you both know this isn’t meant to last past a few nights stand?
Oh, Jodi, you’ve completely done it again! The books in the Love Happens series have all been glorious and Have a Heart is no exception! When we caught our first glimpse of the Tin Man, I knew it would take one heck of a woman to make his heart beat again, and Tessa Johns - train wreck is simply perfect!
Jason, Tin Man, Reynolds has truly seen the worst of humanity, both in his home life and as a Navy SEAL. Once we learn his back story, it’s no wonder that he has walls warding his heart from anyone trying to get to close to him. But, Tessa wiggles herself right in there without him even realizing the impact she is having on him and it’s amazing to watch! And, it doesn’t hurt that he’s a sexy as sin natural born protector.
Tessa, train wreck, Johns just wants to be loved and to be happy. She carries her own set of guilt and secrets, yet, from the minute she saw Jason sitting at the bar, she knew that sexy pirate of a man was supposed to be hers. The way she is able to get him to open up and get in touch with his feelings is so enjoyable to read. She’s really an amazing character and I couldn’t wait for her happy ever after fantasy to come true . . .with Jason!
Honestly, this book runs the gamut of emotions from heartbreakingly sad, to laugh out loud funny, to sweet and even romantic. The dialogue really makes this story special, as while there are other characters the focus really stays on Jason and Tessa as they begin experiencing life together after meeting on that fateful day of July 29th.
Have a Heart can absolutely be read as a standalone, but do yourself a favor and grab the other books in the series as well and binge away with over-protective yet sweetly romantic alpha makes and the women who know exactly how to handle them. 5 stars!
April 4, 2020
It's rare that I keep a book on my kindle to re-read, but this book is definitely a total keeper. It was extremely well written with plots twists to keep me on the edge of my seat, a main lady that was humorous, smart, and relatable, and a hero that was... well... there are no words for Jason. Out of all the books I've read in my lifetime (a LOT), I wish I could wave a magic wand and make him jump off the page. Holy hell, the fictional man was Perfect with a capital P. The steamy scenes flowed, the dialogue was captivating, and I loved the story. I would 100% recommend this book. It was simply amazing. Thank you, Jodi Watters, for writing such a masterpiece!
January 21, 2019
I found this book to be such a delightful romance that completely captured my attention from the first chapter. I found this read so full of raw emotion and this took me through so many intense emotions that left me heart completely full. The characters were so easy to relate to and see where each were coming from with the perfect amount of background offered for each.
I am not sure how this author hasn't been on my radar before but I will definitely be going back to read more.
I am not sure how this author hasn't been on my radar before but I will definitely be going back to read more.
November 14, 2018
Well, well, well, I finally got a taste of the mysterious Jason.
Jason meets Tessa when she literally flees her wedding day. From the start Jason is a d&%k and treats Tessa like a complete a&&hole. Unfortunately for Jason, Tessa doesn't really give a crap and puts him in his place over and over again. From the prologue to the actual start of the book you know that Jason and Tessa have some connection but you just don't know all the details. I have to say I really thought I had this whole book figured out but I truly didn't. I didn't realize until the end that I was completely wrong about the prologue and I'm sorry to be clinical with my terms here but I hate giving things away in books. All I'll say is that everything I thought I knew throughout reading this book was completely shattered at the end of the book and I absolutely love when an author can do that to me!
Jason meets Tessa when she literally flees her wedding day. From the start Jason is a d&%k and treats Tessa like a complete a&&hole. Unfortunately for Jason, Tessa doesn't really give a crap and puts him in his place over and over again. From the prologue to the actual start of the book you know that Jason and Tessa have some connection but you just don't know all the details. I have to say I really thought I had this whole book figured out but I truly didn't. I didn't realize until the end that I was completely wrong about the prologue and I'm sorry to be clinical with my terms here but I hate giving things away in books. All I'll say is that everything I thought I knew throughout reading this book was completely shattered at the end of the book and I absolutely love when an author can do that to me!
November 13, 2018
This story, which is book #4 in A Love Happens series, has been a long-awaited release by Jodi Watters and I have to say was more than worth the wait.
Jodi is a relative newcomer to the indie author community but from her very first novel, she has packed a mighty heavy punch with her contemporary take on military romance.
Have a Heart, as is preceded by the first 3 books, is full of humour, heartache, passion and romance.
Jason and Tessa have become one of my most favourite couples of this year. Their chemistry was instant and damn did you feel it! I loved their introduction, their connection was immediate, and then what followed was a journey into scorching passion - wowsers these two knew how to make this reader blush and fan herself; lead to a path of hard-earned self-awareness and self-acceptance; and finished with a heart-wrenching confirmation that fate truly is a fickle bitch!
Tessa is a gorgeous character. Her inner vulnerability rears its head in the form of sarcasm and witty wordplay, however, her inner strength shines through this repartee in a way that is so captivating and endearing. She is a very funny woman and I love, love, love her!
Jason, you poor tortured soul. I felt everything you wanted me to feel. You managed to put me smack bang in the tormented place you reside and you made me sad, so very sad. I loved how you protected yourself, because honestly, this is how, in real life, we all protect ourselves from hurt and pain. You were REAL. Your disquiet was palpable and I believe ironically, that no one but Tessa could have quieted those inner demons.
This author knows how to pull out the emotion in a reader and this book is chock full of emotional reality. This story had everything that I want to read in a book let alone a romance. It will take you to the depths of anguish, yet, through humour and wisecracking, and smoking hot raw sensuality, you are taken to a place that defines the embodiment of Love.
A beautifully written story that is in my top reads of 2018 and of all time.
5 stars
Jodi is a relative newcomer to the indie author community but from her very first novel, she has packed a mighty heavy punch with her contemporary take on military romance.
Have a Heart, as is preceded by the first 3 books, is full of humour, heartache, passion and romance.
Jason and Tessa have become one of my most favourite couples of this year. Their chemistry was instant and damn did you feel it! I loved their introduction, their connection was immediate, and then what followed was a journey into scorching passion - wowsers these two knew how to make this reader blush and fan herself; lead to a path of hard-earned self-awareness and self-acceptance; and finished with a heart-wrenching confirmation that fate truly is a fickle bitch!
Tessa is a gorgeous character. Her inner vulnerability rears its head in the form of sarcasm and witty wordplay, however, her inner strength shines through this repartee in a way that is so captivating and endearing. She is a very funny woman and I love, love, love her!
Jason, you poor tortured soul. I felt everything you wanted me to feel. You managed to put me smack bang in the tormented place you reside and you made me sad, so very sad. I loved how you protected yourself, because honestly, this is how, in real life, we all protect ourselves from hurt and pain. You were REAL. Your disquiet was palpable and I believe ironically, that no one but Tessa could have quieted those inner demons.
This author knows how to pull out the emotion in a reader and this book is chock full of emotional reality. This story had everything that I want to read in a book let alone a romance. It will take you to the depths of anguish, yet, through humour and wisecracking, and smoking hot raw sensuality, you are taken to a place that defines the embodiment of Love.
A beautifully written story that is in my top reads of 2018 and of all time.
5 stars
December 27, 2018
Have a Heart is the first book I've read by this author. It is was a very easy book to read. I had no trouble getting lost in the story and the characters lives. It was a deep, emotional, heartfelt, imperfect love story. I could read this novel over and over again and never get enough.
From the trauma in Jason's childhood and years being a Navy Seal, he's in need of some deep psychotherapy. He may never be able to get rid of the demons that haunt him from his horrendous childhood. But atleast he may be able to keep them at bey.
This book went from having a great first chance at romance then letting go of it. To being a second chance romance with all the whistles and church bells.
Jason was Tessa's first true love. He was her soulmate. She experienced plenty in life prior to him. When it comes to Jason Reynolds or her 'Pirate', everythings an entirely new experience. An experience unlike any she's had before, now.
For Jason, Tessa Johnson or Matilda John's is uncharted territory. He's never allowed himself to feel life, let alone love before now. After the trauma he experienced as a child. she's the first person, he has felt love along many others feelings with. Tessa helps Jason realize that he had a heart.
This book deserves to receive more then the 5 ☆'s.
From the trauma in Jason's childhood and years being a Navy Seal, he's in need of some deep psychotherapy. He may never be able to get rid of the demons that haunt him from his horrendous childhood. But atleast he may be able to keep them at bey.
This book went from having a great first chance at romance then letting go of it. To being a second chance romance with all the whistles and church bells.
Jason was Tessa's first true love. He was her soulmate. She experienced plenty in life prior to him. When it comes to Jason Reynolds or her 'Pirate', everythings an entirely new experience. An experience unlike any she's had before, now.
For Jason, Tessa Johnson or Matilda John's is uncharted territory. He's never allowed himself to feel life, let alone love before now. After the trauma he experienced as a child. she's the first person, he has felt love along many others feelings with. Tessa helps Jason realize that he had a heart.
This book deserves to receive more then the 5 ☆'s.
October 30, 2018
I went into this book expecting to love it because well it's a Jodi Watter's book so.....however I must say that she managed to out do herself with this one. I love a good runaway bride troupe, throw in a hot-broody-former Seal as the H and it's bound to be a great recipe. That being said Ms. Watters threw me a curve ball that I was not expecting (nor saw coming). Tessa,the bride, not really in love but headed to the alter finds herself faced with a cheating fiance and decides to leave, hitting the road in her wedding dress no less,. With a flat tire she finds herself in a bar in the middle of "Nowhere", literally a town called Nowhere. At the bar sits Jason the brooding stranger that is not looking for company but finds himself drawn to and amused by Tessa. This is the story of a rebound fling in the middle of "nowhere" between two strangers that mean more to each other than either of them expected. Wonderfully written, full of humor and plenty of heat you will love this book. Throw in an unexpected curveball between the H & h and this book fast becomes a new favorite. I loved it and highly recommend adding it to your TBR list asap!!
February 27, 2019
4.5 Stars
Book four is a standalone in the series and tells the story of Jason and Tessa.
Jason is a Navy Seal getting ready to transition to be a civilian when he meets Tessa. She is a hot mess runaway bride. When you read the prologue, you get a foreshadowing that there is more to their story.
These two both had some bad things happen in their childhood that shape the adults they become. Jason has a really hard time opening his heart to love and Tessa must work hard to overcome his resistance. Tessa is so strong but she instantly falls for Jason.
I really enjoyed the fate aspect of this book. I felt like the author handled the childhood traumas they experienced well. I really liked how Jason’s feelings (about leaving the military and having his identity as a Navy Seal change) as he reintegrated were described. This book was deep but there were humorous and steamy moments too. I enjoyed this story and have really enjoyed this series so far. I cannot wait for more books from this author.
Book four is a standalone in the series and tells the story of Jason and Tessa.
Jason is a Navy Seal getting ready to transition to be a civilian when he meets Tessa. She is a hot mess runaway bride. When you read the prologue, you get a foreshadowing that there is more to their story.
These two both had some bad things happen in their childhood that shape the adults they become. Jason has a really hard time opening his heart to love and Tessa must work hard to overcome his resistance. Tessa is so strong but she instantly falls for Jason.
I really enjoyed the fate aspect of this book. I felt like the author handled the childhood traumas they experienced well. I really liked how Jason’s feelings (about leaving the military and having his identity as a Navy Seal change) as he reintegrated were described. This book was deep but there were humorous and steamy moments too. I enjoyed this story and have really enjoyed this series so far. I cannot wait for more books from this author.
January 19, 2019
This book is so much more then a runaway bride and the man she meets at a bar. This book is about opening your heart to love and allow healing to happen. I was intrigued with this book. It caught my attention and wouldn't let me go. Jason and Tessa have a very unique relationship. I say this for a reason. They aren't lovely dovey like most couple. They hit heads on almost everything they discuss. Despite this, they find out who they truly are and what they want out of life. Tess brings the light back into Jason's life. She makes him see things differently. Helps him heal from the past. They have a connection but it goes deeper then that. Jason has had it rough. He had his father die and his mom just give up on life and him. He's been keeping himself alive until now. Tessa is a breath of fresh air he didn't know he needed. She pushes him to be better. I gotta say I loved this book and how the author wrapped this story together. It was beautifully written.
November 9, 2018
This is one of those books that really makes you want to reevaluate your life and pick up and move to wherever the characters will be. The town this author has created truly captured my heart-aside from Tessa and Jason, who certainly own a piece of it as well.
I loved this story beyond any words I can type out for a review-there was the perfect amount of humor, heart breaking angst, push/pull, and finally steaming hot chemistry. It really is one of the most perfect stories I’ve read this year, and I would consider it a very sweet, feel good romance. I loved Tessa to now end. She was totally hilarious even though she was going through an absolutely horrible experience with her almost husband-she sought the good, and allowed herself to have the fun and relaxation she deserved-with none other than the town’s hottie, Jason Reynolds. Right from the get go their meeting is laced with chemistry that threatens to burn them-and I was sucked in from the very beginning.
I simply can’t wait for more books in this series-I’m so excited, because this author is an absolute star at writing stories that awe you from the very beginning.
I loved this story beyond any words I can type out for a review-there was the perfect amount of humor, heart breaking angst, push/pull, and finally steaming hot chemistry. It really is one of the most perfect stories I’ve read this year, and I would consider it a very sweet, feel good romance. I loved Tessa to now end. She was totally hilarious even though she was going through an absolutely horrible experience with her almost husband-she sought the good, and allowed herself to have the fun and relaxation she deserved-with none other than the town’s hottie, Jason Reynolds. Right from the get go their meeting is laced with chemistry that threatens to burn them-and I was sucked in from the very beginning.
I simply can’t wait for more books in this series-I’m so excited, because this author is an absolute star at writing stories that awe you from the very beginning.
November 6, 2018
A box of tissues is mandatory with this fantastic book. It’s got everything you could ever imagine and then some. Add in some serious heartache and turmoil and you have one amazing, hard to put down book. I’ve never been so drawn into a story. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, another element comes and slaps you by surprise.
Tessa and Jason’s book is phenomenal. Their heart wrenching story will totally consume you. What more could you want, get a new book boyfriend and leave with total book hangover. Best thing ever!
I was totally blown away with the depth and passion of their story. Of all the little things and big things that make this book one of my most favorite of the year.
So hooked!!! So happy I got the chance to read their story and soo looking forward to what comes next in the series.
5/5
Tessa and Jason’s book is phenomenal. Their heart wrenching story will totally consume you. What more could you want, get a new book boyfriend and leave with total book hangover. Best thing ever!
I was totally blown away with the depth and passion of their story. Of all the little things and big things that make this book one of my most favorite of the year.
So hooked!!! So happy I got the chance to read their story and soo looking forward to what comes next in the series.
5/5
November 7, 2018
5+ Stars
Wow! I'm very impressed. I simply couldn't put this book down! From the first pages, I was totally hooked. The writing is witty, sweet, shocking and made my heart ache and swell with love.
Tessa is so clever with her comebacks that I was chuckling and had sudden bursts of laughter that startled my husband. I love her so much; she's so brave and funny and a complete ball buster. Her Mother is hilarious and I wish I knew this family personally.
Jason, what can I say about this big, gorgeous, sexy, moody, brooding, a hulk of a SEAL! Yes, SEAL! Off the charts hot and so damaged it makes him even sexier.
This book was everything! I read it compulsively, telling my family shhhhh. I think Jodi Watters will be another must-read author to add to my list, I will be checking out more of her books.
Wow! I'm very impressed. I simply couldn't put this book down! From the first pages, I was totally hooked. The writing is witty, sweet, shocking and made my heart ache and swell with love.
Tessa is so clever with her comebacks that I was chuckling and had sudden bursts of laughter that startled my husband. I love her so much; she's so brave and funny and a complete ball buster. Her Mother is hilarious and I wish I knew this family personally.
Jason, what can I say about this big, gorgeous, sexy, moody, brooding, a hulk of a SEAL! Yes, SEAL! Off the charts hot and so damaged it makes him even sexier.
This book was everything! I read it compulsively, telling my family shhhhh. I think Jodi Watters will be another must-read author to add to my list, I will be checking out more of her books.
November 8, 2019
Totally moved!
This is book four in the series and as with all the other books I am astounded as to the depth of Jodi Watters’s writing! The characters are witty, real, human and fragile. I laughed and sobbed my way through this book.
Where better for two lost souls to meet than Nowhere, California in The Last Stop Saloon. From the beginning I liked how they connected, opposites, both trying to find something positive from a past riddled with pain. Tessa is a trooper, a people pleaser, with a big smile and a spine of steel. Jason has very little family and exists by being a Navy SEAL, Tin Man, as he is cold hearted, withdrawn and a loner. Their journey is epic and emotional.
Make sure that your calendar is free of disruption and your food ordered in, as once you start reading you wont want to stop.
This is book four in the series and as with all the other books I am astounded as to the depth of Jodi Watters’s writing! The characters are witty, real, human and fragile. I laughed and sobbed my way through this book.
Where better for two lost souls to meet than Nowhere, California in The Last Stop Saloon. From the beginning I liked how they connected, opposites, both trying to find something positive from a past riddled with pain. Tessa is a trooper, a people pleaser, with a big smile and a spine of steel. Jason has very little family and exists by being a Navy SEAL, Tin Man, as he is cold hearted, withdrawn and a loner. Their journey is epic and emotional.
Make sure that your calendar is free of disruption and your food ordered in, as once you start reading you wont want to stop.
August 27, 2022
Well I went in blind on this book and series. I didn’t realize it was “book 4” until just now when I came here to write my review. I didn’t feel like I missed anything and still looking back I can’t really see anything that would have come before - well I guess maybe now that I’m thinking about it - I’m taking a guess and I’ll head back and see. But this book was so much - but not too much. I don’t love super angsty heart wrenching books that strangle you with emotion - I’m just not built for that, but this one had the right amount of angst. There was a bit of humor and a lot of steam. I’m very interested to see what else this series holds. If this is any indication how that others are then I’m sold!! ❤️🥵🔥🧨🎆🥰 I would have liked to read more of their story, I’m in love with Tessa and Jason! They are amazing!
December 18, 2018
Every now and then I pick up a book and I fall in love with it. It very rarely happens that I become completely immersed in a book and it's characters. But with this book it was just that, I couldn't put this book down. I enjoyed every moment of it.
The whole premise of the story was unique and different, I LOVE how they meet in a bar in the beginning. Yeah yeah they meet in a bar, yet it's still unique she's in her wedding dress and he takes care of her. What more can a romance addict ask for?
Tessa and Jason's chemistry oozes through the pages. There are moments when they are cute, funny, hot, and steamy. You wont be disappointed with this read. I've loved this series since I started reading it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves steamy romance stories.
The whole premise of the story was unique and different, I LOVE how they meet in a bar in the beginning. Yeah yeah they meet in a bar, yet it's still unique she's in her wedding dress and he takes care of her. What more can a romance addict ask for?
Tessa and Jason's chemistry oozes through the pages. There are moments when they are cute, funny, hot, and steamy. You wont be disappointed with this read. I've loved this series since I started reading it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves steamy romance stories.
December 28, 2018
Tessa Johns, train wreck and runaway bride wanders into a bar in the middle of Nowhere on July 29th and sits down beside Tin Man Jason Reynolds who was just trying to get through the day that will always plague him. He doesn't want company and even though he is attracted to the girl that plops down on the barstool right next to him and tries to leave her behind he knows that there's just something about Tessa that he can't walk away from.
As it turns out Jason and Tessa share the same dread of July 29th but for reasons that could either make them stronger and closer or tear them apart.
This story had me hooked from the very first page! It's filled with heartbreak and sadness that makes you ugly cry and then turns to hilarity and lighthearted that you smile and laugh out loud.
As it turns out Jason and Tessa share the same dread of July 29th but for reasons that could either make them stronger and closer or tear them apart.
This story had me hooked from the very first page! It's filled with heartbreak and sadness that makes you ugly cry and then turns to hilarity and lighthearted that you smile and laugh out loud.
November 19, 2018
This was a really interesting read. I didn’t really the blurb but have read books by this author and enjoyed them so was excited for this one. I’m going to say that it was a very emotional read with steam and humor that helped the balance. Jason was so damaged but I really loved seeing his struggle when it came to Tessa. She was all in and his fight was so strong. In the end they got their HEA and I was so happy for them.
Some parts were pretty predictable to me it was just figuring out how they got from point A to Point B. It was a fun wild ride and I really can’t wait to see what’s going to come next in this series. 4 stars #2OCCJD
Some parts were pretty predictable to me it was just figuring out how they got from point A to Point B. It was a fun wild ride and I really can’t wait to see what’s going to come next in this series. 4 stars #2OCCJD
December 3, 2018
SPEECHLESS!! JUST SPEECHLESS!! Jodi Watters is a first time Author for me and She BLEW ME AWAY HAVE A HEART!! Tessa and Jason's Story is No other Book I have read before. So Much Darkness in their early childhood, leaves you Breathless and Heartwreching Aching! It was Beautifully Written and such a Rollercoaster ride of Emotional distress. And the chemistry between the two characters are Off the Charts Hot!!
I don't want to Spoil anything for you since there is So much Unique TWISTS AND TURNS INTO the UNKNOWN that Have your Jaw Dropping!! I'm TOTALLY looking forward to read more of Jodi Watters and CANNOT WAIT to Read More into Her WORLD of WORDS!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I don't want to Spoil anything for you since there is So much Unique TWISTS AND TURNS INTO the UNKNOWN that Have your Jaw Dropping!! I'm TOTALLY looking forward to read more of Jodi Watters and CANNOT WAIT to Read More into Her WORLD of WORDS!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 26, 2020
Thrilling and awesome
This is my first Jodi Watters book and I love her writing. What a wonderful story. I loved Tessa and Jason and the banter they had throughout the book was funny and downright scorching. These two could tear up the sheets but had a hard time sharing feelings and emotions outside the bedroom.
Jason was one hot mess and I loved him. He had such a fun sense of humor even though he tried to show nothing but his bad side.
Tessa was a hot mess too but she knew it and was willing to work on her life. She had a very difficult time persuading Jason he was worthy of her good opinion of him.
This was a highly emotional read and one I won't forget for a while.
This is my first Jodi Watters book and I love her writing. What a wonderful story. I loved Tessa and Jason and the banter they had throughout the book was funny and downright scorching. These two could tear up the sheets but had a hard time sharing feelings and emotions outside the bedroom.
Jason was one hot mess and I loved him. He had such a fun sense of humor even though he tried to show nothing but his bad side.
Tessa was a hot mess too but she knew it and was willing to work on her life. She had a very difficult time persuading Jason he was worthy of her good opinion of him.
This was a highly emotional read and one I won't forget for a while.
November 8, 2018
4.5 stars...
Okay y'all this book will definitely give you all the feels. These two have both been through so much and you can see it all through out. Tessa ... just left her fiance at the alter after catching him cheating. She sits down next to Jason in a bar who wants nothing to do with her. Y'all these two are like oil and water but are definitely drawn to each other. Jason struggles hard and you will totally get it once you hear why but its hard to see him push when all Tessa wants is him. Will they finally get it together or not???
Okay y'all this book will definitely give you all the feels. These two have both been through so much and you can see it all through out. Tessa ... just left her fiance at the alter after catching him cheating. She sits down next to Jason in a bar who wants nothing to do with her. Y'all these two are like oil and water but are definitely drawn to each other. Jason struggles hard and you will totally get it once you hear why but its hard to see him push when all Tessa wants is him. Will they finally get it together or not???
November 8, 2018
I enjoyed reading this book very much. It had just the right balance of drama, romance, and humor to keep you interested. Jason, who's nickname was Tin Man, didn't believe he had a heart and was capable of love found his life turned completely upside down when a Tessa John's, train wreck came into his bar in her wedding dress. Their story is sweet and simple at first but as it goes on becomes more complex. I highly recommend Have a Heart by Jodi Watters. I will be looking forward to reading more from her in the future.
December 4, 2018
Have A Heart by Jodi Watters is a Love Happens standalone. Tessa is a runaway bride. During her escape she stumbled right into the path of Jason. He is a navy seal with a tormented past. His friends call him the Tin Man for a reason. July 29th is a bad day for both of them until they crash into each others lives. These two characters are my favorites. I loved their banter and their chemistry. These two will have you laughing out loud, melt your heart and your panties and crush your soul. I love a book that makes me feel every emotion possible and this one did just that.
January 17, 2019
This is the fourth book about the delicious security characters in this series, but you don't have to read the others to enjoy this story.
Tessa is having a not so great day when she sits down on the bar stool next to Jason. And her world is changed.
Nowhere will never be the same.
The characters share an instant connection, and then over the course of the story push and pull to finally give this couple their HEA..with a few great twists and turns along the way.
Great chemistry, and a fantastic look into the lives of the other characters from previous books.
Tessa is having a not so great day when she sits down on the bar stool next to Jason. And her world is changed.
Nowhere will never be the same.
The characters share an instant connection, and then over the course of the story push and pull to finally give this couple their HEA..with a few great twists and turns along the way.
Great chemistry, and a fantastic look into the lives of the other characters from previous books.
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