Happily Ever After: Part I & II

Blossom in Winter #5

by Melanie Martins

YOU KNOW THEIR STORY BUT WHAT ABOUT THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTER?

PART ONE

Nearly six months have passed since the miraculous birth of the twins, and yet, the ever-present conflict Petra faces between staying at home with them and attending school and trying to maintain her social life has been wearing her down.

Deciding to share her inner guilt, Petra meets Emma for an outing, but what was to be a simple afternoon between besties becomes a life-changing one as she finds the missing piece in her life.

PART TWO

Petra and Alex are heading to Aspen to celebrate their first Christmas as a family of four, but unfortunately, his mother is coming along!

And even worse, Margaret is now determined to find leverage on Petra to regain the upper hand.

What should have been a joyful family gathering in Colorado’s most glamorous ski town, is quickly becoming something much more sinister…

Genres: Romance, Dark, Dark Romance, Spicy Romance

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2022

About the author

Melanie Martins is a digital entrepreneur, travel influencer, and the author of the series "Blossom in Winter", a forbidden love story between a young heiress and her godfather. Her debut novel has been labeled as "wrong", "immoral", and by others as a "masterpiece", "phenomenal" and a "must-read" creating a dedicated, loyal fan base of lovers and haters.

When she is not behind her laptop writing, she can be found globetrotting, reading, daydreaming, and sharing her adventures on Instagram and Facebook

Born in France and raised in Portugal, she currently lives on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta and can't get enough of it.

To get a copy of Blossom in Winter, you may visit blossominwinter.com

Reviews

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s LIVE! Part 1 & 2: https://amzn.to/37hlOU2 | Part 3 & 4: https://amzn.to/34h9AJY

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Happily Ever After, Epilogue part 1 & 2 (Blossom in Winter saga)!

Books should be read in order:
Book 1: Blossom in Winter
Book 2: Lured into Love
Book 3: Lured into Lies
Book 4: Defying Eternity
Book 5.1-5.2: Happily Ever After, Part I & II
Book 5.3-5.4: Happily Ever After, Part III & IV

Hands down one of the best series I have ever read. An against-all-odds forbidden love saga gets its extended epilogue in four parts.

❤️ I can never seem to get enough of Alexander Van Dieren. The self-assured, enigmatic, calculated, worldly, ruthless, untouchable larger-than-life man brought to his knees by Petra Van Gatt.
💙 A love that defies the odds and transcends time, in a tale riddled with secrets, money, power, sex, power, deception intrigue & betrayal.

Amazon: Part 1 & 2: https://amzn.to/37hlOU2 | Part 3 & 4: https://amzn.to/34h9AJY

ARC provided to me by author Melanie Martin in exchange for an honest rating/review.

[Kim R · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring!

[Shyralf · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 Stars! An ok read.

[Lisa Malone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the first 3 books but this one was so boring. No real plot and nothing exciting.

[Deb Garon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bland

The Blossom series started out spicy and kept you wanting to read more. Happily Ever After felt like I was reading about everyday ordinary living, no pizazz.

[Daphne Mattingly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m too invested to stop reading them

Getting kinda boring, especially the second half. I’ve read the series so far so I have to finish it. 🤷‍♀️

[dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring, stoped reading at 30% because i couldn't bear it anymore

[Susan Stephens Ballain · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Alex surprised Petra with a really wonderful birthday gift but I had a feeling he was up to something of the sorts! When will Margret ever stop scheming?? I think she’s met her match when Petra and Alex have teamed up against her this time! But it seemed like they had a wonderful Christmas over in Aspen but over course it was all a ruse!

[Tamarra Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it a happily ever after though….

With the way book four ended… I’m glad Alex and Petra get there happily ever after
Their living there life with their children Jasmine and Jasper, balancing work, school and social commitments, it’s definitely a challenge, but with the right support they make it work.
There marriage hasn’t been without it’s own challenges, each learning, again, to love, trust, honour and communicate with each other, which has made for some very interesting situations.
As parents, Alex and Petra are learning to navigate the in’s and out’s, trusting their own judgments, but falling back on those fears, that what they aren’t doing is right, that exposing Jasper and Jasmine to new things will help them develop and grow in life in the long run, they release those fears and learn to trust each other.
Petra has always dreamed of owning her own art gallery, and when a particular building is up for sale, she takes a risk, and when she is unsuccessful, she has to accept the fact, that her dream will remain what it is, a dream.
But unbeknownst to her, her husband makes her dreams come true, by gifting her the building of her dreams, for her, not only as a birthday gift but as a long term investment for the future.
And somewhere a long the line, Petra discloses to Emma, that she shared her secret with Margaret as leverage.
Petra, doesn’t have the best relationship with her mother in law Margaret, so when she joins Petra and her family for Christmas is Aspen, awkwardness s an understatement, including the fact her father and his girlfriend have joined them too!
But we would be remiss in saying that there is definitely something going on between Margaret and Ms. Dubois, especially with the family connection where Julia is concerned, and it has Petra concerned, not only for herself, but for her fathers welfare too.
Petra and Alex make the most of their family vacation, taking a private interlude, only to have there romantic getaway ruined by paparazzi looking for a story, and when Margaret learns of this indiscretion, she happily takes care of it.
And then Margaret gives Petra an ultimatum, telling her she needs to break off Emma’s affair with Yara. Petra believes that Margaret has something to hold over her, if she doesn’t follow through, and when Petra discloses to Alex what his mother has asked of her, he snaps, but when he discloses to Petra, that this is normal behaviour for Yara, and when Emma doesn’t see reason, Petra and Alex have no choice but to intervene discreetly, to save face for both Petra’s friendship with Emma and there family.
These stories have it all drama, romance, friendship, love, laughter, mayhem, blackmail, suspense, twists, turns and truths you’ll never see coming.
I missed being in there world, and enjoyed this follow up immensely. Melanie definitely knows how to write.
And those s*x scenes were hot and steamy, the dominance, control and possessiveness was off the charts and had all of the feels.
Onto books three and four to see how it all ends!

[Shenise Leon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve finished both part 1 and 2. There isn’t much of a story line anymore to these novellas. I feel like they were just thrown together just to have more books in the series.

Book 1 was Petra literally crying over a random art gallery that she’s been to in the past and that she couldn’t buy. No surprise that Alex got it for her in the end.

Book 2 Petra and Alex go on Christmas vacation with the twins, Margaret, Roy and his new girlfriend. Again, not much going on except for Petra coming up with more theories about why Alex’s mother came with them.

Going to fly through the last 2 novellas just so I can be done with this series.

[Colleen Hurley Jozwiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books! Both book 1 & 2 were left with cliff hangers leaving you itching to start the next book! I can’t wait to get to book 3 to see what happens with everyone!

I enjoyed the kids first Christmas. I am curious I thought they got married on Petra’s birthday. Why was the first anniversary not brought up but her bday was?

[Ayça · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing happened. Uneventful, boring. I even lost my interest on Alex. Even he was boring in this book. I do not know if I will read the last book of the series after this one. I am literally disappointed.

[Lynnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book was a bit misleading with all the happiness and romance, but alas, true colors always shine brightest.

I think Alex is trying, but his misogyny is a leading character flaw. I have a hard time trusting him when he just keeps puffing out his chest as he disrespects his wife. And she takes it!

Then there is Roy and Catherine. If Petra would ever behave as Catherine does, there would be a lot of reprimanding. But she is still around. I HATE everyone in this book except Lily and the kids.

However, that said, the frickin drama keeps me glued to the story. I really think there were mind altering drugs on these pages making me love this story no matter how irredeemable they all are. I am begging, please let the last two books be Petra's revenge and coming out on top. I may not like her either, but she was dealt a shitty hand in the family department and her friends are questionable too.

[Jennifer G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1-
Continuing story from Blossom in Winter.
Love that Melanie continues giving us insights of Alex and Petra. Nice to not be stressing over what bad will happen next, lol.
So it’s not like a mind blowing, oh my god what’s gonna happen now; but more of a swoon type. And I’m ok with that! lol
I always say that the author just leaves us hanging and I felt like I needed more, well this happily ever after is the more!

Book 2-
Picking right up from book 1, book 2 was a quick read. Not much drama, just Alex’s mom who seems to be like splinter, small and irritating!!
This woman is the definition of evil. This book left us wondering what’s gonna happen next, so here I go to book 3!

[Maggie Maslanik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy disappointment. After a wonderful first 4 books in the series, this feels as if it’s written by an entirely different author, who is also in 4th grade. It’s so boring, bland, and lacking any sort of substance compared to the rest of the series. Why do I care about the meaningless details throughout this book. The twins are wearing this now, it’s this color, we are this meal... do not care!!!
I stopped reading at 80% because it was more painful to waste my time continuing than have just left the story end after book 4.
Save yourself the money. Be done at 4.

[shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mother-in-law's and drama seemed to go hand in hand in this.

For as innocent and non scheming Petra husband Alex thinks she is. Petra seems to think everyone is scheming against her. Why would Alex let his wife go on a ride to the airport alone with his mean mother. Alex's team should have took a look around the hot springs before they were alone then the drama maybe could of been avoided.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happily Ever After Books 1-2: Blossom Winter 5 is by Melanie Martins. These are the first two books that tell what happens to Alex and Petra after the birth of the twins. Having her tell how the twins are growing up and how Jasmine is keeping up with Jasper in growth and health is great. Too many books leave you hanging as to what happens after the book ends. Why she put it into four almost novellas is questionable to me. However, the story is great.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk about your family drama, this group has it in spades. Is something going on with Petra and the fatigue and all she is dealing with, maybe another miracle?? Emma needs to calm herself before she completely flys off the handle and says something that she can't take back. That would be another bad day for Petra. Time to find out what is really going on with Margaret and Catherine, and how deep it goes.

[Gina Ristau · Rating 3 out of 5]

continuation of the series.

There were too many pages of descriptions and the love making becomes boring. I preferred the last book. Petra is stronger with her mother in law. The twins first Christmas takes place in Aspen with Petra’s mother in law and her father’s love interest.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was incredibly boring, I have never DNF a book, but seriously considered it multiple times. This is the longest it has ever taken me to finish reading a book! There was no real action or plot and the details were overwhelmingly detailed! I'll eventually come back to finish books three and four, but I'm goiing to need a very long break!

[Adena Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

i've read the Blossom in Winter series and thought this would be just as good. i didn't feel it was. It's almost like "fluff" in a book to make the book thicker or something. I'm not sure. Yes, it's a storyline after-the-fact, but it's still issues with same people again.
So i've read the first book, Goodreads didn't split them up. We'll see if i get to the second book.

[Demetrica Boling · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, let me start by saying I have been enjoying this series. Let me also say the first novella was boring as it gets. It had zero drama, but was a sweet read. lol book V/2 was VERY dramatic and worth the read! I can’t wait to finish the whole series. I am trying to debate if I want to start on the Van Dan Bosh series.

[Stacey Hupperich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Petra and Alex’s love story doesn’t end and only gets better. The extra spicy romance continues in these books and their story only gets better. I couldn’t put down any of the books in this whole series. What a great writer she did such a fabulous job on it. 10/10 recommend and I’ll be rereading this entire series.

[Liz♡🍒 (Lisbeth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to read abt their happy ending bc the last book of the series felt like they had some sort of happy ending but also not really. Needless to say, this sequel was THE SAME THING! They had cute moments, as both a couple and parents; but it was still not giving; if you know what I mean…

[Reisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t super into this book like I was the first book. This book is definitely just a look into married life with kids. What it’s like to be Rich and in love with in laws you hate. The sex is nothing new or spicy. I am only reading this and the last one to completely close out this series since I already read every other book in this series.

[Marsha Wilkerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so intrigued

This series has really kept me in full on read mode! I have read this series for the past month and I am so sad I will be reading the last of it with the next installation. It’s been a fun adventure with Petra and Alex! I will hate to see them exit my life.

[Tanisha Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Novella!

Hmmm... on one hand the Novella wrap-ups are great because I enjoyed the characters and wanted to know how it turned out, but on the other hand should there have been another book to wrap up the story completely?

Okay onto the novella, Happily Ever After Book III.

[Stacy Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this spicy age gap but if you have a young or teenage daughter and u like to relate to ur books I don’t recommend reading this one. It’s about a 7 yr old that falls in love with her god father and they get together 10 years later when he returns.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to the four main books! Also a nice, different story than the fourth book...nice to see some positive things happening!

[Faith Plau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these 4 back to back and I loved how each book was pretty much about different situations, and loved how it built up to the next series of Melanie Martins.