Kiro’s Emily

This novel broke my heart. I\’ll try not to give away any spoilers but wow. I downloaded this book yesterday. I have read it twice and skimmed through it once. For some reason I keep going back and breaking my heart. I think because this novel is full of romance, falling-in-love, tenderness, two souls finding each other. This book made my heart break but I was smiling as it happened. Kiro. Wow what a but this book made him human. I now want to fix him and save him. I want to take away his pain and sorrow. I really wanted to slap him in the other books. Bravo Abbi Glines for taking one of the least likable characters and turning him into a human being. Emily is the type of woman you want as a friend, sister, cousin, daughter. She is good, kind, loving yet will accept the man she loves for who he is. I would not have taken a chance on Kiro. Emily taking a chance on him was amazing but she is amazing. Emily had always had a crush on Kiro but wanted to keep it in the fantasy level because reality would never meet her expectations. In some ways, she was completely right to believe that. Thank goodness she didn\’t do that. Have you ever read a novel and felt goosebumps, joy, elation, all of those mind tingling feelings? Have you ever felt an emotional pain deep inside of you because you connected so closely with the characters? It is almost a physical pain when you realize what is happening to them. I felt that with Kiro and Emily. In fact, I had to read the novel again today because I felt so unsettled, so distraught. Today, after reading it a second time I feel better, I feel like I have resolved myself to their situation. Sometimes I am upset with the author for taking a non-traditional route with their characters. With Kiro and Emily, this was the only way the story could have gone. ***Small spoiler***** Yes at first it bothered me a little about the timeline not matching 100%. It was close enough to work and I feel it did not take away from the story. If that is all someone can find to dislike about this novel, then obviously they just want to complain. ****End Spoiler***** I hope you enjoy this novel as much as I have and will again. It has become my novel of choice when I want to fall in love (not insta-love). I know a lot will not agree with me but each to his own. I\’m not a fan of super sweet, candlelight, love-note writing, rose petals strewn, kiss on the cheek, innocent romances. I believe romance comes in all shapes and forms. Some of us would be uncomfortable with a romantic dinner for two with violins, candles, roses, etc. Others of us would be insulted to have a man say how much he want to lick our p***y. Either way, if it is from his heart then who is to say its not romantic? Romance can be defined as \”a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love\”. While not a traditional romantic, Kiro loved Emily with everything he was and could ever be.

I knew going into this book that it would be sad and most likely make me cry hard. I was right. This is why I have put off reading and reviewing for a couple of weeks. The plot was good, as were the characters, but it was a little weird reading about the adult characters as they were teens/ in their twenties. It was great to finally read about Kiro and Emily\’s story, it was really sweet to see how Kiro was when he was with her. I also liked how Emily influenced Kiro so much in such a short amount of time. It was really cute to see Rush and Mase as little kids and how Emily was with them. I mean rush as a toddler? The cutest thing in the world. But yeah, I totally see where Harlow gets it all from, she is just like her mom. I still feel all beat up when I think about how Emily and Kiro\’s story had to end. It\’s just so sad.

Kiro\’s Emily is a side-novella (you could even say a spin-off) to the Rosemary Beach Series that takes us straight to the past and lets us have some insights into how Demon Slacker lead singer Kiro Manning met his wife Emily back in 1992. Kiro and Emily do not exactly play lead roles in the Rosemary Beach series, but there is a little mystery building up around them, especially in Take A Chance and One More Chance – which are the books dedicated to their daughter Harlow. What I loved about this book: Nice, quick read What I felt needed improvement: The plot was a bit standard I couldn\’t really connect with Kiro I would have liked more answers and a less sad ending… Kiro Manning is your regular 90’s rockstar: revelling in his fame, foul-mouthed as they come, and enjoying his share of groupies. Emily, on the other hand, is the nice and polished girl next door, as inexperienced as you’d expect. Her cousin drags Emily with her on her quest to follow Demon Slacker on their US tour, hopeful to get backstage and into the band’s pants. When Emily’s cousin finally manages to end up at an after-show party, and Kiro catches a glimpse of sweet Emily, it’s lust at first sight, and he can’t stay away. As a huge Abbi Glines (and Rosemary Beach Series ) fan, this novella was a total must for me to read, even though I did put it off for quite some time. And as always, I wasn’t disappointed by Abbi Glines’ dual-POV storytelling, which is great, light, and with just the right amount of steam. However, I found it difficult to connect with the actual story and Kiro’s character. The story itself is pretty standard: bad boy falls in insta-lust over untouched virgin. And while bad boy only wants to get in virgin’s pants, he quickly recognizes that he has more feelings for her than he thought, and she suddenly becomes his only reason to live. “With one kiss, my life had been altered. It would follow a different path now. One where a woman owned my heart.” I really don’t mind the occasional insta-lust, and to be honest, it’s recurring with Abbi Glines so I knew exactly what I was getting into. What I did mind though, was Kiro’s character. He is a total douche, and really not the kind of guy you think Emily should end up with no matter how much he changes. After all, his first thoughts when seeing her are downright disgusting, and in the beginning of the story, women are just usable objects to him. And of course, Emily totally falls for him… “I had never had an angel, and f..k, I wanted one. This one.” In the end, it was a nice read, and one that gave a nice insight into Kiro and Emily’s relationship, but I can’t help feeling that it didn’t answer more questions. I also still have that bitter aftertaste in my mouth when it comes to Emily: with Kiro’s Emily Abbi Glines introduced us to her, depicting her as this wonderful and loving character (who very much resembles Harlow), but in the end, we know that this character will end up in a coma, and never be the same again. Also, her time with Kiro turned out to be extremely short, and I find both of these things depressing… This is part of the reason why I am only giving this book 3.5 Stars, and also because while it was a nice read, it was kind of rushed and probably not extremely relevant in the grand scheme of the Rosemary Beach series.

I read the whole Rosemary Beach Series Sea Breeze Series and the Sea Breeze meets Rosemary Beach series before I read this. I was expecting it to be a let down and no where near as good, but once again Abbi Glines has put together another page turner that was impossible to put down. It helps fit the last puzzle piece in the huge series. They were all amazing and I think this was a nice finale for me. Beautifully written as always and really shows the true Kiro. Shows not to judge a book by the cover, or in Kiros case by the drink, drugs and women.

Kiro is the epitome of a bad boy rockstar, but underneath it all is a vulnerability stemmed from a young age. Along comes Emmy who is the total opposite, and somehow she restores his faith. Little by little she brings out his other side, and that makes him the most lovable person. When it comes to her, he is kind, protective, possessive but most of all undying love. This short story brings out all kinds of emotions. What happens after is totally unexpected, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Emotive read.

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