Title: Wings Over Poppies (Over #2)
Author: J.A. DeRouen
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: January 26, 2015
Cover Design: Mae I Design And Photography
Author: J.A. DeRouen
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: January 26, 2015
Cover Design: Mae I Design And Photography
Perfection. One word. Three syllables. Every reason why I’ll never have the one thing I truly want. I stand dutifully on the pedestal he’s built, waiting for the day he truly sees me. Then one amazing night, he lets down his walls, only to leave me the next day. Years have passed, and I’ve tried to move on with my life. But I still dream of him. I still miss him everyday. The memories haunt me. How can I look to the future when my past remains a mystery? The time has come to find the boy who stole my heart and ran away without a word. But not everyone who is lost wants to be found. My name is Alexandra Fontaine, and this is my story of unfinished love. Wings Over Poppies is book #2 in The Over Series and can be read as a standalone novel.
I shift closer to him and wrap my arms around his waist. I lay my head on his chest and breathe him in. His shoulders relax, if only slightly. The need to comfort him is overwhelming. I want to wash it all away for him, hold the world at bay while I erase the worry permanently etched in his forehead. “Everything is going to be okay, West. I just know it,” I lie. I don’t know that everything will be okay. I don’t know anything at all. We sit in electrified silence, the crackling of dead leaves under us the only sound. I memorize the feel of him, the smell of him, the rhythm of his breathing. I’m lost in the moment, already anticipating the loss that’s to come. “I leave in a month.” The words cut through the silence like a judgment. Instead of hurt, I’m filled with resolve. I won’t let him push me away anymore. I’m done playing by his rules. I rise up to meet the storm brewing in his eyes. His hand wraps firmly around my neck, and his eyes dart hungrily to my lips. I swallow nervously and refuse to look away. If he turns his head or pulls my hair, I swear I’m going to tackle him to the ground. I lean in hopefully, somewhat expectantly, and close my eyes. His warm breath dances across my lips, and my every prayer is answered. He presses his mouth firmly to mine and stills, almost memorizing the moment. That one small touch is the beginning of the most memorable kiss of my life. It’s hello and goodbye, I love you, I’ll miss you, and everything in between. He sucks my bottom lip, and I inhale sharply, completely overcome. His hands dive into my hair, and his tongue slides against mine just once before he pulls away. He touches my forehead to his and chuckles softly. “What have we been waiting for all this time?” “You,” I whisper breathlessly, “I’ve been waiting for you.” My admission is all he needs. He devours me, a tangle of lips, teeth, tongues, and hands. I don’t know where I end and he begins. I’m exhilarated and relieved all at once. I run my hands down his arms and grip his wrists tightly. I pull away and look into his hooded eyes. “Tell me something, West. Tell me something I don’t know.” He runs a thumb over my swollen lips while he studies me. I’ve never felt more loved, more worshipped. “I can’t imagine a world without you in it. No matter where I am, I’ll always dream of you. It’ll have to be enough.” He places soft, scorching kisses up my neck until he reaches my ear. “God, I don’t think it’ll ever be enough.”
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Heartwarming. Heartbreaking. Emotionally draining. Tear jerking. These are all words or phrases that pop into my mind while reading this incredibly written story. I was pulled into the plot from the very first chapter and I turned each page with an anticipation of what would come next for West and Alexis, that I was unable to put it down; essentially finishing in one sitting. This book was a 5 star read for me and I would highly recommend it to others. Wings Over Poppies by J.A. Roulen is the second book in the Over Series. I absolutely loved the first book Hope Over Fear and I was unsure how Wings Over Poppies could measure up. In my wildest expectations would this book surpass the first one but without a doubt it did. I swooned, I smiled, I laughed and I cried all while reading this amazing love story. This is a MUST READ for all!
Alexis and West meet by chance one Sunday morning while she is sketching in her favorite tree overlooking the pond on her father's golf course when he arrives to fish golf balls out of the water, looking to make some extra money. A year older than her in his first year of community college on a golf scholarship, West does everything that he can to help his mother pay the bills at home that seem to be never ending due to his younger sister Lucy's medical condition. Alexis has been groomed to be the quintessential southern debutante, a role that she bucks at every turn because it just isn't her personality to be perfect and poised all the time. An unlikely friendship is forged between the two that begins to morph into something so much more for Alexis, Poppy Girl, as West calls her but she is unsure if he feels the same way. Determined to make him see her as something more than a younger sister that he needs to look after, Alexis crashes a college party, where she gets drunk and confesses her feelings to West, unfortunately not receiving the response that she was hoping for. After avoiding him for weeks following mostly due to her embarrassment, West seeks her out and confesses that he loves her, that she is it for him. But he isn't the man that he wants to be for her, he isn't good enough for her and she needs to give him time to get to where he needs to be. Time is the last thing that they seem to have when the bills become too much and West enrolls in the Army as a way to help pay the bills.
Six years go by without a word from West, unanswered letters and unknown actualities have Alexis wondering where he is and what he is doing. Does he still think of her as much as she thinks of him? Finally deciding after comparing yet another guy to West, that she needs to find out what ever became of the first boy she ever loved and she seeks out the help of a friend to locate his whereabouts, resigned to learning whatever the truth will hold. What she doesn't expect is to discover that he has lived less than a few miles away from her for the past two years, having been discharged from the Army and studying for his doctorate in physical therapy. Deciding the only thing that she can do is to go see him, to see if the feelings that she has harbored for him all the years is still there and if he feels the same. What she doesn't expect is to find the angry man she is confronted with who basically tells her he doesn't want to see her; forcing her to leave.
Alexis is distraught over the encounter, and turns to the only thing that brings her solace, painting in the backroom of her gallery. The painting that comes from the pain and anguish that she feels from seeing West for the first time in 6 years can be seen and felt on the canvas; and West himself is able to feel the emotion of the painting when he sees it walking by the gallery. West still loves Alexis with everything he has, but so many things have happened since he last saw her and once again he feels that he isn't good enough for her, that he isn't the man that she needs him to be. Little does he know that the only things Alexis needs is him, in any way that he comes to her because theirs is a love that transcends all.
As West continues to try and push Alexis away, she fights to keep him in her life and remind him of the love and promises that they once made to each other. Alexis vows to show West that she is here for him, regardless of what happened to him overseas that has changes his perspective on life for the worse, instead of for the better. It is only when West finally lets Alexis in, and the way that he does it; I would highly suggest that you grab the tissues because I can guarantee that you will ugly cry just as I did. Once his inner feelings are revealed to Alexis; they begin to work on rebuilding a relationship because they both still love each other more than life itself. Although the road ahead of them isn't easy and West needs to work hard on the issues that he faces; as long as they are together, they can overcome anything!
J.A. Derouen lives in South Louisiana with her husband, son (aptly nicknamed "The Professor"), and her furry friend, Scout. She has earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and nursing. When she's not writing or inhaling romance novels by the stack, she works as a women's health nurse. She’s been an avid reader and daydreamer since childhood, and she's never stopped turning the page to get to the next happily ever after.
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Facebook | J.A'S Jezebels | Twitter | Goodreads
