HOLDING ONTO FOREVER (The Beaumont Series: The Next Generation #1) by Heidi McLaughlin-Review and Excerpt Tour
HOLDING ONTO FOREVER
The Beaumont Series: The Next Generation
by Heidi McLaughlin
Release Date: October 12, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon. au / B&N / KOBO /ibooks
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 12, 2017
The road for Noah Westbury has been carved out for him, long before he knew who his father was. Making sure he worked hard to deserve the opportunities provided to him, Noah is exactly where he dreamed of being – starting QB for Portland Pioneers. Together with a Victoria Secret’s model girlfriend by his side, life couldn’t get much better. Except for the fact that standing in his path is Peyton Powell-James, his life-long friend and the one woman he can never have.
Peyton Powell-James always knew her future would be in football and dreams of having a successful sports journalism career once she graduates college. After being given an assignment to cover a professional game from the sidelines, Peyton believes that everything is going to plan until one fateful night changes her life.
Harsh reality sets in for Noah and Peyton. One could lose everything, while the other one struggles to keep the families together.
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REVIEW: HOLDING ONTO FOREVER is the first installment in Heidi McLaughlin’s The Beaumont Series spin off-The Next Generation. This is quarterback for the Portland Pioneers Noah Westbury (Liam and Josie’s son-Forever My Girl) and journalism major Peyton Powell-James’s (Katelyn, Harrison and Mason’s daughter-An Unexpected Forever) story line. HOLDING ONTO FOREVER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty although I recommend reading the original BEAUMONT series for cohesion and backstory about the people of Beaumont and the rock band 4225 West.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Noah and Peyton) HOLDING ONTO FOREVER picks up immediately upon (and crosses over with) the events of the author’s October 2017 novella FOREVER OUR BOYS wherein life will take an unexpected turn for our story line couple. Best friends since childhood Noah and Peyton have danced around their attraction to one another for several years but Noah’s professional football career (and their two year age difference) placed him directly in the path of unwanted attention and a myriad of women vying for his money and love.
Peyton’s latest journalism assignment finds our heroine front and center with the Chicago Bears of the NFL, and their star quarterback Kyle Zimmerman when a near fatal tragedy will bring together the Beaumont clan and the members of the rock band 4225 West. Noah Westbury will struggle with the potentially life changing circumstances for his best friend, while Peyton fights the battle of her life. What ensues is the friends to lovers relationship that is threatened when sins of the past come looking for a second chance.
The relationship between Noah and Peyton is a friends to lovers romance wherein Noah must decide with whom his heart belongs. Peyton struggles with her attraction to the man she has loved all of her life, a love that may not be given in return. The $ex scenes are limited; the romance is passionate and heartbreaking.
HOLDING ONTO FOREVER looks at memories, introspection, flashbacks to the past, and the otherworldly presence of one woman struggling with the here and now. I am being purposely vague such that to give any more clues would reveal the heartbreaking and emotional concept of the story line premise. The world building brings together most, if not all, of the BEAUMONT series characters and couples giving the spin off a sense of familiarity and love.
HOLDING ONTO FOREVER is a story about friendship and family; love and understanding; healing and letting go. The premise is dramatic, imaginative and encouraging; the characters are emotional and spirited; the romance is subtle and passionate. HOLDING ONTO FOREVER re-introduces the next generation- the progeny of the rock back 4225 West with a captivating look at two treasured and cherished characters we have grown to love.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
And once he does, the sweet scent of his cologne fills the small space. I find myself leaning a bit closer to him so I can inhale deeply without looking like a creeper. Kyle smiles. It’s an ear-to-ear grin with a slight chuckle. I’ve been caught, but he doesn’t seem to care. He leans forward, pulling himself away from me. It’s probably best. We’ve just met and if he kissed me now, I don’t know what I would do.
“Tell me about yourself, Peyton.”
“I’m majoring in broadcast journalism. I love football. I’m a twin.”
“Is your twin as pretty as you?”
“Prettier,” I tell him.
“Impossible,” he replies, never breaking eye contact with me. “What do you know about me?”
“Everything, yet nothing. Your rookie year, you sat on the bench but started your second year. You threw sixteen touchdowns, eleven interceptions and accumulated 3,440 yards. Your completion rate was fifty-eight percent. This year, you’re pushing seventy percent and in line to win the league MVP. You’ve thrown for almost 4,500 yards, twenty-five touchdowns and four interceptions.”
Kyle’s eyes widen as his mouth drops open. “Wow, you had to go and bring up my first year, huh?”
I shrug. “You asked, but …”
Heidi McLaughlin: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter /Instagram /Pinterest
Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL and her brother, Racicot.
When she’s isn’t writing one of the many stories planned for release, you’ll find her sitting court-side during either daughter’s basketball games.
Heidi’s first novel, Forever My Girl, will be in theaters on October 27, 2017, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe.
