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The Hales
Travis
Travis Hale has it all. An important role as the chief of police in the idyllic town of Pelion, Maine. Looks that regularly and consistently make women fall at his feet. Two nephews and a niece he adores, and a family who’s mostly forgiven him after a series of unfortunate decisions years before. Perhaps his past is riddled with regrets and misguided choices, but his future looks bright and limitless.
Until the new guy in town crosses him in a way both shocking and indefensible.
A guy who, as it turns out, has a sister who may be equally as disastrous to Travis’s well-ordered plans, though in an altogether different manner. Not that there’s any real risk of him falling for the smoothie-making, birdseed-eating wild woman. She’s not even his type. A plant lady from California with a head of unruly curls and an equally messy past. More than that, she’s only in town for the summer, busy mooning over perfect-in-every-way Gage Buchanan.
And if Travis knows anything, it’s that he refuses to be second best. Ever again.
Haven Torres’s life fell apart. Or more to the point, it burned to the ground. At the time, it seemed like a solid idea to jump in her car, her brother a mostly-willing co-pilot, and embark on a cross-country adventure.
When they land jobs at an exclusive tennis and golf club in a picturesque lake town in Maine, Haven’s hopeful it might prove a summer to remember. Especially if she can catch the attention of the most eligible bachelor in town and her current crush. Even the kindest, most upstanding, perfect of men aren’t opposed to summer flings, right?
But when she meets the local police chief—all swagger and arrogance—and learns of her brother’s scandalous misdeed, she knows that Pelion is just another town where their stay is best . . . short-lived. Still, she and Travis strike up an unlikely friendship and Haven sees that the gorgeous lawman isn’t only easy on the eyes, but he has . . . layers. Not that she’s going to peel any of them. He’s only her friend. A friend willing to scratch her back, if she scratches his.
It seems simple enough. She’ll help him make her brother sweat a little. And he’ll help her win over Gage. But before either Travis or Haven knows it, simple turns complicated, friendship gets flipped on its ear, passion faces down perfection, and they both discover that sometimes you have to lose it all to find exactly what you need.
Until the new guy in town crosses him in a way both shocking and indefensible.
A guy who, as it turns out, has a sister who may be equally as disastrous to Travis’s well-ordered plans, though in an altogether different manner. Not that there’s any real risk of him falling for the smoothie-making, birdseed-eating wild woman. She’s not even his type. A plant lady from California with a head of unruly curls and an equally messy past. More than that, she’s only in town for the summer, busy mooning over perfect-in-every-way Gage Buchanan.
And if Travis knows anything, it’s that he refuses to be second best. Ever again.
Haven Torres’s life fell apart. Or more to the point, it burned to the ground. At the time, it seemed like a solid idea to jump in her car, her brother a mostly-willing co-pilot, and embark on a cross-country adventure.
When they land jobs at an exclusive tennis and golf club in a picturesque lake town in Maine, Haven’s hopeful it might prove a summer to remember. Especially if she can catch the attention of the most eligible bachelor in town and her current crush. Even the kindest, most upstanding, perfect of men aren’t opposed to summer flings, right?
But when she meets the local police chief—all swagger and arrogance—and learns of her brother’s scandalous misdeed, she knows that Pelion is just another town where their stay is best . . . short-lived. Still, she and Travis strike up an unlikely friendship and Haven sees that the gorgeous lawman isn’t only easy on the eyes, but he has . . . layers. Not that she’s going to peel any of them. He’s only her friend. A friend willing to scratch her back, if she scratches his.
It seems simple enough. She’ll help him make her brother sweat a little. And he’ll help her win over Gage. But before either Travis or Haven knows it, simple turns complicated, friendship gets flipped on its ear, passion faces down perfection, and they both discover that sometimes you have to lose it all to find exactly what you need.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 2021
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July 25, 2021
Originally, I was planing to reread Archer’s voice before reading this, but then I was like like nah let’s give Travis a fresh start. Why remind myself with his bad actions? And I’m so glad I did, because you know what?
Travis Hale, I forgive you!!!
This book was all about Travis. I loved him and I loved seeing his point of view. His redemption was just so good. And I’m such a sucker for a broken character/misunderstood villain redemption story. Read this if only for Travis redemption!
Another thing that I absolutely loved is Archer and Bree breadcrumbs. Their scenes were just so good and heartwarming and got me wanting to reread their book again. I loved them and their kids and seeing their kids with Travis and how good he was with them.
I don’t know how I feel about that ending tho, on one hand I understand and liked what Travis did and why he did it, but still I didn’t want him to do it like that? if that makes sense. I just felt so protective over him after spending the entire book getting to know and understand him.
I liked this one, but now I’m so interested in reading Easton’s book. Now he’s such an interesting character and I think his book got potential if it ever happened.
This book was all about Travis. I loved him and I loved seeing his point of view. His redemption was just so good. And I’m such a sucker for a broken character/misunderstood villain redemption story. Read this if only for Travis redemption!
Another thing that I absolutely loved is Archer and Bree breadcrumbs. Their scenes were just so good and heartwarming and got me wanting to reread their book again. I loved them and their kids and seeing their kids with Travis and how good he was with them.
I don’t know how I feel about that ending tho, on one hand I understand and liked what Travis did and why he did it, but still I didn’t want him to do it like that? if that makes sense. I just felt so protective over him after spending the entire book getting to know and understand him.
I liked this one, but now I’m so interested in reading Easton’s book. Now he’s such an interesting character and I think his book got potential if it ever happened.
July 23, 2021
– 3 stars
THE GOOD
🍀 TRAVIS HALE 🍀
Who would have thought that I'd end up loving Travis. Not me tho. I think, what worked in Travis favor, is that he is actually such a realistic and relatable character with flaws. Far from perfect, but underneath it all, he has a good heart. His manipulative mother and daddy issues lead to him making some stupid mistakes in the past.
I'm actually glad that I didn't read Archer's Voice before Travis , because otherwise I'd probably love this characters less. Eight years since Archer's Voice have passed and Travis is friendly with Bree and Archer.
I felt so much with Travis, because I can't image how hard it is to think your own father abondened you when you were 7 years old for your brother. To carry that bitterness and resentment all your life must hurt like a bitch, so I can't even fault him for acting out and being an asshole in his past.
If you hated Travis in Archer's Voice , I can't guarantee that you will love Travis, but IMO he has one of the most well executed redemption arcs.
🍀 THE FIRST 15% ... 🍀
Okay here is the thing: now that I finished the book I can say that I'm Team Travis, but that wasn't always the case *cough* Archer's Voice *cough*. Therefore, I absolutely loved it that at the beginning of this book, Travis walked on his girlfriend cheating on him with some other guy lmaoo. It's not nice to wish cheating on anyone, but I'm a huge believer in karma and it feels like karma strikes or rather when I say karma I mean Mia Sheridon, but same same but different. 🤷🏽♀️
Enter Haven Torres, who was stopped for driving very messy, cause she had way too many plants in her car that are obscuring her view. I liked the first few interactions Haven and Travis had. They were fun, cause I love that trope were the characters have the wrong impressions of the other person. Haven thinks Travis is some asshole cop (she's not completely wrong tho), while Travis thinks she's this plant-loving weirdo from California (also not completely wrong lol). Haven and Travis have some easy and fun banter that was entertaining to read.
🍀 THE LAST 10% ... 🍀
Listen, the drama at the end was a bit too much, but what really got me is how Travis organized a town meeting to apology for all his sins and went even further to make a whole ass document writing down every crime he EVER commited. Personally, I'd be fine if he had given Archer an sincere apology, he didn't have to do all that what he didn in the book. Even tho it was over the top and I'm not a big on these "grand gestures" infront of everyone, I still liked it, because my heart was hurting so much for Travis when he was standing infront of the whole town and humiliated himself. All I wanted to to is march on that podium and drag him to somewhere safe. It's okay if I shit talk Travis, but when other people judge him, no ma'am not on my watch. Protect Travis Hale at all costs! 😤
🍀 THE CAMEO OF ANOTHER HALE BROTHER 🍀
I love you Travis, I really do. And I'm really sorry, cause I know how you always felt like "second-best" most of your life, but I can't help but love your brother more. Since you're happy now with Haven, I hope you won't mind it too much.
Yeah, Archer and Bree's cameos got me. I loved their little moments with their three kids. It was so cute how Travis narrated that after all these years Archer and Bree still look at each other like they are the world and nothing beyond their family exist. Archer with his baby girl aww so cute! 🥺
Travis bonding with Connor and Charlie and being a great uncle I love it. The romance what? Give me more Hale family content and I'm happy!
THE OK
🌷 HAVEN TORRES 🌷
It started out well, I liked that Haven was girl easy-going girl from California who only wanted to care about plants. But the more the story progressed, the less I started to like Haven. Her character become wishy-washy and I didn't know what to make of her. Haven and her brother Easton (who was btw the guy Travis' ex-girlfriend cheated with) had a difficult childhood with an abusive mother and have been travelling for the last 2 years. While I understood her reasoning forrunning moving every season to a different place, I still got tired with her unability to face her feelings head-on. Maybe cause i'm feeling very protective about Travis and didn't want to see him hurt more than he already has.
🌷 THE ROMANCE 🌷
I feel that Travis and Haven were better off as friends. I like how Haven brought out Travis dorky side when he was rescuing the plants for her and talking to them. Once they started kissing, idk but I didn't feel their chemistry that much. When Haven came to Pelion she was interested in another man, Gage, and Travis helped scoring a date for Haven by acting like the competition. Usually I love this trope where the H helps the h to get together with another man while simultaneously falling in love with each other. The longing and jealousy from the H is ✨ delicious ✨ But I got annoyed when Haven keeps dangling her "feelings" for Gage infront of Travis, bc he was the safe option and she was scared of her feelings for Travis, I was nah my boy Travis deserves better.
THE BORING
💣 EVERYTHING BETWEEN 15-90% 💣
I can't tell if it's my reading slump or if the problem was the book, but everything in the middle dragged a lot and not many interesting things happened. Reading this book was like riding a rollercoaster it went from 📈 to 📉 back to 📈 again.
Conclusion
The title of this book is already an indicator that it was mostly focused on Travis' character and his redemption. In that area that book went well, but everything else I'd file under the "not-good-but-not-bad-either"-category. I think another problem is that Archer's Voice was such a good book and prob Mia's best work and everyone who has read both books and who's going to read Travis is going to compare it more or less to Archer's Voice . Especially for an author that's a lot of pressure and the follow up to such a well received book is hard to top. Still looking forward to the rest of this series tho!
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
PELION LAKE SERIES
#1 Travis – 3 stars
#2 ...
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙
THE GOOD
🍀 TRAVIS HALE 🍀
Who would have thought that I'd end up loving Travis. Not me tho. I think, what worked in Travis favor, is that he is actually such a realistic and relatable character with flaws. Far from perfect, but underneath it all, he has a good heart. His manipulative mother and daddy issues lead to him making some stupid mistakes in the past.
I'm actually glad that I didn't read Archer's Voice before Travis , because otherwise I'd probably love this characters less. Eight years since Archer's Voice have passed and Travis is friendly with Bree and Archer.
“Because I’m second best, Travis. We both are. We always have been.”
It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted.
Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best.
And second best didn’t even deserve a goodbye.
I felt so much with Travis, because I can't image how hard it is to think your own father abondened you when you were 7 years old for your brother. To carry that bitterness and resentment all your life must hurt like a bitch, so I can't even fault him for acting out and being an asshole in his past.
If you hated Travis in Archer's Voice , I can't guarantee that you will love Travis, but IMO he has one of the most well executed redemption arcs.
🍀 THE FIRST 15% ... 🍀
Okay here is the thing: now that I finished the book I can say that I'm Team Travis, but that wasn't always the case *cough* Archer's Voice *cough*. Therefore, I absolutely loved it that at the beginning of this book, Travis walked on his girlfriend cheating on him with some other guy lmaoo. It's not nice to wish cheating on anyone, but I'm a huge believer in karma and it feels like karma strikes or rather when I say karma I mean Mia Sheridon, but same same but different. 🤷🏽♀️
Enter Haven Torres, who was stopped for driving very messy, cause she had way too many plants in her car that are obscuring her view. I liked the first few interactions Haven and Travis had. They were fun, cause I love that trope were the characters have the wrong impressions of the other person. Haven thinks Travis is some asshole cop (she's not completely wrong tho), while Travis thinks she's this plant-loving weirdo from California (also not completely wrong lol). Haven and Travis have some easy and fun banter that was entertaining to read.
“No? What do real men eat?”
“Burgers. Things with bones.” He unscrewed the water bottle cap and tipped it to his lips. I sighed.
“Men and their obsession with boners.”
He choked on the sip he’d just taken, using his forearm to wipe his mouth. “Boners? I said bones.”
I widened my eyes in feigned embarrassment. “I know. So did I.”
🍀 THE LAST 10% ... 🍀
Listen, the drama at the end was a bit too much, but what really got me is how Travis organized a town meeting to apology for all his sins and went even further to make a whole ass document writing down every crime he EVER commited. Personally, I'd be fine if he had given Archer an sincere apology, he didn't have to do all that what he didn in the book. Even tho it was over the top and I'm not a big on these "grand gestures" infront of everyone, I still liked it, because my heart was hurting so much for Travis when he was standing infront of the whole town and humiliated himself. All I wanted to to is march on that podium and drag him to somewhere safe. It's okay if I shit talk Travis, but when other people judge him, no ma'am not on my watch. Protect Travis Hale at all costs! 😤
Weren't all of us a compilation of the versions of ourselves we'd once been? Maybe if we were lucky—and insightful—we learned how to extract the good, and leave the bad behind, the parts that hadn’t worked for us, and instead brought nothing but pain.
🍀 THE CAMEO OF ANOTHER HALE BROTHER 🍀
I love you Travis, I really do. And I'm really sorry, cause I know how you always felt like "second-best" most of your life, but I can't help but love your brother more. Since you're happy now with Haven, I hope you won't mind it too much.
Yeah, Archer and Bree's cameos got me. I loved their little moments with their three kids. It was so cute how Travis narrated that after all these years Archer and Bree still look at each other like they are the world and nothing beyond their family exist. Archer with his baby girl aww so cute! 🥺
Travis bonding with Connor and Charlie and being a great uncle I love it. The romance what? Give me more Hale family content and I'm happy!
Bree sat down and Averie, her solemn eyes on my face, reached her arms out to me, as though she’d just recognized something different about me that she could trust. A feeling not unlike awe wound through me and I reached back, taking her from her mother and bringing her to my chest. I lowered my nose to her hair, inhaling her sweet, pure scent, tenderness rendering me mute. Averie tilted her head back, staring once again into my eyes, gathering the fabric of my uniform shirt in her small fist, claiming me as one of hers.
THE OK
🌷 HAVEN TORRES 🌷
It started out well, I liked that Haven was girl easy-going girl from California who only wanted to care about plants. But the more the story progressed, the less I started to like Haven. Her character become wishy-washy and I didn't know what to make of her. Haven and her brother Easton (who was btw the guy Travis' ex-girlfriend cheated with) had a difficult childhood with an abusive mother and have been travelling for the last 2 years. While I understood her reasoning for
“I could let you go with a warning and risk you driving like a maniac again. Or, I could ticket you and protect the residents of Pelion who rely on me to keep their streets safe. Which one do you think I’ll choose, Haven from California?”
That spark increased, eyes narrowing just a tad in a way that reminded me of how my niece watched me. “Oooh, a guessing game!” She tapped her finger on her pursed lips as if in deep consideration.
“I’m not always good under pressure so this is tough. Hmm. Which one will you choose? Which one will you choose?” she muttered, suddenly raising one finger as her gaze snapped to mine. “I’m going to go with, the one that appeals to your thirst for power?”
🌷 THE ROMANCE 🌷
I feel that Travis and Haven were better off as friends. I like how Haven brought out Travis dorky side when he was rescuing the plants for her and talking to them. Once they started kissing, idk but I didn't feel their chemistry that much. When Haven came to Pelion she was interested in another man, Gage, and Travis helped scoring a date for Haven by acting like the competition. Usually I love this trope where the H helps the h to get together with another man while simultaneously falling in love with each other. The longing and jealousy from the H is ✨ delicious ✨ But I got annoyed when Haven keeps dangling her "feelings" for Gage infront of Travis, bc he was the safe option and she was scared of her feelings for Travis, I was nah my boy Travis deserves better.
“Oh, I’ll date you, Haven from California. I’m going to date the hell out of you. No one will have been dated harder in the history—" I planted my lips on his and he laughed against my mouth as he swooped me up in his arms.
THE BORING
💣 EVERYTHING BETWEEN 15-90% 💣
I can't tell if it's my reading slump or if the problem was the book, but everything in the middle dragged a lot and not many interesting things happened. Reading this book was like riding a rollercoaster it went from 📈 to 📉 back to 📈 again.
Conclusion
The title of this book is already an indicator that it was mostly focused on Travis' character and his redemption. In that area that book went well, but everything else I'd file under the "not-good-but-not-bad-either"-category. I think another problem is that Archer's Voice was such a good book and prob Mia's best work and everyone who has read both books and who's going to read Travis is going to compare it more or less to Archer's Voice . Especially for an author that's a lot of pressure and the follow up to such a well received book is hard to top. Still looking forward to the rest of this series tho!
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
PELION LAKE SERIES
#1 Travis – 3 stars
#2 ...
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙
July 12, 2021
'TRAVIS' is the first full length romance book in the series 'PELION LAKE', by Mia Sheridan. Spoken in 'Dual Perspectives.'
So when Mia mentioned a new book, I jumped up and down, then to find out we’ve already met him in Archer’s voice, off I went to re-read only to find out that I kind of don’t like him! 🤣🙌🙊 God he was a 🤬 to Archer! But that was when they were younger and then that one incident he kind of did change a small bit towards the end.
And in this book Travis completely redeems himself! Mia made Travis come alive, real, raw, such an emotional heart felt story, I understand him so much better, my heart goes out to that seven year old boy, all along thinking he was unwanted, unloveable, which is far from the truth! All the stars, all the feels. I loved going back into the world where we’d all fallen in love with Archer seven years ago. This book was everything and more!
I laughed, I swooned, I fell in love, this had me randomly giggling from front to back I sat there with a silly grin on my face, this book was perfect and I can not wait to see whats going to come at us next.
It all started with twenty-three year old Haven Torres from Los Angeles passing through Pelion Lake for the summer with her troublesome brother Easton, running from a ghost of a past, Chief Travis Hale (related to Archer) pulls her over for nearly swiping out his patrol car because she had a car load of plants obscuring her view of the road.
This isn't the last time these two meet, she's the smoothie maker at the exclusive golf and tennis club Travis frequents, then when Travis' accommodation rental floods the only place available is at 'The Yellow Trellis Inn' run by 'Batty Betty' where it seems it accommodates a few misfits whom partake in drinking hooch on the regular, and this is right where Haven and her brother are also staying.
She's definitely not someone he would normally go for but there's something about her which pulls him in.
February 13, 2023
i hadnt pegged MS as the kind of author who would write a spin-off book/series, so im pleasantly surprised! if youve read the masterpiece that is
‘archers voice,’
youre already familiar with travis. and if you havent read it, heres me telling you to pick it up!
and while i didnt fall head over heels in love with this like i did ‘archers voice,’ i still adore how it gives travis the redemption he deserves. it was soooo lovely to see him interact with archer, bree, and the kids. seeing how they welcome him into the family and how that helps travis forgive himself was a really sweet. he has some great character development and his soft side is totally swoon-worthy.
overall, a really satisfying addition to the world of pelion lake. cant wait to see who MS writes about next!
↠ 4.5 stars
and while i didnt fall head over heels in love with this like i did ‘archers voice,’ i still adore how it gives travis the redemption he deserves. it was soooo lovely to see him interact with archer, bree, and the kids. seeing how they welcome him into the family and how that helps travis forgive himself was a really sweet. he has some great character development and his soft side is totally swoon-worthy.
overall, a really satisfying addition to the world of pelion lake. cant wait to see who MS writes about next!
↠ 4.5 stars
Want to read
July 20, 2021Mia Sheridan on a mission making me love a character I hated.
July 26, 2021
2 stars ⭐️
As you can clearly see from my rating, I did not enjoy this book. At first, the book was extremely boring and I wasn't sure I'd have enough to talk about then the heroine decided to give me PLENTY to rant about because damn, I didn't like her at all.
‼️SPOILERS‼️
Pros
Travis Hale 🚔
Travis was the only thing I loved about this book. If you read Archer's Heart then you know Travis was pretty messed up and needed to grow quite a bit as a person to anyone to like him. His redemption arc was really well done. He realized and accepted that he did some fucking horrible things to the people around him. In case you forgot, he manipulated Archer (his brother) in Archer's Heart to go to a strip club and fool around with him and fool around with a stripper, knowing his feelings for Bree.
I didn't think it was possible for me to absolutely love Travis, but it happened. He's selfless and sweet, but also very insecure about his worth which really played into his behavior. For most of Travis's life, he always was told and felt like second best because that's what his bitch-ass mom made him believe. Knowing what was going on in Travis's mind when he was acting like a dick, really made me feel for him.
Cons
Haven Torres 🪴
Talk about a problematic heroine. I get she has some baggage, but the way she treated Travis is horrible. She had no handle on her feelings and was giving me whiplash with her hot and cold demeanor. She has this issue where she afraid people will leave her so she never forms attachments with people. So, she moves her and her brother to different cities and states every few months to prevent these attachments from forming.
My problem with her is the hypocrisy of half the shit she says. For most of the book, Haven talks about this guy named Gage that she has a crush on. Travis "helps her out" by getting her a date with him because he originally tried to ruin one of their interaction by telling Haven, Gage really loves possum. Since she embarrassed herself, she got super pissed at Travis-
THEN, she starts laughing and KISSES HIM??? BITCH WHAT????!!!!!
In a later scene, Travis and Haven are making out again and when she asks Travis 'what they're doing' he simply answers that's they're 'having fun'. I mean, what else should he tell her? She claims to not want anything with strings so telling her that he feels something would make her close off. She proceeds to ask him "That's all?" as if she wants there to be something more meaningful?? The conversation proceeds into this-
Excuse me what 🤠 Then she says this-
She claims to have feelings for Gage, yet wants to fuck around with Travis? I'm sorry if I don't think this is okay. Just because she's fucking around with the hero, doesn't automatically justify this behavior. Here's the best part tho, during that scene I was quoting, Travis fingers Haven and well she loved it. BUT OF COURSE SHE HAS TO CHANGE HER MIND, YET AGAIN
Miss ma'am, you claim to have feelings for another man, yet can't even get fingered without thinking the line you set for this 'no-strings attached relationship' is already blurred? You're the one that told him they could 'just have some fun' My neck actually hurts from the amount of back and forth this girl is giving me. Am I watching a tennis match or reading a book?
Do you think I was done?? I'm just getting started don't worry. Well, shocker, Haven and Travis start having sex. Because that totally makes sense to be doing if she just thought get fingered 'muddied the waters' too much 🙄 Flashback the the beginning of the book, Travis had a girlfriend that he found cheating on him with Haven's brother to be exact. Well after Haven and Travis began having sex, the cheater decides to appear.
Well idk what the hell Haven was thinking, but she assumes the Travis will want her back??!!! He literally caught her getting fucking railed by some guy she met hours before at a bar and you think he'll take her back 🤡
So what does Haven do? Well according to her she never makes stupid decisions so it clearly isn't stupid that she would decide to gO ON HER DATE WITH GAGE AND PROCEED TO TELL TRAVIS SHE HAS FEELINGS FOR GAGE. Mind you this is 75% of the way in the book! How can the heroine have feelings for a man that's not the hero, more than 3/4 of the way into the book???
Okay that's enough ranting about her.
The ending
It was honestly really fucking cringey. Earlier in the book Travis asked one of his officer's to look into Haven's brother (also the guy who cheated with his ex). Well this cop decides to make flyers that call out Haven and her brother for hurting Travis by calling them "unwanted" in front of the whole town. This, of course would happen just after Haven and her brother decided not to leave the town and live there. So Haven leaves and starts packing her bags while Travis holds a town meeting and apologizes for everything he has ever down and confesses his love for Haven
It was so fucking extra. He should have just apologized to each person he hurt, not decide to give up everything he owned to make up for it. He literally took the only land he owned and gave it to Haven. I love you Travis, but giving up your land and money because you were a bit of a dick make sense? Nah.
My takeaway
Travis is a little sweetheart
~~
prereading post: I’ll be reading this next, but seriously…what’s up with the cover 💀
As you can clearly see from my rating, I did not enjoy this book. At first, the book was extremely boring and I wasn't sure I'd have enough to talk about then the heroine decided to give me PLENTY to rant about because damn, I didn't like her at all.
‼️SPOILERS‼️
Pros
Travis Hale 🚔
Travis was the only thing I loved about this book. If you read Archer's Heart then you know Travis was pretty messed up and needed to grow quite a bit as a person to anyone to like him. His redemption arc was really well done. He realized and accepted that he did some fucking horrible things to the people around him. In case you forgot, he manipulated Archer (his brother) in Archer's Heart to go to a strip club and fool around with him and fool around with a stripper, knowing his feelings for Bree.
I didn't think it was possible for me to absolutely love Travis, but it happened. He's selfless and sweet, but also very insecure about his worth which really played into his behavior. For most of Travis's life, he always was told and felt like second best because that's what his bitch-ass mom made him believe. Knowing what was going on in Travis's mind when he was acting like a dick, really made me feel for him.
Cons
Haven Torres 🪴
Talk about a problematic heroine. I get she has some baggage, but the way she treated Travis is horrible. She had no handle on her feelings and was giving me whiplash with her hot and cold demeanor. She has this issue where she afraid people will leave her so she never forms attachments with people. So, she moves her and her brother to different cities and states every few months to prevent these attachments from forming.
My problem with her is the hypocrisy of half the shit she says. For most of the book, Haven talks about this guy named Gage that she has a crush on. Travis "helps her out" by getting her a date with him because he originally tried to ruin one of their interaction by telling Haven, Gage really loves possum. Since she embarrassed herself, she got super pissed at Travis-
"Do you like to humiliate people, Travis? Is that it? Do you like to set people up? Is that what you do?
He flinched slightly. "It was meant as a joke. I didn't think you'd run with it."
"Well I did, you ass. I made a fool of myself in front of my crush. Why did you do it? What is wrong with you?"
THEN, she starts laughing and KISSES HIM??? BITCH WHAT????!!!!!
In a later scene, Travis and Haven are making out again and when she asks Travis 'what they're doing' he simply answers that's they're 'having fun'. I mean, what else should he tell her? She claims to not want anything with strings so telling her that he feels something would make her close off. She proceeds to ask him "That's all?" as if she wants there to be something more meaningful?? The conversation proceeds into this-
"Of course," I answered. "You have feelings for Gage, remember?"
Her gaze went a little hazy. "Right," she said. "Oh. Yes. I do. I'd like to...keep myself available just in case."
Excuse me what 🤠 Then she says this-
"But there's no reason we can't enjoy each other in the meantime..."
She claims to have feelings for Gage, yet wants to fuck around with Travis? I'm sorry if I don't think this is okay. Just because she's fucking around with the hero, doesn't automatically justify this behavior. Here's the best part tho, during that scene I was quoting, Travis fingers Haven and well she loved it. BUT OF COURSE SHE HAS TO CHANGE HER MIND, YET AGAIN
"I don't regret it at all. It was...wow. Very, very wow. I just...you know, it sort of muddies the water and all."
Miss ma'am, you claim to have feelings for another man, yet can't even get fingered without thinking the line you set for this 'no-strings attached relationship' is already blurred? You're the one that told him they could 'just have some fun' My neck actually hurts from the amount of back and forth this girl is giving me. Am I watching a tennis match or reading a book?
Do you think I was done?? I'm just getting started don't worry. Well, shocker, Haven and Travis start having sex. Because that totally makes sense to be doing if she just thought get fingered 'muddied the waters' too much 🙄 Flashback the the beginning of the book, Travis had a girlfriend that he found cheating on him with Haven's brother to be exact. Well after Haven and Travis began having sex, the cheater decides to appear.
Well idk what the hell Haven was thinking, but she assumes the Travis will want her back??!!! He literally caught her getting fucking railed by some guy she met hours before at a bar and you think he'll take her back 🤡
So what does Haven do? Well according to her she never makes stupid decisions so it clearly isn't stupid that she would decide to gO ON HER DATE WITH GAGE AND PROCEED TO TELL TRAVIS SHE HAS FEELINGS FOR GAGE. Mind you this is 75% of the way in the book! How can the heroine have feelings for a man that's not the hero, more than 3/4 of the way into the book???
Okay that's enough ranting about her.
The ending
It was honestly really fucking cringey. Earlier in the book Travis asked one of his officer's to look into Haven's brother (also the guy who cheated with his ex). Well this cop decides to make flyers that call out Haven and her brother for hurting Travis by calling them "unwanted" in front of the whole town. This, of course would happen just after Haven and her brother decided not to leave the town and live there. So Haven leaves and starts packing her bags while Travis holds a town meeting and apologizes for everything he has ever down and confesses his love for Haven
It was so fucking extra. He should have just apologized to each person he hurt, not decide to give up everything he owned to make up for it. He literally took the only land he owned and gave it to Haven. I love you Travis, but giving up your land and money because you were a bit of a dick make sense? Nah.
My takeaway
Travis is a little sweetheart
~~
prereading post: I’ll be reading this next, but seriously…what’s up with the cover 💀
March 21, 2023
Travis
by Mia Sheridan is the second book in the Pelion Lake romance series. It’s set in Pelion, Lake, Maine and features Travis Hale and Haven Torres. Travis is the town’s chief of police and has a family who has mostly forgiven him after several bad decisions years ago. Filled with regrets, his future seems to be on the upturn. Until a brother and sister come to town for seasonal work. Easton and Haven Torres left California two years ago and have been traveling and working across the country. Travis and Haven agree to help each other. Travis will help her win over Gage Buchanan and she will help him make her brother sweat over his misdeed.
Travis and Haven are reasonably well developed. Both characters change and grow as the story unfolds. However, I felt Easton was even more of a dynamic character.
The story switches points of view between Travis and Haven giving readers insights into their thoughts and perspectives. The novel contains humor throughout, but also pulls on the heartstrings at times. There are a few surprises along the way that kept things interesting. However, the pacing was somewhat slower than I expected at times. The chemistry between Travis and Haven worked for me, but I expected more angst or conflict. There are a few spicy scenes. Themes include responsibility, redemption, trust, jealousy, friendship, family, and much more.
Overall, this was an entertaining story of redemption for one character and finding a place where one fits for others. I would love to read Easton's story in a future book.
SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and Mia Sheridan provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for April 04, 2023.
--------------------------------------------------
3.45 rounded to 3 stars.
Travis and Haven are reasonably well developed. Both characters change and grow as the story unfolds. However, I felt Easton was even more of a dynamic character.
The story switches points of view between Travis and Haven giving readers insights into their thoughts and perspectives. The novel contains humor throughout, but also pulls on the heartstrings at times. There are a few surprises along the way that kept things interesting. However, the pacing was somewhat slower than I expected at times. The chemistry between Travis and Haven worked for me, but I expected more angst or conflict. There are a few spicy scenes. Themes include responsibility, redemption, trust, jealousy, friendship, family, and much more.
Overall, this was an entertaining story of redemption for one character and finding a place where one fits for others. I would love to read Easton's story in a future book.
SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and Mia Sheridan provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for April 04, 2023.
--------------------------------------------------
3.45 rounded to 3 stars.
August 12, 2021
when the villain becomes the hero... im not so sure about the last 20%, but MS had just made me fall in love with Travis Hale when, before, i thought of him as nothing but an arrogant little toad. this book was like a window to his soul. <3
December 27, 2021
the cover?? what in the photoshop??
this book is just very forgettable.
this was such a great beginning to a new series, if a little disappointing! honestly, can't wait to see what Sheridan does with the next books of this series, because i always have been in love with this fictional small town ever since i read archer's voice and i need more it now.
this book had many great side characters and some of them deserve their own story to be told as well. i actually liked Travis in this book, and thought his redemption arc to be realistic and mostly well-executed. the turn offs were that romance wasn’t great tier and i had to struggle a lot connecting with Haven's character. but on a brighter note: Archer, Bree, and their kids breathed life into me.
rating: 3.5/5 stars.
this book is just very forgettable.
this was such a great beginning to a new series, if a little disappointing! honestly, can't wait to see what Sheridan does with the next books of this series, because i always have been in love with this fictional small town ever since i read archer's voice and i need more it now.
this book had many great side characters and some of them deserve their own story to be told as well. i actually liked Travis in this book, and thought his redemption arc to be realistic and mostly well-executed. the turn offs were that romance wasn’t great tier and i had to struggle a lot connecting with Haven's character. but on a brighter note: Archer, Bree, and their kids breathed life into me.
rating: 3.5/5 stars.
June 21, 2023
dnf I couldn't get into it 😭😭
August 5, 2021
i wish i could at least give this 3 stars, but… i sadly just can’t.💀
first of all, mia sheridan has this way of writing that’s very ~flowy~ and easy to consume, even if you’re not exactly loving the content. with that said, this book was just basically a complete miss for me. (i’m not hating on the author at all, i actually love some the books i’ve read by her, for example More Than Words and of course Archer's Voice)
i was honestly bored throughout most of the book, because let’s be real, the plot was weak and i didn’t really feel much towards either of the main characters.
but anyway, i just kept going and SOMEHOW i managed to finish the whole book, even through all of the facepalming and eye rolling i did. (i think i secretly just kept hoping it will get better and it kinda did?? i think i enjoyed the last 30% the most, so i guess that’s a plus? maybe?)
i read archer’s voice a long time ago and i gave it five stars, but those were the days when i read a lot of cutesy, fluffy romance, which is like the complete opposite of what i tend to read now.
i feel like if i read archer’s voice now my rating would be 3.5ish stars, 4 at most. that said, that book still holds a special place in my heart and i’ll forever be a whore for the sweet & beautiful man that archer hale is.
and yeah, sure, travis was a dick in archer’s voice, but he was also intriguing in a way, so when i heard that he’s gonna have a book i was like sign me the fuck upppp!!
i love a good redemption arc, so i obviously HAD to check this out.
all i’m saying is that this had potential to be great, but it was just overwhelmingly flat overall.
i grew to like travis as an actual main character (took me a while but i got there at around the 75% mark LMAO) so that’s a plus.
but i felt super disconnected from haven throughout the whole book. she was the embodiment of what i like to call “a ~meh~ main character”.
haven also did some stupid shit that annoyed me further, for example - going on a date with gage (was that his name? sorry i can’t even remember tbh and i cannot be bothered to check) after happily fucking travis for a week and making him develop false hope.
also, travis basically confessed his feelings for her and asked her to stay after she got back from the date and she was like “nah, you don’t mean that. we’re just friends and it’s better this way.”
she just completely disregarded his feelings… the DISRESPECT… the absolute AUDACITY.🙄
and yes, i KNOW haven has abandonment issues and trauma in her past and she was scared, but it still pissed me off tbh, because a lot of dumb & pointless suffering could have been avoided if she didn’t just invalidate his feelings the way she did.
and OF COURSE, just as she decides to give travis a shot, the plot twist comes. *cue yet another eye roll*
all that drama at the end was kinda dumb let’s be honest… HOWEVER, i did kinda like what came out of that whole mess. it showed just how much growth as a person travis has had. he wrote a whole ass document about every sin he has committed in his life, organised a town meeting and apologised for all the shit he did. (OTT as fuck, i know, but whatever)
i just admired the fact that travis owned up to his bad life choices and finally fully apologised for his bad deeds towards archer.
even before that, he chose selflessness and didn’t go along with his mother’s plan against archer (his and archer’s relationship is actually brotherly now and was super nice to witness).
he also let haven go even when it deeply hurt him and didn’t try to plot an evil plan & manipulate her to stay (that’s what the old version of travis would have done).
so i guess overall the actual redemption arc was successful, so that’s another plus for this book.
this book was also cheesy as fuck at times, but i guess that’s kind of a given with this genre of romance a lot of the time, so whatever.🤣
MAYBE this is all just me being picky and also reading a genre of romance i’m just clearly not that into anymore, who knows.
anyways this review is a whole ass mess (kinda like this book was) so if you’re still reading this i applaud you. xoxoxo
first of all, mia sheridan has this way of writing that’s very ~flowy~ and easy to consume, even if you’re not exactly loving the content. with that said, this book was just basically a complete miss for me. (i’m not hating on the author at all, i actually love some the books i’ve read by her, for example More Than Words and of course Archer's Voice)
i was honestly bored throughout most of the book, because let’s be real, the plot was weak and i didn’t really feel much towards either of the main characters.
but anyway, i just kept going and SOMEHOW i managed to finish the whole book, even through all of the facepalming and eye rolling i did. (i think i secretly just kept hoping it will get better and it kinda did?? i think i enjoyed the last 30% the most, so i guess that’s a plus? maybe?)
i read archer’s voice a long time ago and i gave it five stars, but those were the days when i read a lot of cutesy, fluffy romance, which is like the complete opposite of what i tend to read now.
i feel like if i read archer’s voice now my rating would be 3.5ish stars, 4 at most. that said, that book still holds a special place in my heart and i’ll forever be a whore for the sweet & beautiful man that archer hale is.
and yeah, sure, travis was a dick in archer’s voice, but he was also intriguing in a way, so when i heard that he’s gonna have a book i was like sign me the fuck upppp!!
i love a good redemption arc, so i obviously HAD to check this out.
all i’m saying is that this had potential to be great, but it was just overwhelmingly flat overall.
i grew to like travis as an actual main character (took me a while but i got there at around the 75% mark LMAO) so that’s a plus.
but i felt super disconnected from haven throughout the whole book. she was the embodiment of what i like to call “a ~meh~ main character”.
haven also did some stupid shit that annoyed me further, for example - going on a date with gage (was that his name? sorry i can’t even remember tbh and i cannot be bothered to check) after happily fucking travis for a week and making him develop false hope.
also, travis basically confessed his feelings for her and asked her to stay after she got back from the date and she was like “nah, you don’t mean that. we’re just friends and it’s better this way.”
she just completely disregarded his feelings… the DISRESPECT… the absolute AUDACITY.🙄
and yes, i KNOW haven has abandonment issues and trauma in her past and she was scared, but it still pissed me off tbh, because a lot of dumb & pointless suffering could have been avoided if she didn’t just invalidate his feelings the way she did.
and OF COURSE, just as she decides to give travis a shot, the plot twist comes. *cue yet another eye roll*
all that drama at the end was kinda dumb let’s be honest… HOWEVER, i did kinda like what came out of that whole mess. it showed just how much growth as a person travis has had. he wrote a whole ass document about every sin he has committed in his life, organised a town meeting and apologised for all the shit he did. (OTT as fuck, i know, but whatever)
i just admired the fact that travis owned up to his bad life choices and finally fully apologised for his bad deeds towards archer.
even before that, he chose selflessness and didn’t go along with his mother’s plan against archer (his and archer’s relationship is actually brotherly now and was super nice to witness).
he also let haven go even when it deeply hurt him and didn’t try to plot an evil plan & manipulate her to stay (that’s what the old version of travis would have done).
so i guess overall the actual redemption arc was successful, so that’s another plus for this book.
this book was also cheesy as fuck at times, but i guess that’s kind of a given with this genre of romance a lot of the time, so whatever.🤣
MAYBE this is all just me being picky and also reading a genre of romance i’m just clearly not that into anymore, who knows.
anyways this review is a whole ass mess (kinda like this book was) so if you’re still reading this i applaud you. xoxoxo
July 27, 2021
4.5 'Lose it all or lose it all' Stars!
OMG THIS BOOK! It's been literally YEARS since my last read from Mia Sheridan but we all know and fell in love with her writing after Archer's Voice. And when she announced she was releasing Travis Hale's story? I was ALL OVER IT. Would Mia get us to love the character we all hated in Archer's book? Would he be able to redeeem himself after everything he did? Well.. Trust me when I say, he absolutely does!
I fell in love with Travis in this novel and it was beautiful to read how he amends his relationship with his brother and how he falls in love with Haven. Mia took this man to the next level and made me love him so much. He is forever changed and when he falls for Haden it's like all those emotions he had inside explode. And Haven? Gah! Such a wonderful heroine with such a heartbreaking story. Yes, the whole thing with Gage was a bit unnecesary but it also gave a whole new layer to the story. I just loved this couple so much and I am so happy they found their much deserved happy ending. I cannot wait to read more of the Pelion Lake series! Well done Mia, fantastic way to redeem this character we weren't expecting to love!
OMG THIS BOOK! It's been literally YEARS since my last read from Mia Sheridan but we all know and fell in love with her writing after Archer's Voice. And when she announced she was releasing Travis Hale's story? I was ALL OVER IT. Would Mia get us to love the character we all hated in Archer's book? Would he be able to redeeem himself after everything he did? Well.. Trust me when I say, he absolutely does!
I fell in love with Travis in this novel and it was beautiful to read how he amends his relationship with his brother and how he falls in love with Haven. Mia took this man to the next level and made me love him so much. He is forever changed and when he falls for Haden it's like all those emotions he had inside explode. And Haven? Gah! Such a wonderful heroine with such a heartbreaking story. Yes, the whole thing with Gage was a bit unnecesary but it also gave a whole new layer to the story. I just loved this couple so much and I am so happy they found their much deserved happy ending. I cannot wait to read more of the Pelion Lake series! Well done Mia, fantastic way to redeem this character we weren't expecting to love!
July 23, 2021
4.5 Stars!
(ARC provided by author)
Travis Hale grew up in a small town in Maine called Pelion. He comes from a well known family but hasn't always had the best reputation in town. He has regrets about parts of his past he wishes he could change, but he has hope for his future. He's turned his life around and come a long way in the last few years. He's now the chief of police and his personal life is starting to fall into place. Then the path he'd planned out falls apart right in front of his eyes. He's suddenly single and swearing off women for the time being. Then he crosses paths with a quirky out of towner that pushes all his buttons and fascinates him.
Haven Torres is from Los Angeles. She's been on a two year road trip constantly moving, and only passing through new places temporarily. She heads out on one adventure after another, and has currently landed in a picturesque lake town for the summer. The place is peaceful and she stays busy with her part time job. She keeps to herself and doesn't form attachments. Then she meets the cocky gorgeous police chief. They clash and then form an unlikely friendship. As she uncovers more layers to her new friend growing feelings threaten to complicate everything. Terrified of their strong connection she gets the urge to run. Will she surrender to what her heart wants and take a chance on love, or will she continue in her attempt to escape the past?
-The Kiss was as natural as the lift and fall of the water around us, as essential as the sky above, as searing as the fiery sun.
-He was staring at me as though he wanted to consume me.
-He was gorgeous. And those eyes. Those damned eyes. How was I ever going to forget them?
Travis (Pelion Lake, #1) by Mia Sheridan is the follow up novel to Archer's Voice. It's a standalone, small town, friends to lovers romance packed with emotion, humor, and a ton of heart. It's about redemption, forgiveness, second chances, trust, family and love. I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait to see what story we get next from Pelion Lake. I hope Easton gets a book. I need more!
***NOW AVAILABLE***
https://amzn.to/2V2WZ8k
(ARC provided by author)
Travis Hale grew up in a small town in Maine called Pelion. He comes from a well known family but hasn't always had the best reputation in town. He has regrets about parts of his past he wishes he could change, but he has hope for his future. He's turned his life around and come a long way in the last few years. He's now the chief of police and his personal life is starting to fall into place. Then the path he'd planned out falls apart right in front of his eyes. He's suddenly single and swearing off women for the time being. Then he crosses paths with a quirky out of towner that pushes all his buttons and fascinates him.
Haven Torres is from Los Angeles. She's been on a two year road trip constantly moving, and only passing through new places temporarily. She heads out on one adventure after another, and has currently landed in a picturesque lake town for the summer. The place is peaceful and she stays busy with her part time job. She keeps to herself and doesn't form attachments. Then she meets the cocky gorgeous police chief. They clash and then form an unlikely friendship. As she uncovers more layers to her new friend growing feelings threaten to complicate everything. Terrified of their strong connection she gets the urge to run. Will she surrender to what her heart wants and take a chance on love, or will she continue in her attempt to escape the past?
-The Kiss was as natural as the lift and fall of the water around us, as essential as the sky above, as searing as the fiery sun.
-He was staring at me as though he wanted to consume me.
-He was gorgeous. And those eyes. Those damned eyes. How was I ever going to forget them?
Travis (Pelion Lake, #1) by Mia Sheridan is the follow up novel to Archer's Voice. It's a standalone, small town, friends to lovers romance packed with emotion, humor, and a ton of heart. It's about redemption, forgiveness, second chances, trust, family and love. I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait to see what story we get next from Pelion Lake. I hope Easton gets a book. I need more!
***NOW AVAILABLE***
https://amzn.to/2V2WZ8k
December 22, 2023
dnf. travis had such a victim complex. boo hoo. you're the one who mistreated archer and ignored him for years when he was clearly all alone. take responsibility and stop whining.
i think he did a whole speech in the end like he was the president. i’ll be throwing food at him and telling him to get off the stage.
loved the archer’s family crumbs though. adorable. their dogs gave more than bland travis.
i think he did a whole speech in the end like he was the president. i’ll be throwing food at him and telling him to get off the stage.
loved the archer’s family crumbs though. adorable. their dogs gave more than bland travis.
April 10, 2023
Bombastic side eye. 2 stars might be generous. I went into this book with OPEN F*CKING ARMS ready to forgive and like Travis. While I do think there was a slight redemption for him and I do forgive him for his previous actions I did not like this book one bit. I felt like it was written by a man? I had to skim so much towards the end cause I was just baffled and just bored? Not for me !
December 15, 2024
•Opposites attract
•Friends to lovers
•Age gap
•Close proximity
•Love triangle
•Dual POV
•Redemption arc
Travis is the follow up to one of my favorites, Archer's Voice. Police chief Travis Hale had some major growing to do since we last saw him. While it wasn't as good as Archer's Voice, for me, I did enjoy it. I loved the banter between Haven & Travis and of course seeing glimpses into Bree and Archer's life eight years after the first book.
Not a huge fan of a third act breakups & this one was a bit over the top dramatic.
3.5 stars rounded up.
•Friends to lovers
•Age gap
•Close proximity
•Love triangle
•Dual POV
•Redemption arc
Travis is the follow up to one of my favorites, Archer's Voice. Police chief Travis Hale had some major growing to do since we last saw him. While it wasn't as good as Archer's Voice, for me, I did enjoy it. I loved the banter between Haven & Travis and of course seeing glimpses into Bree and Archer's life eight years after the first book.
Not a huge fan of a third act breakups & this one was a bit over the top dramatic.
3.5 stars rounded up.
August 12, 2021
“All the things that have brought us pain, carve a distinct hole in our heart, and there’s someone else out there with the perfect something that will fill the void. And in turn, we get to do the same for them. And suddenly, it all makes sense. It all fits. Because we haven’t been forsaken. We’ve been prepared.”
~ “We’ve all made mistakes, Travis,” she said. “We get to reinvent ourselves. And if the new version is even better, it means we’ve learned and we’ve grown.”
**Synopsis:**
Haven Torres doesn’t settle down. She and her brother never stay longer than four months in one spot.
~ “We’ve been exploring the country together, stopping for a couple months here, a few months there when we got short on cash.”
Travis Hale is the Chief of Police and will Never be second best again in his life. This stems from the fact his father left the family for another woman (and son) when he was 7 years old.
~“It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted. Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best.”
~ “I didn’t want to share my dad. He was the only parent that felt stable, the one who didn’t confuse me. I didn’t want to be second best.”
When Haven nearly runs over Travis with her car, he pulls her over assuming she is drunk. Turns out she was driving a little crazy due to a few too many plants she rescued. 🪴 🪴
When Travis runs into her a few more times they strike up a friendship. Even though there is an attraction, they only plan to remain friends. Travis just got out of a relationship and Haven doesn’t like to form attachments.
~“What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I’m glad we’re friends.”
He smiled. “Me too.”
But once they cave to that attraction and add some “benefits” to their friendship, it’s not long before deeper feelings begin to take hold.
** The following are my thoughts about this book: **
* * the first introduction to Haven was her car’s bumper stickers. I chuckled and knew immediately she was going to be a fun character.
~ ”my gaze went downward, over the bumper stickers. One featured a group of cartoon farm animals and ridiculously stated, Friends Not Food, and the other proclaimed, You’re Never too Old to Play in the Dirt”.
* * the “eclectic misfits” at the Yellow Trellis Inn were definitely interesting 😉
~ “This hooch gets better by the glass,” Burt said,
“That it does. Of course, not making it in a toilet means it lacks a little something.”
“We’re all grateful for that, Cricket,” Haven offered.”
* * The possums “lie”, the APB on the missing house plants 🪴 and subsequent rescue 🙂, the “shame manifesto”, the way he was such a good uncle, his soft heart towards the three legged cat……..There were many things I found endearing about Travis
~”Did I hear that right?” Deb Bryant, the Pelion Police Department dispatcher asked. “You put out an APB on a number of house plants that went missing from the side of the road?”
“Yup,” I said. “They were stolen.”
“From the side of the road. Where someone left them.”
“Yes.”
“And flyers were hung in town? About the . . . stolen plants. Left on the side of the road.”
~ “He was about as masculine as they came, and yet he was currently carting a disabled cat around, because watching her struggle from room to room behind us had compelled him to assist her.”
* * I liked that they were honest with each other. Travis didn’t skirt around the ex-girlfriend issue and Haven was honest about her brother
* * I liked Travis’ reflection on his prior actions and words. His character had some good growth as he revisited some of his past transgressions.
~ “Had I let the lingering fear of not being good enough in the eyes of the one person who really mattered to me, rule my behavior?”
~ “Weren't all of us a compilation of the versions of ourselves we'd once been? Maybe if we were lucky—and insightful—we learned how to extract the good, and leave the bad behind, the parts that hadn’t worked for us, and instead brought nothing but pain.”
~ “Did I feel like an updated model from the man she’d met eight years before, this old Travis? In some ways, yes . . . in others, I had no idea.”
* * the middle was very low on angst which made the story drag just a bit
* * the dad letter…..oh my heart ❤️
* * If you remember Travis from Archer’s Voice, it’s possible you may struggle with appreciating him in this book. I read Archer’s Voice years ago and didn’t really remember him. This book makes mention of some of the ways Travis was mean, but I thought the author did a great job of putting some solid reasons behind the actions and I thought Travis more than redeemed himself in this book.
**Overview:**
- Content Warning: drug addicted parent, loss of parent (both off page)
- Setting: Calliope & Pelion, Maine
- Do you need to read previous books in series?: I hesitate to say yes just because Travis was a grade A asshole in book 1. However, if you haven’t read Archer’s Voice (book 1) don’t let that book pass you by. It’s an all time favorite for many, many readers. I will say there are quite a few references in this book that assume you know the backstory from book one. So it would be helpful to read Archer’s Voice, keeping in mind that Travis is not the best character in that book. But as I mentioned above, I feel he totally redeems himself in this book.
- POV: Dual POV
- Who is the Hero? Travis Hale (age: 32). Chief of Police.
* The following words/phrases were used to describe Hero: will never again be considered second best, has a wounded heart, gentle, self-assured, a good listener, can laugh at himself, humble, takes pride in his hometown
* H likable? Yes.
- Who is the Heroine? Haven Torres (age: 23). Has a temporary seasonal job working the smoothie bar at the country club.
* The following words/phrases were used to describe Heroine: sweet, passing through, observant, sarcastic, rich in personality, good at reading people, nomad, tender, kind, rescuer, protector
* h likable? Yes.
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 29%
- First time they sleep together: 61%
- Safe sex? Condoms used
- First time they say I Love You 96%
- steamy? Yes. Descriptive bedroom scenes
- OW/OM drama? A tiny bit. Travis has an ex and Haven has a crush on a different Pelion resident. But neither of these side characters create major problems for the H/h.
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? Travis opens up about his past around 60%. Haven’s past is revealed around 80%
- Did I cry? I got a little teary-eyed in a few spots. No major waterworks though
- Did I laugh? I chucked a few times. Some of the reveals at the “Shame Manifesto” meeting made me chuckle.
- Did I swoon🥰? oh yes. I thought Travis was a Sweetheart and i swooned quite a few times
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? Yes
- Epilogue? 3 years later
- Recommend? yes! One of my favorite authors and she has not disappointed me yet ❤️
**Quotes**
“The only event I’d attended that one might classify as a cocktail party was the social hour here at The Yellow Trellis Inn where prison hooch was served in red Solo cups.”
“There are one of two paths for you. Either lose it all. Or lose it all.”
“I wondered if I’d be like that fingerprint, pressed into her skin briefly, eventually fading to nothing. No trace that I’d ever touched her at all or that she’d ever known me.”
“Maybe the terrible truth about love is that when it’s gone, it leaves a hole in your heart so big it feels like nothing will ever fill it.”
“She had terrible taste in music. But I was willing to look past that, considering she had the smile of an angel and the hair of a goddess.”
“It was possible to get to know someone better just by watching the things they were drawn to.”
“Roots were very, very important to Haven Torres, coveted even. Because she didn’t have any of her own, and whether she realized it or not, she longed for them.”
“Do you fear you’ll be nothing but a forgotten photo someday that everyone left behind?”
~ “We’ve all made mistakes, Travis,” she said. “We get to reinvent ourselves. And if the new version is even better, it means we’ve learned and we’ve grown.”
**Synopsis:**
Haven Torres doesn’t settle down. She and her brother never stay longer than four months in one spot.
~ “We’ve been exploring the country together, stopping for a couple months here, a few months there when we got short on cash.”
Travis Hale is the Chief of Police and will Never be second best again in his life. This stems from the fact his father left the family for another woman (and son) when he was 7 years old.
~“It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted. Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best.”
~ “I didn’t want to share my dad. He was the only parent that felt stable, the one who didn’t confuse me. I didn’t want to be second best.”
When Haven nearly runs over Travis with her car, he pulls her over assuming she is drunk. Turns out she was driving a little crazy due to a few too many plants she rescued. 🪴 🪴
When Travis runs into her a few more times they strike up a friendship. Even though there is an attraction, they only plan to remain friends. Travis just got out of a relationship and Haven doesn’t like to form attachments.
~“What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I’m glad we’re friends.”
He smiled. “Me too.”
But once they cave to that attraction and add some “benefits” to their friendship, it’s not long before deeper feelings begin to take hold.
** The following are my thoughts about this book: **
* * the first introduction to Haven was her car’s bumper stickers. I chuckled and knew immediately she was going to be a fun character.
~ ”my gaze went downward, over the bumper stickers. One featured a group of cartoon farm animals and ridiculously stated, Friends Not Food, and the other proclaimed, You’re Never too Old to Play in the Dirt”.
* * the “eclectic misfits” at the Yellow Trellis Inn were definitely interesting 😉
~ “This hooch gets better by the glass,” Burt said,
“That it does. Of course, not making it in a toilet means it lacks a little something.”
“We’re all grateful for that, Cricket,” Haven offered.”
* * The possums “lie”, the APB on the missing house plants 🪴 and subsequent rescue 🙂, the “shame manifesto”, the way he was such a good uncle, his soft heart towards the three legged cat……..There were many things I found endearing about Travis
~”Did I hear that right?” Deb Bryant, the Pelion Police Department dispatcher asked. “You put out an APB on a number of house plants that went missing from the side of the road?”
“Yup,” I said. “They were stolen.”
“From the side of the road. Where someone left them.”
“Yes.”
“And flyers were hung in town? About the . . . stolen plants. Left on the side of the road.”
~ “He was about as masculine as they came, and yet he was currently carting a disabled cat around, because watching her struggle from room to room behind us had compelled him to assist her.”
* * I liked that they were honest with each other. Travis didn’t skirt around the ex-girlfriend issue and Haven was honest about her brother
* * I liked Travis’ reflection on his prior actions and words. His character had some good growth as he revisited some of his past transgressions.
~ “Had I let the lingering fear of not being good enough in the eyes of the one person who really mattered to me, rule my behavior?”
~ “Weren't all of us a compilation of the versions of ourselves we'd once been? Maybe if we were lucky—and insightful—we learned how to extract the good, and leave the bad behind, the parts that hadn’t worked for us, and instead brought nothing but pain.”
~ “Did I feel like an updated model from the man she’d met eight years before, this old Travis? In some ways, yes . . . in others, I had no idea.”
* * the middle was very low on angst which made the story drag just a bit
* * the dad letter…..oh my heart ❤️
* * If you remember Travis from Archer’s Voice, it’s possible you may struggle with appreciating him in this book. I read Archer’s Voice years ago and didn’t really remember him. This book makes mention of some of the ways Travis was mean, but I thought the author did a great job of putting some solid reasons behind the actions and I thought Travis more than redeemed himself in this book.
**Overview:**
- Content Warning: drug addicted parent, loss of parent (both off page)
- Setting: Calliope & Pelion, Maine
- Do you need to read previous books in series?: I hesitate to say yes just because Travis was a grade A asshole in book 1. However, if you haven’t read Archer’s Voice (book 1) don’t let that book pass you by. It’s an all time favorite for many, many readers. I will say there are quite a few references in this book that assume you know the backstory from book one. So it would be helpful to read Archer’s Voice, keeping in mind that Travis is not the best character in that book. But as I mentioned above, I feel he totally redeems himself in this book.
- POV: Dual POV
- Who is the Hero? Travis Hale (age: 32). Chief of Police.
* The following words/phrases were used to describe Hero: will never again be considered second best, has a wounded heart, gentle, self-assured, a good listener, can laugh at himself, humble, takes pride in his hometown
* H likable? Yes.
- Who is the Heroine? Haven Torres (age: 23). Has a temporary seasonal job working the smoothie bar at the country club.
* The following words/phrases were used to describe Heroine: sweet, passing through, observant, sarcastic, rich in personality, good at reading people, nomad, tender, kind, rescuer, protector
* h likable? Yes.
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 29%
- First time they sleep together: 61%
- Safe sex? Condoms used
- First time they say I Love You 96%
- steamy? Yes. Descriptive bedroom scenes
- OW/OM drama? A tiny bit. Travis has an ex and Haven has a crush on a different Pelion resident. But neither of these side characters create major problems for the H/h.
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? Travis opens up about his past around 60%. Haven’s past is revealed around 80%
- Did I cry? I got a little teary-eyed in a few spots. No major waterworks though
- Did I laugh? I chucked a few times. Some of the reveals at the “Shame Manifesto” meeting made me chuckle.
- Did I swoon🥰? oh yes. I thought Travis was a Sweetheart and i swooned quite a few times
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? Yes
- Epilogue? 3 years later
- Recommend? yes! One of my favorite authors and she has not disappointed me yet ❤️
**Quotes**
“The only event I’d attended that one might classify as a cocktail party was the social hour here at The Yellow Trellis Inn where prison hooch was served in red Solo cups.”
“There are one of two paths for you. Either lose it all. Or lose it all.”
“I wondered if I’d be like that fingerprint, pressed into her skin briefly, eventually fading to nothing. No trace that I’d ever touched her at all or that she’d ever known me.”
“Maybe the terrible truth about love is that when it’s gone, it leaves a hole in your heart so big it feels like nothing will ever fill it.”
“She had terrible taste in music. But I was willing to look past that, considering she had the smile of an angel and the hair of a goddess.”
“It was possible to get to know someone better just by watching the things they were drawn to.”
“Roots were very, very important to Haven Torres, coveted even. Because she didn’t have any of her own, and whether she realized it or not, she longed for them.”
“Do you fear you’ll be nothing but a forgotten photo someday that everyone left behind?”
October 20, 2021
3.5 stars
Travis is one of those characters no one liked in 'Archer's Voice' so I was interested in seeing how Mia would redeem him in his own novel. I have to say, I ended up really liking his character. I also liked the heroine of the story, Haven.
Travis takes place years after 'Archer's Voice' and we get more of a background on Travis story with his parents and brother. I wish we would have gotten a little more of him and Archer and watching their relationship mend. Haven is only in town temporarily, which is her MO. She's with her brother in the town of Pelion for a few months and then they'll move on.
Haven and Travis have an interesting meeting. And Travis and her brother's... yikes. Haven spends much of the book looking to get with another guy and Travis spends some time getting over his girlfriend cheating. I wish there was less of that to be honest. It made it challenging for me to feel a deeper connection with them. I did really enjoy how it ended, and I'm hoping we get a book for Easton.
“It turns out, your heart is made of gold, even if it’s a bit tarnished.”
Travis is one of those characters no one liked in 'Archer's Voice' so I was interested in seeing how Mia would redeem him in his own novel. I have to say, I ended up really liking his character. I also liked the heroine of the story, Haven.
Travis takes place years after 'Archer's Voice' and we get more of a background on Travis story with his parents and brother. I wish we would have gotten a little more of him and Archer and watching their relationship mend. Haven is only in town temporarily, which is her MO. She's with her brother in the town of Pelion for a few months and then they'll move on.
Haven and Travis have an interesting meeting. And Travis and her brother's... yikes. Haven spends much of the book looking to get with another guy and Travis spends some time getting over his girlfriend cheating. I wish there was less of that to be honest. It made it challenging for me to feel a deeper connection with them. I did really enjoy how it ended, and I'm hoping we get a book for Easton.
Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: Elizabeth Louise & Jason Carpenter
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 9h 23m
September 15, 2022
random ramblings:
🎈 I don't remember exact details about Travis from Archer's Voice it has been a minute since I read that book & it might be a good thing
🎈 redemption arc is amazing and I love to read it, maybe it has something to do with humans relating to coming back from doing or acting badly
🎈 glad to see that Travis wasn't a new person but had issues with things and said in this book too, we don't get already redeemed hero
🎈 when someone cheats on you WHY do you want to have a revenge on the third person.. THAT person is not loyal to you and has nothing to do with your relationship, focus your energy on your partner..this narrative was just stupid and I couldn't care about it
🎈 disappointed with such a wishy-washy book by this author I hold her on a bigger level that this which doesn't feel like a book written by Mia Sheridan at all
🎈 most important point this is a book written to the fans of Archer's Voice as we see them as a family and side characters here and we get Travis groveling as a big finale of the book it should be named Travis' grovel, feeling like shit and overcoming his daddy issues but I get it is a bit long
🎈 you could make this a novella and you would get the same impact
🎈 I don't remember exact details about Travis from Archer's Voice it has been a minute since I read that book & it might be a good thing
🎈 redemption arc is amazing and I love to read it, maybe it has something to do with humans relating to coming back from doing or acting badly
🎈 glad to see that Travis wasn't a new person but had issues with things and said in this book too, we don't get already redeemed hero
🎈 when someone cheats on you WHY do you want to have a revenge on the third person.. THAT person is not loyal to you and has nothing to do with your relationship, focus your energy on your partner..this narrative was just stupid and I couldn't care about it
🎈 disappointed with such a wishy-washy book by this author I hold her on a bigger level that this which doesn't feel like a book written by Mia Sheridan at all
🎈 most important point this is a book written to the fans of Archer's Voice as we see them as a family and side characters here and we get Travis groveling as a big finale of the book it should be named Travis' grovel, feeling like shit and overcoming his daddy issues but I get it is a bit long
🎈 you could make this a novella and you would get the same impact
July 5, 2023
I reread Archer's Voice on audio as I was reading this and forgot how much I really wasn't a fan of Travis...so it was definitely going to be interesting reading this book! I really loved how the author didn't let us forget the bad things Travis did. We really got to understand his character and why he was acting the way he did, but he actually had to make up for the bad things that he did. It was fun watching him fall so hard for the heroine once she moved into town, but she was determined to stay friends because she was just coming through town with her brother and didn't want to stay too long. Both of the characters had so much emotional depth to them and their pasts and I loved how they slowly let each other in and realized they could have roots and relationship that were meaningful. Mia Sheridan writes endings so well and this ending was so perfect for this story. And the small town feels were everything! I really enjoyed being back with these characters and in this town again!
October 15, 2021
Audio - 4 Stars
Story - 3.5 Stars
I've been waiting on Travis' story ever since I read Archer, so it's been years. It was pretty decent considering that my taste in books have changed.
It didn't take long for me to like Travis, and feel for him. I adored Haven. She was a sweetheart. The relationship development was also really good. It flowed nicely. Overall, a decent story, and I'll most likely look into the other books in the series, when they come out.
Story - 3.5 Stars
I've been waiting on Travis' story ever since I read Archer, so it's been years. It was pretty decent considering that my taste in books have changed.
It didn't take long for me to like Travis, and feel for him. I adored Haven. She was a sweetheart. The relationship development was also really good. It flowed nicely. Overall, a decent story, and I'll most likely look into the other books in the series, when they come out.
July 10, 2021
BELLY LAUGHS, CRAZY LOVE, REVENGE & HEARTWARMING REDEMPTION
Haven: “I was only passing through this lake town, but what was wrong with a summer fling.”
Travis: “I dated prom queens. This girl was a plant lady. I needed a break from women.”
NEWSFLASH: Mia Sheridan is REALLY FUNNY! I mean knock your socks off, laugh until you cry, clean out your jets kind of funny. I LOVED IT SO MUCH! Who knew she was hiding yet another super talent under all that masterful writing skill. A new side of Mia that will steal your heart all over again. The drama, poignancy, swoony romance, and faith in the human spirit are still swirling throughout the heart-warming shenanigans in this small-town, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, opposites-attract romance spin-off from beloved Archer’s Voice in a thrill ride that left me giddy. “Living things feed off energy”, and I fed off every bit of it in this sweet and tortured romance. She’s passing through town in search of roots, and he’s on the rebound seeking revenge. It’s a love story about fate and finding the true path of happiness. Swaggering Travis and funky Haven will rock your world with quotes for days. So many layers to the characters and story that a good hearty laugh is just icing on the cake.
Archer’s “cousin” Travis Hale (32) was a right bastard to our boy in that Hall of Fame book. Nothing surprised me more than Mia making him the centerpiece of his own book. That boy needed redemption like crops need rain. All these years later, Travis is stuck somewhere between the townsfolk of Pelion Lake (Maine) remembering his past, and the better man he has become as town sheriff. Things are calm, normal even. He keeps his head down and his actions heroic. Then, into town blows a wild fire with a mane of curly hair named Haven Torres (23) and her trouble-seeking brother. The pair fled their home in California in a rush (there’s a story there) and have been meandering around the country, lighting here and there for short spells before hustling on down the road to their next stop. Now, why is that you wonder? In a crazy twist of fate, Haven and Travis meet under nutty circumstances when she gets to town and they clash in one of the most hilarious exchanges of banter. She’s a plant-loving, nurturing, infectious, people-magnet with throwback hippie ways that irritate and beguile Travis. Worse, she turns up EVERYWHERE like a bad splinter in his finger, and their little war of words continues…
When fate does a double-take and tosses them together as temporary patrons of a quirky inn, Travis finds himself in way over his head with bewitching Haven and an eccentric crew of fellow residents. How in the ever-lovin’ universe will these two opposites rub off on each other? He fights his attraction to the hellion out-of-towner, but she’s got her eye on another hottie in town. Anyway, she's leaving soon, so what does it matter? By end, I wanted to live in Pelion Lake. Be like Haven. And be with Travis. Mia knows how to embrace us with the warmth of an inviting community, a sense of family, and love for one another. Travis has to choose his path, and Haven must choose the right man, so their paths cross in the middle.
It was an interesting change-up that the heroine actually played the role that heroes typically do in Mia’s books. I cried buckets, and loved their brilliantly layered backstories and fears. Neither feels like they truly belong, but Travis is hard-headed and Haven is hard to win. It was beautiful how both overcome trust to find love, acceptance, and a sense of family. There were moments of doubt about mercurial Travis walking a fine line between is old self and new self, but this story conjured up its own brand of magic, complete with an omniscient fortune teller. It was light and fun, yet heavy with emotion lurking underneath all that personal transformation in trademark Mia-style. The MCs' inner thoughts were enlightening and truthful, and filled with some of the most romantic, intense and realistic love scenes that pop right off the page. So good.
Travis was a reluctant foil to Haven’s unconventional and offbeat ways. I loved this girl with my heart and soul. She’s got charm, charisma and chutzpah – the 3 killer “C’s" that left her terminally loveable, despite the cards that life dealt her. I adored Haven's sunny, optimistic, happy disposition, her wild hair and spirited personality, how people just gravitated to her, and the symbolic roots she left behind, like the plants she nurses back to health, in a heart-wrenching twist that left me bawling. There was so much poignancy about the permanency and impermanency of roots, literally and figuratively. What a beautiful sentiment coming full circle once we learn her whole story. Mia does that though with little breadcrumbs along the way that we never know precisely how, why or where they'll fit into a story. Actually, both MCs’ backstories of loss were achingly profound, and so endearing to see the people they grew up to become. Haven’s a giver, while Travis has always been a taker in life, yet they meet in perfect harmony. Isn't that something? His redemption has been a long time coming, but will soothe your soul. The boy was actually layered like an onion, and had an uphill battle.
Mia needs to write more smart-mouthed heroines and catchy banter, doused in such natural humor. It’s a rare gift, for sure. The Pelion series will undoubtedly have more of that, starting with Haven’s brother Easton. I can’t believe she never wrote romantic comedy until now. It was pricelessly charming, witty, and I LAUGHED and cried to the very end. Their encounters got funnier and funnier until the moment of truth that changes it all for Travis. My heart soared for these colorful, eccentric, unique misfits that were still grounded in Mia’s trademark poignancy, heartbreak and -- yes -- Travis's redemption. Plus thanks for incorporating Archer here and there. I really needed that hit. But I also knew some serious romance was coming, and Mia delivered. ~~ “You have to stop running. I had lost it all. While following my heart. And because I’d lost it all, I’d gained ... everything.” ~~ Unpeel the layers of this one and laugh and cry along the way through forgiveness, truth, realization and happiness. The beautiful words will wrap you in their laughter, tears and warmth.
“I could appreciate a person who ended up being more than their first impression. You tricked me Travis Hale. My onion man.”
Haven: “I was only passing through this lake town, but what was wrong with a summer fling.”
Travis: “I dated prom queens. This girl was a plant lady. I needed a break from women.”
NEWSFLASH: Mia Sheridan is REALLY FUNNY! I mean knock your socks off, laugh until you cry, clean out your jets kind of funny. I LOVED IT SO MUCH! Who knew she was hiding yet another super talent under all that masterful writing skill. A new side of Mia that will steal your heart all over again. The drama, poignancy, swoony romance, and faith in the human spirit are still swirling throughout the heart-warming shenanigans in this small-town, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, opposites-attract romance spin-off from beloved Archer’s Voice in a thrill ride that left me giddy. “Living things feed off energy”, and I fed off every bit of it in this sweet and tortured romance. She’s passing through town in search of roots, and he’s on the rebound seeking revenge. It’s a love story about fate and finding the true path of happiness. Swaggering Travis and funky Haven will rock your world with quotes for days. So many layers to the characters and story that a good hearty laugh is just icing on the cake.
Archer’s “cousin” Travis Hale (32) was a right bastard to our boy in that Hall of Fame book. Nothing surprised me more than Mia making him the centerpiece of his own book. That boy needed redemption like crops need rain. All these years later, Travis is stuck somewhere between the townsfolk of Pelion Lake (Maine) remembering his past, and the better man he has become as town sheriff. Things are calm, normal even. He keeps his head down and his actions heroic. Then, into town blows a wild fire with a mane of curly hair named Haven Torres (23) and her trouble-seeking brother. The pair fled their home in California in a rush (there’s a story there) and have been meandering around the country, lighting here and there for short spells before hustling on down the road to their next stop. Now, why is that you wonder? In a crazy twist of fate, Haven and Travis meet under nutty circumstances when she gets to town and they clash in one of the most hilarious exchanges of banter. She’s a plant-loving, nurturing, infectious, people-magnet with throwback hippie ways that irritate and beguile Travis. Worse, she turns up EVERYWHERE like a bad splinter in his finger, and their little war of words continues…
When fate does a double-take and tosses them together as temporary patrons of a quirky inn, Travis finds himself in way over his head with bewitching Haven and an eccentric crew of fellow residents. How in the ever-lovin’ universe will these two opposites rub off on each other? He fights his attraction to the hellion out-of-towner, but she’s got her eye on another hottie in town. Anyway, she's leaving soon, so what does it matter? By end, I wanted to live in Pelion Lake. Be like Haven. And be with Travis. Mia knows how to embrace us with the warmth of an inviting community, a sense of family, and love for one another. Travis has to choose his path, and Haven must choose the right man, so their paths cross in the middle.
It was an interesting change-up that the heroine actually played the role that heroes typically do in Mia’s books. I cried buckets, and loved their brilliantly layered backstories and fears. Neither feels like they truly belong, but Travis is hard-headed and Haven is hard to win. It was beautiful how both overcome trust to find love, acceptance, and a sense of family. There were moments of doubt about mercurial Travis walking a fine line between is old self and new self, but this story conjured up its own brand of magic, complete with an omniscient fortune teller. It was light and fun, yet heavy with emotion lurking underneath all that personal transformation in trademark Mia-style. The MCs' inner thoughts were enlightening and truthful, and filled with some of the most romantic, intense and realistic love scenes that pop right off the page. So good.
Travis was a reluctant foil to Haven’s unconventional and offbeat ways. I loved this girl with my heart and soul. She’s got charm, charisma and chutzpah – the 3 killer “C’s" that left her terminally loveable, despite the cards that life dealt her. I adored Haven's sunny, optimistic, happy disposition, her wild hair and spirited personality, how people just gravitated to her, and the symbolic roots she left behind, like the plants she nurses back to health, in a heart-wrenching twist that left me bawling. There was so much poignancy about the permanency and impermanency of roots, literally and figuratively. What a beautiful sentiment coming full circle once we learn her whole story. Mia does that though with little breadcrumbs along the way that we never know precisely how, why or where they'll fit into a story. Actually, both MCs’ backstories of loss were achingly profound, and so endearing to see the people they grew up to become. Haven’s a giver, while Travis has always been a taker in life, yet they meet in perfect harmony. Isn't that something? His redemption has been a long time coming, but will soothe your soul. The boy was actually layered like an onion, and had an uphill battle.
Mia needs to write more smart-mouthed heroines and catchy banter, doused in such natural humor. It’s a rare gift, for sure. The Pelion series will undoubtedly have more of that, starting with Haven’s brother Easton. I can’t believe she never wrote romantic comedy until now. It was pricelessly charming, witty, and I LAUGHED and cried to the very end. Their encounters got funnier and funnier until the moment of truth that changes it all for Travis. My heart soared for these colorful, eccentric, unique misfits that were still grounded in Mia’s trademark poignancy, heartbreak and -- yes -- Travis's redemption. Plus thanks for incorporating Archer here and there. I really needed that hit. But I also knew some serious romance was coming, and Mia delivered. ~~ “You have to stop running. I had lost it all. While following my heart. And because I’d lost it all, I’d gained ... everything.” ~~ Unpeel the layers of this one and laugh and cry along the way through forgiveness, truth, realization and happiness. The beautiful words will wrap you in their laughter, tears and warmth.
“I could appreciate a person who ended up being more than their first impression. You tricked me Travis Hale. My onion man.”
July 21, 2021
I was so excited about Travis's book and i gotta say i didn't hate him in Archer..
I always thought he was just a misunderstood asshole who always felt hurt bc of his fathers actions.
"It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted.
Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best."
He has some serious abandonment issues, being left by his father, manipulated by his mother and he is just trying to live his life secretly longing for love and his own family.
I really felt for him😭 Honestly he was the highlight of this book for me, i loved his "redemption" arc, how he was such a great uncle to Archer's kids, i loved those scenes😭
"I laughed as Connor and Charlie reached me, bending, and scooping them up, one in each arm. “I have two stomachs!” Connor declared. “My daddy says.”
The twins were hilarious and i really want books about them, yes pls😭
The h was Haven Torres, she and her brother are nomads, they never stay in one place long enough and their current stop is Pelion. She is also a crazy plant lady like Travis wanted to call her😂 and their first meeting was so funny.
“Haven Torres from Los Angeles,” I read.
“That’s me.” She smiled brightly, and then reached over, righting the tipped plant next to her. I noticed a drooping cactus wedged between her tanned thighs.
“What’s wrong with your . . . cactus?”
She frowned. “Oh. It’s just thirsty. Very thirsty.”
They start on a wrong foot but soon Haven sees that Travis is totally different from was she initially thought. Because of his house flooding Travis moves into the BnB where Haven is also staying and they slowly become friends.
"She leaned away, and held out her hand. “In any case, can I consider you a friend?”
“Friends,” I agreed.
And here was my main problem😭 they slowly start to also develop feelings for each other while Haven has a crush on Gage and Travis acts like her wingman trying to set them up and ends up being jealous.
"And I’d been an ass because I’d been jealous. Jealous that she was there for Gage. There to try to impress Gage, to get him to notice her."
Also i have love/hate relationship with Haven, she had a hot and cold behaviour with Travis bc she always knew that she will leave so she doesn't want to get attached to him, tries to hold him on arms length but kisses him and then has sex with Travis and the next day she goes on a date with Gage??
“Didn’t we have an agreement, Travis?” she asked as if I’d voiced the thought in my head. “This shouldn’t be a surprise.“ If you wanted a fling, why not just stick to the one you’re already having with me?”
She laughed shortly, but there was zero humor in the sound. “Because I have feelings for Gage,” she said.
There was nothing I could do, not in that moment. You could beg. “Have fun, Haven. But if you get your .. wish .. if Gage wants to take things in a physical direction, I won’t share you. You should know that,” I said quietly.
I understand that she was scared to get attached but i wished she communicated better with him. I just couldn't connect with her and thought that Travis deserved someone so much better. I don't know if that's my personal problem but i rarely pick up friends to lovers books🙈 i need the angsttt, the tensionnn and here i didn't find any of that so maybe that's why i couldn't feel their connection. I just needed something so she would convince me that she is the right one for him.😩
Loved the Bree and Archer moments, they are still my fav couple ever!🥺
“Hmm?” Bree asked, bringing me back to the present, her eyes glued to her husband, that soft, gooey look she still wore on her face all these years later when she watched Archer interacting with others. Or fathering their children. Or breathing air. Just existing."
🥺😩
I always thought he was just a misunderstood asshole who always felt hurt bc of his fathers actions.
"It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted.
Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best."
He has some serious abandonment issues, being left by his father, manipulated by his mother and he is just trying to live his life secretly longing for love and his own family.
I really felt for him😭 Honestly he was the highlight of this book for me, i loved his "redemption" arc, how he was such a great uncle to Archer's kids, i loved those scenes😭
"I laughed as Connor and Charlie reached me, bending, and scooping them up, one in each arm. “I have two stomachs!” Connor declared. “My daddy says.”
The twins were hilarious and i really want books about them, yes pls😭
The h was Haven Torres, she and her brother are nomads, they never stay in one place long enough and their current stop is Pelion. She is also a crazy plant lady like Travis wanted to call her😂 and their first meeting was so funny.
“Haven Torres from Los Angeles,” I read.
“That’s me.” She smiled brightly, and then reached over, righting the tipped plant next to her. I noticed a drooping cactus wedged between her tanned thighs.
“What’s wrong with your . . . cactus?”
She frowned. “Oh. It’s just thirsty. Very thirsty.”
They start on a wrong foot but soon Haven sees that Travis is totally different from was she initially thought. Because of his house flooding Travis moves into the BnB where Haven is also staying and they slowly become friends.
"She leaned away, and held out her hand. “In any case, can I consider you a friend?”
“Friends,” I agreed.
And here was my main problem😭 they slowly start to also develop feelings for each other while Haven has a crush on Gage and Travis acts like her wingman trying to set them up and ends up being jealous.
"And I’d been an ass because I’d been jealous. Jealous that she was there for Gage. There to try to impress Gage, to get him to notice her."
Also i have love/hate relationship with Haven, she had a hot and cold behaviour with Travis bc she always knew that she will leave so she doesn't want to get attached to him, tries to hold him on arms length but kisses him and then has sex with Travis and the next day she goes on a date with Gage??
“Didn’t we have an agreement, Travis?” she asked as if I’d voiced the thought in my head. “This shouldn’t be a surprise.“ If you wanted a fling, why not just stick to the one you’re already having with me?”
She laughed shortly, but there was zero humor in the sound. “Because I have feelings for Gage,” she said.
There was nothing I could do, not in that moment. You could beg. “Have fun, Haven. But if you get your .. wish .. if Gage wants to take things in a physical direction, I won’t share you. You should know that,” I said quietly.
I understand that she was scared to get attached but i wished she communicated better with him. I just couldn't connect with her and thought that Travis deserved someone so much better. I don't know if that's my personal problem but i rarely pick up friends to lovers books🙈 i need the angsttt, the tensionnn and here i didn't find any of that so maybe that's why i couldn't feel their connection. I just needed something so she would convince me that she is the right one for him.😩
Loved the Bree and Archer moments, they are still my fav couple ever!🥺
“Hmm?” Bree asked, bringing me back to the present, her eyes glued to her husband, that soft, gooey look she still wore on her face all these years later when she watched Archer interacting with others. Or fathering their children. Or breathing air. Just existing."
🥺😩
June 24, 2023
I remember fondly of Archer's Voice. That book made me love romance genre. Like many other who is huge fan of Archer, I can not wait to read Travis.
Miss Sheridan does not disappoint me. Travis flows nicely. And Miss Sheridan proofs herself a brilliant romance writer. I wish she can write more of romance. I love both Travis and Haven. They match perfectly. The banter is so great. Their story helps me lift my sour mood.
4 stars
Miss Sheridan does not disappoint me. Travis flows nicely. And Miss Sheridan proofs herself a brilliant romance writer. I wish she can write more of romance. I love both Travis and Haven. They match perfectly. The banter is so great. Their story helps me lift my sour mood.
4 stars
September 11, 2021
It’s been seven years since we all fell head over heels in love with a beautiful silent man named Archer Hale, and going back to Pelion, Maine with a brand new story set in the same world as Archer's Voice felt downright surreal. We met Travis Hale in his brother's book, and we find him now, years later, as Pelion's chief of Police. On the surface, it appears that he has it all—a great job, a loving girlfriend, a brother who's mostly forgiven him for all he's done in the past, two nephews and a niece he adores—but deep down, Travis is a man whose past is riddled with mistakes and regrets. When he walks in on his girlfriend in bed with another man, Travis begins to question his whole future. And that is when a quirky young woman walks into his life, shaking up every single element of his identity, making him want to be a better man for her, for himself, for his family, and for a town whose trust he's never truly felt worthy of. A delightful tale of redemption, forgiveness, accountability, sacrifice, and selfless love. I adored it.
August 18, 2021
Humm... I need to think on what to say about this one. Mixed feeling for sure.
After several days...
I have concluded that I just don't like Travis. I think the scenes at the town meetings were both way too extra. Basically trying too hard to make me like him.- and then the thing with poker game- I don't buy it. I know this worked for a lot of readers and I can see why. And that's cool. I'm really happy you liked it, but it didn't work for me.
This was still a 3 star read because, #1. It's Mia Sheridan. I'm going to read all the books she writes. Period.
#2. There were a couple times I felt bad for Travis- I'm not completely heartless- and he did do one good thing that actually showed some growth from his jackassery days
#3. The side characters were great and I would like to see Gage get an HEA.
Okay, so there we go. I love MS, but I still don't like Travis much at all.
Happy reading!
Ps. I didn't like Haven that much either...
After several days...
I have concluded that I just don't like Travis. I think the scenes at the town meetings were both way too extra. Basically trying too hard to make me like him.- and then the thing with poker game- I don't buy it. I know this worked for a lot of readers and I can see why. And that's cool. I'm really happy you liked it, but it didn't work for me.
This was still a 3 star read because, #1. It's Mia Sheridan. I'm going to read all the books she writes. Period.
#2. There were a couple times I felt bad for Travis- I'm not completely heartless- and he did do one good thing that actually showed some growth from his jackassery days
#3. The side characters were great and I would like to see Gage get an HEA.
Okay, so there we go. I love MS, but I still don't like Travis much at all.
Happy reading!
Ps. I didn't like Haven that much either...
July 24, 2021
3.5 Stars
June 10, 2024
#godgiveshistoughestbattlestohisstrongestwarriors because why did i fall in love with this man.
September 18, 2023
4 Estrellitas. Me ha gustado más de lo esperado. Tenemos al antihéroe, el personaje que aprendimos a odiar en un libro y que la escritora ha redimido para que podamos amarlo.
Volvemos a Pelion, en Maine. Y aunque ésta serie se caracteriza por tener libros independientes, fue tanto el éxito de "La voz de Archer" que Mia Sheridan decidió escribir un segundo libro, con su hermano, Travis.
Travis fue un personaje mezquino y odiado en "La voz de Archer". Cierto es que no se sabía inmediatamente que eran hermanos hasta avanzado el libro, por eso dolía que Travis fuese uno de los cabecillas que le hacían trastadas, o le gastaban bromas pesadas a Archer, o simplemente le hacía bullying por ser el marginado del pueblo.
Esta vez, en "El dilema de Travis", han pasado ocho años y Travis ha madurado. Su relación con su hermano ha cambiado drásticamente y están más unidos que nunca, pese a que ciertos resquemores nunca sanan, pero Bree y Archer están ahí para Travis y él es el tío perfecto para sus sobrinos.
Travis es el jefe de policía de Pellion y su vida está a punto de cambiar, lleva casi un año con su novia y cree que es el momento de pedirla que se casen; hasta que la descubre con otro hombre y todos sus planes de futuro se desmoronan.
Aunque a Travis nunca le han faltado mujeres, solo quería encontrar a la definitiva para formar una familia, y en apenas unos días, rompe con su pareja y se queda sin casa debido a la rotura de una tubería. Es verano y todos los alojamientos están ocupados, salvo un bed & breakfast algo cutre que aloja a gente muy rara.
En esa pensión estarán Haven Torres, una chica un tanto rara que acaba de llegar, y su hermano, el que le ha convertido en un cornudo.
Haven y Easton Torres llevan dos años viviendo como nómadas. Nunca están más de cuatro meses en un lugar. El hermano de Haven es algo problemático y siempre se las ha arreglado para destrozar vidas allí por donde han estado. La vida de estos dos hermanos está desmoronada y Pelion es solo un hueco en su mapa, un hueco donde trabajar temporalmente durante el verano y luego desaparecer.
En circunstancias normales Haven y Travis nunca habrían sido pareja, probablemente todo el mundo piensa que no pegan, ella es tan hippie, alegre y rara, que no pega con el serio agente de policía. El problema es que Easton le destroza la vida a Travis y éste planeará una venganza.
Travis no quiere odiar a Haven, ella no tiene la culpa de lo que ha hecho su hermano, pero sus primeras fricciones harán que Haven y Travis acaben siendo amigos. Amigos tan inusuales que pasarán a tener derecho a roce y de ahí a sentir más. El problema es que Travis no pensaba en volver a enamorarse, y mucho menos en alguien que está de paso y se irá de Pelion al acabar el verano.
"El dilema de Travis" es un libro bonito y enternecedor que no tiene mucho que ver con su predecesor, pero al que tampoco le hace falta. Quizás no es tan "bonito" como fue "La voz de Archer", pero tiene su propio encanto y es lo bien que escribe Mia Sheridan.
Hacía mucho que Phoebe no nos traía una historia de Mia Sheridan y aplaudo que se hayan atrevido a publicar este libro, si soy sincera, lo prefiero a todas las copias y refritos que están publicando como rosquillas sobre grandes empresarios y sus secretarias.
A mí el libro me ha convencido, he disfrutado mucho de su lectura y he aprendido a querer a Travis. No es el mejor libro de Mia Sheridan, pero se deja leer, y creo que a cualquier fan de la escritora le gustaría.
Volvemos a Pelion, en Maine. Y aunque ésta serie se caracteriza por tener libros independientes, fue tanto el éxito de "La voz de Archer" que Mia Sheridan decidió escribir un segundo libro, con su hermano, Travis.
Travis fue un personaje mezquino y odiado en "La voz de Archer". Cierto es que no se sabía inmediatamente que eran hermanos hasta avanzado el libro, por eso dolía que Travis fuese uno de los cabecillas que le hacían trastadas, o le gastaban bromas pesadas a Archer, o simplemente le hacía bullying por ser el marginado del pueblo.
Esta vez, en "El dilema de Travis", han pasado ocho años y Travis ha madurado. Su relación con su hermano ha cambiado drásticamente y están más unidos que nunca, pese a que ciertos resquemores nunca sanan, pero Bree y Archer están ahí para Travis y él es el tío perfecto para sus sobrinos.
Travis es el jefe de policía de Pellion y su vida está a punto de cambiar, lleva casi un año con su novia y cree que es el momento de pedirla que se casen; hasta que la descubre con otro hombre y todos sus planes de futuro se desmoronan.
Aunque a Travis nunca le han faltado mujeres, solo quería encontrar a la definitiva para formar una familia, y en apenas unos días, rompe con su pareja y se queda sin casa debido a la rotura de una tubería. Es verano y todos los alojamientos están ocupados, salvo un bed & breakfast algo cutre que aloja a gente muy rara.
En esa pensión estarán Haven Torres, una chica un tanto rara que acaba de llegar, y su hermano, el que le ha convertido en un cornudo.
Haven y Easton Torres llevan dos años viviendo como nómadas. Nunca están más de cuatro meses en un lugar. El hermano de Haven es algo problemático y siempre se las ha arreglado para destrozar vidas allí por donde han estado. La vida de estos dos hermanos está desmoronada y Pelion es solo un hueco en su mapa, un hueco donde trabajar temporalmente durante el verano y luego desaparecer.
En circunstancias normales Haven y Travis nunca habrían sido pareja, probablemente todo el mundo piensa que no pegan, ella es tan hippie, alegre y rara, que no pega con el serio agente de policía. El problema es que Easton le destroza la vida a Travis y éste planeará una venganza.
Travis no quiere odiar a Haven, ella no tiene la culpa de lo que ha hecho su hermano, pero sus primeras fricciones harán que Haven y Travis acaben siendo amigos. Amigos tan inusuales que pasarán a tener derecho a roce y de ahí a sentir más. El problema es que Travis no pensaba en volver a enamorarse, y mucho menos en alguien que está de paso y se irá de Pelion al acabar el verano.
"El dilema de Travis" es un libro bonito y enternecedor que no tiene mucho que ver con su predecesor, pero al que tampoco le hace falta. Quizás no es tan "bonito" como fue "La voz de Archer", pero tiene su propio encanto y es lo bien que escribe Mia Sheridan.
Hacía mucho que Phoebe no nos traía una historia de Mia Sheridan y aplaudo que se hayan atrevido a publicar este libro, si soy sincera, lo prefiero a todas las copias y refritos que están publicando como rosquillas sobre grandes empresarios y sus secretarias.
A mí el libro me ha convencido, he disfrutado mucho de su lectura y he aprendido a querer a Travis. No es el mejor libro de Mia Sheridan, pero se deja leer, y creo que a cualquier fan de la escritora le gustaría.
July 20, 2021
as much as i was interested in reading Travis' redemption and yes, he was alot likable in this book, but as soon as i read that dedication note by the author— archer hale remains as my best hale man and his plus bree and the kids' especially baby averie's breadcrumbs did the most for me than the main couple itself even though they were cute - ish. call me biased or blame it on my slump, i don't even know.
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