FGBB REVIEWS
Sweet Hope (Sweet Home Book 4)
&
Sweet Soul (Sweet Home Book 5)
by Tillie Cole
&
Sweet Soul (Sweet Home Book 5)
by Tillie Cole
This series continues to be intense, sexy and extremely emotional. Elpidio and Ali’s story is going to have you swooning, sighing, sniffling and full on weeping.
“When you’re dragged up in hell, I suppose you don’t think about what the other side could be like.”
Since Sweet Fall, Ali is now graduated and finally working her dream job, an art curator. One of her favorite artists, a reclusive man, who creates the most beautiful sculptures, is preparing for a show and Ali needs to be the curator for this exhibit. Elpidio’s work inspires very intense emotions for Ali and she has zero reservations about literally dropping everything and rushing off to interview for the position. Elpidio is a sculptor that has gained a lot of attention recently with his pieces, yet he does not want or need the recognition that comes with the praise for his work. Elpi’s mentor and close friend is adamant about showcasing his work, and even though he is not comfortable with the all of attention he agrees, reluctantly to the exhibit. Ali and Elpi are about to collide and it's going to get messy!
“What has happened in your life to make you so broken?”
Elpi is quite content in his solitude, his past haunts him daily but in his heart he believes that he deserves it, guilt eats at his very soul and his past is troubled one. But from the moment Ali meets Elpi she feels an overpowering and undeniable connection. Their attraction is explosive, but any type of relationship will be tested and more than once, when Elpi’s true identity is revealed it all becomes even more complicated. Emotions run extremely high and there are so many hurdles to overcome, their relationship simply feels doomed.
“Everything I had left in the world was on the other side of that door. Everything I had left, but nothing I deserved.”
Ali and Elpi have a very long road ahead of them, before they can get to a place where a happily ever after is even possible. The rest of the characters that we have come to love are back in this book as well. Rome, Lexi, Molly, Austin, even Levi, revisiting all of them is great. Seeing how their lives have changed and living their happily ever after is gratifying on so many levels, and now it’s finally time for Ali to have hers, right?
“From the first time I ever saw your angel sculpture, it seared my heart… I always knew if I could meet you in the flesh, your soul would do the same.”
Tillie Cole never fails to deliver a story that will pull at your heart. Her stories bring such intense emotion and the characters begin to feel real. Sweet Hope is intensely emotional; it’s a bit darker than the previous books in this series. Things that we as readers thought knew about the Carillo brothers are re-explored and a new perspective is added into the mix. It changed everything for me, it made my heart ache and I cried a few times for the men who already endured so much pain in such a short time. Rest assured, Tillie Cole always delivers a happily ever after for her readers, so you can put any anxiety about that to rest, but when I reached the end of this book, I was relieved to find out that there is yet another book in the series, Sweet Soul, this is Levi’s book. I’m excited to read it and it’s up next on my TBR. I am sad that it took me so long to get to read this series, I’ve had the books on my kindle for some time, and I wish I’d read them sooner. This series has kept me hooked from book 1 and I will be very sad when I finally reach the end. I’ve fallen in love with this series and I loved this book. I loved the story, the romance, the emotional elements it was amazing from start to finish. If you’ve loved the previous books in this series, you’re going to be more than satisfied with Sweet Hope, enjoy!
“Hope is a fervent, silent wish that everything will turn out just as you dream…”
MY REVIEW
5 STARS
Sweet Soul is the perfect conclusion to a
series that is deeply and intensely emotional. Simply Perfection! Tillie Cole is
at her very best.
“There was always the hole that gaped open in my
heart. The one I had no damn idea how to seal.”
Levi is youngest of the Carillo brothers and he has
always been the most soft hearted and shy. Finally moving on from the past, the
Carillo brothers have finally begun to heal and move on from their devastating
pasts. They are all in very different places in their lives, from where they
were when we first met them. Rome, Austin, Axe, all have successful careers and
are in healthy and loving relationships. It seems the looming clouds that over shadowed
this family for so long, have parted and the sunshine is finally shining down
on them. Levi however is still struggling. He is playing football and
excelling, but deep down he has guilt and has not fully moved on from his past.
He has never had a girlfriend, never been on a date, does not like to party and
spends majority of his spare time home, studying or hanging out with his
family. His brothers are worried about him; Lexi and Molly are worried about
him. Levi should be fully enjoying his experience at school, not only playing
football but making friends, going out and maybe even dating. But Levi keeps to
himself a lot and he doesn’t really confide his fears, guilt and memories to
anyone. He’s hiding from his pain in plain sight. Then one night, everything
shifts for Levi. A twist of fate puts Levi on a new path and for the first time,
in a very long time Levi forgets about his own troubles. He has a new focus, to
help this young woman, they he meets in an alley, a woman who so desperately needs
it.
“Levi. Levi Carillo had helped me. He had saved me.
Even when I’d pushed him away.”
Elsie has not had it easy; in fact her life to an
outsider would seem to be an endless nightmare. Homeless and hearing impaired,
Elsie struggles on the streets to merely survive. Elsie is battling the harsh
elements, freezing with no place to go she is fighting daily to find her next
meal. The night that Levi and Elsie’s path cross is pure coincidence but the
meeting could not have come at a better time. Elsie is very gravely ill and her
days just keep getting worse. When Levi stumbles upon this pretty young woman
who is so obviously in need of help, it hits him very close to home. Levi is
acutely aware of what it feels like to be hungry and feeling hopeless, he is
resolved within an instant to do whatever he can to help her.
“Elisie,” he whispered again. “You can talk to me. You
can open up to me. I swear you are safe with me.”
“She just… held me, no questions, no conditions.”
Levi and Elsie ae both incredibly shy and they are
both struggling. From the moment they meet a connection and trust begins to
build. What starts as mere friendship begins to build into something else.
Together these two people slowly begin to heal each other and it is truly a
beautiful thing to experience. As a reader I was drawn into not only the love
story in Sweet Soul but also the breathtaking journey that these two are on to
not only moving on from the past but also facing their demons. Leaning on each
other for support emotionally and finally finding that one person that they can
confide their deepest fears and worst memories is painful but it is also very
helpful. Levi and Elsie slowly but surely begin to finally heal and emerge from
the shell that they hide behind so often.
“We kissed and we kissed until, breathless, Elsie
pulled back to look into my eyes. “Levi, you…you make me want to give my heart
away.”
Sweet Soul is a slow burn, the passion and love builds
throughout the course of the story is sweet. What is not clear from the moment
that you being this story is that it is going to be at times, overwhelmingly
emotional. The issues that Elsie is struggling to overcome are not for the
faint of heart, but they are immensely important for most young people today,
men and women alike. Tillie Cole has absolutely no issues at all with tackling
tough storylines, and in Sweet Soul she tackles these issues with a metric ton
of courage and poise. This book is beautifully written and the feeling that it
brings forth are powerful. The story line is one that will keep you furiously
flipping the pages from the very beginning; I was completely at the mercy of
her words and characters. This series is one that is not an easy breezy, from
book one, you are sucked totally into this fictional world and the characters
begin to own your heart. Every single character has their own battles to face
and overcome and while it is not always easy, they always manage to overcome
and succeed. I’ve enjoyed every book in this series and Sweet Soul was the
same. Emotional, beautifully written, and intensely powerful and heartbreaking,
this book will take you a journey that you will not soon forget, if ever. Get out
the tissues before you begin this book because let me assure you, you are going
to need them.
“My mom brought me the stars. Levi Carillo, you bring
me the moon.” I held my breath, then whispered back, “Then you bring me the
shine.”
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