The First Time is the
Hardest by L.A. Cotton Austin Brothers #0.5
Publication Date: July
6, 2016
Genres: New
Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Novella
Blurb
Mila Austin and her
best friend, Lucas Gennery, made a pact: graduate college, return home, and
start the rest of their lives … together. One phone call changed everything.
Now, Mila is back in Radeno, Texas, lost and alone with an ache in her heart
eased by the one person she shouldn’t get close to—Lucas’s older brother, Ryan.
Grief bonds them, tethers them in a way Mila didn’t see coming, and when it’s
time to let go, she’s not sure if she can. Because finally letting go of Lucas
could mean losing Ryan as well. Saying goodbye is never easy, but the first
time is the hardest.
Title: The First Time is the Hardest
Author: L.A. Cotton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series or Standalone: Standalone Series (Austin Brothers #0.5)
Rating: ★★★★★
Reviewer: Melyssa
Reviewer: Melyssa
I should have known
based on the title that this one was going to gut me emotionally. But, of
course, I went in with blinders on.
I took a week to review this because I couldn’t wrap my head around the sheer level of emotion I felt while reading it. I think this might be the first novella I’ve read that managed to catch me right from the start and continuously make me feel the entire time I read it.
I can emotionally invest in a shorter story, even though often times its harder because you’re working with a shorter time frame so the flow is usually very fast paced and I suppose the same could be said here because it was a shorter read then I’m used to with this author, but the impact wasn’t like any novella before it.
You’re hit right in the feels, right between the eyes and hard in the gut right from the word go here as you navigate what has to be one of the most painful times in young Mila Austin’s life. But that’s not the only person you’re having to emotionally contend with. She’s not the only one affected by the events that take place here. The loss suffered. No, it extends to her family, his family and more specifically his brother Ryan.
What I enjoy most about this author is she doesn’t scrimp on a thing. It’s all very real and raw and very in your face. You can’t escape it. Shut your eyes to it and just wish the pain would stop. You’ve gotta face it head on much like the characters and in this case you do, or at least I did.
My heart bled with Ryan and Mila, it cried with them, it fell apart with them and it fell with them. I was very present through every second of it.
Lucas’s part here, even though I wasn’t entirely expecting it, I’m still having a hard time expressing what it meant. He was just as big a part of this story as everyone else and I’m so glad that it was handled that way. It made the connection to everything even stronger than it would have been. His impact just as moving as theirs on each other.
I will admit that the closer I got to the end, I wondered how all of this was going to play out or whether or not it would carry over into another, longer book for the two of them, but thankfully, the author didn’t keep me guessing for two long. The story ending in a way I secretly hoped for, even though I didn’t want it to end at all.
My only complaint with this story is that there isn’t more of it. Which means, much like her other outings, we’re getting L.A. Cotton at her emotionally driven best.
I’m excited to see where the other books in this series will go, especially with the introductions made here with Mila’s brothers. I have a feeling that if this first book is any indicator, I’m in for one hell of an emotional ride with all of them and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
If you’ve never experienced this author, this might be a fantastic place to start and if you have, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it as much as I did.
My thanks to the author and all others involved in letting me read this before official release. Mila, Ryan and their family’s journey was one that I am honored to have been a part of.
Now, bring on the brothers!
I took a week to review this because I couldn’t wrap my head around the sheer level of emotion I felt while reading it. I think this might be the first novella I’ve read that managed to catch me right from the start and continuously make me feel the entire time I read it.
I can emotionally invest in a shorter story, even though often times its harder because you’re working with a shorter time frame so the flow is usually very fast paced and I suppose the same could be said here because it was a shorter read then I’m used to with this author, but the impact wasn’t like any novella before it.
You’re hit right in the feels, right between the eyes and hard in the gut right from the word go here as you navigate what has to be one of the most painful times in young Mila Austin’s life. But that’s not the only person you’re having to emotionally contend with. She’s not the only one affected by the events that take place here. The loss suffered. No, it extends to her family, his family and more specifically his brother Ryan.
What I enjoy most about this author is she doesn’t scrimp on a thing. It’s all very real and raw and very in your face. You can’t escape it. Shut your eyes to it and just wish the pain would stop. You’ve gotta face it head on much like the characters and in this case you do, or at least I did.
My heart bled with Ryan and Mila, it cried with them, it fell apart with them and it fell with them. I was very present through every second of it.
Lucas’s part here, even though I wasn’t entirely expecting it, I’m still having a hard time expressing what it meant. He was just as big a part of this story as everyone else and I’m so glad that it was handled that way. It made the connection to everything even stronger than it would have been. His impact just as moving as theirs on each other.
I will admit that the closer I got to the end, I wondered how all of this was going to play out or whether or not it would carry over into another, longer book for the two of them, but thankfully, the author didn’t keep me guessing for two long. The story ending in a way I secretly hoped for, even though I didn’t want it to end at all.
My only complaint with this story is that there isn’t more of it. Which means, much like her other outings, we’re getting L.A. Cotton at her emotionally driven best.
I’m excited to see where the other books in this series will go, especially with the introductions made here with Mila’s brothers. I have a feeling that if this first book is any indicator, I’m in for one hell of an emotional ride with all of them and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
If you’ve never experienced this author, this might be a fantastic place to start and if you have, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it as much as I did.
My thanks to the author and all others involved in letting me read this before official release. Mila, Ryan and their family’s journey was one that I am honored to have been a part of.
Now, bring on the brothers!
About L.A. Cotton
Contemporary Romance
and Romantic Suspense…written with feeling
L.A is author of the
Fate’s Love Series and Chastity Falls Series. Home is a small town in the
middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time mum to two
little people with writing. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in
front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find L. A immersed in a book, escaping
the chaos that is life.
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