WHEN STARS COLLIDE (Light in the Dark, #2) by Micalea Smeltzer Release Day Blitz: Reni's Review, Excerpt, + Giveaway!







We were like two stars orbiting each other—dancing around the possibility that one day we might collide. When we finally did, we opened up a black hole, obliterating everything around us. No one would be the same.


Least of all, us.

Waking up in Vegas married to the guy of your dreams sounds like a good thing, right? Not when you’re Thea Montgomery and said guy is your brother’s best friend. 

Thea and Xander have always avoided the connection between them because her brother would never approve. Now, they’re married— the strongest bond you can have as a couple—and they’re not even a real couple…unless they want to be. 

Thea wants an annulment immediately, but Xander’s waited too long to see her become his and he won’t let her go easily. 

If she wants a divorce, fine, but he wants the summer to convince her that he’s the one. If at the end of the summer she still wants to end their marriage he’ll sign the papers, but until then…

All is not fair in love and war.




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Alcohol + Vegas = Marriage. We’ve seen this equation before. Throw in the fact that the man you married is your brother’s best friend, your roommate, and the man you’ve been crushing on for the last, meh, forever many years, and things really start to get interesting.  Especially when we find that Thea isn’t as sold on the idea of eternal bliss as Xander is. 

I didn’t read the first book in the Light in the Dark series, but found that I really didn’t need to in order to follow Thea and Xander’s story. It’s pretty cut and dry, with a few curve balls thrown in to spice things up. Unfortunately, I found most of those curving balls unrealistic and/or unnecessary.  A few of the more unrealistic issues seem to focus around Xander and his dreams for the future. His father wants him to be part of his architectural firm, whereas Xander wants to play football. You’d think that if you were drafted by a major league team, it would eat up most of your free time.  Not according to this story. I’m fairly certain training camp is a B.F.D, and they don’t just let you run around doing whatever you’d like, let alone work another time consuming job. 

I did like Thea’s character. She’s strong and determined to be independent. While she carries around her own secrets, she doesn’t let them own her. And really, to be more accurate, they’re mostly her brother’s. She doesn’t back down and isn’t afraid to fight for those she loves. It’s easy to see why Xander would be drawn to her and eager to keep her. 

Over all, I wasn’t crazy impressed with When Stars Collide. That’s not to say it wasn’t entertaining or a fun read. You just can’t take it too literally, or dig too deep. It didn’t invoke any hard hitting emotions; it just was.  But sometimes we need more relaxed books, ones that don’t rip our hearts out or make us laugh till we pee. Sometimes we just need to get lost in someone else’s reality, and I think When the Stars Collide is a good book for when you feel that’s just what you need. 




Excerpt

Unedited and subject to change.

Holy mother of all hangovers.

I’d succumbed to the lure of Vegas and gotten completely wasted. Granted, that’s what everyone did in Las Vegas but I like to think I usually have more sense than the social norm.

I rub my eyes and blink them open. The hotel room comes into formation around me. The walls are a warm golden color and the flat screen on the wall plays some home improvement show. I can see the bathroom from the bed, the tiled walls and large soaking tub.

I roll over onto my side, hoping I can sleep off the hangover, and reel back.

“Oh my God,” I cry, flailing in bed.

My legs kick the sleeping guy beside me.

Not just any sleeping guy.

Oh no.

Xander Kincaid, my brother’s best friend, lays in the bed beside me.

His dark hair tumbles over his forehead and his cheeks are covered with several days worth of scruff. His chest is bare and…holy shit. He’s naked.

I look down.

Oh God, I’m naked too.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, reaching his left hand out to pull me closer to him. That’s when I see it.

“Is that a wedding band?” I scream shrilly.

His eyes narrow. “You don’t fucking remember?”

I shake my head and look at my own hand. A thin silver band rests on my finger. “What did we do?”

He sits up in bed and I try to ignore how adorably rumpled he looks with his hair sticking up.

Everything begins flooding back to me in quick bursts.

Drinks.

Kissing.

Laughter.

Confessions of love and desire.

A wedding chapel.

Vows.

Rings.

A contract.
 

“We’re married,” I whisper. “Holy shit.” It’s all I’ve ever wanted—to be with Xander, but not like this. Never like this. “My brother is going to kill us.”



Also Available


Book One in the series. Cade and Rae’s story.
Can be read as a standalone.

Currently FREE everywhere.
 

What I remember the most about that day was that it was completely ordinary. Then with one stupid decision everything fell apart and nothing was ever the same.

Rae Wilder wants nothing but a do over—but life doesn’t work that way. She’s stuck living out the consequences of her actions. At times the burden feels unbearable.
College is supposed to be her second chance.
New place.
New people.
New life.
No one to know what she did.
Despite that, she has still vowed to avoid everyone and everything at all costs.
Unfortunately for her, an accidental run-in with the campus heartthrob, Cade Montgomery, derails that plan.
He’s determined to thaw the ice around her heart and expose the girl she used to be. He wants to show her that life is worth living for and that she really is a Rae of Sunshine.


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Author Bio



Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling twenty-something author. She started scribbling stories before she even knew her alphabet. She currently resides in Virginia with her doggie side-kick Ollie.


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