Shine Not Burn

Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey
My rating: ★ 4 Stars ★












Why Hello there Cowboy....

~"Sometimes when our lives are out of control, the only thing that makes us feel secure is to swing in the opposite direction. To control every last detail.” ~

And that's exactly how Andie lives her life.
Obsessed with following her life plan.

College
Career
Marriage
Children

Her life is one organised plan. One she will not deter from.

Until one night in vegas.

Gavin 'Mack' Mackenzie is one holy hot smoking Cowboy..
A night in Vegas for his brothers bucks night turns into something more when a sexy woman spills her drink on his lap at the blackjack table.


Andie decides to let loose for the weekend, relax. When she spots a sexy Cowboy across the room she heads straight over.
After clumsily spilling her drink on his lap and then proceeding to "Rub" it dry, Mack excuses himself to take care of the mess leaving Andie at the table.

Hahaha Andie and the Blackjack scene is a freaking HOOT!! Hilarious.

~"Soft Hand"
"Thank you. I use hand cream to keep them moisturised"
"Not your hand, the card"~

When Mack comes back to the table the chemistry between the two is on fire.

~"I doubted at this point that I'd be able to string a coherent sentence together. His beauty combined with his slow-talking cowboy sexiness had completely robbed me of any intelligence."~

After flirting and drinking they decide to go up to her room.

Now let me tell you the sex was Hot Hot HOT HOT

But I couldn't stop laughing at Andie's inner dialogue.
She was a dork. Pretty funny.

~ Sweet Jesus he's hung. Thats some kind of magic, the way he somehow fits that thing into those pants. ~


~ "Woo hoo" I yelled, pushing him down onto the bed and jumping on top of him. My leap was a little too enthusiastic through, because I misjudged my landing and fell to the side. I tried to catch myself on the edge of the bed but the stupid satin cover gave me nothing to grab onto. I tipped off the bed and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. I stayed there for a few seconds, waiting for the room to stop spinning.~

What was meant to be a one night stand, brings forth feelings they both weren't expecting.

~ Feeling his heavy body on mine, wallowing in the afterglow of the best sex I'd ever had, I questioned for the first time what the hell I was doing with my life.~

But waking up in Vegas, alone in bed, with a foggy memory about one sexy Cowboy is all Andie remembers. Leaving her to head back home with nothing but a name and a little niggling feeling that she is forgetting something, something important.


2 Years later…..


We find Andie about to get married to some Douche bag. Her obsession to stick to her life plan has pushed all her friends away.
When the application for her marriage comes through stating she is already married, Andie is taken back to the one night in Vegas 2 yrs ago she has very little memory of.

~"Says here in my system you married a man by the name of ... Gavin MacKenzie, on April tenth, two thousand and eleven... The signature matches the one you put on the form, maybe a little more messy, but it's the same one.
That name ring any bells? Gavin MacKenzie? What's that? Scottish?... "~

With a mission to find her 'Husband' and demand a divorce before her fiancé finds out, Andie sets off for Oregon.
What she wasn't counting on was her damn sexy husband Mack to make her life a whole lot harder.

~"I don't believe in divorce."~

Hahhaha that was gold. Loved it.

Mack is angry. He remembers every part of their night shared and 2 years later is still holding onto the hurt of coming home without his wife.

At first Mack is really cold and short with Andie and refuses to talk to her, leaving her hanging around his family waiting for a chance to talk.
Soon she finds herself warming up to his family and daily life on the farm.

As soon as they get near each other, the undeniable sexual tension is too much.

~“You’re my wife,” he said, only inches away, his hot breath flickering over my lips. “You married me in Las Vegas two years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m your husband.”
I nodded, tears slipping out.
He gritted his teeth and growled out, “And this is us, consummating our marriage.” ~

Holy Shit the shower scene was fucking hot!


Mack believes what they shared in Vegas was something on a different level and he refuses to let her walk away. Not without a fight.

~"Why can't you just let me go?"

"I can't let you go because you're mine.” ~

She fights it, not believing one night in Vegas can amount to a fulfilling life long marriage. This is not part of her life plan, but the more time she spends with Mack, the more she finds it harder to make the decision to stay or leave?

~"It's not a second chance, Mack. It can't be."
He sat up next to me and pulled me to his side with his arm across my shoulders.
Touching his head to mine he spoke in a low voice.
"Yes, it can. We're still married. Why can't we just take a shot at making it work like a real marriage?"~

With the help of Mack and his funny and amazing family, can they show Andie what she truly is missing in life?

~“With that realization came the understanding that sometimes you can't appreciate the true beauty of a thing until you experience it for yourself; no amount of words or pictures will do the trick. And no amount of planning could make it happen. Sometimes, we just have to go where the wind takes us and see where we end up.”~

I really enjoyed this one. It kinda came out of nowhere and everyone was raving about it on my GR so I one clicked again… I'm glad I did.
I loved Mack. He was one sexy Alpha Cowboy. Seriously SEXY. Andie has her issues and at times I had to remind myself of those. She did frustrate me and at the same time I really thought she was funny. I loved that she was a little stubborn with Mack. It made the banter more fun.
This was sweet and sexy. Fun and playful with just enough steam.
Elle Casey hit a mark here. I do hope she continues on with Ian's story.

I must say the Sneak Peek of Casey's next release By Degrees has me VERY intrigued….. can't wait.

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Jess xx