REVIEW: Every Little Piece of Me by Lexi Ryan

In Every Little Piece of Me by Lexi Ryan, Marston Rowe grew up rough in Atlanta until a series of unfortunate events put him in the care of his Aunt Lori when he was seventeen. Living in the small town of Orchid Valley, Georgia, and working with her at the Knox family mansion, Marston has someone to care for him and a legitimate job for the first time in his life. But his new life gets exponentially more complicated when he meets Brinley Knox the night of her sweet sixteen birthday party. Being the hired help, Marston shouldn’t have paid her any attention. But Brinley becomes all he can think of in the following months as they fall in love and subsequently have to part ways.

‘Her eyes skim over every inch of my face, and her gaze is so intense that I feel like she alone can see past this facade of money and luxury and all the way to the broken man beneath.’

Brinley knew better than to fall for Marston when they were teenagers. He was deemed a delinquent and certainly not good enough for the Knox family. Not that her family asked her opinion about him back then. Now Brinley is running ragged trying to live independently and buy the local spa where she’s manager and where she works with her close friends. But it turns out that a drunken night in Vegas six months ago was a lot more important than she remembered–and is about to change her life. Her first run in with Marston in a decade proved they still had insane chemistry. But Brinley had no idea they actually got married. Which, considering she’s now engaged to local real estate guy Julian, throws a wrench in the works. Even worse is Marston is back in Orchid Valley. And the millionaire businessman is intent on winning her over.

‘I promise to love Marston Rowe forever. With every little piece of me.’

A tangled up second chance romance that will twist your heart into knots, Lexi Ryan’s Every Little Piece of Me was a small-town love story done just right.

‘Once, I promised Brinley that if she were mine, I’d never let her go.
I guess it’s time to return to Orchid Valley and remind my wife that I’m a man who keeps his promises.’

I should mention first that the ARC I read included the prequel novella, Every Little Promise, which I highly recommend reading first if possible. You can still read this full-length novel and understand the events that led up to our couple’s current predicament, but I think readers will better understand Brinley and Marston’s past and definitely their dynamic a whole lot better if you check the novella out before this book.

Being a fan of second chance romances set in small towns, and opposite-attract couples, this started off on the right track for me. We got a bunch of flashback scenes from when Marston, the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks, moved to Orchid Valley and fell for good girl and supposed spoiled rich debutante, Brinley. Lexi Ryan wove those scenes around the perfect moments in present day and used them to paint a very clear picture of how strong the bond was between Brinley and Marston. And unfortunately how doomed they were from the start.

Without revealing too much, it was Brinley’s emotionally-charged decisions at age seventeen that broke her and Marston apart. Her subsequent choices didn’t help over the years either. Including her engagement to Julian at the start of the book. I’ll admit to shaking my head over it, but I think once readers get through the full explanation of Brinley and her family’s toxic relationship, they’ll get why she would have made those decisions. And I think readers will also root for Marston to prove to Brinley that if anything, time had only made what they had together so much more precious and worth fighting for.

I also want to mention that Lexi Ryan created not only a lovely Southern town to set this in, but an incredibly likable cast of characters I adored. Mainly it was Brinley’s local friends, who I’m happy to say will be getting their own books too. Next up will be her long time best friend Stella falling (even further) for single dad Kace in Every Sweet Regret. Should be fun!

Every Little Piece of Me proved that love can be so much sweeter–and hotter–the second time around. With Lexi Blake’s flowing prose full of emotion and passion, this is a story that will surely resonate with romance fans.

Book Info:

Publication: Published May 19th 2020 | by Ever After, LLC | Orchid Valley #1

It’s not every day you’re invited to your wife’s wedding . . . as a guest.

The first time I saw Brinley Knox, she was crying, draped in a ridiculous pink tulle dress for her sweet sixteen, and cursing the boy who’d broken her heart.

I was the hired help, a teenage charity case.

She was the daughter of the wealthiest family in Orchid Valley.

I knew a girl like Brinley was off-limits. That didn’t stop me from kissing her. Or from deciding that if she were ever mine, I’d never let her go.

The last time I saw Brinley, she was sleeping, tangled in the sheets of my Vegas penthouse, my diamond glittering on her finger.

I returned three hours later to an empty bed, the ring on the dresser, and a goodbye note.

We haven’t spoken in the six months since, but I’m not the kind of guy who’d file for a divorce he doesn’t want.

Until I got this damn invitation, it never occurred to me that Brinley didn’t remember our impulsive Vegas nuptials.

It’s time to return to Orchid Valley and remind the bride-to-be that I promised her forever. And I’m a man who keeps his promises.