Title: To Have It All
Author: B.N. Toler
Release Date: Jan 18, 2017
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Rock bottom.
Liam had set up shop there.
After an accident left him injured and unable to work, it wasn’t long before he ended up on the street with his dreams in the gutter.
This was it.
This was his life.
Until the day he met Max Porter—a man who appeared to have it all. They didn’t meet so much as made eye contact as Max sneered at Liam, the bum occupying precious space on the sullied New York City street.
When Max stepped into oncoming traffic, a lesser man might’ve let him. But Liam risked his life to save Max only to be left to die without a second thought.
When Liam woke up days later, he wasn’t himself…at least he wasn’t in his body.
He was in Max’s.
And with Liam’s body on life support, there was only one logical conclusion: Max was trapped in Liam’s comatose body.
Somehow the twisted hands of fate had given Liam a second chance; a chance to have it all. But with all the perks of Max’s life also came his problems. Finding balance in his new identity was challenged more so once Liam fell for Waverly, Max’s beautiful ex.
Could Liam live out his life as another man or would he pull the plug and let fate decide?
Would he lose his chance at true love?
Would he lose the chance to have it all?
Scooting up, his body was gloved to mine, his mouth to my ear as he reached around me and pulled my left hand, placing it over the shifter, then he took my right hand and settled it over the throttle. “Think of this like a dance,” he instructed me, his voice husky. “Dance involves steps, coordination, knowing your partner. This isn’t much different.”
“Says you,” I griped. “This is hardly a dance partner. This is a death trap that could kill us.”
He chuckled, the sound low and deep, making my core clench. “You’re sitting on over five-hundred pounds of machinery here. Think about how much time and effort went into building this; the way someone had to know this bike so intricately to put it all together and make it move.”
“Just because they knew it doesn’t mean I do.” I appreciated the intricacy of the bike, but appreciating and driving it were very different things.
“I just mean there’s power here. You can make these 500 pounds of metal move if you want it to, if you trust yourself enough.”
He left my hands and softly ran his fingers up my arms to my shoulders. “It lives and moves so long as you let it, so long as you lead it, just like a good dance partner. Don’t think about the moves you need to make . . . feel them. Let the bike tell you when it’s time to shift.”
His fingers glided down my sides until they took a firm hold of my waist causing my breath to hitch as my back arched slightly. “It’s give and release, Waverly,” he went on, his voice deep and gravely. “You have to feel when it’s time to give and when it’s time to let go.”
Darting my tongue out, I wet my dry lips. How did he make shifting gears sound so hot? How in the heck was I supposed to manage this machine with Liam murmuring sexual innuendo in my ear? I wished I could somehow turn around and take him on the bike.
“You know, this would be an epic opening to a porn flick,” I announced causing him to burst into laughter.
“I hadn’t thought of that.” His body shook as he continued to laugh.
“I guess your mind isn’t as dirty as mine.” I shrugged.
“I guess not. What would the film title be?” he queried.
I twisted my mouth in thought. In my sexiest voice, I twisted my neck so he could see me as I pouted my mouth, “Shifting the Panhead. When good girls learn to ride.”
He choked he was laughing so hard. When he could form words again, he coughed out, “That does sound pretty dirty when you say it like that.”
“Anything can sound dirty when you say it the right way,” I quipped. “Sky,” I moaned. “Concrete,” I continued.
“Okay, okay,” he begged before clearing his throat. “Stop stalling your lesson with your dirty mind and your defiling of perfectly unperverted words.”
I wiggled my ass again. “You love how I defiled the word concrete. Admit it.”
“You keep shimmying your ass like that, this lesson is going to have to end while I go jump in the water.”
Whitney’s Five Star ReviewI have loved BN Toler’s previous works and was in the mood for a good cry and some great angst so I figured this book would be right up my alley! And while I didn’t really cry much, To Have It All definitely delivered on the angst.
Liam is as down on his luck as he’s ever been. After being injured, he is homeless and too proud to turn to those he loves for help. But no matter how difficult his life has become, he is a good man. A great man, actually. He watches out for his new friend, Pearl and gives of himself even when he has nothing.
Max is Liam’s opposite. Good looking and wealthy, he seems to have it all. But Max is estranged from his ex-wife and child and seems to live to be cruel to those around him. He has no friends and no one to care about. So when Liam gives his life to save him, Max walks away as Liam is dying on the street.
But fate steps in and soon Liam wakes up in Max’s body only to find the man he thought had it all is also at rock bottom. Liam cannot live as Max did and others immediately notice the changes in Max. He is warmer, caring and well.. not an a*shole. Perhaps the person who notices the most is Waverly, Max’s ex-wife. She spent months trying to make the man she fell in love with love her and instead he rejected her and their daughter. But this new Max… he’s different. As and scared as she is to get close to him, she is left with no choice after an accident of her own.
Soon Liam is wondering how much time he has with the woman he’s falling for while his body is dying in a hospital. When he dies, will he and Max switch bodies? Will they both die? Will they both live? Turns out, hat part is not up to fate.
***************
BN Toler did an amazing job with this story. The prologue is perfect, staging Karma as a ‘character’ who is watching over the souls around her. Of course, the whole body switching/fate thing requires you to suspend some belief but this is definitely a contemporary romance. And instead of a second chance at romance, it’s a second chance at life!
I read this through in one night because I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. It’s mostly told in dual POV between Liam and Waverly even though this is just as much Max’s story. Karma gives all of these characters the chance to have it all, if they will only take it. And in Liam’s case, even if it’s only a short while before he dies.
The traditional good v bed/evil argument is played out. Of course, there is more to Max than meets the eye as Liam finds out some of his secrets. Although I never doubted there would be an HEA, I wondered how the author would be able to deliver one that mostly satisfies all parties. But as it turns out, I shouldn’t have because she nailed the ending. I won’t give up any spoilers but I couldn’t have been happier. I suppose there is a chance for a spin-off but I actually prefer to imagine the rest myself.
Character development is well thought out, the story flows well and there is no confusion surrounding the paranormal aspects of the book. Everything is laid out in a manner that makes sense and is easy for the reader to understand. Side characters add a nice punch to the storyline and setting. This is a story with a beautiful message to not take life for granted and that money and power are not the equivalent of a happy and fulfilling life. I cannot recommend this story enough!
BN Toler lives in Virginia. When she’s not reading and writing, she’s thinking about reading and writing. Before she became a self-proclaimed writer, she worked as a real estate agent and as an orthodontic technician. **She will notice your teeth before your eyes or hair or anything.**
She enjoys shopping (way too much) and is on a first name basis with several employees at the local Target in her town.
She loves music,(bluegrass, country, 80’s, actually she loves most music ~her favorite song is American Pie by Don McLean and she worships anything that is Elvis and Johnny Cash and Eric Church) dancing, (even though she sucks at it)reading, writing, eating (too much) sleeping late, (which she rarely gets to do) and laughing. If you can make her laugh, she will love you forever.
Random and insignificant facts:
She is addicted to Coca Cola
She hates onions
She loves thunderstorms
She wants to have Karen Marie Moning’s babies
She curses….a lot…like way too much
She’s immensely afraid of snakes
She fangirls over M.Pierce
She HATES reality television
She loves books and movies that make her cry
She cries over anything remotely sad
She LOVES Jack Daniels and Ginger Ale. (too much)
She hopes she hasn’t bored you to death.
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