READ: REVIEW – Preston’s Honor by Mia Sheridan. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

Title: Preston’s Honor
Author: Mia Sheridan
Series: Sign of Love #11
Release Date: February 18, 2017

There were two brothers—identical twins—and though I loved them both, my soul belonged to only one.

Annalia Del Valle has loved Preston Sawyer all her life. The daughter of an impoverished migrant farmworker, she grew up as an outcast in what was no more than a tiny, cooped up shack in California’s Central Valley. But her heart found freedom in the land, in the wide-open spaces of Sawyer Farm, and in the boys who were her only friends.

Preston has yearned for Annalia since he was a boy. But a sense of honor kept him from pursuing her until he’s unable to hold back any longer and their worlds—and bodies—collide one hot summer night. A night that sets off a chain of events that will alter their lives forever.

Now Annalia is back in town after disappearing without a trace for six long months. Determined to reclaim her heart, her life, and the baby she left behind—the son who was created in a moment of lust and love and pent-up yearning.

Preston has survived grief, a ravaging drought, and the despair of heartache, but he’s not sure he can survive Annalia again. And he might be unwilling to try. Will pride and bitterness keep him from the one thing he’s always longed for?

How do you heal what is irreparably broken? How do you forgive that which is unforgivable? How do you discover that real honor comes not from circumstance, but from the place deep in our hearts where truth resides? And how do you move beyond the wounds of the past to discover that some loves are as solid as the ground beneath your feet, and as enduring as the earth itself?

Preston’s Honor is another heartfelt, thoughtful, and emotionally charged Sign of Love novel from Mia Sheridan. Preston and Lia’s story was unconventional, to say the least, but the author had me completely hooked from the very first page. This couple shared something significant and tangible, but it was their utterly electric chemistry that initially captivated me. I could practically feel the sparks flying between these two characters, even in their younger years. I adored seeing that develop into something deeper and more substantial as we unraveled their lives together from childhood to the present. While Preston’s Honor was very much a second chance romance of sorts, it was also about going all in for the first time. Lia and Preston had that comfortable familiarity that pulls you in, but it was the pieces of their journey that were brand-new that kept me reading.

“My heart, it seemed, knew only how to beat for him, like the wings of a bird soaring through an endless sky.”

Lia and Preston felt fated in a way that was almost tragic as the story unfolded and yet Mia Sheridan never let the reader lose hope for a happily ever after. I particularly adored Lia’s personal evolution. She was flawed, vulnerable, and unsure for so much of this novel but her overall growth and transformation was absolutely beautiful. I appreciated the honesty with which the author told Lia’s struggles. She was genuine and relatable and easy to root for. Preston also experienced some great growth in this novel, although much of his personal development seemed to have occurred before Lia returned. My one issue with this book was how little we saw of the couple actually and solidly in a relationship. This led to many of the emotions in the story being expressed but not experienced, and it took away from my ability to really connect with and invest in the couple.

“Purpose. Contentment. Joy. To find those things, don’t seek happiness. Search instead for those who need your gift and give it away.”

As with the previous Sign of Love novels, Preston’s Honor was incredibly unique. There were so many intriguing components to this storyline that I was never quite sure where Preston and Lia’s journey would end up. Mia Sheridan consistently tackles bigger issues in the context of her love stories, and this book was no different. I truly appreciated the discussion about immigration that the author started with this novel. Preston’s Honor takes readers on a true rollercoaster ride as Lia and Preston go from friends to lovers to not-quite-enemies and back again. My heart was in a constant state of discontentment, desperate for this couple to get the happily ever after they both deserved. With its vibrant characters, endearing dialogue, and heartfelt emotions, Preston’s Honor is another fantastic story from Mia Sheridan.

If there is one thing I’m certain of in the book world, it’s that Mia Sheridan can write a gripping novel that will steal hearts and make readers swoon. Preston’s Honor intrigued me with the premise of a twin sibling rivalry over a girl and had me diving into the pages with high expectations. It’s a standalone novel in the Sign of Love series that made me laugh, made me cry, and certainly left me wanting to find my own community to be a part of.

“What happened when your words agreed to something but your heart couldn’t be swayed?”

Both of the characters, though they had known each other from childhood, had so much to learn about the other as adults. Preston loved Lia in his own way, as Lia had loved him in her own manner, but it seemed that they could never speak the same language of love. Each faced such large obstacles and thought that they had to endure them alone. The way that this played out made for such an emotionally charged read. Furthermore, the transformations from beginning to end were earth-shattering. They happened slowly, but with such a natural, realistic feel; I loved where they began, but I just adored where they ended up so much more. The only real downfall for me was a switch in Sheridan’s writing style. Traditionally, she has painted vivid scenes that pulled the reader into the world she created. However, due to the dynamics of the relationships and the interpretations of each other’s feelings (on all accounts), Preston’s Honor felt much more expository in nature. At times, Sheridan was telling the emotions rather than showing readers. While the story was still excellent and addicting, it left me unable to connect to the characters in the way that I have in the past. The last quarter of the novel was much more the style that I’ve become accustomed to and I found myself wishing that I had more time with both Preston and Lia in that regard.

“In some ways we’d lived out an entire relationship—the beginning, the middle, and the end—and in some ways we’d never had a relationship at all.”

There was something about the message of Preston’s Honor that hit really close to home for me. The story felt personal on so many different levels, but especially in the disconnected feeling that Lia endured. It was an incredible moment to see her find her place and in that instant, my heart felt so light and satisfied with the story because of how deeply that feeling resonated in my bones. Mia Sheridan astounds me that she is able to create stories that feel so different and unique to the rest of the series, but also to other books in the industry. She’s a fountain of talent and I can honestly hope never runs dry.