Monday, July 24, 2017

Where I Need to Be by Jamie Hollins Blog Tour


When heroin stole James Foley’s wife and destroyed his marriage, he poured all his energy into raising his young son and running his auto garage. There’s no room in his life for anything else until Megan McKenna walks into his shop. He finds it impossible to resist the sexy school teacher.

After an ugly divorce, Megan lost her home, her job, and a big chunk of her self-respect. With her posh lifestyle now a memory, she starts over by indulging in an unexpected fling with a hard-bodied mechanic.

What begins as something casual turns into something meaningful. But how can their relationship survive when it’s built on half-truths?

James and Megan soon discover that being honest with themselves is just as important as being honest with each other. Only then will their relationship fire on all cylinders.

Add to Goodreads –


Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo




Even over the wailing guitar of an old Chevelle song, James had no trouble hearing a deep rumbling and god-awful clanking outside the closed bay doors. After dusting off his hands on a shop rag, he turned down the radio in time to hear a car door slam shut.

It was half past eight o’clock on a Friday night. The shop was officially closed. He had half a mind to stay put and let whomever was out there figure that out on their own.

But when he heard the distinct clacking of high heels across his front parking lot, he changed his mind. Not because he knew it was a woman. More because he was hopeful it was one particular woman.

Reaching the front office door, he peered outside to see Megan McKenna scribbling furiously across a scrap of paper. Even in the partial darkness, he could see she was concentrating hard, biting her lower lip as she wrote the note. Something about her biting her lip sent all his blood rushing below his belt.

Jesus, he felt like he was in high school again. He had no idea what type of spell this woman had cast over him, but he found himself thinking about her too often. And looking at her now, he really didn’t have to wonder why that was.

She was fucking gorgeous.

She had the most gloriously long legs he’d ever seen, made even longer by her black patent leather heels. The remnants of the day’s light made Megan’s red cardigan and matching shirt glow above her tight black skirt. He was starting to think he was getting a thing for cardigans too.

Before he started to drool on the glass, he quickly unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. Megan looked up, startled.

“Oh, my gosh,” she breathed. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

That was true, but he liked the way her cheeks got all flushed.

She smiled. “I wasn’t sure what time you closed. When I saw the times on the door, I was going to leave my keys with a note in your drop box. I parked my car over there.” She turned and pointed to her Accord. It was kind of hard to miss. “I was on my way home from work and something broke, so I drove straight here.”

She sounded exhausted.

“What exactly happened to it?” he asked, stepping from the doorway and walking toward the car.

“I had just pulled out of the parking lot and made it about a block before I hit a pothole, and I heard this really loud bang followed by a high-pitched scraping sound. I couldn’t see anything out the back window, and it seemed like all my gauges were okay, so I continued driving.” She stopped beside where he knelt to look under the back of the car. “Within two blocks there was another awful sound, then all of sudden my car sounded like a helicopter.”

James knew even before he looked at it what had happened. “Your muffler fell off.”

Megan sighed. “Is that bad?”

He looked up at her from where he stooped on the pavement—trying not to check out her legs—and nodded. He stood up, dusting off his hands on his thighs. “I’m gonna have to order you a new muffler. I can probably have it here by Tuesday.”

His eyes got caught on where she was biting her lower lip again. “How much is that going to cost me?”

He pulled his gaze away from her lips and saw the worry in her expression. “You’re looking at anywhere between two hundred to two fifty for parts and labor.”

She looked back at her car and sighed. “I guess there’s no way around it, so go ahead. Do you need me to fill out any paperwork?”

“No. But I’ll need your keys.”

She dropped her keys into his grease-stained hands. “Thanks, Mr. Foley. Just give me a call whenever it’s done.”

She heaved her purse up her shoulder before giving him a tired smile and wave. James was too busy watching her walk away when he suddenly realized that she planned to walk home by herself.

“Megan,” he yelled. When she turned toward him, he asked, “How far is your place from here?”

“Oh, it’s just a few blocks. No biggie.”

She had just started to turn back toward the sidewalk when he had a completely stupid idea.

“I was about ready to head home for the night. How about I give you a ride?”

She regarded him for a moment before saying, “You know, after the day I’ve had, I think I’ll take you up on that.”




Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary☆☆☆☆
Megan McKenna thought she had the perfect life, that is, until she walks in on her husband with another woman. Now that the divorce is over, she is putting her life back together, has a job teaching second grade starting the coming school year, and she just got accepted as a roommate. And hopefully the guy at Foley's Garage can fix the car she bought since it has a lot of problems.

James Foley has worked as a mechanic for as long as he can remember. He bought the garage from his dad when he was ready to retire and business is good. When Megan Dempsey shows up with a deadbeat car, he can't believe her rich husband would let her drive anything like that. So he will fix what needs fixing on her car and tell her what can wait and maybe he can learn her story.

As James and Megan get to know each other better and the attraction grows, they try the casual dating but both want more without pushing the other.

Can Megan make James see that she wants him and she is not trying to hide him from her family? Will James be ready for more of a relationship with Megan? Will they tell Cade, James' son, about them dating? Can they make a second time for them both work out?

I have loved this series and I thought The Best Part of Me (book 1) with Ewan and Quinn was my favorite but after reading this one, I think Megan and James is now my top favorite.

So if you are looking for a great series with love, heartbreak, laughter, and family, then this series is for you, so sit back and enjoy!


Sarah☆☆☆☆☆
This is a fantastic conclusion to a great series. In the first two books, Megan was this sister/cousin who moved away, built a perfect life for herself, and did everything right. In this book, Megan is still living away from her family but she finds herself rebuilding her life after a nasty divorce – a divorce she can’t quite bring herself to tell her family about. And no one is more surprised than Megan when the former ice princess finds herself falling for James, a single dad and local mechanic.

This is possibly a more reflective story than the first two. The author has captured the relief, fear, and self-loathing that anyone who has been through a divorce will immediately recognise. Both James and Megan bring baggage to a new relationship, but there is also joy in this story as Megan discovers her inner strength and creates a new and independent life for herself. I loved watching Megan go a little wild as she explored her freedom – Megan on the back of James’ bike, Megan at a rock concert, Megan hosting Thanksgiving for the staff at a tattoo shop – she’s an inspiring female lead and I really loved her.

Both James and Megan are wary of relationships. James’ priority is his son and Megan is focused on building a life for herself. But these two are brilliant together. There are a couple of seriously sexy scenes in this story but it is probably lower heat than the first two. I enjoyed the believable hook-up to happily ever after storyline and I really enjoyed the slow, sweet romance between Megan and James.

Readers need to read Megan’s brother Sean’s story in book two before starting this one. I was only able to understand Megan’s overwhelming fear of disappointing her parents because I’d seen Sean’s interactions with their parents in the first book. Sean’s perception of Megan’s life and Megan’s reality are miles apart and I really enjoyed the way the author explores sibling and parent/child relationships across these two books.

For me, the only thing that let this story down was the sickly sweet series epilogue at the end. These ‘few years later’ scenes are now expected at the end of any m/f romance series but I hated seeing such interesting characters (especially Darcy from the second book) forced into a bland, suburban, and domestic happily ever after.


Avid Reader☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

James and Megan are both starting over in a way. James had a rough start to his family. Despite having an amazing child, a son, he is still hurting over the fact that his wife turned to drugs and wasn't able to kick the habit.

Megan is a teacher who has never really struggled for anything. However, now that she finds herself on her own, without money, without a husband, and seeing what truly makes her happy, she is a little gun shy when it comes to relationships.

This was just an okay story for me. I liked that the characters weren't super young. I also liked that the characters had baggage and knew how to have adult conversations.

Overall, this was a sweet story and it was a quick read.


Ruthie☆☆☆☆
This is the third in the series, and whilst you could read it as a standalone (in my opinion) there are references to the previous couples, particularly towards the end of the book.

In this installment the focus is on Megan McKenna, who we met very briefly before, and who is married to a hot shot in Chicago. However, we very soon learn that is no longer the case, and she has fallen on hard times. She is inevitably struggling with her new normal, in as much as it was unexpected, but she is clearly a well-educated and self-sufficient woman.

James owns his own garage, and has worked on Megan's car before, so he is a little surprised to find her driving a beaten up old car. Until he finds out about the divorce... thanks to her ex-husband coming into the garage at the same time. She is, however, completely out of his league.

Fate has other ideas, and we get to experience a budding relationship, from both sides, as both struggle to deny the attraction, and remain casual. It is at times funny, but mostly rather sad, that two lovely people have been so damaged by spouses in the past that they are so reserved. As in many situations, communication would have saved a lot of heart ache, but that is what romance readers thrive on... and a good dose of hot and steamy passion – which these two are not shy of either!

The epilogue is both satisfying and leads one to think of what comes next too – which is both perfect and infuriating (in a good way!).

A satisfying and chemistry laden romance, with some great side characters such as Abel and Callie, and a brilliantly named guy called Poe!


Also Available in the McKenna Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our The Best Part of Me post.


Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Not in My Wildest Dreams Blog Tour.




Jamie Hollins was born and raised in rural Northeast Ohio. After graduate school, she embarked on a perilous career in Human Resources where she met plenty of real life characters. When she’s not writing or chasing after her toddler, she enjoys reading and golfing. Jamie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and their dog, Winston.

Connect with Jamie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads



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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Where I Need to Be (McKenna #3) by Jamie Hollins to read and review for this tour.

2 comments:

  1. Mary, Sarah, Avid Reader, & Ruthie! Thanks so much for reading and for your awesome reviews. Thank you, Wicked Reads, for hosting a stop on the WHERE I NEED TO BE blog tour!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the reviews!
    Allisia
    Tasty Book Tours

    ReplyDelete

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