Pelion Lake #1
Author : Mia Sheridan
We met Travis in Archer’s Voice. Yup, that Travis. He was a major a$$høle in that book and if you read that one when it first came out in 2016, you already had time to sort of forget how smarmy he could be. I, unfortunately, read the books in a binge, so his less than stellar characteristics were still very vivid in my mind. But, he had somehow gotten in the way of making himself a better man at the end of the book, so there was hope.
Travis has now sort of redeemed himself. Years have passed, his family’s mostly forgiven him and he is an adored uncle by his nephews and niece. He has a steady girlfriend, he is the chief of police of Pelion… but his comeuppance for all his bad deeds is coming to him by the hands of a brother and sister duo, Easton and Haven Torres, that has just come into town. Easton puts Travis back in the place where he NEVER wants to be again: second. Travis catches him with his girlfriend. Yeah, in flagrante delicto in bed.
A series of unfortunate events lead to Travis having to stay at the only B&B in town that has vacancies and he is now rooming with none other than the Torres and Travis is finding great joy in freaking Easton out. What he didn’t expect is to strike a friendship with Haven. She wants to catch the eye Gage Buchanan, the town’s most eligible bachelor, and Travis decides to help her. Little did he know that he would want to catch her eye himself. They become friends with benefits, but he, to his shock and horror, finds pout he wants so much more…
I sincerely wasn’t expecting to like this book so much. Travis was very unlikable in Archer’s Voice and I was here scratching my head, trying to imagine how Mia Sheridan could make me fall in love with him. Well, she did. Like Haven, we get to peel the layers and see who Travis really is. He pretty much is the other victim in the horrible events that happened in Archer’s Voice. The poor little boy, abandoned by his father who picked his other son to run away with, and who was manipulated by his mother into acting in despicable ways. We see the real Travis with the kids, with the way he now treats Archer, with the way he takes care of the town. And the town hall scene is to die for! What a spectacular way to lose it all to win it all!
I know this review might make you feel like you need to reach Archer’s Voice to read Travis. That’s not true. I was just very immersed in the the two books to separate them in my mind.
Again, highly recommend it, especially if you like a “redeemed hero”. And if you loved Archer’s Voice, you will love to see him and Bree and the kids.
Possible triggers: Child abandonment and neglect, drug use, death of a parent by overdose, fire, bullying, cheating (not main characters)
