Grayson's Vow

Grayson’s Vow by Mia Sheridan 5 stars!!

“Desperate times…call for desperate measures. And this is about as desperate as measures get.”

Mia Sheridan has been one of my go to authors for a long time. Archer’s Voice still has an extremely huge place in my heart and in fact is one of my “go to” books, you know those books that you can read and re-read and no matter how crap you feel it gets you out of your funk. Since then, although Mia’s books have been superb, not one character has come close to MY Archer, Grayson didn’t make it, but he is a close damn second.

“Because true love is not only the flower, true love is also the thorns.”

This book was truly beautiful, another one of those soul wrenching, emotional reads that Mia seems to pen so effortlessly while interspersed with some fantastic dialogue and witty banter that kept those pages turning.

Everyone loves a broken man and believe me, Grayson is broken. Nigh on at rock bottom, his life seemingly couldn’t get any worse. Those “vows” that he made to himself…he seemingly can’t uphold, it seems life just has a way of sucker punching him one way or another, time after time. There is only so much one man can take.

Kira, the woman that is trying to make it on her own away from her fathers interference, manipulation and money. Another person seemingly hurtling towards rock bottom. She has one out, but it has stipulations.

“True love is the greatest leap of faith there is.”

A chance meeting, a shared history, a hate/love/hate/love relationship that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but we all know there is a fine line. Their first meeting did not go well; in fact they hated each other but on the flip side also fancied the pants off each other. While their relationship started as purely business and beneficial to both of them, the sniping and bickering had already started, with Grayson referring to Kira as a little witch and Kira calling Grayson the dragon and it is here the fairytale begins. I do love a love/hate relationship, those constant barbs, the constant bickering all coming off the back of some intense sexual tension always brings with it a heady climax. Both having explosive tempers and Kira being a fiery red head you just knew that when these two finally gave into their desires that it was going to be hot and these two were intense, off the charts, set fire to the kindle kinda hot.

“…forget the prince and princess. I always imagined the real story was between the witch and the dragon.”

Kira was a beautiful character inside and out, she was selfless to a fault and was determined to be the person that she wanted to be and not what anyone else wanted her to be. Her grit and determination were admirable and her drive was fueled by her compassion and her constant giving to those less fortunate than herself. She was not the prissy princess that people thought her to be; she was made of tough stuff and could rough it with the best of them. Her general outlook on life, her fun loving temperament were refreshing and infectious and could put out the fire in any grumpy arsed dragon.

“You bring me peace, little witch, and you put a fire in my blood.”

Grayson was a grumpy, closed off, antagonistic arse at times but he had his reasons. But underneath that fire-breathing grumpy dragon was a man that just felt unwanted, unloved and had something to prove, both to himself and his family, whether they be living or dead. He put immense pressure on himself and had done everything he could to stop the family vineyard from reducing to a pile of rotten, tangled vines. But underneath that hardened exterior was a little boy at heart that just wanted to be heard, to be held, to be loved.

“We should all be children when it comes to love - open and vulnerable.”

A witch and a dragon, two fairytale creatures, but will this fairytale have a happy ever after?

This is a book of generalisations and misconceptions, learning to trust and open up to others, to put a piece of yourself out there for the taking. To believe in yourself, believe that you can love and be loved and taking a chance on those gut instincts.

With some fantastic secondary characters that only enhance and enrich this beautiful story, Mia Sheridan has once again penned a novel that will be extremely hard to forget. From the barbs, to the playful child like situations that these two find themselves in on many occasions, to the soul searching, and to falling in love this book has something for everyone. I have loved this signs of love series and cannot wait to see what comes next, no matter the sign, I’ll be reading.

‘He looked like every hero in every fairy tale I’d ever dreamed, come to life. And, God, I wanted to believe in heroes again. But sometimes, I supposed, a girl just had to be her own hero.’

Ever since reading Archer’s Voice, Mia Sheridan has totally become a 1-click author for me so I was very excited when she announced the release of this book! I know that with a Mia Sheridan book I can expect amazing writing, a unique storyline and loads of feels. While we certainly got all of that in Grayson’s Vow, this book also had a decidedly lighter vibe than some of her other books. It definitely dealt with some pretty heavy topics and will definitely squeeze your heart from time to time, but it was also funny and at times had an almost magical, fairytale-like quality to it as well. I really enjoyed it, and I think it’s definitely in my top 3 favorite Mia Sheridan books.

“I don’t mean to rush you, but I have a lot to get done today.” Her eyes widened. “Right. Of course. I’m sorry to hesitate. Well, I guess I’ll just get right to it. I have a business arrangement to offer you.” I lifted one brow. “A business arrangement?” She nodded, twisted the long gold necklace she was wearing. “Yes, well, in actuality, Mr. Hawthorn, I’m here to propose marriage.”

I loved the premise of this book, definitely an unconventional love story but it was still a beautiful love story all the same. As the blurb indicates, Kira Dallaire is in a desperate situation. She is trying to escape the life her father is trying to trap her in and live life on her own terms, but in order to do that she needs money and she refuses to take a dime from her father. Known for her ‘Very Bad Ideas’, Kira concocts probably her craziest idea to date when she by chance spies Grayson Hawthorn in his own bit of desperation while she’s closing an account at her Gram’s bank. She seeks him out and proposes what she feels is a mutually beneficial business arrangement: to get married in order to access the money in the trust her Gram left her and split the money 50/50. That will allow her to set out on her own and rebuild her life while at the same time allowing Grayson to save his family vineyard that he vowed to his deceased father that he would rebuild and make successful. Aside from their guilt at mocking the sanctity of marriage they both see this as a win/win arrangement, all they have to do is get married, split the money, stick together for a few months for sake of appearances and then divorce after a year. Simple enough, right? Well the one thing neither of them counted on was pesky feelings getting in the way. Just as they start to build a real relationship though, ghosts of the past and old scars that run too deep threaten to ruin everything.

‘He looked like a prince, but if I were going to cast him in a fairy tale now, I’d cast him as The Dragon! A beastly, judgmental, fire-breathing dragon.’

‘She was a conundrum. A pretty princess with a tempter of a fiery little witch.’

I’m going to say that I loved how they started off basically hating each other. They both had preconceived notions about the other based on the little information they knew and it was so much fun watching them butt heads with each other. Kira had a fiery personality and constantly pushed Grayson, who had basically closed himself off for the past several years. I loved their nicknames for one another, Kira was the “little witch” and Grayson was “The Dragon”, I think they were very fitting and I loved how they carried through the whole book. As they begin to learn more about the other they realize that they have more in common than they may have originally thought, the difference being that Kira took the hardships of her past and used them to fill her heart with love and help others while Grayson chose to shut down and put up thick walls around his heart. I loved how Kira’s light started to break down Grayson’s walls and begin to take away the darkness, it really was wonderful how she never stopped fighting to restore Grayson’s name and help him feel accepted and loved.

‘What was sexier on a man than great abs and a heart full of hidden torment? They should bottle it and sell it by the truckloads. Or perhaps write a book: “Abs and Hidden Torment: A Man’s Guide to Bagging Babes.”’

I love a good tortured hero and I think Grayson fit those shoes quite nicely. At times he definitely had the scaly personality of a dragon but once you got underneath that and saw the pain and hurt that he carried around it’s hard not to fall in love with him. It really was heartbreaking when you learn the full extent of what happened to Grayson growing up and as a young man, you can definitely understand why he’s closed himself off. He just wants to do right by his deceased father and bring the vineyard back to its glory so that his father would be proud of him. Man, just thinking about what happens surrounding that is making my heart squeeze again. I just want to hug him! But it was great seeing him come alive again under Kira’s influence. It starts off just being little glimpses here and there but soon he truly starts living again and it made me so happy to see!

‘Kira was like a brightly shining light, and I had been living in cold darkness for so very, very long.’

Kira was a fantastic heroine! There was plenty that had happened in her life that could have broken her but she chose to take those experiences to make her stronger. She was so full of life and light, I think she was the perfect complement for Grayson. I loved her strength and her selflessness. She had such a positive influence on anyone she came in contact with. She was also fun and quirky, I loved her ‘Very Bad Ideas’ and how she was always scheming up some new trouble. Mia Sheridan is great at writing strong female characters and I think Kira is now my favorite of the bunch.

We also had a great cast of secondary characters. Playing into the fairytale theme, I loved how Charlotte pretty much served as their fairy godmother! She was a great character and I loved her constant meddling, she definitely kept Grayson on his toes. I also loved Kimberly, Virgil, Walter, Harley, Priscilla and of course Sugie Sug! All together they rounded out this story and all played important parts. It’s great when you meet a group of characters that start to feel like family by the end, and that’s exactly what we got here.

I really enjoyed this book and while Archer’s Voice will probably always have the #1 spot on my Mia Sheridan list this book is definitely up near the top of that list! It was full of humor, lovable characters, heart stopping romance and at times heartbreaking sadness. Like I said, it’s definitely not as heavy or emotional as some of her other books but it’ll still make you feel and perhaps tear up a time or two. But it was a thoroughly enjoyable read that I would highly recommend!

I have read almost everyone of Mia's books. I started with this one because it was my sons name, and I was very curious how the story would unfold. I was never much of a reader, in fact the only book I have ever really read was back in high school. I was so fascinated by the whole story line of all her books that I had a hard time putting them down once I started to read them...I feel she is really a gifted artist and I really appreciate her writings.

This was another solid story from Mia Sheridan. And, as usual, pretty atypical circumstances. And characters who are broken in some way, yet somehow create this really great bond with someone else, against all odds.

Grayson is an ex-con. His sentence was a little harsh considering the circumstances of his crime, but he paid his debt to society. (Overpaid, really.) But even beyond that whole thing, Grayson had sort of been drowning his whole life. From outward appearances, it would appear he had everything -- his father owned a successful winery, which meant his family was pretty well off. He was definitely blessed by his DNA. But he was the product of his father being unfaithful. The day his step-mother finds out about her husband's infidelity is the day Grayson's mother drops a 6-year-old Grayson off at the winery, stating Grayson ruined her life and her career and she wanted nothing more to do with him, and walking away without looking back. And because of Grayson's father's guilt, he was always beating Grayson down (mentally) as a sort of penance to his wife. All Grayson wanted to was to be deemed worthy by someone in his life. Grayson's father died while he was in prison and left the now-failing winery to Grayson. Grayson's vow was that he'd bring the winery back from the brink... make his father proud from beyond. Little did he know...

Kira knows all about feeling worthless. Her mother died when she was young. Her father, a crooked politician, tended to use people, Kira included. Her father set her up with Cooper, a man he was grooming for more crooked politics, but when Kira discovered Cooper doing drugs with a couple of hookers, she called off their engagement. Rather than tell the truth, or even try to come up with some other explanation, Kira's father blamed the engagement breakup on Kira's (non-existent) drug addiction. Kira would take the fall for Cooper's indiscretion. WTF?! Kira, who always had a huge, giving heart, took off for Africa with the last of her money and stayed as long as she could to help a friend start a medical clinic there. Upon her return, she needed a way to get money without going to her dad for it -- too many strings attached. Her grandmother, whom she loved dearly, had left her a trust that would only be paid out upon her marriage.

Fate intervened and put Grayson in her path. He didn't know it, but they sort of had a history. She approached him about a no-strings arrangement. He gets half of her trust money for his winery (she overheard him at the bank get turned down for a loan), and she's perfectly happy to have a marriage in name only just to get her hands on the money so she can support a few of her favorite charities, as well as set up her future life. It's only a temporary arrangement. Right? I mean she's not even his type -- or so he's said. Originally, he thinks she's a society princess who is just having a tantrum because daddy won't give her what she wants. He eventually realizes he's dead wrong.

Little by little, they get under each other's skins. Charlotte and Walter, Grayson's house help, and the closest thing to parents he really had, are playing matchmaker, and things progress really nicely. But her crap dad and ex-fiance can't deal with Kira not being under their thumbs, and her dad makes big problems for them. And then Kira has to explain her father's role in Grayson's sentencing... and Kira comes up with one last(?) Very Bad Idea in an attempt to at least save Grayson.

Watching them fall in love was really so sweet. Definitely heartbreaking at times. Grayson was so used to retreating into himself when he was hurting, because he felt like he had nobody else. Sometimes that felt to Kira like he was turning away from her. And he could say some harsh things to her in anger, but she gave it right back. She had such a great heart, but I could see why Grayson was so wary of her intentions. It's not like anyone had ever really looked out for him before. And Grayson had a really good heart, too... all the things he'd done for his brother (their dad was a real piece of work)... even his vow to revive the winery for the father who never even really threw him a bone.

Anyway, it was another great story. And now I wait for the next one. Big heavy sigh.

Mia never ceases to amaze me with the stories she crafts in such a perfect way. I would love to crawl into her head to the place where she comes up with these truly amazing characters and their stories.

Once again Mia gives us two beautiful but broken people who have gone through life in less than ideal circumstances who have had to learn how to exist in a world that has done nothing but beat them down.

Kira Dallaire appears on the outside to be the privileged daughter of a wealthy man who is prominent in the San Francisco judicial/political system. But what we see on the surface is not at all what truly lies beneath her beautiful exterior.

Grayson Hawthorne is the son of a Napa Valley winemaker who did something unspeakable and has spent the last five years in prison. Now he's home and struggling to get the failing winery up and running again.

Kira approaches Grayson with an over the top "proposal" that will benefit them both. Kira needs to get married in order to inherit a settlement from her late grandmother. The money will help her get out from under the oppressive thumb of her overbearing father. Kira chooses Grayson as her "partner" in this proposal after overhearing him being denied for a loan at the local bank. Grayson desperately needs the money to keep his vineyard going. Grayson agrees to this arrangement and their story begins.

Grayson comes across to Kira as a cold, disinterested man who quickly earns the nickname "dragon" from Kira. Grayson views Kira as a spirited, feisty "witch" who infuriates him and makes him feel things he hasn't felt in a very long time, or at all for that matter. Both of them grew up in loveless homes but where Grayson perfected the cold as ice persona to guard himself, Kira chose to make the best of each and every moment. She's impetuous and free spirited and she starts getting under Grayson's skin. He can't figure out if he likes this or not, so he runs very hot and cold with Kira at every turn, giving her tiny glimpses into himself but then pushing her away just as quickly.

Told in alternating points of view, we the reader get to see inside both Kira and Grayson's heads, but they don't communicate their thoughts to each other. Because of the way each of them were raised, they don't know how to express how they're feeling, and they each have insecurities they're not sure they can overcome. Kira constantly pushes Grayson to open himself up, even if it exposes him to pain and heartbreak. Grayson is not ready and admits he isn't brave enough to risk any more of his heart, so what ensues is a lot of angst, heartache, suffering. Grayson pushed a lot of my buttons with his treatment of Kira throughout the story. One minute he was the Ice Prince with his coldhearted disinterest but the next minute he was the passionate, fiery dragon that Kira was so attracted to.

Mia does a beautiful job of weaving this fairytale story of the Witch and her Dragon and their bumpy, turbulent path to a storybook ending. I loved the side characters of Charlotte and Walter, the only real positive role models that Grayson had in his life. Their love and devotion to him throughout his life were heartwarming. The setting of story was perfect, a vineyard in Napa with a house that reminded Kira of a fairytale castle, complete with a maze and a cottage that the broken princess lives in until her Prince Charming finally rescues her. I am just a big kid at heart and I really loved the spin Mia put on this story with the beautiful, feisty witch and the gorgeous, fire breathing dragon.

Loved this story so much!! Mia never fails, no matter where her stories start, no matter how badly she rips my heart out with the angst and drama that takes place, she always manages to put me back together and leave me with a huge smile and happy tears streaming down my face!