Sweet Soul (Sweet Home, #4; Carillo Boys, #3) by Tillie Cole Series: Sweet Home #4
Published by Self-Published on December 15th 2015
Pages: 278
Amazon
From the USA Today bestselling Sweet Home Series, comes Sweet Soul, a heart-wrenching story of love in its purest form.
One shy lost soul.
One silent lonely heart.
One love to save them both.Life has never been easy for twenty-year-old Levi Carillo. The youngest of the Carillo boys, Levi is nothing like his older brothers. He isn’t dark in looks or intimidating to everyone he meets. In fact, he’s quite the opposite. Haunted by a crippling shyness and the tragic events of his past, Levi spends his days with his head buried in his books, or training hard for his college football team. Too timid to talk to girls, Levi stays as far away as possible and completely on his own… until he saves the life of a troubled pretty blonde, a troubled pretty blonde that might just be the exception to his rule.
Elsie Hall is homeless. Or at least that’s all anyone ever sees. Every day is a fight for survival on the cold streets of Seattle, everyday a struggle to find food and keep warm. Alone in life—a life that’s dangerous and cruel—her will to keep going is an ever-losing battle. In her world of silence, Elsie has given up hope that her life will contain anything but constant heartache and pain… until the beautiful boy she has severely wronged comes to her rescue at precisely the right time.
New Adult novel—contains sexual situations and mature topics. Suited for ages 18 and up.
One word to describe the Sweet Home series: emotional. The previous books revolve around tattooed bad boys and cocky NFL-bound football players – unexpected vehicles for delivering serious, moving messages. Tillie Cole has saved the sweetest hero for last.
Levi Carillo is nothing like his brothers. He comes from the same violent upbringing as the other Carillos and carries the shame of his previous choices. Remarkably though, his soul remains kind and selfless despite his dark past. Having made a fresh start, Levi is now a star college football player destined to be drafted into the NFL. However, unlike his rather intimidating brothers who exude confidence, Levi is introverted and painfully shy to the extreme. He can barely look people in the eyes, let alone talk to them. Still, he leads a relatively happy, although lonely life. When he encounters Elsie in a dangerous situation one night, his protective impulses kick in and he attempts to rescue her. He immediately sees that she’s scared, and senses a fellow timid soul. Levi’s instinct is to take care of Elsie, but how will it affect the man who’s been trapped in shyness-induced silence?
How could you not love every single thing about Levi? Alpha heroes are a dime a dozen, but for some people they are the greatest type of turn on. However, there’s something to be said for men who sacrifice their own needs—are willing to face their greatest fears—to benefit their women. They can be infinitely more appealing. Levi is just an all-around sweet man any woman would be lucky to have.
Elsie truly is a lost, tortured soul and once again Tille Cole uses her protagonist to address relevant current issues. In Sweet Soul, the subject of bullying is explored in unflinching detail that is heartbreaking at times.
I loved Levi’s patient coaxing of Elsie’s confidence, and the way in which they draw strength from each other. Theirs is a different kind of chemistry—not of the combustible nature, but just as gratifying.
I did have a couple issues. The poetry that is read throughout the entire story is clearly intended to be inspirational. However, the poems just seemed corny to me. Some of the endearments shared between Levi and Elsie border on being too cliché, but the heart of the story helps keeps things in check. As with the previous books, there is an abundance of tears, although thankfully to a much lesser degree. Overall, this is a wonderful finale to an enjoyable series.
Recommended for fans of:
Nice guys
Fresh starts
Greek mythology
Glow sticks
** ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review. **
Tillie is giving away a Kindle Fire.
About Tillie Cole
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.
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