Leave The Night On: A Cottonbloom Novel

Laura Trentham

Aug 2017 · St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this ebook

Love, betrayal, and sweet revenge—life in Cottonbloom is about to get a whole lot hotter in Laura Trentham's Leave the Night On . . .

Sutton Mize is known for lavishing attention on the customers who flock to her boutique on the wealthy side of her Mississippi town. So when she finds a lace thong in her fiancé’s classic cherry-red Camaro, she knows just who she sold it to: her own best friend. In an instant, Sutton’s whole world goes up in flames. . .

Wyatt Abbott has harbored a crush on Sutton since he was a young kid from the other side of the tracks. He witnessed Sutton’s shocking discovery in the Camaro at his family-owned garage—and it made him angry. What kind of man could take lovely, gorgeous Sutton for granted? But then Sutton comes up with an idea: Why not give her betrothed a taste of his own medicine and pretend that she’s got a lover of her own? Wyatt is more than happy to play the hot-and-heavy boyfriend. But what begins as a fictional affair soon develops into something more real, and more passionate, than either Sutton or Wyatt could have imagined. Could it be that true love has been waiting under the hood all along?

Ratings and reviews

Favorite Quotes: The advantage of being related to half the parish means that I have plenty of people to call on if I need help. Of course, the disadvantage is my dating pool is drastically smaller. Unless I aspire to become a redneck joke. Hyacinth could spout scripture from one side of her mouth while tippling moonshine with the other. The gossip about her and Wyatt had legs like a Louisiana jackrabbit. He might not be invited to the governor’s mansion anytime soon, but Hyacinth and Hazel had taken it upon themselves to domesticate them after a fashion. He knew enough not to fart in public or eat with his fingers. He tensed while the woman’s gaze traveled the length of his body down to his black boots, not in a sexual way but rather like she was sizing him like a female praying mantis before she devoured her mate. My Review: Despite this being book number four in the series, Leave The Night On was my first trip to Cottonbloom, and I could kick myself for my lax in awareness. I adored this charming and cleverly amusing story from beginning to end. The main characters were endearing, nuanced, and absolutely adorable as a couple despite their inauspicious beginning. Written from a dual POV, the storyline was engaging, humorous, easy to follow, and well-plotted. The main protagonists were a blue-collar mechanic named Wyatt from the “swamp rat” side of town and a Junior Leaguer Judge’s daughter named Sutton, who happened to have been Wyatt’s childhood crush. The morning she pulled into his garage lead to a comical discovery that was life altering although initially devastating for Sutton. I savored the comfortable and easy flow to the writing style as well as the quirky characters and their colorful phrases. I want to go backward and read all the previous installments as well as every book this talented wordsmith has and will ever produce. Laura Trentham has a new fangirl.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The story is brilliantly written and amazing! I love the dynamics of the Abbott family and I love that they are a blue collar family that works hard and sticks together… well mostly anyway. Wyatt is strong and loyal and nothing like the reputation that is gossiped about on both sides of the state line. He’s also a sweet romantic and a stand-up guy. Heart of gold all the way! I am completely enamored! I liked Sutton. She’s a woman fighting for her own happiness, trying not to get crushed under the pressures of her wealthy family, her jerk of an ex-fiancé and her “station” in society. Sutton’s character was easily relatable and I enjoyed watching her grow into a confident woman. Wyatt and Sutton had great chemistry. Their pretend relationship quickly blossomed into something special and hard to define, for both characters. I loved watching them maneuver through all the obstacles thrown their way. What I really loved was the struggle Wyatt, his twin brother Jackson and his older brother Mack had with the eldest Abbott brother Ford. Well, I didn’t love the struggle, per se, but I loved the passion and the raw emotions that go along with grieving for a beloved father and trying to carry on the family business after such a tremendous loss and all that that entails. The story was so powerful and so real. I felt what they felt and I grieved when they grieved. And P.S., I am totally in love with Mack! I will gladly volunteer to be his happily ever after! This is contemporary romance at its finest. Every time a Laura Trentham book comes out, I claim it as my favorite, and this one is no exception. LEAVE THE NIGHT ON is a heartfelt and passionate read full of everything you need to fill your heart and soothe your soul. ***I voluntarily read a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own***

I’ve seen a few reviews where people have had a problem with Sutton – I think they feel like she didn’t put as much effort in or that she took advantage of Wyatt.  But relationships aren’t always even.  Sometimes you are having a bad time of it, like Sutton, and need the support.  Wyatt does a fantastic job of being there for her, even when it’s not easy for him, and helping her find her mojo. You get the feeling she’s never really had anyone push her or challenger her to be the person she wants to be.  Instead she’s just done the expected thing and floated through life.  With the discovery of being cheated on, not just by her fiancé but her best friend, things are turned upside down.  Luckily Wyatt is there to catch her and help her find her place.  He’s just hoping it will be by his side … Wyatt comfortable in his own skin and has a good idea of who he is.  It’s his family that has a bit of the drama going on.  Ever since his dad died things haven’t been easy for the brothers and it seems to be getting worse.  Having Sutton ask him to be her fake boyfriend, something that he wouldn’t mind making real, is a good diversion from the more difficult things at home. It’s those problems at home that you know will turn into some great future stories  :)  The closeness among Wyatt’s brothers (or at least most of the brothers) is heart-warming but also got me very curious about what things they are hiding from each other.  Trentham yet again creates an interesting group of people with a lot of potential. If you love small town charm, quirky characters, and touching love stories, Trentham's Cottonbloom series is a must read - she is definitely making a name for herself as a go-to author of southern contemporary romances.   While this is part of a bigger series, Leave the Night On is the start of a new subsection and can easily stand on its own so those that are new to this little divided town definitely have a great place to start.  And it means that you are all set to enjoy all the delicious goodness that the Abbott brothers are sure to bring!  (But don't blame me if you find yourself adding a whole lot of her backlist to your TBR pile  :) ) BTW, for those that worry about the apparent one-sidedness of their relationship, the epilogue does a good job of showing exactly how well Sutton gets Wyatt. *** I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***

About the author

An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. Then He Kissed Me, a Cottonbloom novel, was named as one of Amazon’s best romances of 2016. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as big as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.