Preservation

Kate Canterbary

Jun 2017 · Vesper Press

About this ebook

Two lonely hearts.
Just once, Alex Emmerling would like to be someone’s first choice.
She’s strong-willed and spunky, but she’s left picking up the pieces from her ex’s lies and manipulations, and daydreaming about taking a scalpel to his scrotum.

Flying under the radar is what Riley Walsh does best.
He’s laid-back and loyal, but he wants the most off-limits woman in his world, and nothing will ever make that a reality.

An arrangement of mutual benefit.
Two months, four dates.
Five, if things go well.
Five at the most.
But possibly six.
Definitely no more than six dates.

Only the appearance of a romantic relationship is required, and they expect nothing more from their time together. There will be none of those benefits involved.

One wild weekend.
After waking up in bed together—very naked and even more hungover—the terms and conditions of their arrangement no longer apply. Now they’re faced with something riskier than exposing their fake relationship: letting go of the past and zipping up the future.

Some things have to fall apart before they can be put back together.

Ratings and reviews

Riley Walsh. The keeper of all secrets. The king of worst timing ever. The sibling that forever has a stain on his shirt and his fly undone but has the most insightful words for his family whenever it's needed. I was drawn to Riley from when he was first introduced in Underneath It All (Book One) and my infatuation with him has only grown over the course of this series. Riley is hilarious and loyal but after The Spire, book six in the Walsh series, it was obvious that Riley is also deep and hides a lot. When he meets his Someone Special and learns that she could use a man in her life to move forward from a past 'mistake', they enter into a mutually beneficial arrangement of several dates over two months. This fauxmance turns into friendship which turns into one of the hottest relationships I've ever had the pleasure to read. Riley's Lady is absolute perfection: outspoken, direct, intelligent, successful but also flawed. She's real and I loved her as much as I loved Riley, which I never thought would be possible since I have never come close to liking a character as much as I like him. As usual, the writing is witty, funny, heartbreaking, and hot. I felt the gamut of emotions and both wanted to race through this story to find out the end and savor every single word because I never wanted the end to come. I am constantly astounded by the history and random facts that are included in each book that Kate Canterbary writes and always come away feeling a little bit smarter than before I started. I have loved every Kate Canterbary book more than the last but this book is going to go down as my hands down favorite book of all time. I have never anticipated a book more, never loved two characters more, and can't imagine any book being able to replace this one.

Sincerely, this IS my favorite book of the series. Not because it was the last one. Not because I fell deeper in love with Kate Canterbary’s storytelling. Nope, it’s because she saved the most complicated and emotional story for The End. Riley is the goofy younger brother. The light in the dark moments. The eye roll when serious words are said. Consistently the Lou Costello to the entire family of Bud Abbotts. But lingering in the background, the reader knows there is more to RISD than unzipped flies and coffee stains. Ms. Canterbary does more than deliver. This is the PERFECT story delivery that you didn’t even know you wanted. You’ll have eye opening experiences with flashbacks to the previous POVs with delightful clarity. And I haven’t mentioned the heroine. Let’s just say, you know it would take someone special. Someone who could meet Batman every step into a Happily Ever After. She is definitely found in this story. Let me end with if you’ve read every single review for the Walsh series I’ve written, I saw repeatedly I’ve stated to read in order and read them all. To truly appreciate Riley’s story it is imperative this happens. Otherwise you are short changing yourself. If I could give this book 10 stars I would. It was every emotion laced together. Often readers are sad to see a series end, but what I send off Ms. Canterbary gave us. 5 out of 5 stars.

The last single Walsh sibling has met his match in Preservation, and she's just as strong, independent, witty and charming as I'd hoped. Riley has been a favorite of mine, since the first book in this series. An enigma I couldn't wait to see unravel. He's the keeper of secrets and now we know where he keeps them... He's a complex man, and after seeing him grow throughout the series, he's deeper and wiser than I ever expected. There are so many layers to Riley, we've had peeks in the past, but nothing like what we dive into here. Preservation is the seventh book of the Walsh Series, but don't let that scare you. It reads wonderfully as book seven, but, the story and the characters are refreshing. It reads not only as the last Walsh sibling to meet their match, but felt as the start of something new to this seasoned Walsh-lover. If this is your introduction to Kate Canterbary or the Walsh family, it's riddled with spoilers for the previous books, but it *is* a standalone. Preservation was everything. It made me laugh, it made me cry. Riley and his Someone Special are given an epic tale, rooted in friendship and mutual respect. Ms. Canterbary wrote an intricate, slow burning, emotional tale that is NOT a quick read. It's not drawn out, but it's not short. Anything less would be a disservice to the tale. Every single thing means something and is a necessity. Preservation is a well deserved 5 star read and on my MUST READ list.

About the author

Kate Canterbary doesn't have it all figured out, but this is what she knows for sure: spicy-ass salsa and tequila solve most problems, living on the ocean--Pacific or Atlantic--is the closest place to perfection, and writing smart, smutty stories is a better than any amount of chocolate. She started out reporting for an indie arts and entertainment newspaper back when people still read newspapers, and she has been writing and surreptitiously interviewing people--be careful sitting down next to her on an airplane--ever since. Kate lives on the water in New England with Mr. Canterbary and the Little Baby Canterbary, and when she isn't writing sexy architects, she's scheduling her days around the region's best food trucks.