A Moment (Moments #1) by Marie Hall

Sometimes a moment is all it takes to change your destiny. Liliana "Lili" Delgado's life changed forever when she gets pregnant at the age of 14. Seven years later, Lili finds herself abandoned by her father and taking care of her autistic son, her ailing mother, all while trying to work her way through school.

Ryan Cosgrove's life was forever changed 15 years ago on Valentine's Day, and the demons have been eating at him ever since. Kicked out of the Marines, Ryan is home and is a rising star in the local fight scene. The last thing he is looking to do is get mixed up with a woman, especially one with a kid.

When Alex, Ryan's cousin and roommate, convinces Lili to join him and Ryan for a night out on Valentine's Day, Lili is hesitant to accept. Even as Ryan proceeds to drink himself into oblivion, Lili can't help the draw she feels towards him or ignore the intuition that there is something deeper behind his hatred of Valentine's Day. That night Lili will see Ryan at his lowest point and saves his life.

Months later, the two reconnect and begin a whirlwind romance. Ryan is determined to keep his demons away from Lili, but try as he might, they are always lurking just below the surface. Lili knows that Ryan is haunted by something in his past and wants nothing more but to save him from it, but Ryan refuses to share with Lili. The more Ryan tries to ignore it, the harder it becomes to keep the demons at bay. It all comes down to a choice, a moment of decision - Ryan must trust Lili with everything, the dark secrets of his past, or risk losing her forever.

I found this book through BookBub and actually got it on a sale day for free. I'm so glad that I decided to give this book a chance. I loved it from beginning to end. It is full of angst and romance and I found myself cursing, crying, and on the edge of my seat. It does deal with some fairly heavy subject matter, so be warned. Ryan is drool worthy and the switching perspectives allows you to see inside both Ryan and Lili's heads as the story unfolds. It is a classic story of unconditional love and redemption and I don't regret a moment I spent lost in the story of Ryan and Lili.

There is a sequel to this book called, Right Now, which will focus on Alex, Ryan's cousin. It's scheduled for release in September and I'm excited for it to come out. There was a sneak peak of the book at the end of A Moment and I am definitely intrigued. Check out the blurb below!

Sometimes in life....

Things were supposed to get better when Ryan met Lili. I was supposed to move on, get a life... but I'm stuck and lost. Things with my father are not good. There are demons in our closet, big ones. Ones I want to kill him for, I'm seeing a shrink, I'm trying to get better... but my life feels out of control, like I'm a raft adrift on the sea. I don't know where to look, how to get anchored again, and then I meet Zoe Stone. Something about her draws me out of my rut, makes me laugh for real, smile, and for the first time in years I want to be more. But what will she think when she discovers who I really am?

...all we have...

When Alexander Donovan, aka The Golden Adonis, walks into my tattoo parlor, I know I'll do anything to make that man mine. There's an instant connection, a need to know more about him. Everything about him. But there's also a mystery surrounding the guy, when people look at him they only see the man that laughs, that cracks jokes and makes the world think that everything's okay, but I see the truth... I see the darkness that lurks so deep inside few would ever recognize it. I want to help him, I want to be with him, now I just have to make him trust me enough to let me in.

Is Right Now