Today we are delighted to be sharing the early release of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Penelope Ward’s all-new contemporary romance novel, THE DAY HE CAME BACK
It was the summer of my life.
I’d met the guy of my dreams.
Unfortunately, he was the son of my uppity employer—and very much off-limits.
But Gavin was a rebel. He knew his mother would disown him if she found out about us; in his eyes, we just had to be careful.
He never treated me as his mother did—like hired help.
Instead, Gavin put me on a pedestal and loved me harder than I’d ever been loved in my life.
What a summer it was.
Until it all ended—badly.
I was never supposed to see Gavin again.
That didn’t stop me from thinking about him every day for ten years.
I knew little about his life now, just that he was an entrepreneur living an ocean away.
When a twist of fate had me working again in the very place our love affair started a decade earlier, I knew it was only a matter of time before I might see him again.
But I wasn’t prepared.
What if he hated me?
What if he loved someone else now?
I wasn’t prepared for all the unknowns.
And most of all, I wasn’t prepared for today to be the day he came back.
DOWNLOAD your copy for only $3.99 today!
Quick-release sale! The price will be going up to $4.99 very soon!
Apple Books | Nook | Kobo
Amazon Paperback: U.S | U.K | CAN | AUS
The Day He Came Back
is now available in audio!
Audible: U.S | U.K | CAN | AUS
Narrated by Andi Arndt and Sebastian York
Reviewed by Sharon Thérèse at KFF
Ward has delivered one difficult to put down emotional second chance romance! Normally, I like one leading character more than the other, but this wasn’t the case. I connected to them both equally and even though there was one individual who rubbed me up the wrong way, their behaviour would drive the story forward at a very agreeable pace.
Ward made it easy for me to quickly establish my feelings towards this person. My heart went out to those on the receiving end of their cruel and selfish treatment. I wanted certain issues to be faced head-on but of course, in Ward style, they didn’t and obviously all of them suffered the consequences.
Gavin Masterson fell for a girl he shouldn’t have and regardless of his good intentions, he couldn’t for the life of him fathom out why from one day to the next, everything backfired. He thought he knew how Raven felt, what he didn’t know was she was harbouring a secret. The impact would be devastating, destroying all their dreams.
This really got me thinking about the choices we have to make in life. Whether Raven’s decision was right or wrong is difficult to say; nevertheless, I never questioned her loyalty or selflessness. I would hate to be forced into a similar situation, and watching these two young lovers suffer left me with a heavy heart.
“What choice do I have?”
“Actually, you have two choices. One of them is to tell him the truth. The other is to keep it inside for the rest of your life until the day you die…”
Life goes on. You pick up the pieces as best as you can and this is exactly what Gavin and Raven did. Fate would play into their hands ten years later, yet there’s still a lot of water under the bridge. The day he came back, the reader is thrown into a completely different scenario. The story’s feel changes; they’ve changed too, but does the passion they’d had for each other remain?
“I promised myself I wasn’t going to go here… to this place of vulnerability with you, Raven. But it’s really hard to keep it all inside. I keep wanting to ask you why…”
I enjoyed getting to know Gavin. In his early twenties, he was exemplary. Now he’s successful and despite him always having been sincere and just plain gorgeous, he’s really come into his own. It was also a joy observing him observe Raven. Since day one, she’d mesmerized him and she in turn, couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
“You’re infatuated with me because I’m different. That will wear off.”
Raven’s your true heroine. After so long apart, her stance was impeccably correct towards Gavin. She does her utmost to make him feel comfortable without overstepping the mark and brings him up to date with family news, albeit the life-changing past action still lingers on her conscience.
“You’re the glue that holds your family together.”
I chuckled. “I’m not sure anyone’s holding anything together around here, except you.”
Gavin’s younger brother, Weldon, was a bit of twat and had his own problems, but I adored him. And if it weren’t for his indiscretions, I have no idea how the story would have panned out, so a kudo for this guy. I loved the brothers’ dad whose cracking comments made me smile and Raven’s bestie and confidante for getting more than one chuckle out of me.
“How did you end up so different from your brother?”
“Oh. I heard the nanny dropped him when he was a baby.”
My review is pretty vague since I have no wish to spoil Gavin and Raven’s story for you. Told from a dual perspective in past-tense, the author has brought home a message of hope and conveyed the essence of undying love perfectly. The epilogue! Read The He Came Back and you’ll see why I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. Bravo Ward!
EXCERPT
© 2019 Penelope Ward
All rights reserved.
I looked down at her fitted white pants, covered in dirt marks. Even though she looked sexy as hell, I had to ask. “Why the hell does my mother insist on the staff wearing all white?””You’ll have to ask her, although I like to think of it as practice for my future nursing career.”“I guess that’s one way to look at it. It kind of freaks me out. It’s like you’re all part of some cult.” I chuckled.“I wonder what she’d do if I showed up in black. She’d shun me.” She snapped her fingers jokingly. “Oh wait…”Except I wasn’t laughing now. I felt horrible that she knew exactly how my mother felt about her.“I’m sorry she’s such a bitch, Raven.”“It’s not your fault.” She looked out at the ocean, then promptly changed the subject. “You must be excited to go to Connecticut in the fall.”“At this very moment, thanks to you, I’m in absolutely no rush to leave this spot, let alone Palm Beach.”
She blushed. “You’re funny.”
“You’re f*cking beautiful.” That just came out. “I’m sorry if that was too forward. But it’s true,” I said.
“No.” Her cheeks turned pink. “Thank you.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
She pushed some hair behind her ear. “No.”
“I want to take you out.”
She looked down at her empty cup. “I don’t think so.”
Ouch. “Can I ask why?”
“It’s not that I’m not interested, but…you’re leaving in the fall, so I’m not sure it makes sense to start anything up. Then there’s the bigger issue of your mother. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I get it.” I nodded. “I understand.”
Holy sh*t. I wasn’t used to rejection. I couldn’t remember the last time a girl had said no to me. I swear to God, my dick just stiffened. What was it about the chase that was so damn arousing? I had to find another way…
“Can we hang out as friends, then?”
She grinned skeptically. “Friends?”
“There’s this improv club near where you live. I wanted to go check it out this weekend. Would you want to go with me?”
“Venturing to the other side of the bridge, eh?” she teased. “What would Mother think?”
“Will you come with me, wiseass?”
“Seriously, what if your mom finds out?”
“She won’t. She doesn’t really question where I go. I’ll just tell her I’m going to meet a friend. And thanks to your rejection, that won’t be a lie, right?”
Raven blinked for a while before she finally answered, “Okay. Yeah.”
My heart sped up. “Yeah?”
Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
Cover Model: Christian Hogue
Cover Photographer: Brian Jamie
Meet Penelope
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a twenty-one time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
Sign up for Penelope’s mailing list
Follow Penelope
Facebook Fan Group | Facebook | Website
Twitter @penelopewardauthor | Instagram
Other books by Penelope
WHEN AUGUST ENDS
Apple Books | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
KFF’S 4.5 ★ Review ➜ HERE
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
LOVE ONLINE
Amazon eBook: U.K | U.S | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
GENTLEMAN NINE
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
DRUNK DIAL
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
KFF’S 4 ★ Review ➜ HERE
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
MACK DADDY
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
KFF’S 4 ★ Review ➜ HERE
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
ROOM HATE
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
KFF’S 4 ★ Review ➜ HERE
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
STEPBROTHER DEAREST
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
NEIGHBOR DEAREST
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
SINS OF SEVIN
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
Stepbrother Dearest
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
JAKE UNDONE (Jake #1)
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
JAKE UNDERSTOOD (Jake #2)
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
GEMINI
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
MY SKYLAR
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
Co-written novels with Vi Keeland
HATE NOTES
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
THE RUSH SERIES (2 BOOK SERIES)
REBEL HEIR
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
REBEL HEART
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
DEAR BRIDGET, I WANT YOU
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
COCKY BASTARD
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
STUCK-UP SUIT
Also available on Audible and Paperback
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
PLAYBOY PILOT
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
MISTER MONEYBAGS
Amazon: US | UK | CANADA | AUSTRALIA
Dare Marquis is a bad boy rock star with a body to match.
New York Times and USA Bestselling Author, S. L. Scott, was always interested in the arts. She grew up painting, writing poetry and short stories, and wiling her days away lost in a good book and the movies.
They warned me not to take this job.
