5 STARS ✮ JAY MCLEAN ✮ LUCAS

Lucas

Preston Brothers #1

Jay McLean

Jay McLean is a new to me author although I've had her previous stories on my TBR for a long time. When I saw that she was starting a new series I thought this would be a good starting point. And let me tell you - I couldn't be happier.

SIXTEEN CLICKS.
Eight seconds.
That's how long it took me to realize I'd been in love with her for four years.
Eight, life-changing seconds.
It's also the exact length of time it took to lose her.

The Preston family consists of seven siblings, one sister, six brothers. Lucas is the oldest son and ever since his mom passed away he has taken over caring for his family, relieving his father a little bit from his duties. His best friend Lois/Laney has become a sort of surrogate mom to this bunch of frisky boys. Lane and Lucas have been friends for years. And it's the same amount of years they have been in love, even when they were still too young to put a name to their feelings.

And so without meaning to, without wanting to, I started to fall in like with a girl who would later become my best friend.

Lane is the glue who holds everything and everyone together, especially Lucas.

One night changes everything. The dynamic of their relationship and friendship and their lives. Along the way lie heartbreak, hurt and devastation.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot - I went in blind and I'm happy I did. However please be aware that there are triggers which I will post at the end of my review in spoiler tags.

These two walk through fire for each other, even when they are at odds with one another. Their relationship is deep and has its roots in an all encompassing love. And Laney craves love. So bad that one decision will change the course of her life. What I admire about her is her strength, loyalty, strong will and backbone. She owns her decisions and always tries to keep her loved ones from the hurt that comes as a consequence to her poor choice. She protects them fiercely.

Lucas is flawed. He has hurt Laney in the past, often without him realizing it because he is so tangled up in caring for his family and living the life of a teenager. He also makes one poor decision, although I don't think his brain was involved. You can look past it though because he is young and young people make stupid mistakes. The important part is how you deal with it, what you do to fix it and if you learn from it for the future. And Lucas does all that. You can see huge growth along the way.

"And I think, ultimately, that’s what true love is, you know? To want to be someone’s hero when they’re faced with villains. To want to be to be the one that saves them. To be their Wonderwall.”

I adored all the Preston brothers but one stood out in particular and that was little Lachlan. He made me laugh so hard. He is all of six years old when we first meet him and he repeats everything his older brothers teach him. He yells "SEXING" during a Shakespeare play or laughs about his brothers saying "F*ck". I think every mother would be horrified yet laughing on the inside. And generally Jay McLean inserts a lot of humor throughout the story so that you are never overwhelmed with the angst that certainly comes with the main themes of this book.

"We've had several parents complain that Lachlan's the one teaching their kids swear words."
Lachlan stands, shoves his finger in this teacher's face. "That's bullshit, lady!"

I am in love with this family. This author has a way of writing that made me feel all the things these characters were going through, from the main cast to the secondary, that's how well fleshed out they were. Lucas and Lane were relatable and lovable.

“I need you. I need to love you. And I need to love you right.”

I am so looking forward to meeting the love matches of the other Preston boys, they will definitely need someone special in their lives.

...as much as I'd like to make my opinion known on how silly I think it is when parents give their kids matching names, I can't. Because:
Lucy
Lucas
Leo
Logan
Lincoln
Liam
Lachlan