Mia Reeve’s faith,
trust and sense of security were all taken away in the blink of an eye.
In need of a fresh start, she settles into a new town and begins to make a new
life.
Tristan Chamberlain
has always kept girls at arms length and he has no intention of
changing. He’s caring, smart, handsome, but he’s also dealing with a
lifetime of guilt that’s slowly but surely destroying him.
Sometimes the thing
that you run from is the one thing that will save you.
Separately, they’re
both free-falling. Together, they’re about to find that love can create the
strongest safety net of all.
I really, really enjoyed this story. I also really, really disliked it. This was one of the times I did not write a review immediately after I finished the book. I needed to think about what I read and process not just how it made me feel, but all other aspects like plot, writing style, and characters that set my final rating between 3.5-4 stars.
What I liked :
-Writing style: fluent, poignant, and passionate. One of the reasons why I could.not.stop.reading.
- Secondary characters. Darby and Trace rocked the house.
- Plot: the past/present POVs really created tension and kept the ball rolling.
- Explaining the nitty-gritty scenes. Full details at some parts were appropriate and other blackout scenes were appreciated.
What I didn’t like :
- Stan and Mimi. The nicknames, I mean. What’s wrong with calling them Tristan and Mia? Those are perfectly beautiful and catchy names. To me, Stan sounds like a forty year-old senator and Mimi a stripper name.
- The secondary characters stole the show. This is supposed to be Tristan and Mia time, their story, and though I truly enjoyed Darby and Trace more than them, their story should’ve been moved to book 2, where the author even announced that there would be one for them, titled “Catch and Release.”
- Not all the bad guys got justice. They ALL deserve to rot in a hellhole.
- The cliffhanger. I probably should clarify my definition of a cliffhanger. I perceive a standalone to have a fully resolved ending and (preferably) an HEA, though it’s not necessary. The ending of this one won’t kill you, but it definitely left me with my mouth hanging open. Like “this was ending with such a nice epilogue and you drop this on me now ?”
So what’s this story about?
Mia Reeve is hiding. Her life hasn’t been an easy one, and the choices her Dad made really screwed her over. In one night, Mia’s trust, faith, and sense of direction is taken away, and she suffers daily nightmares as a result of her traumatic event. The book begins with Mia as a freshman in college, skittish and dubious in her surroundings. Cue THE Tristan Chamberlain, the sexy, commitment-phobe who walks into her life. She dislikes him on sight.
“I owe you one…or two. How about you let me know when you want to collect on that.” -Tristan
Christ, he really must think he’s God’s gift to women. -Mia
However, the attraction between the two is undeniable, and as they grow closer in their friendship, their feelings for one another intensify.
“I think slow is out the window, Mimi. I’m falling for you, big time. I never thought I would ever have something like this, never believed that I deserved it at all, but I’ve changed because of you.”
Their relationship builds up slowly, and partly because of the MASSIVE secrets these two are hiding. Ugh. Just thinking about them made me want to go punch some holes in the wall. I have to admit here, I applaud Mia’s leap of faith in trusting Tristan with her past. I would have gone bat-shit crazy and eventually end up in a lunatic asylum.
By far, my most favorite character is DARBY! This chick not only kicks some serious ass, she’s also one of the most faithful, accepting, and deep characters I’ve ever read about. A best friend that any girl is lucky to have. Like I mentioned, I was much more interested in Trace and Darby’s relationship than Tristan and Mia’s. Maybe because their’s was much more complex and I was so certain that Tristan and Mia were going to end up together? That being said, it does not mean I didn’t like Tristan and Mia. I did, and I was completely invested in their emotional journey. Some of those twists and turns left me gasping and “oh no-ing,” so I was definitely there with them.
Overall, this story was extremely well-written (minus the cliffhanger) and I’d recommend it to any NA reader who enjoys the bad boy reformed theme!!
~ Review by Feifei
Ella Fox is a thirty-something
(not that far off from forty) author who writes like a woman possessed whenever
she gets the chance! She is the author of The Hart Family
Series, The Renegade Saints
Series and The Catch Series.
When she’s not
writing, Ella indulges the gypsy in her blood and travels the country. Ella
loves reading, movies, music, buying make-up, reading Tmz, Twitter and
pedicures… not necessarily in that order. She has a wild sense of humor
and loves to laugh. Her favorite thing in the world is hanging out with
her family and watching comedy movies.
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