Review: waaayyy more emotional than I expected, but so sooo good. Awesome Heroine =)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 27, 2013
Wow, that was waaayyy more emotional than I expected. It's a good thing I love me some angst cause there was plenty of it. What a rollercoaster-full of laughs, tears, amazing characters as well as some truly ugly, despicable, deceitful people too. Oh man the heartache!"We're all afraid of getting hurt, but you can't hide out while life passes you by. You're never going to get a guarantee that everything will be okay, and because of what life had dealt you, I get why you're so guarded, but you can't forget to live your life."Harper Connolly comes from quite the screwed up past that slowly gets revealed throughout the book. Against all odds she has made quite the life for herself. She's now one of the most sought after tattoo artists in the country, but body art isn't her only medium. She's also famous for her paintings & photography. Before I go any further, I have to say, Harper has become one of my all-time favorite female leads. She's talented, successful, funny, strong & resilient. Tattooed & pierced, I just loved everything about her. And though she frustrated me a bit towards the end, at least I understood where she was coming from. Total girl-crush going on here.On a flight home to San Francisco (don't call it SanFran-she hates that Lol) she meets Brandon Cooper. They instantly hit it off. This guy is freaking hilarious (a total perv. & self-proclaimed manwhore), they really just clicked, got along great & the banter Lol- the laughs were non stop. But she makes it clear that he can flirt all he wants to, she will not be sleeping with him. He thinks she's cool as hell & wants to be friends. This was the start of a beautiful friendship ;)He tells Harper he's on his way to visit a buddy who's getting married in a month to the wrong girl. He doesn't like his buddy's fiancé, thinks she's all wrong for him, is wayyy to controlling & dull. While he's in town, he wants to bring his buddy into her shop so they can get some ink. When they show up, her world comes to a screeching halt as she realizes Brandon's buddy is none other than Ryan Carson, the boy who completely broke her heart & destroyed her at 18 years old when she needed him most. She has spent the last 11yrs burying her feelings for him, but she has never been able to open her heart to another since.Ryan Carson is miserable in his life. Everything he does & all the decisions he makes (from his career choice to his current fiancé) are an attempt to keep his family happy, though they never are. Seeing Harper again resurfaces all kinds of feelings & emotions he thought he buried a long time ago. But he soon realizes he has never really stopped loving her & the timing couldn't be worse, he's supposed to be getting married.I can't really say much more without spoiling the story. From here on out it's one revelation after another. Secrets from their past are discovered & they find out the end of their relationship 11yrs earlier is shrouded in deceit, lies & outside meddling they never saw coming. It was completely heartbreaking & devastating. Oh-the tears!! My heart broke so much for these two, it's a story you just have to experience to truly understand. You will go through so sooo many emotions, just...incredible. I highly recommend this book, just make sure you have plenty of tissues handy.