Review: What an emotional ride!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2014
“I need to understand you. I need to know why I can’t get you out of my head.”—BreckEmma realized there was something missing from her life, and she needed to go find it—even if that meant leaving her long-time boyfriend, pastor father, and the small town she grew up in. Packing up and heading to Boston, she never expected that what she’d find would be Breck Steele. He’s gorgeous, dangerous, and powerful. But damaged. Oh so damaged. Innocent Emma is everything he avoids, even if she’s what he needs. Emma doesn’t realize that the thing she was looking for might be the very same thing that destroys her…“It has always been you, even before we met, I just didn’t know it yet.”—EmmaWhat an emotional ride! This book wasn’t what I expected; I think I was expecting more of a playful bad boy getting the broken yet innocent girl. Instead, it was so much more in so many ways! First off—forget the playful! Breck doesn’t just look and act like a bad boy—he really is! You know the alpha males that are all claws and fangs and can kill someone with a look if you mess with their woman in paranormal romances? Yeah, that’s Breck—without the claws and fangs. He’s got serious rage issues and isn’t afraid to go all vigilante to protect Emma. The bad side? Well, he knows he’s a bad boy and tries to be all noble by keeping Emma away from him. But you know, being noble only goes so far when you’re being tempted by something you thought you were never good enough to have.As for Emma, from the blurb I was expecting some broken and vulnerable heroine with a tragic back story. Instead, I didn’t think she was broken at all, despite all the references to her being so. In fact, I considered her an incredibly strong character for not wanting to stay in her comfort zone. I mean, come on, she moved to Boston and worked two jobs and lived in a craptastic druggie filled building to make her art dreams come true. And as for being broken by Breck? She fought for them and although she compromised on some important issues, I don’t think that made her broken—it just made her a partner in a relationship with way more challenges than most. Anyway, I love Emma, although I admit she did get too stubborn at times with wanting to be independent. Accepting help doesn’t mean accepting defeat. It just means you got a foot in the door!There are plenty of dark moments in this book. I’d call it fascinating rather than entertaining since we’re witnessing a very broken man being painfully healed by a sweetheart that has to take some metaphorical punches. We’re taken into a world where our characters don’t have typical teenage rebellion issues. Aside from Emma, Breck and his two friends’ histories are dark, tragic, and heart-breaking, which makes their connection to each other amazing and compelling. There’s also a bit of religion in the book that molds Emma’s beliefs for the plot, but it’s in no way overwhelming or in-your-face and is needed for the plot.Speaking of beliefs, since Emma’s waiting for marriage, there is plenty of high sexual tension, especially on Breck’s side although we eventually get some high heat scenes that are filled with emotion later in the story. Before getting to that point, we have to deal with a very mean Breck purposely trying to push Emma away, while simultaneously being drawn to her. I didn’t like him at the start and thought him way too cruel until he started coming around. I was frustrated that we didn’t know why he was so mean until pretty much the very end. Speaking of the end, you won’t find a cliffhanger—you get a full story, and I loved how it ended. Overall, this was a 4 out of 5 for me!(Originally posted on my blog; I received a review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)