Review: could have gone 4 star
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 5, 2014
This is the third of this series I have read.  As for the last one, I could easily have gone either way.One thing I will say right off is that I have come to the conclusion that Ms. Lawrence is a skilled and talented writer.  If I were to rate this book strictly in comparison to others of this genre, I would definitely go with the 4 star rating.  On that scale, she rates a head and shoulder above most I have read lately.She does provide a good argument against the hypothesis for love at first sight.  It has always been my contention that two people who have mutual instant attraction for one another and then go on to find they like each other, discover lasting qualities of compatibility, admiration and respect then develop feelings of true love.  While it seems in retrospect to be instantaneous, the divorce courts are full of cases of those couples who couldn't make it past that initial chemistry.  Gabe and Alexis are good examples of this.They met in Afghanistan under conditions of extreme distress.  The attraction was definitely there, and they made promises to each other that Alexis did not keep.  Initially, I wasn't buying the theory that Lawrence was selling, that Alexis' loyalty to her family was too strong for her to follow her heart.  But the writer very skillfully lets us into the Mexican immigrant /American family culture in a way that is not only believable but convinces the reader she is from one or done extensive research.On the minus side, I still got weary with the selfishness of Alexis.  And toward the end, Gabe's refusal to forgive Alexis went far beyond what he should have needed to realize her change of heart.  In other words, it bogged down toward the end.  Overall, Ms Lawrence delivers what most readers of this genre want, a HEA that was well written and would appeal to most young fans of this genre.  I might explore a bit more of what she has written.  If she has branched out beyond YA I will certainly give her another try.