Review: Fantastic collaboration
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 1, 2013
I was given the opportunity to read Striking (Forged in Fire) on an ARC and I am so glad I did !  The story is not the usual genre or plot I would have gone for so I may have missed out on this fab book if not for this.Cami is not your typical entitled Beverley Hills brat.  Yes, she IS pampered and over-indulged, living a strange pseudo-life that many would like to emulate but most of us could never relate to.  She parties hard, going steadily off the rails.  But Cami is disillusioned with her empty (and lonely) lifestyle, the pressure to conform and follow in the footsteps of her spoilt, shallow older sister who thinks rehab is just another word for the health spa.  Her stinking rich but emotionally-absent parents are a major part of the problem and Cami's latest attention-seeking escapade leaves her mother's upmarket boutique windowless, and her creepy date less one very expensive car.  This earns her exile to the back of beyond for a Summer spell of hard labour on her aunt and uncle's farm - her mother and father's attempt to show that they do really care about Cami and want to give her time and space to sort herself out, away from all the things that are making her unhappy.  Even if they can't actually SAY it.  But it really doesn't feel like that to Cami.Cue hot, Hillbilly love interest in the form of local blacksmith Stockton, and the complete antithesis of the life Cami has come from.  Did I say smoking hot ????  And brooding.  Seriously brooding.  Solid, reliable, decent, with a real sense of responsibility and obligation.  Plagued by guilt over his parents' death in a barn fire two years ago, Stockton has given up on his hopes and dreams of expanding, and puts all his energy into carrying on his father's legacy - the small-town blacksmith business he built up, the church and the community that he contributed massively to, and the intent and integrity inherent in everything he did.  Not to mention Stockton's younger brothers and sister, the family left behind when their parents died, which Stockton has taken it upon himself to continue to raise as though they were his own.So, understandably, it's like mixing oil with water when these two first meet.  Despite this they instantly recognise something in each other, something unsettling yet compelling, and before long the sparks really are flying (did you spot what I did there.....did you ?).  Irrespective, or maybe even because of their differences, the pull between them is magnetic.  Cami is drawn into Stockton's life and he into hers, but whilst discovering each other both must undertake their own personal journey of self-discovery.  It will change them irrevocably, and this may be the making or breaking of them.I want to tell you more, I REALLY do.  But I can't be that cruel as to take away the pleasure of finding out for yourself - you just NEED to read it.  It's a brilliant collaboration between two amazing writers, a story that had me nursing my aching heart and wiping away the tears during the incredibly moving parts, then grinning from ear to ear triumphantly through the rest. Rachel and Lila wrote alternating chapters, but their writing complements each other's so that the story is seamless, as well as bringing their own little flavour that just leaves you wanting more.  I'm already familiar with Rachel's other work, she just writes heartache and emotion sooooooooo well - god, this woman kills me - whilst Lila's humour is sass personified, making me wish I WAS that girl (or boy!), in THAT scene, saying THOSE words, and feeling THOSE things.This is a fantastic read, and I could not put it down until I knew how it would end.  And then I felt sad that I didn't have that to look forward to.  Great books do this to us, and the fantastic news is that Rachel and Lila intend to write further parts to this series, about some of the secondary characters - I can't wait to see if there will be one for Stockton's adorable little sister and Cami's BFF, Willa !  Knowing how quickly these ladies write, that means we probably won't have too long to wait, but in the meantime I think I may just have to read this again. And again.  And again.  Seriously, it was that good, and definitely one I will be keeping on my Kindle for a long time to come.Well done ladies, soooooooo looking forward to more from you !