Review: 3.5 stars for a sweet, hopeful romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 15, 2014
Stories that focus on women who survive rape and trauma are so difficult to read. For one thing, it’s a tricky premise. We have to empathize with the victim. We must be on her side.There are other rules. We have to accept that it will take her time to recover, take time for her to heal. We have to accept that she may never heal, that she may remain always broken.Such is one of the questions posed by this book. What does it mean to feel that you are broken and can never be healed?Peyton was assaulted and victimized several years earlier, but it still feels raw and new to her. Touch her wrong – touch her in a way that makes her remember That Night – and she collapses in fear. Even so, Peyton may have been victimized, but she is not a victim. Her parents long dead, the only family member she has left is her beloved grandmother, in whose home Peyton lives. Peyton owns and operates a pie shop. She is successful and reasonably content.There has been no romance in her life, though. The closest she has is with her buddy Griffin, her best friend’s brother. Aside from him, though, there has been no one.Until Reed walks into her pie shop, though. Then things begin to change.But for there to be a relationship, Peyton has to realize that only one part of her was broken. She has to feel worthy. She has to feel whole. And that’s quite a burden to lay on Reed. To his credit, he accepts it and attempts to have a relationship with her.Lurking behind every moment they spend together, though, is what Peyton thinks broke her. Our hero has his share of issues as well, although his are driven by his parents. What happens when two broken people come together?Calling a romance based on the rape of a character “sweet” seems a bit strange, but it’s true in this case. Yes, Peyton’s history is crushing, but there is a part of her that has hope that she will heal. Reed, too, needs healing. He sees, long before she does, that they can heal each other. This isn’t to say that it comes easily or that Reed doesn’t make mistakes; instead, it means that they discover each other and, in turn, themselves.It’s a heartwarming book – sweet, hopeful, and with a little bit of headboard rockin’. Nothing too detailed, though, so there is nothing insulting about the story here.