Review: Sweet and emotional romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 11, 2013
The set upEmory Claire was abandoned by Daniel (Mason) Mason six years ago, right before college graduation. She's tried to move on with her life but hasn't ever really gotten over Mason. She'd planned to be a prima ballerina and he moved on to a successful NFL career. That is until a recent accidental encounter where both had a flood of old feelings overwhelm them.The issuesMason is an NFL quarterback recovering from a potential career-ending injury and is being considered by teams in Charlotte, NC (where Emory now lives) and Seattle. He's also in the middle of a divorce from his pretentious wife and Emory is engaged, for the moment, to someone else. She's not forgotten how much he hurt her and Mason will do just about anything to get her back.What worksI really liked Emory, a young woman that took some really serious blows and survived. She's recreated herself and is pretty successful in her new career and isn't willing to let Mason just waltz back into her life. She's very clear about her needs and isn't afraid to be straight with him about them. We get alternating perspectives from both of them and the author uses some unique devices to manage the conversations skillfully. It helped keep the story moving at a good pace. I also liked the integration of Mason's family into the plot as they were really entertaining.What didn't work so wellMason's behavior was really immature and he needed to grow up fast he's 28!). His temper tantrums were over the top and his relationship with his mother was telling (overbearing doesn't even BEGIN to describe her). Emory was keeping a HUGE secret but was berating Mason and being highly judgmental for withholding important decisions and information from her. It didn't make sense. I also didn't like how her gay roommate was portrayed as it was too stereotypical. He deserved better.The bottom lineThis was a sweet romance between two really nice people (though Mason needs to put on some big boy pants) who made some serious errors in judgment that ended up keeping them apart. It's a feel good story with highly emotional intersections that gave these characters depth. I loved Emory even when she was being unreasonable in her thinking and liked Mason, too, though it may sound like I'd didn't...his devotion to Emory was never a question and kept me connected. I liked the story and it was nice to read a standalone book for a change, especially one with a heartwarming epilogue. Rated 3.5 stars(I received an ARC from the author)