Review: Dylan's Past, Present, and Future
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2014
How do you move on and live when the love of your life is gone, and you didn’t get to say goodbye? How do you let someone else into your heart when the fear of loss consumes your life? How do you let go of the guilt that you wear like armor around your heart because you couldn’t save the one person you didn’t want to live without? These are the questions Dylan Hopkins has asked himself daily for the past eight years since he received the message “he’s gone.”  These are the thoughts that consume his mind and force him to merely exist instead of truly living. This is the man who Conner Michelson meets and feels instantly attracted to and wants to get to know as long as Dylan’s willing to try. But in order to understand Dylan’s apprehensions, Conner and readers need to comprehend who Dylan was while Shane was alive and what that loss did to him.The Dylan of the past when Shane was still alive was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. He loved his best friend and wanted to make a life with him, but due to Shane’s father, it wasn’t an easy relationship. Not being able to act on what they truly meant to each other wreaked havoc on their minds and their hearts, especially Shane’s. Living under his father’s constant scrutiny and abuse forced Shane to live two very separate lives, and the choices and sacrifices he made led him down a dangerous road that he couldn’t come back from, and for Dylan, knowing he couldn’t help Shane, destroys and numbs his heart.For eight years, Dylan has lived with the quilt and the pain, unwilling to let go…unwilling to move on and find happiness again. He focuses on helping others work through their problems, but he refuses to deal with his own. But with the help of Reid, Shane’s brother, Dylan’s starting to figure out where he wants his life to be, and hopefully, he can find a way to show Conner that they can find their happiness together.Conner understands pain; his past is filled with it, and while he hasn’t gone through what Dylan has, it doesn’t lessen the events that have made Conner the man he is today. He lives more so than Dylan does, but his life is still incomplete, so when Dylan enters his life and only wants one night, Conner changes the rules and works to show Dylan their connection is much stronger then a one night stand.But will Conner’s tactics be enough for Dylan to let go of his guilt and pain once and for all?  Read their story to find out if love can live on and if hearts can be repaired.I’ve wanted to read Dylan’s story since readers met him in Maddy and Reid’s book. Here’s this kind and compassionate man who is so tormented by his past that he’s existing merely because he has to. I was curious as to how Melissa Collins was going to link Dylan’s past with Shane to his future with the man he chooses to give his heart to after he finally starts living again. The Before/After set-up worked extremely well; it gives us a chance to understand why and how everything happened all those years ago. Using Shane’s point of view added so much to the storyline. To be able to hear it firsthand clearly illustrates how tormented he was and what he was going through that led him to do what he did. It gave me the understanding I needed to put Dylan and Shane’s story to rest and to start Dylan’s new life with Conner.Let Love Live is an emotional read that explores issues that many people can relate to because they’ve either lived through them or know someone who has. Bullying and prejudice run rampant in our society and the need to put an end to both should be at the top of everyone’s list. The one thing that readers can count on from the Love series is that each book will make you feel an immense amount of emotions. The problems Melissa Collins’ characters face are realistically explored, which makes it that much easier to find yourself consumed in their lives and hoping and praying that everything turns out the way you want it to for not only their sanity but yours as well.Dylan and Conner’s story leaves readers with the understanding that you love who you love regardless of what anyone else says. It’s a testament to what loss can do to someone as well as what hope and love enable that same person to overcome. It’s another amazing addition to an incredible series.A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.4.5 poison apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)