Review: Art imitating life
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 28, 2013
Last picks up fourteen years after Misbehave.  Marriage and three kids have taken a toll on Amber and Tony's HEA; the reality of managing life and children taking priority over coupledom and communication.  Amber and Tony both are acting like human beings.  They reserve their brief amounts of alone time for discussions about kids and family.  Neither bring up the fundamental things that are bothering them.  Tony's construction company, a victim of the recession, occupies all his time; he works constantly to provide for Amber and the kids.  Amber, after spending 10 years home raising children doesn't know who she is or what she wants to do with her life now that their youngest has started school full time.  They've lost what makes them great and while they both know they need to start talking to each other, their individual fears and insecurities prevent them from taking that step.Last is wonderful example of art imitating life.  Lack of communication can be good conflict and by extension good fiction.  The moments where you want to slap Tony and Amber for not talking to each other are overcome by the empathy you feel for them as Knox deftly brings you into their world and you understand why neither can take that step.  Yes, all it does take for them to reconnect is locking them in a room together, but in life finding the time is not always that easy.  Tony and Amber are every married couple you've ever known who drift apart as they try to live their lives.  Their story is touching and human and you can't help but understand their predicament and want them to regain their HEA.I do not recommend reading Last without first picking up Misbehave.  They are truly two parts of the same story and without understanding the foundation built in Misbehave I don't believe Last will carry quite the same impact or richness of story.  You have to know where these characters began to understand where they end up.My one complaint is that this story ends too soon.  Much like Misbehave that only gave us a glimpse of their HEA, Last ends far too soon.  We see them reconnect, but don't quite know that the lessons learned will carry them forward.  They have plans for where they'd like to be in a year, but we don't get to see them come to fruition.  Does life interfere once again?  Perhaps Ms. Knox will revisit these characters a ways down the road.  I'd like to see them embrace their happily ever after.  She was able to successfully tell a story about not communicating I think her skills would be up to a glimpse of a true HEA for these characters.