Review: Loved this!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 22, 2013
As always, the disclaimer: The lovely and awesome Heather Riccio sent this my way for a review.Fortunately, I don't think that Heather is capable of sending me a book that isn't like totally amazing.I loved this book on many different levels. Not the least of which was how steamy with a capital S it was! Whew!The Good:First, the characters aren't perfect. I know that they aren't in most books, but there are times when the character flaws are annoyingly minor. Which is not to say that I don't also enjoy these stories, because I do. However, I always love to see characters who are struggling under the weight of some very serious issues.Ian has borderline (or maybe not so terribly borderline) PTSD, which has resulted in anxiety and makes it hard for him to function in social situations.Why this is awesome: Mental illness is something near and dear to my heart and Ms. Robert handles it delicately and beautifully. Ian isn't broken, he's just struggling to handle something that puts a bit of a cramp in his style. It doesn't define him and he won't let it. Sure, his mom doesn't get it at all. But the rest of his friends and family do. And they don't push. They're there for him and offer quiet, firm support. This pleases me.I like Roxanne, too. She has some serious (and understandable) relationship issues. But she also recognizes that it's a problem and actively tries to fight against it. Sure, she screws up (a few times), but she keeps trying because she realizes that Ian is worth it.I took special joy in Roxanne and Ian putting his mom in her place. I might have cheered a little.The Bad:I'd have liked for Roxanne's struggle to be a little less internal and to have seen her reach out a little more for help. Only because I don't think that it's something a person can work through all alone. Then again, she reaches out to Ian, so... Ya know. Since that's my only "I wish..." I call it a win.Overall:Totally a must read. I felt all warm and fuzzy at the end. I also read the excerpt from Wrong Bed, Right Guy and really want to read that now, too. And Nathan's story. I feel like such a hussy having all these book crushes lately!