Review: 4.5 stars
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2013
(Quote)Once you start working through your own personal demons and start to see a light at the end of the tunnel BAM! Something from your past resurfaces causing all the progress you had to just POOF evaporate as if it was nothing and you're right back at square one.We met Mallory and Seth in Moving Forward. Her best friend Jesika and his brother Derek found love in the first book. And Seth and Mallory found lust and feelings that they were not sure they were ready to handle. And just when they thought they were ready to try, his ex Allison showed up and ruined everything. This story begins shortly after Mallory's heart was shattered by Seth and Allison at Jesika and Derek's wedding. A pregnant Mallory has no choice to but to try to move on and Seth is not even aware he is going to be a father. Seth is closed mouthed about what is really going on in his life with his ex and everyone is worried about him. So at the urging of her friends, she makes one last ditch effort to stop Seth from making a big mistake. But that meeting had consequences that no one could predict."It's obviously not written in the stars for us. Stupid F***ing destiny bulls**t."Mallory is a true spitfire. She has a mouth on her and is not afraid to say what she thinks most of the time(except if she is hiding her feeling or trying to protect someone). She has insecurity issues that affect her life choices. In the past she has hidden behind her sexy persona and not let feelings get involved. Until Seth ruined her. She is also still trying to find out who she is and what she wants to do with her future.(Quote)Hurricane Mallory is in the building and she has wrecked my life in the best possible way ever. She made her way in under the radar, as if she was an undetectable force of nature and then she restore my life back into order.Seth is a bad boy with a good heart, but broken by his past and scared shitless to love and trust someone again. When he cannot handle emotions, he tends to push them away or run. And just when he seems to get it together, it seems like his past or life slaps him back into reality. But sometimes you cannot hide from what is truly meant to be and from the person who makes you want to quit running."There's no going back in time and fixing all the mistakes I made."These two drove me crazy! Talk about communication issues, secrets, and misguided attempts at protection. Sometimes I am not sure if they even knew if they were protecting themselves or the other one. I wanted to shove them in a room together so many different times and force them to talk. I loved seeing more of Derek and Jesika as they are a great couple and supportive friends. Although I wanted to smack them upside the head a few times as well for not intervening more when Seth and Mallory were incommunicado.And if there were not enough issues with Seth's ex and him being on the road with hordes of groupies, sexy hottie Nick that Mallory dated a bit in the first book is back and circling around her. He is sweet, protective, loving, and the perfect loyal guy. And he wants Mallory. Nick was a big sweetheart and I would have been a bigger fan of his if I did not already adore Seth.It is back and forth and up and down...seriously these two are quite a mixed up pair. So you have a rock star, hordes of fans, crazy ex, one confused and heart broken woman, a devoted man and a whole mess of mixed up feelings. There were twists and turns that I did not expect. This story did not happen in a matter of weeks...it happened over time and distance which made it more believable. Their journey was frustrating, maddening, heartfelt, sad, swoon worthy, happy, passionate, and beautiful, but you never knew when something might change and ruin it all over again. So it kept you anxious and flipping pages like crazy.(Quote)Sometimes it takes losing it all to find out what is really important. Sometimes I think life wants to see your fight for what you love. Finding love when you aren't look for it is easy. but holding when everything around you is trying to pull it away is hard.Will Seth and Mallory find a way to communicate and finally get on the same page at the same time? Or will Mallory choose the safe alternative? Either way, once decided...there is no going back.And the ending...hhhmmm...It is good and it is also intriguing. A totally interesting lead into Jake's novella In The End. The mysteries of Jesika's ex-husband keep coming up so it will be interesting to finally get his prequel novella to explain what all came before.Erika Ashby's style is fast moving and no-nonsense. The characters are complicated, ballsy, and a bit quirky. The things that come out of their mouths can make you laugh or blush alternately. But underneath the humor are emotions and sweet feelings of love, happiness, and a sense of family.Thanks to Erika Ashby for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.