Review: Amazing story of young love, heart break, and choosing between career and family..
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 22, 2014
4.5 StarsMarlene and Luke were an item from the time she was seventeen till she got pregnant at twenty, him twenty-two, and he left her at nine months to go on the road and make it big. Now, four years later, Luke has realized that life on the road is lonely and he made the biggest mistake of his life walking away.Told from Marlene’s point of view, I was pulled in from the very beginning. You can feel M’s heartache and her dilemma. On one hand, you want Marlene to tell him “too bad” when he wants back in her and their daughter’s life after abandoning them; on the other hand, it doesn’t take long to realize that Luke is rather sweet and endearing.  Both characters are very likable and down to earth. I felt that the author did a wonderful job of illustrating Marlene’s predicament between following her heart and risking getting broken again vs. choosing the safe and stable guy who can fulfill her career dream and won’t leave her but who she may never fall in love with. She also has to take into account her daughter and what’s best for Nil. The story is just complicated enough that I think most readers could put themselves in Marlene’s position and realize what a difficult choice it would be to make.I found the story very engaging and I honestly couldn’t put it down, reading it all in one sitting. I occasionally craved a chapter or two from Luke to get his perspective, and I would have preferred their loves scenes to be more developed/detailed.  Especially considering there is so much sexual tension brewing between them and that both “daddy Luke” and “domestic, dinner cooking Luke” is really sweet and hot.There are confrontations between Luke and Marlene, and I liked how she’d let him have it but then they’d come back together. It wasn’t a drawn out screaming match which showed how there were still strong feelings of love there. He also didn’t make excuses for what he did, and he accepted his mistakes. I think that helps the reader overlook the magnitude of what Luke did a little bit.I liked the inclusion of Marlene’s family’s perspectives, particularly the other females in her life. Her grandmother’s personal tales of love makes a cute inclusion as Marlene has to weight out what’s best for her while tackling an age old question of what qualities/elements make for the best marriage.The rock star perspective in this book focuses on the pitfalls of being on the road while your family is left behind at home, and it’s an often not written about plot point, but a valid one none the less. This is also a story of making amends and following your heart. The story has touches of humor and a bit of excitement towards the climax. Luke only has four days in town so there’s the lingering question (and suspense) of what’s going to happen/what is he going to do when it’s time to go.  However, I felt the author wrapped up the story nicely at the end and where things go from there was firmly implied. (On a side note, [*hint to the author*] it would be nice to see how that next stage goes as a side story in perhaps a sequel with Camille and Jonathan???)