Review: Compelling & Powerful Love Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 6, 2013
Mila Ferrera has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary romance authors. She impressed me with Spiral, wowwed me with Only Between Us, and absolutely rocked my socks off with her latest release, Everything Between Us.This story revolves around Daniel, whom we first met in Only Between Us, and Stella, the daughter of one of Daniel's big-paying cougar clients. Stella is home on a break from college and is living a recluse's life. Determined to get her daughter to reengage with the world, Stella's mom Liza arranges for art lessons, with Daniel as Stella's teacher. Stella resists the idea, trying desperately to make her mother understand she isn't being difficult just for the hell of it and is, in fact, trying to cope with some very real fears and issues, but it's like talking to a brick wall. Liza won't be dissuaded. Stella can either take the lessons and make an effort to be "normal", or action will be taken. Very scary action that, as a parent myself, made me at once coldly furious and sick to my stomach. (Needless to say, I am not a Liza fan!)Daniel and Stella get off to a rocky start, with Stella doing her best to scare him off. But Daniel is harder to shake than she expects him to be. No matter how awfully she behaves, he continues to show up for their lessons. Not out of the goodness of his heart - not at first, anyway - but to earn a paycheck. Because he can't afford to turn down the money Stella's mom is paying him. And little by little, moment by moment, the walls between them start to break down.Author Mila Ferrera handles the issue of Stella's agoraphobia with admirable sensitivity and respect. It would have been so easy to downplay the seriousness of Stella's condition, or worse, turn it into some sort of gimmick to drum up sympathy for Stella's character (sadly, I've read a few books where that has been done). Instead, Ms. Ferrera paints an honest and heart-rending picture of just how frustrating, terrifying and debilitating this condition can be. One of the most poignant scenes in the book is when Daniel observes Stella staring through a window with her hand pressed to the glass, as if she's trying to will herself through it. Stella wants desperately to be free, to live a life without fear, but she doesn't know how, and without help, she will always be a prisoner.Daniel is in a prison as well - one entirely of his own making. He's spent so long hiding behind a cheerful, devil-may-care mask, pretending to be someone he's not, that he's become the guy everyone loves and nobody really knows. Even his art is only surface-deep, revealing none of the heart and burning soul of the man who creates it. And then he meets Stella, and somehow, someway, she is able to see straight through him. She sees HIM, the real Daniel he's afraid to show the world.There's a lot I could share about this book. I could discuss the romance, how it was both sensual and steamy (and indeed, it was). I could talk about the near-flawless writing, and how perfectly drawn each character was. I could tell you how compelling and powerful Stella and Daniel's story is. How they moved me, seduced me, wrung my heart, made me smile and ache and just plain feel. I could say all those things (and more) and they would all be true, but I really do believe Everything Between Us is a book that words - my words, specifically - cannot begin to do justice to. You simply must experience it.So do it. Experience it.As for me, I don't know what Mila Ferrera is writing next or when it will be available, but I know I'm buying it. Immediately.