Review: Excellent Sequel!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
'Recovery' is Con Riley's second book in the 'Salvage Stories' series and, frankly, I wasn't really jazzed to jump right into this one. It's Jamie's story and he made a very poor impression on me in book one. Jamie came across as so horribly conceited, rude, arrogant, manipulative, unfeeling, and an all-around contemptible person. So I think you can understand my hesitancy in reading his story. I didn't want to like him, but, in the end, my curiosity won out over my indecision.As expected, of course, there is a lot more to Jamie than originally met the eye. Jamie was raped when he was eighteen which began his spiral into alcoholism. Now, at twenty-five, he's one year sober and much of that has to do with the family of his heart, Alec and Belle Bailey. They've been more parents to him than his own ever were and there is nothing he won't do for them. Their son, Owen, despises Jamie, but Owen carries years of baggage from when Alec was a drunk and so Owen has no relationship with his own father. During the evening of Alec's magazine debut, which features many of Jamie's photos depicting the harsh realities of rape, Belle suffers a serious setback in her battle with cancer and the doctors give her very little time left. Belle decides she wants to go to LA and be with her daughter in her final month of pregnancy and exacts promises from all her men to make this happen. But, it's the final favor she asks of them, to leave her in LA and the three of them all go on Owen's book tour together, that is almost more than they can agree to. It's a dying woman's last wish, to hope her son and husband can reconcile and that Jamie can capture some happiness on film.All of this trauma and turmoil is occurring when Jamie meets Daniel. As a recovering alcoholic and a grieving son, so to speak, a relationship is definitely not in Jamie's cards. In fact, it hasn't been for years as he's existed on one-night stands and no repeats. Daniel is older and assessing crises and fixing them is what he does for a living. He has no idea what he's walked into here, but something about Jamie keeps tugging at Daniel and not letting go. Daniel is a saint, or as close to it as I can see. Well, maybe not, but labeling himself as a problem solver is definitely true. At twenty years older than Jamie, Daniel is a voice of reason and calm amongst all the trauma. He's also very attractive and Jamie is thinking of things he never has before.'Recovery' is far more than a simple love story between Daniel and Jamie. In fact, their story is really a minor part of the big picture. This book is about family, about the destructive effects that alcoholism can have on an entire family. It's about regret, loss, trauma, love, devotion, grief, sorrow, guilt, and finding your way home again when you've hit rock bottom. It's about the love between a father and a son, and the strength of a dying woman.This is by no means an easy story to read and I didn't make it through without some crying. It's not easy, but it's so worth reading. I loved every minute of it and am so glad I got the chance to read it. Thank you, Con, for this beautiful story.NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews