Review: 3.5 whirlwind stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2014
I was gifted this book in exchange for a honest review3.5 StarsThis book was a rollercoaster!!We start off FIVE years later. At first this pissed me off, with the way the last book ended. But I came to realize why the author did that. Cody grew up, he was mature and very likeable now, but mostly Scott and Birdie have been happily married now for five years, they have raised Cody's son as their own and have a baby daughter together. A perfect, happy marriage. They haven't spoken to Cody since, truly believing he cheated and moved on Birdie has kept their child a secret from him. She has even stomached a relationship with Stephanie, Scott's mom, for the kids and Scott.But then the unthinkable happens and Scott is captured in war. This brings his family together, Cody seeing Birdie for the first time in five years. The attraction is still there and while the family stays around to help Birdie and kids, they develop a friendship. When Scott calls saying he has escaped its a dream come true for everyone. But he returns a different man then when he left. He becomes distant and withdrawn. Birdie becomes desperate in her attempt to connect with Scott again, she feels that if they are intimate then it will pull him out of his funk. When she notices that is not only is he sleeping in the guest room, sneaking out at night, oiling lose floor boards and door hinges, but he is sending emails in Arabic and has men in the basement looking over maps in the middle of the night.She confronts him and he becomes CRAZY, like try's to kill her! She turns to Cody, they realize that he is struggling with PTSD and his family try's to get him help. Birdie moves in with Cody and Jenna until Scott straightens him self out. Over time the friendship becomes flirtation, and pushing boundaries. Until one day they realize they still love each other. Once the cross that line, they jump with both feet. Cody loves being a family man, loves the kids, knows that Samuel is his and wants to be with Birdie.They struggle with what others opinions, Birdie is still married to Scott, thinking he left rehab and is...? I'm not sure what she thinks he's up to. But when Cody asks to her to marry him and move away with him, she agrees. Except, Scott was in treatment and is better. So who does she choose? She was happy with Scoot. He's her husband. But she never stopped loving Cody.This book actually made me teary eyed in parts and left you struggling with what was going to happen. I enjoyed this book more then the first and thought it was a good conclusion to the series.That being said, I thought the some parts were disappointing. Scott is gone, Birdie doesn't know he is in rehab, but what? She just wasn't going to think about him again? The first book, her family and school was super important, this one, she didn't go to school or work at all. She just lived off of Scott, then Cody and was totally ok with that. She also very rarely saw her family, but didn't seem to worried by that.I did like that Cody was so likable, a total 180 from the first book. I liked her relationship with Jenna and that they actually acted like family together, then that she got revenge against Stephanie for being a b !tch so much. Oh, and that Cody actually stood up to his mom for Birdie, he didn't do that before.So yes, this book was a rollercoaster ride! It was good though, and a fun read.