Review: Redemption of Charlie and triumph of love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2014
This is the story of Rebecca and Charlie from book 1 (Saving Ella).  It can be read alone, but it is much better with some history as these two meet in book 1.  Plus, Rebecca's personality comes through so strongly in book 1, giving a baseline from which you can see what the traumatic events in this book do to change her.This book opens with Rebecca, still not over Charlie, suffering a home invasion and attempted rape.  Mercy calls Charlie to come over to assist, and thus the two are brought back together.  The home invasion though was not random at all, but rather a very deliberate attempt to intimidate and hurt Rebecca.  More info would be a spoiler, though you will likely figure it out early on.Charlie was not a super likable guy in book 1, but we see so much more of him and the "why" in this book.  He comes out a super likable hero, alpha but with such a great sense of humor, even able to have a good laugh at himself.  I loved that part, and loved the couple's interaction.  Kirsty Dallas does great dialog and has a real talent for creating "real" characters, real people.  The fact that our hero of the story was not the lead hero in all rescues here made it even better.  It's good to have friends who are better at some things than you are.  I loved seeing the development of their relationship after time apart.And we get a good view of Emily (Rebecca's sister) and Braiden, heroine and hero of the next novel, and it should be good.  Be aware, all of Kirsty's books that I have read hit hard on sensitive topics (abuse, rape, traumas, etc.).  Mercy, mother of Jax from the first book, runs a shelter for abused women, and is prominent in the book as well.  Love trumps trauma, but there is definitely sadness in these books, addressed honestly and factually.