Review: Beautiful written and captivating story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2013
"I had always been a popular girl, but I had a real knack for finding trouble; no matter what form that trouble came in. Lucky for me, this time it showed up as a hot tattooed cowboy in the middle of nowhere Texas." ~KaylaYes. Lucky for her, and coincidently luck for us too! This Love of Mine is a moving story of two young people, both damaged by their past, who find each other at a time that may not be ideal, but a time when they can help to heal each other.Kayla moves to Texas to live with her grandparents and escape the horrors and pain of her life with her mother. She is seventeen and has done some things that she regrets (drugs and boys... well a certain boy) but at her core is a good person, just lead astray by circumstance and influence. She is strong and despite everything she has been through she still believes in people, in happiness and in love. I loved how Amanda can write Kayla's character; broken and fragile but with a determination to move past the bad hand shes been dealt and vie to be the best version of herself, given the chance. That chance comes in the form of one sexy cowboy  Madison Raine..."Oh those sparkling emerald green eyes. Yep, I was a goner from day one. Nothing could've  stopped me from getting to  know Madison Raine, baseball player/cowboy, absolutely nothing."This is where I need to take a minute... Cowboys are a weakness of mine! Add to that, the fact that he is a singer in a band and an extremely gifted baseball player... All I can say is take me back to my teenage years and drop me off in Texas!Madison Raine isn't the free spirit you'd expect. He has is own dark past to deal with everyday. He's just graduated high school and has a bright future ahead of him with a free ride to college. He just needs to tell his grandparents and that is no easy conversation to have with Mr. Raine. As fate would have it, he meets Kayla James and things start to spark between them; undeniable sparks!As I read this great story of Madison and Kayla, who are so perfectly matched with each other, but keep pushing each other away for their own reasons, The Corona's song Mark My Words, kept running through my mind. With the dance of two steps forward, one step back between Kayla and Madison these words ring true~ "And if you dont act now, you'll have yourselves to blame..."Both afraid to progress because of their past, or because of the fear of the future or because of that little voice inside Kayla's head saying she isn't good enough:"I care for you too much, to let you see the inside of my messed up world"I found myself cheering them on and wanting to shake some sense into them! I so wanted them to find their equilibrium, wanted them to accept each others love and take that chance. Life and expreience make us wary, cautious. Sometimes that cautiousness serves us right and sometimes we push away the wrong people. Which is it for Madison and Kayla?"You were meant for me KJ."The idea of leaving it to fate or destiny, I felt was showed such trust and belief, on the behalf of the characters given their history. It illustrated how strongly they knew they were meant to be; that they were soulmates.So, I'm reading along at a nice pace and notice that I'm getting closer and closer to the end. Suspecting something major is going to happen soon, I prepared myself... just not well enough.Reading the last few lines of Madison's POV, I was sure that's where Amanda Bennett was going to leave me waiting; waiting in a pool of freshly shed tears, but no, there's more! She hits me with that very last chapter and epilogue and I am completely frozen in place, unable to move. Shocked at how close to the edge of the cliff Amanda has brought me... brought me and abandoned me here, leaving me craving more!This Love of Mine is beautifully written, the characters engaging and the story endearing.~ 5 Stars~I can't wait to get the next part of the story in This Trust of Mine coming in May and the final part to The Raine Series This Heart of Mine coming in June.