"...the metal grille hit the middle of her body hard. Then there was just air underneath her feet. Followed by jagged rocks. And finally, bloody silence."

So apparently I'm supposed to believe that the Hero and his friends commit attempted murder against the Heroine and she forgives and falls in love with him two years later? No seriously, he and his friends literally try to kill her. They run her down with their truck, slamming into her and pushing her off a cliff where she then suffers a fractured skull. The injury was so severe that she is delayed from starting college for two years because she needs to recuperate.

Because nothing says romance like a fractured skull and several months of rehabilitation.

Isn't that a lovely message to send out into the ether? Hey Boys and Girls, don't worry too much if a person emotionally and mentally abuses you, and causes you physical injury because deep down inside they are really good and capable of change.

Heartwarming.

Look, I read and like dark, gritty romances. I can separate fiction from reality much of the time. But, there are times where I simply cannot. This is one of those times.

By the way, none of this is a spoiler. The scene I refer to is in the prologue which is available in the sample on Amazon. The sample I read because I thought the blurb sounded interesting and because I've liked the author's work in the past. But this one hit all the wrong chords for me so no can do.