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I received this book for free and I voluntarily chose to review it. I really enjoyed this clean romance and I look forward to reading many more of her work. I've given it a 4.5 * rating. I enjoyed these characters and the explanation of the slang. Add a lovable but stubborn big dog and you get a little extra humor to help move it along. Lots to enjoy in this story.
Stephen has been pursuing Janette for a year. She has now come to his home for a vacation. He's not sure why she finally capitulated but knows that she is there for more than him. He wants to help her but Janette is not very open. But then Stephen is not either as he has to make a life-altering decision.
These are complex characters who hold a lot inside. They do not easily trust or share. While the secondary characters are there to move the story along, I liked that the focus is on Stephen and Janette, their pasts, presents, and futures. I liked also that neither was willing to let someone else make their decisions but that with a lot of soul searching both were able to come to a level of trust to ask the other to support them in their decisions.
The story starts slowly but as I got more into Stephen and Janette's stories I became involved in what their final decisions would be. I enjoyed this story and would like to know what happens to them in the future.
I can't even begin to express how much I adore this series. Every single book in this series has made me cry at least one time while reading. All the books are so emotionally potent that I'm at a loss for words.
Mrs. Martinez has a way with her writing, that even something as boring as a backstory to her main characters becomes interesting along the way. It also blows my mind how she got me (as a reader) to care so much about a character who was eventually going to be gone by the first chapter.
Quarry (AKA 'Q') is incredibly stubborn and tries to live how he wants to live. As stubborn as he is, he's also loyal and caring to a fault. He will do anything and everything in his power, if it means harm will not to come to those he loves.
Liv is a traumatized little girl who's feisty and stands up for herself. She had it rough in the first few years of her life and even though everything turned around the trauma is still there. The amazing thing is that she doesn't let it hold her back from experiencing life and love.
I hope this isn't the last book in this series (even though it REALLY felt like the end because of all the different point of views in the last chapter of this novel). I enjoy Mrs. Martinez's writing and will probably be picking up some of her other books in the near future.
My Favorite Quotes:
"Our happy lives were nothing more than a gentle melody that lulls you into a nightmare."
"Every single day, I smiled. Every single day, I lived. Every single day, I laughed."
"Reality didn't seem like the right word at all. That moment felt a whole lot like fantasy to me."
"Losing you is frightening. Trusting you not to break me is petrifying."