by Beth Rinyu
Released on: 7/6/13
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Mia Taylor has a huge heart, but just how much pain can one heart endure? Mia was living the picture perfect life, engaged to her high school sweetheart and working at her dream job at an upscale salon in New York City. She had it all. Until the day her past, present and future were taken away, leaving her to face the world scared and alone. Trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life, while mourning the devastating loss of her fiancé she just goes through the motions as an empty shell.
Enter Travis Montgomery, Olympic swimmer and totally gorgeous. He has several medals under his belt and just as many women. Mia is well aware of his womanizing reputation and refuses to be his next conquest, but finds herself coming alive again whenever she’s around him. They agree to be “just friends,” quickly finding that they are unable to fight the attraction between them. Mia’s life becomes complete once again with Travis in it; but nothing good lasts forever, at least not in Mia’s world. Torn apart by an ugly secret, Mia’s heart is broken once again.
When the unthinkable happens and Travis needs Mia the most, she must reach deep inside to find forgiveness for the one man who will always hold the key to her shattered heart. But will doing so only break it further; this time beyond repair?
My Rating: 4 Coffee Cups!!
A copy of this book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Beth Rinyu is really, really good at being able to balance dark and light. I've read her other two books, Exception to the Rule and Unplanned Lesson and have loved them. This book is no different. This woman had me crying at the PROLOGUE for Pete's sake!
Mia Taylor is trying to get by one day at a time. She has her dream job, amazing friends, an awesome family but none of them can fill the gaping hole left in her heart after her fiance Eric's death. She is trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life. And while trying to get thru the anniversary of Eric's death in walks Travis Montgomery to her station at the salon.
You know, when the male love interest enters for the first time I don't usually want to punch him. But Travis, yeah he was kind of a douche in this scene. He makes Mia's already extremely difficult day that much harder, acting like a pompous jerk. I kind of wish she gave him a mullet. Travis is a former Olympic gold winning swimmer. I'm not going to lie, I pictured Ryan Lochte- with the ability to speak without looking like a fool- the entire way through. He is charismatic and charming and, if the tabloids are right, a complete and total player. Mia wants nothing to do with it. After running into Mia a second time at a long time client's house Travis decides that he wants to pursue her. After a second chance meeting, Mia realizes he isn't really the jerk he came across as their first meeting. And when he asks her to dinner to assuage his guilt for his jerky ways, she accepts and has and finds she has an amazing time with him.
Mia has had heartbreak enough for 10 people, despite the obvious fact that she is intrigued by Travis and their instant comfortable connection she is, understandably, wary of him. So she offers her friendship- which is all she has to give at this point. They take this time to continue to hang out and get to know one another. But you know that old saying that guys and girls can never just be friends... well in this instance it is pretty accurate. There was only so long they could deny the chemistry going on between them. Mia slowly and carefully begins to open her heart up again. And Travis opens his as well. And they each take up residence. Travis realizes that Mia isn't like all of the other women he's been with in the past and he finds himself falling in love and seeing a future with her- to the point where he finds it hard seeing one without her.
I wrapped my arms around him and nuzzled up against him. I had never felt happier than I did right now. I watched the dancing flames in the fireplace while Travis held me tightly in his arms. After living out a yearlong sentence of hell on earth, I had finally made it back to heaven.
But secrets are revealed and it comes out that he kept something pretty significant from her. Mia had always felt she was out of her league with Travis and this secret feeds off of the insecurities she already felt and it all seems to fall apart.
This causes a domino effect of events leading to a complete twist of the story. They play a game of guilt and blame and sacrifice causing each of their hearts to be squeezed, bruised and battered in the process.
Besides being able to balance light and dark pretty seamlessly, Beth Rinyu has a way of throwing you curve balls. You think the story is going in one direction and it ends up going down a windy path you didn't really see yourself going on.
Sometimes
life isn't fair and takes us in a direction that we least expect. But
as long as the outcome is sweet, it makes all of the heartache and
roadblocks that we have to endure worthwhile.
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