by S.L. Jennings
Release Date: 7/18/13
Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance
" 'Don’t worry,' he smiled, pulling me into the hard warmth of his chest. “I’ve got you. I’ll always catch you when you fall.”
And just like that, Blaine had staked his claim on the untouched part of me that no living soul had ever moved. He had captured every fear, every reservation, and crushed them in the palm of his inked hand."
I can’t remember the last time I felt completely safe. Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore.
He scared the hell out of me in a way that excited every fiber of my being. It wasn’t the tattoos or the piercings. It wasn’t the warmth that seemed to radiate from his frame and blanket me whenever he was near. It was just…him. The scary beautiful man that threatened to alter 23 years of routine and rituals, and make me face my crippling fear.
My name is Kami and I am constantly afraid. And the thing that scares me the most is the very thing I want.***Inspired by true events***
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 5 Coffee Cups!!
My utter fan girl LOVE for S.L. Jennings (or Syreeta as I like to call her, because I think I'm cool and on a first name basis with her) has always been there since I picked up her first book Dark Light. But man oh man has my love grown EXPONENTIALLY with this new book. I was probably about 1/4 into reading it when I seriously looked at my Kindle and said, "damn, this one's gonna hit me". And it most definitely did.
Kamilla Duvall has been through more than any 23 year old woman has any right to go through. Her past, the mental and emotional scars she bears, would have broken any other person. Although she is not broken, she has been altered. Never feeling the type of love that is any child's right, she doesn't understand the concept of love, doesn't believe in it and doesn't believe she is deserving of it. She battles constant, debilitating fears, she trusts NO ONE except for her two roommates that she considers family (and have their own emotional crosses to bear) and she hides behind a mask and facade so thick it's almost impenetrable. Almost.
Blaine Jacobs. To Kami, even his name screams danger/swoonworthy hotness. He had been through a terrible betrayal and divorce and comes home to Charlotte to help in his family bar. Which is where he meets Kami. He immediately sees through the imagine she is trying to create and calls her out on it. Pretty much within the first night of meeting her. He sees the pain and desolation in her eyes. But sees the strength too. He wants nothing more than to break down her walls and see into the real Kami. And to protect her from whatever it was that put it in her eyes in the first place. Neither of them can understand the almost immediate and deep connection between them- well beyond pure lust (although that is DEFINITELY there) and although Kami is utterly terrified of it, Blaine embraces it. She truly doesn't understand the feelings they both are having and absolutes can't see how anyone could possibly want her.
"I
know you said you don't feel anything," he whispered. "But can you
honestly say that you don't feel this? That this heat, this attraction
is all in my head? Don't think about it; just answer. tell me what
your heart wants to say and not what your head keeps trying to make you
believe."
Kami, despite all of her fears and trepidation, lets Blaine in. She shows him her true self, trusts him with her secrets and feels safe in his arms. But as much as she lets him him and as much as Blaine wants to be there with her and for her, it's hard to truly understand the depths of what she has gone thru. He may have his own demons, but nothing compares to the demon still lurking in the shadows for Kami.
I have to put this out there. As much as I truly love Blaine (and I do, oh hell yes I do), the character who truly stole my heart was Dom, one of Kami's only friends and roommates. He is the first (and for quite some time) the only man she has ever loved and trusted. It never went beyond friendship, but he understood her in a way that other people never would be able to (Blaine included). He knew her pain, he felt her pain himself.
This book was absolutely amazing. Seriously. S.L. Jennings, I may as well just hand over my credit card to you, because I am pretty much guaranteed to buy ANYTHING you decides to write.
"Life may not be pretty, but it's always beautiful. We may only see the ugliness on the surface. The shit that only the world chooses to notice. But, if we dig deep, if we get to the heart of life, where there's no pain or fear, where we can just be who we are and love freely without judgement, it's really beautiful"
Pick it up on Amazon Now!
No comments:
Post a Comment