by SARINA BOWENJude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there's no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.
For Sophie Haines, coming face to face with the man who broke her heart is gut-wrenching. Suddenly, he’s everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never turn up volunteer in the church kitchen.
She knows it’s foolish to yearn for the man who returned all the heartsick letters she wrote him in prison. But the looks he sends her now speak volumes.
No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie's police chief father. But it's a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself.
REVIEW: 5 STARS
"I wore the memory of Sophie like an imprint on my soul."
I think I can officially say that Sarina Bowen can write anything and I will read it willingly.....she wrote one of my NO - GO's and I loved it. She is easily on my list of authors I will always one click, no matter what the story is about. The struggle in this book was powerful and emotional, and one that was perfectly written and beautifully executed.
I honestly have never liked stories about drug users and their life because the stories have never appealed to me. I've never felt sorry for them because the few I have read, I hated seeing the woe-is-me stories and the glorification of a user making out in life just fine, never being true to the honest harshness of that life. I love that Sarina always makes her books so relatable and easy to read, and this one was no different. The emotional impact was heartfelt in this book.
This book was literally a "day in the life of" Jude, but not in the manner I was thinking. We met Jude in Bittersweet and watched how hard he was working to better his life and move on in his life of addiction. In all seriousness, this book was a breath of fresh air; the honest truth behind what addiction can do to you, but it wasn't a downer and there was no dwelling on the problems. I really liked how his story was told and the manner in which it was told.
Jude had the daily nuances of living with struggle.....the need and the want. Two different things that gave him drive and purpose. He was determined not to need a crutch, and the want would never go away, so he learned to get a handle on it every day - one day at a time. While living day to day with this struggle, he was dealing with his one and only true love being so close, and yet so far away. Sophie was his life before he went to jail....and she was clearly becoming a significant part of his life after he came back home.
Sophie had a really rough road she was traveling. She had her family to think about, as well as her heart to care for. She loved Jude, but knew he was off limits because of who her father was....but sometimes true love just doesn't give up. As it shouldn't!! What a predicament she was in! Emotional turmoil became her life when Jude came back into town.
Self doubt is very evident in his world....Sophie means everything and he feels he has nothing to offer.
The way these two fought FOR each other was a true testament to their love for one another and the richness of their love in which they both couldn't deny, but tried, showed their tenacity. This book took some twists and turns that I didn't see coming initially, and being able to see how they turned out was another honest truth to the depth of their love for each other.
You fall in love with them.
You ache for them.
You breathe a sigh of relief for them.
What an amazing and a beautiful love story!!! I loved this book and this series is a PERFECT series to settle into. There were some lighthearted moments, some swoon-worthy moments and some downright nail-biting moments. This book had it all. Jude is the perfect man for Sophie, and their love definitely one for the books. Literally.
"Even when you're not perfect, you're still mine."
~BEE
"I wore the memory of Sophie like an imprint on my soul."
I think I can officially say that Sarina Bowen can write anything and I will read it willingly.....she wrote one of my NO - GO's and I loved it. She is easily on my list of authors I will always one click, no matter what the story is about. The struggle in this book was powerful and emotional, and one that was perfectly written and beautifully executed.
I honestly have never liked stories about drug users and their life because the stories have never appealed to me. I've never felt sorry for them because the few I have read, I hated seeing the woe-is-me stories and the glorification of a user making out in life just fine, never being true to the honest harshness of that life. I love that Sarina always makes her books so relatable and easy to read, and this one was no different. The emotional impact was heartfelt in this book.
This book was literally a "day in the life of" Jude, but not in the manner I was thinking. We met Jude in Bittersweet and watched how hard he was working to better his life and move on in his life of addiction. In all seriousness, this book was a breath of fresh air; the honest truth behind what addiction can do to you, but it wasn't a downer and there was no dwelling on the problems. I really liked how his story was told and the manner in which it was told.
Jude had the daily nuances of living with struggle.....the need and the want. Two different things that gave him drive and purpose. He was determined not to need a crutch, and the want would never go away, so he learned to get a handle on it every day - one day at a time. While living day to day with this struggle, he was dealing with his one and only true love being so close, and yet so far away. Sophie was his life before he went to jail....and she was clearly becoming a significant part of his life after he came back home.
Sophie had a really rough road she was traveling. She had her family to think about, as well as her heart to care for. She loved Jude, but knew he was off limits because of who her father was....but sometimes true love just doesn't give up. As it shouldn't!! What a predicament she was in! Emotional turmoil became her life when Jude came back into town.
Self doubt is very evident in his world....Sophie means everything and he feels he has nothing to offer.
The way these two fought FOR each other was a true testament to their love for one another and the richness of their love in which they both couldn't deny, but tried, showed their tenacity. This book took some twists and turns that I didn't see coming initially, and being able to see how they turned out was another honest truth to the depth of their love for each other.
You fall in love with them.
You ache for them.
You breathe a sigh of relief for them.
What an amazing and a beautiful love story!!! I loved this book and this series is a PERFECT series to settle into. There were some lighthearted moments, some swoon-worthy moments and some downright nail-biting moments. This book had it all. Jude is the perfect man for Sophie, and their love definitely one for the books. Literally.
"Even when you're not perfect, you're still mine."
~BEE
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~MEET SARINA BOWEN~
Sarina Bowen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and New Adult fiction from the wilds of Vermont.
The Ivy Years is her college hockey series. Centered around the hockey team at an elite Connecticut college, The Year We Fell Down began breaking hearts in March, 2014. There are three novels and a novella in the series so far. See http://www.sarinabowen.com/TheIvyYears for updates.
HIM is a bestselling sexy, sporty hockey LGBT novel co-written with Elle Kennedy.
For lovers of angsty snowboarders, Sarina also writes the Gravity series, featuring snow sports heroes.
Sarina enjoys skiing, coffee products and a nice glass of wine. She lives with her family, six chickens and more ski gear and hockey equipment than seems necessary.
She would be honored to connect with you at http://www.sarinabowen.com
~CONNECT WITH SARINA~
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