A woman trying to rebuild her life.
Kennedy is doing all she can to escape, to prove that she’s not the monster her father was. A simple life of peace and service is all she needs.
A man haunted by a past he can’t forget.
Cain has buried his demons under layers of control and success. The only thing he needs is his company and his solitude. Certainly not a woman with captivating green eyes filled with ghosts so similar to his own.
He’s a reminder of the life she’s left behind. And she’s a threat to his tightly guarded control. As sparks fly between them, they discover that what they might need most is each other.
But with pasts like theirs...you never know when darkness might descend.
REVIEW: 4.5 STARS
"Whether we like it or not, grief is sometimes our greatest teacher."
"Whether we like it or not, grief is sometimes our greatest teacher."
Ahhh....for the final book in this series, I don't think Catherine Cowles left anything out. It had emotion. It had peeks back at the other characters. It had drama. It really just made me smile while I read it. I knew of Cain from the previous books because he had "helped out" and he had a certain "set of skills" (I giggled at that) that had been useful in each of the previous storylines, so I knew his story was going to be a good one. Right, I was. It was good!! I barreled through this one and didn't put it down. Pure smiles on my face.
This is one of those “knight in shining armor” books, but not one bit of it was boring and the words were so easy and fun to read. Smiling, laughing, easy-going and fun, this book had everything I needed for Cain and Kennedy’s story to resonate with me. But sadly, it's the last in the series. As sad as that makes me, I feel like she did their story justice.
What do you do when morals trump loyalty and you’re chastised for it? Kennedy had that reality and it's one that happens more often than not. I know from personal experience, so seeing her guilt and seeing her punish herself the way she did was all too real and very relatable. I felt so sorry for her but her character didn't allow for that. She was so strong and so determined to do good in the world. There was not one thing I didn't admire about her because she had some fierceness to her and I admired her tenacity. She was living the life she was because of something she had no control over - but I truly loved that she was so self sufficient and strong. She was also stubborn, and I probably loved that just as much as her strength. HA!
"She was a storm wrapped in beauty and grace."
I loved seeing the softer side of Cain and I feel like Cowles did a really good job with him. His temperament and his confidence mixed really well with his business sense and sexiness. He was a visual that I didn't mind having - that's for sure! He had a way with his "suave" that most men merely attempt, and Cowles did him justice. No lie, having Kennedy bring out another side of him sure made me sigh. Some of him was super soft, to the point of it sounding a little too soft, but I loved him all the same because he had his demons, but he was trying to keep them in check. I'll hold my thumb and forefinger reeeeally close for this visual, because yes - it was a little feminine in the hero's descriptive words to a certain degree, but not distractingly so. Sliiightly. Not jarringly.
"My control always seemed to slip a bit around Kennedy."
I feel like Cowles sits down and thinks up the BEST characters and then writes her stories around them. The supporting cast of characters in this series made for an amazing round of stories. But that Gramma Irma.....she was a character that I could visualize and "hear" in every single book. She had me in stitches!!! OhMyGosh, she was hilarious. I loved her old world knowledge mixed with her woman's intuition. She seriously was the best.
I don't like to expect anything happening in a book, and sometimes these "romantic suspense" books are eerily predictable - only because we all know soooomething is going to happen to the heroine and we need someone to save the day. So the anticipation is out for the extra bit of drama added into these books, but I need to keep in mind this is the trope in its truest form, but I can sum it up with ease because her writing flows. It's effortless and it reads really clean. The great thing is, I think Catherine Cowles is synonymous with "Small Town Romance" and I love that she can put me in that little mountain town in Oregon and I can relate with it all the way down to the little shops that know your name and your food order before you ever walk in. That small town feel is paraded through this book with comfort and knowledge. It has to be one of my favorite parts about her series.
Cowles has beauty and grace; an ease with her words. It’s always a joy to read her stories and she gives an honest, feel-good story about love triumphing a past that has too much control over the future. She gives me the emotions I crave in a lighter story. I really enjoy her words and look forward to reading more from her.
"Kennedy lived with a joy I didn't think I'd ever witness before. It was the simple things that gave her the most pleasure."
~BEE
"Kennedy lived with a joy I didn't think I'd ever witness before. It was the simple things that gave her the most pleasure."
~BEE
My review: http://bit.ly/2NgO66I
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~MEET CATHERINE COWLES~
Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she's not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
~FOLLOW CATHERINE~
Love your review Bee! I just finished Walker and Taylor's book and I loved it so much!!! I'm excited to read all books in this series. I can't seem to remember meeting Cain. I LOVED Grandma Irma too. I was always laughing hard when she was around.
ReplyDeleteLoved your review! I loved that book!
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