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When I first heard this was a romantic suspense New Adult novel, I was like heck yeah! I love when authors branch out with New Adult. Elizabeth has done a great job of creating a story that will suck you in and keep you on the edge of your seat for our characters, but she also has done a stellar job of balancing out the romance and bringing the swoon!

 

Pacing: I felt this was really well-paced. While it was somewhat predictable (for me anyways), there were a few twists I didn't see coming that really broke my heart. Especially the one at the end that left my jaw hanging open. It's not quite a cliffhanger, but it does leave you unsettled and ready for the next book. I liked Ry and Piper's relationship and I felt it progressed at a good speed. These two have some serious history as well as harbor some serious hurt and regret towards one another.

 

Storyline: Piper Jameson has always been a bit of a wild child. Falling in love with the ambitious, good-hearted Ryland Roberts wasn't something she planned, but also something she couldn't help. Everyone knows Piper isn't good enough for someone like Ryland, but the two are young and in love and Ryland doesn't care what anyone thinks. He sees the good in Piper and falls for her spontaneous, outgoing personality. However, after one fateful night, Piper and Ryland's lives are turned upside down and now six years later, are reunited again.... and it's not a happy one. Piper had her reasons for leaving Truitsville, reasons that Ryland doesn't know about. She wants to tell him the truth, but she can't seem to bring herself to. Ryland is bitter, angry, and still heartbroken over losing the one girl he would do anything for. He has taken it upon himself to watch out for her younger sister Hadley after she left and now that she's reappeared back in his life, he has all of these feelings and emotions he thought were long dead rise back up to greet him.

 

However, as events unfold and they realize that things in Truitsville are worse than they ever knew, Piper and Ryland will have to push aside their confusing feelings for one another and focus on protecting the one person that still links them to one another.

 

Characters: As I said above, Piper has always been rather wild. After her mom married her step-father, the police of chief, it became clear that Piper was the troubled one and Hadley was the perfect daughter. Piper has been constantly told she's not good enough for someone like Ryland and eventually she starts to believe that to be true. She feels responsible for what happened to him after she left and she thought by not contacting him, she was doing him a favor. She wants to see him successful, married to a good woman, and happy. She has no idea that her leaving him would break him and her good intentions were all for nothing. After 6 years of being away and realizing the truth, she still feels she's not good enough for him and really wages an inner battle of whether or not she should open up to him and tell him the truth about everything. With the anger he feels and shows her, she's afraid it just might be too late for them.

 

Oh Ryland. He's adorable. He fell in love with a girl only to have his heart broken and his life completely thrown off track. The people he needed the most abandoned him and he is left a bitter, angry shell of a man. He tries not to let himself think of Piper, though every time he sees her sister Hadley, it's a reminder of the girl he loved and lost. He is less than thrilled when he finds out Piper will be coming back to town. He refuses to let himself think about everything they shared when they were younger. However, her return is not something he can avoid and as much as it hurts him, he will be there for them while they deal with their mom's illness.

 

I really like the moment Ryland owns up to his feelings for Piper and vows to fight for her. He won't let her go without a fight and his determination to keep her with him is really sexy and endearing. The two are older now and have made mistakes that they can't change. They can however, work towards a new future- provided they can make it through the chaos that they find themselves in the middle of.

 

I really liked Hadley, Piper's sister. She's a sweet girl who has lived through hell and my heart just ached for her. She tries to be strong and pretend she's not affected by what happened, but there's no way she can NOT be affected. The ending really threw me and I felt my breath literally leave my chest upon those final words. I am both looking forward to and fearing the next book, which will be from her point of view. Hadley has a lot to work through and I hope that she can and will be stronger because of what she's had to endure.

 

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. Even though I was able to predict some things, that doesn't mean others will. There were a lot of 'oh shit' moments for me, as well as tender, sweet ones that left me with a big grin on my face. I really enjoyed Ryland and Piper's characters, as well as their romance. I'm a fan of second chance romance stories, even though they hurt my heart because I hate seeing the characters in emotional pain! Where There's Smoke is an intense, fast-paced read that will leave you ready for more!

 

When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand.  Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination!  Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that!

 

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