Lovin' los libros

 

 

I am always in the mood for a good romance, so when I saw this one come available for review, I thought it sounded like a sweet love story. I absolutely adored the friendships in this book. They were so well developed and I truly felt the connection between the characters. However, I really struggled with the romance of this one.

 

Alec and Faith are two people who carry an immense amount of pain within themselves. My heart broke for both of them and their situations and I was looking forward to seeing these two fall in love and help heal the others' hurts. While this does eventually happen, the journey was a difficult one. Alec is very hot and cold with Faith and that always drives me crazy. For someone as fragile as Faith, I loathed seeing him hurt her. At one point in the book I remember thinking that I wish they would cut all ties and have that be the end. It was that frustrating. I also really struggled to feel a connection between them. Something was so formal and felt off to me, so I found myself not being able to connect to my characters on the emotional level I needed to fully become invested in their relationship.

 

That's not to say I don't understand where Alec is coming from. He feels he is in an impossible situation and he isn't ready to let go of the guilt and pain of his past in order to move on with his life. Faith comes out of nowhere and completely blindsides him, making him feel all these feelings he never thought he could feel again. I think I could have handled it had there not been so much back and forth on his feelings. I understand he is troubled and doesn't know how to proceed but it just ruined the romance for me. I think what really upset me most is how after Faith opened up to Alec and told him about her family and how she feels, he would still continually hurt her. He hurts her, but he can't stay away from her, thus confusing her even more with his conflicting feelings.

 

I also wish there had been a bit more build up on Alec's motivation to make things right at the end. We spend the whole book with him struggling with what he thinks is right, and then it's solved rather quickly. It just seemed too easy and I felt it would have taken him longer to come to his senses than it did. I am happy with the way the book ended though, because ultimately I did want to see these two find their happily-ever-after. Once Alec stopped being so hot and cold with Faith, I ended up enjoying their scenes together and started to believe in the romance. Unfortunately by that point, it was so late it was too hard to overlook all that had transpired.

 

While this didn't work for me especially, I think many will enjoy the angst filled romance. The friendships and the secondary characters were really a bright spot for me, so I was really happy to see that added layer that a lot of books overlook. I also adored the setting, as it transported me to the ocean and the beautiful scenery North Carolina has to offer. I may still go back and try Moran's Return To Me and see if I have better luck with Cole and Mia's story.