Heat Factor: It’s steamy but it’s a slow build and it’s a very unique unfolding.
Character Chemistry: There are so many kinds of chemistry here it’s impossible to summarize.
Plot: Jack is a world-famous musician whose career began with his other half, Mia. At perhaps the twilight of his career, Jack is interviewed by Erin, a journalist. Together they unfold a story and also a deep and profound connection.
Overall: This is a two-fer – one romance, smut adjacent but deeply touching. The other, a very sweet HEA. I would not categorize this as a classic romance, but a very well written adult fiction with an engaging romance story line.
I definitely started this one thinking it would be a mediocre read. Right off the bat, we have an older musician sleeping with his angry ex, who ends up hospitalized. But then we have the appearance of Erin, the journalist, and beautiful things started to unfold.
I have to say that I hedged back and forth on whether this should be classified as romance–it’s a very close call. First of all, near equal attention is given to both relationships. You watch the development and volatility of Jack falling for Mia, while you’re also watching an older and wiser Jack slowly unfolding for Erin. So, if romance is watching people become transformed as they seek a happily-ever-after through love, this leans that direction–but I wouldn’t say it’s clear-cut smut.
The way it’s done made Jack and Erin feel almost a little adulterous. Jack and Mia’s relationship is so volatile and deep that it’s hard not to want them to work things out. But Jack and Erin’s relationship grows so slowly that their romance kind of shifts from friendship to something much bigger very subtly, and so Jack and Mia and Jack and Erin become two sides of the same coin, really.
Basically, you’re looking at Jack pulling his life together after near impossible heartbreak and loss. As he slowly unfolds his story to Erin, you’re pulled along into his past relationship with Mia.
I wanted his happily ever after to be with Mia. I really did. It was hard to let this go, because they seemed like they SHOULD get that happy ending. When it doesn’t happen, it’s just so incredibly heartbreaking. But somehow, the author unfurls something really full of hope with Erin, and that ended up feeling more than okay, too.
I mean, in real life, this is how it goes, doesn’t it? And who’s to say that the happily ever after you’re able to piece together painstakingly after great trauma and tragedy isn’t actually perfect?
If you want to read something that kind of breaks you open and then knits you back together, here you go. It might not be a “true” romance, but you’ll enjoy every second of this intense ride.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
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