This book was good and I really felt for the characters. But while I mostly enjoyed this book, I did feel as though it was just okay. It wasn't overly memorable and it didn't break any new ground. I think that this book actually could have been shorter, and might have been better suited as a novella. It seemed as though pretty much everything big happened early on, with the exception of the big reveal. So while I liked Shatter Me by Tori St. Claire, I didn't love it.
Former Marine Alex McCray returns home with the intent to fulfill his dead best friend's last wish, to look after his wife. Alex expects to make a quick stop on his way home, but once he sees the state in which Reagan is living he knows that it isn't as easy as he thought. Alex sets out to help Reagan fix up her place and get her life in order when it becomes apparent that she is pretty much on her own. But the forbidden attraction that they have always felt for one another only gets stronger the more time they spend together. Soon Alex and Reagan are wondering if they could possibly explore what is between them. But with secrets from the past not yet revealed, is it only a matter of time before things between them are over?
Alex and Reagan were both easy characters to like, and both were clearly struggling with Drew's death and what that meant for the two of them. Alex had always felt that Drew was like a brother to him, and he knew the guy that Drew was as a soldier. Drew had given his life for Alex, and he only ever saw the good that Drew let him see. But when he spent time around Reagan and started to see that things were off, I kept waiting for him to put the pieces together. Only he drew the wrong conclusions and that acted horribly when he should have known better. Reagan was strong and good, and she was determined to move on with her life. She had a tough time and had endured a lot, and she let others assume things in order to protect the memory that others had of her husband. I really hated that she let others treat her so badly and that she compromised herself to perpetuate a lie. She dressed in clothes that hid herself from the world and only really talked to her few friends that knew the truth. I kept waiting for her to finally clue Alex in, and the longer that went by without her telling him the worse I started to feel about her character. I still liked her, but I really felt like she should have been honest with him, especially after how close they had grown.
Overall, this was a good read and it went pretty quick. While I liked it, it wasn't anything that I will probably read again. I felt badly for both of these characters, but they both handled things poorly at times. I think that there were several things that could have easily been removed so that the story was shorter and didn't have so much angst. A lot of this story was Alex worrying about wanting Drew's widow, and Reagan worrying about Alex finding out the truth about Drew. While I understood some of that, after awhile it was the same thing over and over and that got old. I think if you are looking for something quick and don't mind some angst, you might give this one a shot.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
Very cute blog! :))
ReplyDeleteThank you! =)
Delete