Synopsis:
The Past…
As childhood sweethearts, Brian and Melissa's plans were simple: finish school, get married, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, life didn’t go as planned. Melissa went away to college, and Brian married her best friend.
The Present…
Seventeen years have passed and Brian's stable family life has come crashing down around him. His wife’s a cheater, his teenage daughter is hiding things from him and Melissa is back in town to remind him of what he lost all those years ago.
Melissa's returned home, ready to forgive and focus on her future, but that all changes the day she gets a desperate phone call from Brian’s daughter, Erin. Thrown back into Brian’s tumultuous life, Melissa struggles to move beyond the pain of his broken promise.
The Future…
While working together to save Erin from the evil web she’s caught in, Melissa and Brian fight to fix the past or face losing each other all over again.
As childhood sweethearts, Brian and Melissa's plans were simple: finish school, get married, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, life didn’t go as planned. Melissa went away to college, and Brian married her best friend.
The Present…
Seventeen years have passed and Brian's stable family life has come crashing down around him. His wife’s a cheater, his teenage daughter is hiding things from him and Melissa is back in town to remind him of what he lost all those years ago.
Melissa's returned home, ready to forgive and focus on her future, but that all changes the day she gets a desperate phone call from Brian’s daughter, Erin. Thrown back into Brian’s tumultuous life, Melissa struggles to move beyond the pain of his broken promise.
The Future…
While working together to save Erin from the evil web she’s caught in, Melissa and Brian fight to fix the past or face losing each other all over again.
Review:
Dana does a wonderful job
keeping you at the edge of your seat with this book. There’s lots of twists and
turns where you least expect them and when you think you have the story figured
out, she throws a curve ball your way. She has a way to make you fall in love
one minute, make your heart drop the next, then make you cry when you least
expect it. It definitely is a wild roller coaster ride for sure. We've
met Brian in Dangerous Embrace so I’m glad to finally get his story.
Brian and Melissa were childhood sweethearts and had their
entire lives planned out for them. Melissa was to go away to college, while
Brian was to wait for her, occasionally visit her on weekends. He promised her
forever. Instead, Brian committed the ultimate betrayal. He married her best
friend.
“Embrace every moment, for each is a gift.”
Brian and Julie seemed happy, but I guess not everything is
as they appear to be. Life as a detective takes a lot of commitment and
dedication, but it takes a toll on your family more. Brian loved his family,
there was no doubt about that, but sometimes he showed that he loved his job
more. There was child pornography case in the area that he and his partner
Johnny were trying to get to the bottom of. The thought of someone exposing
children sickened him. Hell that crap sickens me to death. He was starting to
see his family less and less, and not knowing what was going on with them. It’s
like he wasn't even a part of their lives anymore.
Julie wasn’t loved by Brian anymore so she found affection
elsewhere. She felt her marriage was over a long time ago. Brian constantly
chose his job over his family and she wasn’t having it anymore. Brian felt his
life crumbling before his very eyes when he caught his wife with another man.
When he confronted her, Julie wasn’t denying it, nor was she fighting him about
it. They were done. She could not
physically or emotionally put any more time or energy into their marriage.
This was a giant wake up call for Brian. He knew he was distant from his family
a lot but he was doing a job to provide for them. How else would he provide for
them? He was doing something he loved doing and he knew to do nothing
else. He loved Julie with everything and
he wanted to fix it. He wanted to keep his family together. But Julie decided
that walking out on her family was best for her. How was Brian to come back
from this? How will their children handle this big turn of events?
“I’ve learned a lot over the last year, but the most important thing I’ve learned is that life is short.” ~ Melissa
Brian feels he has hit the bottom. How can he live when the
one person he has loved for so long has left? How can he muster the strength to
move on to be there for his children? Something is up with his daughter Erin,
she doesn’t seem to want to talk to him. He senses something is wrong and that
she’s hiding something, but he doesn’t know how to get to the bottom of
whatever it is she is going through.
“I couldn’t give all of myself to her because you have always owned that part of me.” ~ Brian
Melissa has been living her life as best as she can. The
betrayal Brian left her with hurt her. A part of her still loves Brian. She
will always love him. She has a job she currently loves, a man who loves her
and she just moved to be closer to her family. But when she gets a call from a
frantic Erin wanting to talk, she has no choice but to help Brian and the kids
get their spiraling life back on track.
“I want him with me because it’s what he wants, no coaxing, no trapping, no strings…and no overwhelming need to mend a broken promise. ” ~ Melissa
Brian is desperate to get this child pornography case shut
down. Melissa has been a life saver for him and his family and he is slowly
getting that connection with his children with her help. Brian and Melissa have
also put the past behind them and have become friends once again. They’ve been
spending so much time together that they could easily fall back to their past comfortable
routine. Erin was able to confide in Melissa about her troubles and she is in
bigger trouble than Melissa can handle. She encourages her to get Brian’s help
but she’s afraid of what her father will do and swears her to secrecy. So in
order to keep Erin talking to her and not clamming up, she must keep her secret
as much as it would hurt Brian in the end.
Will Erin be able to tell Brian her secret? How will he
react to it? Will he react worse than she thought? Will Brian feel betrayed by
Melissa that she helped keep her secret from him? Can Brian and the kids find a
normal routine again? Will Brian and Johnny be able to catch the child
pornography culprit? Can Brian find the balance between his family and his job?
How will Brian and Melissa’s relationship be affected by them spending a lot of
time together? Will they both be able to put the past completely behind them
and move forward?
I loved the fact that not only do we get Brian and Melissa’s
story we get all the old characters from the other books back as well. Their
stories continued in this book so we get more of them as well. I also loved how
if Brian or one of the kids had a problem, they could count on everyone else
there to help them. It’s like they’re one big extended family. I admire Melissa
and her strength to put her feelings for Brian aside and help him when he hit
rock bottom. She knew it would be hard to face him since she was still hurting
from his betrayal, but she knew that he needed someone to help him get through
that tough time and she sucked it up and was there for him every step of the
way. I don’t think I would be able to do that.
This review was done by Jenn. I received an ARC for my review.
Buy Links:
Dangerous Embrace - http://amzn.to/1iZYFjF
Precious Embrace -http://amzn.to/1xaCLDO
Broken Embrace - http://amzn.to/1xaCuky
Dana Mason is happily settled in a
small valley amongst the California grapevines with her husband and three
children. Author of the romantic suspense, Embrace Series, she's written about
a group of friends from Northern California who learn just how short life can
be when you don't hold on to what's important. Second chances don't come
easy...but sometimes love is worth the risk.When not writing, Dana specializes in professional development and training. She's also a board member on the local Art's Council and does what she can to support the art community.
Dana Mason Media Links:
@danamason06
BLOG TOUR HOSTED BY:
No comments:
Post a Comment