I’m going to start this review by stating that this book includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Some happen “on-screen” whereas others are mentioned as the character’s past is discussed. If this type of content triggers you, I would suggest steering far clear of this book. If it doesn’t bother you, read on! These topics are covered with grace and respect for the victim. This is definitely one of the better books I’ve read that included this subject matter.
Madeline has been under the violent hand of her older brother for two years since her parents died, but she would still rather live with him than marry her horrid betrothed. She doesn’t see a way out of her situation, so she just tries to keep her head down as much as possible. Alex accidentally opens the door to her room while visiting her brother one day, and sees this beautiful yet injured and bruised woman lying asleep. He knows that he wants to save her by taking her to his home with his family. This will heal her body, but how will he help her heal her mind?
This book is told from both Madeline and Alex’s perspectives, which really improved this entire experience as you saw the romance blossom from both sides. Madeline is 18 and Alex is around 28, which concerned me a little at first. But Alex never made any creepy comments about being attracted to how young Madeline was (any that I noticed at least). He never knew her before she was already 18, so there was no creepy underage romance here. And he always gave her the space she needed to heal, never pressuring her into anything. This was the healthiest age-gap romance I’ve read in a long time, so I definitely accept it!
Alex’s family at his home were all welcoming to Madeline, even if her injuries saddened/scared them at first. Jenny was the absolute cutest little girl in this story, and I can’t wait to see if she shows up in future books of this series! Madeline fit right in at Alex’s home, but she still needed to heal from her mental wounds after 2 years of torture.
There is a lot of drama from Madeline’s former abusers and the people who live in her new sanctuary. Some of it is hard to read, but she and Alex always worked through the issues together if she let him in to do so.
The only thing that brought this book down from a perfect rating for me was how much torture Madeline went through. At one point it felt like every time something was just resolved, Madeline would reveal another awful tidbit about her former life. All the issues were handled with respect, but at one point it just felt like it a bit much for ALL this pain to be put on this one character. This didn’t affect my overall reading experience though, so I would still recommend this book.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new adult romance novel to read. As a person who doesn’t often delve into the Highlander romance genre, this is a good place to start!
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books.
