When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she’s being the kind do-gooder she’s always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn’t about charity—it’s about penance. Only, Olivia’s client isn’t the grateful elderly man she’s expecting. Instead, he’s a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia’s path to redemption . . . and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing.
Paul Langdon doesn’t need a mirror to show him he’s no longer the hotshot quarterback he was before the war. He knows he’s ugly—inside and out. He’ll do anything to stay in self-imposed exile, even accept his father’s ultimatum that Paul tolerate the newest caretaker for three months or lose his inheritance. But Paul doesn’t count on the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. And the more she slips past his defenses, the more keeping his distance is impossible.
Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: Will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken?
3.75 stars
If I judged this book by it's cover - I'd have loved it.
If I judged this book by it's first chapter - I would never have finished it.
Good thing, I'm not that type of reader!
The first chapter presents us with a sad little rich girl who is living in NYC with her parents. It reminded me much of Sophie in Vain by Fisher Amelie. I couldn't stand her in the first chapter of her book either, and it was that...knowing I came to love her that had me continuing.
While I didn't feel bad for Olivia in this book in the first chapter, I came to really enjoy her growth throughout this story. It's what I look for in a main character. Yeah, maybe in the beginning she wasn't perfect, she'd made a mistake, but I got to see her change and develop and learn to forgive herself.
Paul is broken, mentally, physically, just all around broken. He's angry, bitter and takes it out on everyone around him. But unlike with Olivia, you can actually understand why he is that way...to a point.
I loved the chemistry between Olivia and Paul. I loved their interactions and what they drew out of each other. I got caught up in the story line and couldn't put it down. Layne did a great job in keeping me interested.
I think what was missing for me was the something in the end. I needed a little bit more. I know, it sounds selfish - but without telling you what happens, I can't explain it. I think though, an epilogue would have really finished this off nicely for me pushing it definitely into 4 stars. All that said, I'd definitely recommend the book and read another by Layne again.
**ARC provided via NetGalley**
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