5 stars I received an ARC of this book from the author and it’s another one of those books that take place in Winchester, CO, and connects to other characters in several different rock bands. It’s hard for me to keep track of who’s who, but I’ve loved all of them. I’m going to describe the plot because I think it’s necessary to understand my review. Some might think it contains spoilers, but I disagree because most of it is fairly obvious from the beginning. I mean, it follows a formula. Nevertheless, if you want to avoid a plot summary, skip three paragraphs. Sierra is caring for Mia who is the child of Mickey (a bass player), but she hasn’t told him Mia is his. There are multiple reasons—when she discovered she was pregnant she went to tell him and couldn’t find him because he had moved, but more importantly, she is convinced her parents would never approve of him. Several years later, she runs into him at the wedding of mutual friends and he wants to catch up with her. She doesn’t want to spend any time with him because she’s afraid he’ll figure out the secret she is keeping. To be clear, she hasn’t told another living soul. Despite her reluctance to spend any time with him, she cannot help herself because she truly cares for him. However, every time she begins to fantasize about having a life with him, she convinces herself they can never have a happily-ever-after. Even when he tells her he loves her, she is stopped by her fear. Every time they get too close, she runs away, a behavior he has commented upon repeatedly. He’s surprisingly patient and understanding. Meanwhile, Sierra’s parents have decided that she should marry Austin—her high school/first boyfriend and son of rich parents whom they wish to tie themselves. At the same time, Mickey confronts Sierra and accuses her of keeping Mia from him. He is disgusted with her, and for good reason, because he has given her so many opportunities to confess and she has lied every time. Austin is very nice and he’s a good friend, so Sierra feels she could be happy with him, even though she’s certain she will never love him. But she can’t get Mickey out of her mind, although things ended badly between them the last time they spoke. Eventually, she realizes she’s in love with Mickey and must come clean to her parents, and risk losing them. Unfortunately, she has hurt him too many times and now he’s gone again. She leaves a message confessing everything and doesn’t hear back from him. She resolves that when he demands visitation/shared custody of Mia, she will do whatever is needed to make things up to him. There were times while reading this book that I wanted to hit Sierra in the head to knock some sense into her. However, the internal conflicts she experiences were absolutely necessary to the tension in the plot. Truly, all of the tension is inside of Sierra’s head. She struggles to understand herself. She questions her motivations, her desires, her willingness to be brave and to act independently, and she keeps coming up short. The only surprise is the amount of time it takes her to acknowledge what she really wants and to stand up for herself. This is her journey. The POV never switches to any other character, even though it’s told in third-person. There were times when I wondered what Mickey was thinking or feeling, but he was actually fairly transparent. He wanted Sierra in his life, and although he struggled with how to react to her behavior, he still admitted he loved her, and each time she ran away, he waited for her to return. Until he didn’t anymore. And that’s when she realized how much she had hurt him, how much she actually cared for him, and that this was her life and she should choose what would make her happy, rather than striving to earn her parents’ approval. At that point, it doesn’t actually matter whether Mickey forgives her or allows her back in his life. Of course, we want her to spend the rest of her life with him because we want them both to be happy. But she has grown immensely because of her struggles and has become a better person, and that’s what’s really important. I really enjoyed Sierra’s journey and I recommend this book. August 28, 2022
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Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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