Synopsis
Gwen has lived a hard life. She has endured many situations that would have broken a weaker person. But she has found love in her life and it keeps her from completely losing it when things get rough. That is, until one day a man enters her life that changes everything.
Will this man help Gwen become a stronger woman or will he completely destroy her?
Excerpt
She quickly slipped into a skintight strapless dress with no bra, no panties. Might as well be easy since that’s exactly what she was going over for. As she walked out the door, she slipped on a pair of 4 inch black heels that were sitting next to the door. She hailed a cab and gave herself a pep talk the whole way. When the cab arrived she paid and headed up the elevator. She stopped and listened in front of his door. She could hear music softly playing but didn’t hear any voices. She knocked softly on the door. She waited a minute. But she didn’t hear anything. Taking a deep breath, she knocked once more, a little harder this time. Still nothing. She turned and walked the few steps back to the elevator.
She pushed the down button berating herself the whole time. Why had she come here? What was wrong with her? This was not something she would have ever done in the past. Did she seriously think that sleeping with him in a strip club would change who she was? He probably just felt bad for her earlier when he had kissed her in his apartment. Men always wanted to have the upper hand, right? She put her forehead on the wall and told herself how stupid she was to have come back to his place.
Review
This story starts with a bang, then comes back to a slow build and ends with a bang.
As the synopsis highlights – this is Gwen’s story. Gwen is a 27 year old fashion student who has a past. Her past is dark and traumatic, and clearly influences her life choices, including her relationships and her job.
Gwen goes through her days in the way that she knows how, showing compassion to those with less than her, and keeping a very tight focus on her activities. Then she stumbles, literally and is introduced to Cole Cressley. Cole is a man who distracts Gwen in lots of ways, and who makes her start question the decisions she has made in her life.
The growth of Gwen and Cole’s relationship comes with its own drama and secrecy which is bound to lead to disappointment for one or both of them!
I really enjoyed this story, particularly because it takes a very broken soul, and showcases her strength. The strength that Gwen has developed by relying on herself and surviving. This is one story where the girl doesn’t need the alpha guy to make her strong! That is not to say this character trait of Gwen’s is healthy, but for the most part, it works for her, and is nothing short of admirable.
The relationship development between Cole and Gwen is intense and emotional with vulnerability for both characters for different reasons. But when Gwen is forced to face her past, does it all come crashing down? I don’t have the answer to that last question – because, yep you guessed it – Cliffhanger!!!!!!!
As I said at the start, this story started strong, threw you right in the guts of the drama, then plateaued while life went on. This plateau was still interesting and revealing, but a bit slow. At about 70% the book really picked up again – but by this point it was clear there would be a cliff hanger, and that disappointed me a little bit. Will I read the second book – hell yeah – with where it ended, I have no choice – I so need to know what happens!
Would I recommend Yearning Devotion, yeah! It’s a page turning book, and the story has many layers of complexity that you can’t help but be drawn in, bonding with Gwen and wanting her to win life’s battle – surely someone with her experience deserves happiness.
Oh and the sex – hell yeah – it’s hot! On a side note if F/F is not necessarily your style, I would say to try and read past it, because it fits with the story perfectly, so much so, that if that emotional and physical element was not there – I don’t know that I would buy the story or rally for Gwen quite as much!
Book 2 Yearning Absolution looks set to be out around October 2013, thank goodness it’s not that far away, I am dying to know what happens next for Gwen!
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Author Bio
Rachael is a stay at home mom with 2 young daughters and a husband that keep her constantly on her toes. She lives in the extremely hot state of Arizona, where she reads and writes away the blistering heat outside. She is a cancer survivor with a quirky personality. She’s been an avid reader for as long as she can remember and been writing since she was in high school. Her hopes of being a writer were crushed when she was young but one day she decided she was going to do what makes her happy and that was to write.
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