Introverted Denise Staukhill just wanted a quiet life. She never dreamed she would find a man like Darren Olsen to share it with. An unexpected tragedy ends their fairy-tale romance, and Denise once again finds herself alone and devastated.

Years later, the handsome head football coach from the local high school and Darren’s best friend, Eric Ortellio, tried desperately to help her find peace. As their relationship starts to grow, the manipulative Coach Nick Nelson, trying to protect his secretive past, steps in to ruin both of them.

Will Denise and Eric’s friendship sustain the lies and manipulation that the evil Nelson weaved? Can Denise find the strength to let go of Darren and hold on to Eric, or will her faithfulness to Darren keep Eric out of her life forever?

 

My Review:

This book really surprised me with it’s maturity and consistency with life. I really appreciated the level it took to not only display different signs of grief but personality types as well. While it’s a slow and steady journey of a woman struggling with grief, there are moments that really display the little beauties in life that stand out. Like first meetings with people that end up changing our life forever. Or reminiscing great moments in our past to make us smile on a bad day. I really did connect to these parts and appreciated the author including a very real look on family. Denise and her three children go through a life altering event with the death of their husband and father. It’s heartbreaking to think about but also very moving how they each endure and support each other. After moving away and returning a couple years later, Denise reconnects with their old neighbor Eric.

All of these characters are very well developed and easy to read and connect with throughout the book. Though I’ve been known to flinch while reading a few love stories, I really liked the easy flow of the tender moments between the characters. The moments written of Denise and Darren’s relationship, while brief, were really great and I almost forgot for a moment that he passes away. It was really nice how consistent Melvin was in keeping Darren’s memory alive while introducing the new love interest in Eric. The author did a great job of writing the subtle differences of each characters unique personality and sense of humor. Especially the younger kids still figuring out who they were.

This book was great read about closures and new beginnings as well as some surprising plot twists and even more struggles along the way. It’s definitely one of the more slower reads than I am used to but was just so real and refreshing. I would certainly recommend this very meaningful and heartfelt book for readers wanting a romantic and mature read.