TITLE: So Much It Hurts
AUTHOR: Melanie Dawn
Kaitlyn Thomas, a weary wife and mother, is taking a much needed getaway with her friends. All she wants to do is relax and rejuvenate on her weekend escape to the beach. Having a drink at the bar with the girls sounds like the perfect way to unwind. That is, until Kaitlyn hears a familiar voice from the stage that shakes her to her core. She grapples with her memory until Chris King, the lead singer of the band, walks up to her and eliminates the questions in her mind.
Chris King…the misunderstood bad boy who once saved her in ways that no one else could.
Kaitlyn’s friends beg to know the story behind this mystery man. Forced to revisit a painful past from which she has spent years trying to heal, Kaitlyn's recollection of Chris awakens intense feelings that she has kept buried deep inside her heart. Has time changed him, or is he still the same person Kaitlyn fell in love with so many years ago?
Marriage vows are sacred, but temptation is a powerful thing.
Seeing Chris again has caused a war between her head and her heart. In the end, which one will win the battle? Facing a difficult decision, Kaitlyn just wants to be sure of one thing when she walks away from this weekend—no regrets.
I was given an ARC in return for an honest review.
There are so many elements to this story, it's hard to know where to start.
In the beginning Kaitlyn is living an unfulfilled life and feeling taken for granted by her husband. After some persuasion she manages to convince him that she deserves a weekend break with her girlfriends. It is during this weekend that her world is turned upside down. She bumps into Chris King, her first love. Her reaction to seeing him makes her friends curious so she explains who he is, how she knows him and want he means/meant to her. To fully understand this we are taken back to a time to when Kaitlyn was at High School, and deeply in love with her first boyfriend, Trevor. Trevor is charming, handsome and popular. What's more Kaitlyn's parents love him. Perfect really. NOT! Lurking not far beneath the surface is the true face of Trevor. The saying that 'beauty is only skin deep' was made with Trevor in mind. He is controlling and abusive, both mentally and physically.
I would be doing a disservice to Melanie Dawn if I did not say a huge 'Thank You' to how she handled this topic. She described perfectly the hopelessness and the isolation that the abuser makes their victims feel. The slow spiral down into the abyss that, when you are the there, you see no way out, other than believing everything that the abuser says. Melanie got Kaitlyn in that exact place.
Chris King is new to the school and because he is a 'bad boy' everyone warns Kaitlyn to steer clear. Including her parents. However, Kaitlyn is able to see a different side to Chris and he fast becomes her friend and saviour in many ways. Unfortunately, things were not to be and they don't see each other for another 8 years, during which time Kaitlyn got married and had a baby. Which brings us right up to the present day. What happens next is heartbreaking.
I would be doing a disservice to Melanie Dawn if I did not say a huge 'Thank You' to how she handled this topic. She described perfectly the hopelessness and the isolation that the abuser makes their victims feel. The slow spiral down into the abyss that, when you are the there, you see no way out, other than believing everything that the abuser says. Melanie got Kaitlyn in that exact place.
Chris King is new to the school and because he is a 'bad boy' everyone warns Kaitlyn to steer clear. Including her parents. However, Kaitlyn is able to see a different side to Chris and he fast becomes her friend and saviour in many ways. Unfortunately, things were not to be and they don't see each other for another 8 years, during which time Kaitlyn got married and had a baby. Which brings us right up to the present day. What happens next is heartbreaking.
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