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Jake
I know she’s lying the moment I see her.
That her name is as fake as her story. She’s barged into my life like a beautiful nightmare, turning everything upside down.
It hasn’t stopped me from trying to help her. Protect her. Save her from the threats that seem to come out of nowhere.
She’s put my entire world at risk. My reputation. My business. My livelihood.
But Mia brought me back to life. And I will do anything to save hers.
Mia
I was running for my life the night I met Jake.
Broken down on the road to nowhere. Lost. Homeless. Scared out of my mind.
I don't care. I’m willing to risk it all to start over. Desperate to hide and never be found again.
But it doesn't take much for Jake to break down my defenses. A soft word. A gentle touch. He becomes mine, but more importantly, I become his.
Until the nightmare of my past shows up, pissed off as hell…
*This book contains material that might be offensive for some or elicit a strong emotional response.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 25, 2018
Spoilers
I think my friend Alex said this best: “I like the idea of a survivor heroine”. Because who wouldn’t commiserate with a woman who escapes an abusive father and husband. A woman who could have been killed or at the very least severely injured.
With a reading audience comprised predominantly of women, it’s almost impossible to find one without first or secondhand knowledge of abusive relationships. And in a way, I think the author was counting on that very fact. Parallel this with the #metoo movement, and you have a topical and livewire scenario more likely to evoke sympathy and outrage which, going by all the 5-star reviews, is exactly what happened.
In part I think my frustration stems from the characterisation of our heroine, Mia, who, at the very start of the book, is stranded on a lonely highway at 1 am and with no mobile or internet service.
At the very minimum, we know she's not in a good place and might be running away from a dire situation and with this plot anchor in place, the narrative exposition should have been character-driven. IMO.
The problem is, Mia was completely unbelievable as a survivor of abuse. Not once but twice, she was rescued by male characters, Jake and Maddox Sinclair, and what does Mia say?
“Are you going to hurt me?” I have no idea why I just asked that question so bluntly. Maybe I’ve officially lost my mind or I’m at the end of my tolerance. Picking myself up, I slide back onto the lounger, because if he is going to hurt me, I’d rather not be on the hard ground when he does it. “Hurt you?” he challenges, his voice rising an octave, his tone a mixture of shock and incredulity. “I love women.”
Her lack of common sense or even basic intelligence was a source of irritation. One doesn't need to be Einstein to understand that while running for your life you need to employ resilience and ingenuity. Heck, Ren, the 12 yr old hero in The Boy and His Ribbon was more astute than Mia could even dream to be. This characterisation, or lack thereof, is a reflection of the author's talent and craft.