4.5 stars 
 When I started reading Trouble, I was in a strange headspace. This was the second book in a row I picked up where the heroine was the victim of domestic abuse. Knowing I was in for some heartbreak made me approach this one a little hesitantly. 
 Mia's history of abuse was one of those stories that hurt to hear about. The pattern she found herself in was one that could lead no where good. Through a series of events, she finds herself running from home in search of answers to questions she didn't even know to ask. 
 Jordan has lost or disappointed everyone he loves. He is not a man who dates women, he only has sex. When Mia shows up at his father's hotel, wearing sunglasses at night, he knows there is something different about her. There was just something about Jordan from the beginning that made him sympathetic and the kind of guy any girl wants to know. 
 I liked the two of them for each other almost immediately. We know what Mia is running from, but when Mia shows up at Jordan's hotel, we don't know much about him at that point. There was just something about that meeting and the subsequent conversations with his best friend and his father that had me immediately hoping they would have a happy ending. Jordan had a patience and sense of understanding when it came to Mia and told him he needed to take thing slow with her, a big change of pace for him. 
 The addition of Dozer, Jordan's dog, to the story line was a great ice breaker. His immediate connection to Mia adds a bridge between Mia and Jordan, and he causes a few well placed bits of comic relief for Mia and Jordan later in the story as well. Beth's character too, adds a great counter to Jordan, both as a best friend and as a sisterly influence. She acts as his conscience at times, and continually pokes and prods as a sibling might do. 
 I was happy to see this was not a case of insta-love. They don't fall in to bed on their first meeting, nor did Mia immediately put behind years of abuse when she met Jordan. There was a definite process to her healing, with hiccups along the way, which made it much more realistic (if a little bit truncated) and easier to stay connected with the characters and their individual histories. 
 This book surprised me. I expected to enjoy it. What I didn't expect was to find as many surprise elements throughout the story. The background stories that come out explain a lot about both main characters while fueling important present day plot points, both immediate events and character reactions. This is a well woven story of hurt and healing that had me by turns cheering for and aching with the characters along the way. 
 Thanks to Samantha Towle for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.