Heart-wrenching...painful...realistic. 
 Heart-warming...beautiful...hopeful. 
 This book took me to places I didn't want to go and to others that I was happy to visit. The reality of abusive childhoods and the sanguine prospect of being able to move beyond the terrible memories is the backbone of this story. I don't pretend to understand difficult family life or the scars it can leave on a person's soul, after all, I'm one of the lucky ones. But, in my heart of hearts, I believe that Ms. Armentrout captured the heartache, the struggles, and the lasting trauma with authenticity...and treated it with the utmost care. 
 It breaks my heart to understand that, for some, the reality of life is filled with sadness but I'm buoyed when I consider that, for others, there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is a story about that light, about the possibility of learning from the struggle and emerging stronger, and about the importance of a champion. Mallory's anxieties and fears come from a place deep in her soul and moving beyond that seems impossible even though she desperately wants to. Rider's attempts to move forward mean ignoring his own hurt to focus on others. Rider was and is Mallory's knight in shining armor, her defender, her protector. But, what worked in the past doesn't always make sense in the present. Before these two can look to the future, they need to understand what holds them back and face the changes they need to make. Their road is both painful and expectant...and it brought tears to my eyes more than once. 
 The depth of feelings in this book is through the roof and, for those of us that like instant gratification, it challenges us to slow down and truly feel. Where issues could be glossed over and solved quickly, this story makes the reader trudge through the heartache...where the HEA could have come easily, this book takes the long, scary way...where this could have been yet another story bogged down by broken characters, it holds hope on every page. I think this is one of Ms. Armentrout's best to date and can't wait to hear if you agree...go read it now!