Title: Tough Love
Author: Max Henry
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 23, 2017
Blurb
Some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried …
Eight years
ago, Amelia Harris had her life ripped out from underneath her. Being the
centre of the town gossip was hard enough, but when the boy who promised her
forever left without so much as a goodbye, he took her ability to love with
him.
After family tragedy brings Evan North back into her life, the secrets of her past have never felt as close as they do now. When the same scandal that tore them apart rears its ugly head, will history be doomed to repeat itself?
After family tragedy brings Evan North back into her life, the secrets of her past have never felt as close as they do now. When the same scandal that tore them apart rears its ugly head, will history be doomed to repeat itself?
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Excerpt
“I miss him.”
“I know.”
“He knew everything already, you know? It was easy to be
myself around him.” I reach out and take my drink.
“But that’s not all, is it?” Jess challenges before sipping
her wine. “The fact he knows what happened to you in school isn’t the only
reason you miss him, is it?” She lowers her chin, levelling me with her gaze.
“No.”
I don’t even know how to describe it, that soulful
connection you get with another. When I’m around him, nothing else bothers me.
My world narrows when he’s in view, and I like how it feels to have those
blinders on. It’s as though I’m focussing on the only things that matter: the
people close to me.
“What if I misread him?” I ask. “What if he wasn’t that into
me?”
“How many nights did he come over to see you at Kath’s?”
“Most of them.”
“How many times did he message you?”
“Every day.”
Jess glares, her lips curling up on one side. “Yeah, he
wasn’t into you at all.”
Review
Tough Love was an emotional story of second chances, not just a second chance at love, but a second chance at life.
Amelia has been going through life the last 9 years, not really living, but trying to find something in her life to give her what she needed to carry on. Being estranged from her only sibling, and having a lacking relationship with her parents, she's pretty alone in life, but she's got a job, one good friend, and she's content in her life, content in the future path she's on and then on a dime, it all changes and she's forced to go back to the worst time in her life. She's forced to confront the beasts of the past, the reason why she's just passing through life and not really living it.
Evan's got a new life, a somewhat great life, he's got a son whom he loves, a job he loves and believes in, but he's also still got a hole in himself, regrets from the past. When, in the line of duty, he finds himself in Amelia's life again, he can't let it go without trying to speak to her, without hashing it all out, but he also knows he needs to move at her pace and handle everything else going on in her life.
As Evan helps Amelia cope with the new tragedy taking over her life, and they discuss the past, his reasons for leaving, the awful things that happened afterward, and so much more, they begin to rebuild something between them. Amelia has a lot to work through, instead of leaving the past behind and ignoring the pain it brings to her, she has to work thorugh it. She has to confront her parents with her feelings, she has to give the full brunt of details to Evan, she needs to find closure in some way.
Tough Love was a highly emotional read, there were so many things that happened to Amelia and they really hit hard, leaving me teary, or angry (on her behalf) or bereft. The more I read and go to know her history, the deeper I fell for this character and desired to see her find some peace in her future, and to find a love she so deserved. To watch as Amelia and Evan find their way back to each other, and help work through the past kept me hooked to the story.
Author Bio
Born and bred in Canterbury, New Zealand, Max now resides
with her family in beautiful and sunny Queensland, Australia.
Life with two young children can be hectic at times, and although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldn’t change a thing.
Life with two young children can be hectic at times, and although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldn’t change a thing.
In her down time, Max can be found at her local gym, brain-storming through a session with the weights. If not, she’s probably out drooling over one of many classic cars on show that she wishes she owned.
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