***The powerful continuation of the story that began in Reclaiming the Sand- a tale of love and forgiveness and learning to over come a past that has come to define you.***
Bully and Victim
Friend and Lover
Past and Future
Ellie McCallum and Flynn Hendrick’s story was as painful as it was devastating. But they were able to find within each other an unlikely yet beautiful love. Despite the obstacles that tried to keep them apart.
And together they rose out of the ashes of their tragic history.
Now years after their life changing reunion Ellie is back in Wellston, having just graduated from college and ready to start her future with the man who taught her how to love. However, returning to a town that held so much bitterness and anger was the last place she wanted to start over.
But for Flynn, who is now an art professor at the community college and firmly rooted in the place that gave them their beginning, she’d do just about anything.
Yet it’s difficult building a life when you’ve only just learned how to live.
And love, no matter how strong, doesn’t always conquer all.
Ellie and Flynn must learn how far they are willing to go to stay together. Or whether the ghosts of the past will consume them both.
Because finding a happily ever after is harder than it seems. Particularly when you’re fighting against the one thing that could destroy you.
4 HOME STARS ★★★★
"He was banana bread and holding hands. He was soft smiles and warm touches. He was whispered words and solemn declarations. He was love."
It's only been a week or two since I've read Reclaiming the Sand and the memories of how it tore me apart are still so fresh in my mind. In the highly anticipated sequel of one of my top reads of 2014, we are once again reunited with Ellie & Flynn as we witnessed them moving forward.
Chasing the Tide picks off with Ellie finishing college and returning home to Wellston. With conflicted feelings about going back to a home where it reminded her of a past she's been trying hard to leave behind, to her, home is where Flynn is.
"His words struck me with a resonance that I felt deep in my bones. Home. No word had ever sounded so foreign to my ears yet felt so right in my heart.
Moving forward with this sequel, the author shifted the focus more on Flynn & Ellie's struggles to have a functional relationship especially with them living under the same roof. We see the struggles from both sides; Ellie yearning for more in her life after a degree and adjusting to Flynn's habits while Flynn contented with his job still tries his very best to do whatever it takes to make Ellie happy.
"We were a story of contradictions. I wanted something more and Flynn wanted exactly what he had."
We are also given more insight into Ellie's past and what led her to become who she was back then. I already loved her in the first book but giving me these bits and pieces about her completely shattered me again. It broke me to read about a little girl who fell victim to the cruelty of the foster system and how it just got worse from one family to another. Having learnt that, it truly made me heart swell with joy to see how far Ellie has come and made an effort to turn her life around.
Similar with Flynn, the author truly allowed him to grow in this read and how he wouldn't let his condition define who he was. His every word and action filled with genuine sincerity really melts your heart, him trying in his very own ways to make Ellie happy because of how much she meant to him. We got some glimpses into his POV of his time apart with Ellie and once again, those were the best emotional scenes for me.
While this book didn't pack the emotional punch like it did to me in the first one, I was generally contented about being able to learn more about Ellie in this one and seeing them move forward as a couple. It didn't come off being an overall winner read for me because in a way, going into this, perhaps I was hoping for some newer conflicts that would have allowed us to explore on further aspects of their relationship. I also wanted more of Flynn's POV in the present to understand his way of dealing with his struggles rather than me watching from the outside.
Nevertheless, fans of the first book will rejoice in getting that proper closure as we finally get to see their deservedly ending and with these two, their journey will prove to you that you can still find love in the most unlikely places. Thank you Ms Walters for such a beautiful heartwarming love story that I won't be forgetting anytime soon ♥
Chasing the Tide is the sequel and continuation of Ellie & Flynn's story and must be read after Reclaiming the Sand
ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The New
York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal
romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the
upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series
for Gallery Books.
A.
Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First
working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program
for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients
and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.
When not
writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of
her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate,
watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty
novel or two.
A.
Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.
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