Title: The Way Back to Us
(Love Unplugged #3)
Author: Jamie Howard
Publication Date: December 12th, 2017
Age Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Swerve
Gavin MacCormack found the one. He fell in love. Hard. Until one night he ran out for some ice cream and came back to an empty dorm room, closets bare and nothing but a quick hand-written note saying, I’m sorry. Those two words taught Gavin the meaning of heartbreak. A feeling he never wants to encounter again. And as the lead singer of a Grammy award-winning band he's had plenty of opportunities for casual, no-strings fun, which is just the way he likes it.
Dani Winters has had more names than birthdays. On the run with her father for nearly as long as she can remember, she’s lived her life by three rules—always plan for the worst, maintain a low profile at all costs, and never let anyone get too close. Except she broke that last rule once and her heart has never forgiven her.
One chance encounter changes everything. Seeing Dani resurrects feelings in Gavin he thought were long buried, and this time he’s not letting her disappear without getting some answers. But Dani’s life is the definition of complicated and she’s playing with fire by letting Gavin back in. When the time comes to run again, Dani needs to decide if a life without love is worth living, or if it’s time to stop running and fight.
Dani Winters has had more names than birthdays. On the run with her father for nearly as long as she can remember, she’s lived her life by three rules—always plan for the worst, maintain a low profile at all costs, and never let anyone get too close. Except she broke that last rule once and her heart has never forgiven her.
One chance encounter changes everything. Seeing Dani resurrects feelings in Gavin he thought were long buried, and this time he’s not letting her disappear without getting some answers. But Dani’s life is the definition of complicated and she’s playing with fire by letting Gavin back in. When the time comes to run again, Dani needs to decide if a life without love is worth living, or if it’s time to stop running and fight.
3.5 “Second chances” Stars
ARC via NetGalley
Thank you, Swerve.
This is my fifth (?) book by Jamie Howard, and I'm ready for the next one, especially since I hope (please, please) it'll be about Ben and Rachel and all the angst of loving someone for years without moving it past friendship.
But while The Way Back to Us wasn't my favorite book by this go-to author, it was still entertaining.
Let me just pause for a second and say I'm still in love with Juliet, the heroine from the last book in this series. She kept pulling my attention toward her whenever she showed up in a scene in this new book, and she was consistent in how she kept seeing the good in people and giving them a chance. I also loved to see her get closer to her happy ever after with Felix. <3 font="">
Now, as to Dani and Gavin, the couple we get to focus on this time around, I wish I had connected more with their story. My main problem here wasn't Gavin. He was still as carefree and funny as I remembered him to be. Dani, on the other hand, took a little longer to warm up to.
I have to be fair and say I have a hard time connecting with the second chance romance trope. There's something about the characters already knowing each other and being in love and then breaking up for some reason or other than usually doesn't work for me. Though Dani's motive for running away and breaking Gavin's heart was strong, I guess not knowing the truth about it until much later in the story made it a little harder for me to understand and forgive her for what she did. Half the time I felt like Ben--ready to confront Dani about what she did and why she was back.
Maybe seeing her more reluctant about walking back into Gavin's life when she knew she'd have to leave again, or fighting the attraction between them harder or suffering a little more would've helped. I don't know. Maybe. I just didn't fall in love with Dani as hard and as fast as I wished.
Now, Gavin was another story. I felt sorry for the poor guy because he was so in love with Dani even after all those years. And even though she she had hurt him that bad, he was still willing to give her another chance because he didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to be with her. The whole Howgarts thing made sense because it was such a Gavin thing to think and say. Part of the reason I tried so hard to like Dani, despite her doing some things that made me cringe was because of how much Gavin loved her. That's how much I liked him.
I also LOVED, LOVED the beach house part of this book because I got to see all the characters from the series together. I loved the girls cooking, the girls and guys playing in the pool, the dinner conversation with them sharing secrets (I'm still in shock because I didn't remember the Gavin/Felix threesome thing. o.O). My absolute favorite parts of this book were when all the characters were together doing things. I want more of that.
So while The Way Back to Us didn't hook me the way the previous book in this series did, I still loved to read more about Gavin and get to see that great cast of characters interacting again. Also, there was a lot of Rachel and Ben, and do I need to say once again how excited about their love story I am?! In case I do, here's the perfect gif:
But while The Way Back to Us wasn't my favorite book by this go-to author, it was still entertaining.
Let me just pause for a second and say I'm still in love with Juliet, the heroine from the last book in this series. She kept pulling my attention toward her whenever she showed up in a scene in this new book, and she was consistent in how she kept seeing the good in people and giving them a chance. I also loved to see her get closer to her happy ever after with Felix. <3 font="">
Now, as to Dani and Gavin, the couple we get to focus on this time around, I wish I had connected more with their story. My main problem here wasn't Gavin. He was still as carefree and funny as I remembered him to be. Dani, on the other hand, took a little longer to warm up to.
I have to be fair and say I have a hard time connecting with the second chance romance trope. There's something about the characters already knowing each other and being in love and then breaking up for some reason or other than usually doesn't work for me. Though Dani's motive for running away and breaking Gavin's heart was strong, I guess not knowing the truth about it until much later in the story made it a little harder for me to understand and forgive her for what she did. Half the time I felt like Ben--ready to confront Dani about what she did and why she was back.
Maybe seeing her more reluctant about walking back into Gavin's life when she knew she'd have to leave again, or fighting the attraction between them harder or suffering a little more would've helped. I don't know. Maybe. I just didn't fall in love with Dani as hard and as fast as I wished.
Now, Gavin was another story. I felt sorry for the poor guy because he was so in love with Dani even after all those years. And even though she she had hurt him that bad, he was still willing to give her another chance because he didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to be with her. The whole Howgarts thing made sense because it was such a Gavin thing to think and say. Part of the reason I tried so hard to like Dani, despite her doing some things that made me cringe was because of how much Gavin loved her. That's how much I liked him.
I also LOVED, LOVED the beach house part of this book because I got to see all the characters from the series together. I loved the girls cooking, the girls and guys playing in the pool, the dinner conversation with them sharing secrets (I'm still in shock because I didn't remember the Gavin/Felix threesome thing. o.O). My absolute favorite parts of this book were when all the characters were together doing things. I want more of that.
So while The Way Back to Us didn't hook me the way the previous book in this series did, I still loved to read more about Gavin and get to see that great cast of characters interacting again. Also, there was a lot of Rachel and Ben, and do I need to say once again how excited about their love story I am?! In case I do, here's the perfect gif:
*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.
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1 comment:
I totally agree. It took me a long time to warm up to Dani, too. I'm also looking forward to the next book!
Great review!
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