Pain punished her.The bottle numbed her.Guilt kept her trapped.In the dark alley of a pub, the words “Please don’t” take hold of her heart and break the silence she seeks. Thinking herself beyond redemption, she tentatively grabs on to the slim thread of hope that unfolds inside of her. Holding her secrets close, she can’t resist the comforting draw coming from The Skipper. The unconditional … The Skipper. The unconditional friendships it offers, the protective roof it provides, and the spark that its owner ignites in her—melting the frost off her heart, and slowly stripping away her resistance.
His life flows from one crisis to the next. Under the pressure of competition crowding him out of his family’s pub and the need to protect his children from the ruins of a bad marriage, he barely breathes. That is until a mane of strawberry-blonde hair and a set of big, pale blue eyes, shake him up.
He never expected the shadow of a woman he finds on the floor of his washroom to bring him the air―the balance and the light he’s been missing.
Due to content of a sexually explicit nature, this book is recommended for a mature audience only.
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From Dust is the first book in the four book Portland ME series by Freya Barker and I was totally invested in the characters she developed. They were believable and their actions were appropriate to the situations they found themselves in. Broken and overwhelmed by tragedy, Syd, the female protagonist, disappears from her world as she knew it into a sunken state of existence until she is discovered and offered another chance at life she feels she doesn’t deserve. The emotional tug of this character makes her likable and one can’t help, but empathize with her situation during the earlier part of the book, however it is when she meets Gunner that her inner strength is found and new beginnings are forged. This was the first book I had read by this author and it wasn’t the last…I went on to read the others in the series, which is a must btw. I loved the writing style her ease of words given particular situations encountered during the story as well as the way she portrayed both leading roles, the secondary characters are also well developed, each having their own voice within the story. If you are looking for a story that unfolds in an unhurried way and builds as the characters do this one is for you.
Hands down, love this book! Freya touched on every emotion in this wonderfully written story. Loved the heroine, rooted for her until the final page.
This was quite the emotional roller coaster. You don’t know exactly what Syd has been through, you just know it shook up her world and it seems the hits just keep on coming for her. Once you do learn what started her downward spiral, you just ache for her. What happened to her could happen to anyone.
This was a good story about survival, how to overcome tragedy and to begin anew. It’s also a good story about how we can’t survive alone, we need good people in our corner. Everyone at The Skipper played an important part in Syd’s healing.
Then we have Gunnar and Syds romance. Gunnar and his kids plays a big part in bringing Syd back to life. I absolutely adored Gunnar and the way he supported Syd, and the way he was with his kids. He’s a hero I’m always searching for in books.
This is a heavy story but also an incredibly beautiful story of new beginnings with so many wonderful characters to get to know and love.
I loved this book, and it was an amazing and at times tough book to get through, but that’s due to my own personal experience. It just goes to show what a random act of kindness or two can do for someone so down on their luck. But at the same time the one down on her luck is so incredibly strong, it’s overwhelming to watch her grow, live and love those around her while learning who she is and how to love herself. There’s only win win when Sydney has Viv, Gunnar and his beautiful children, and a few other memorable characters at her back.
From Dust was such a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of loss, love and overcoming. From the beginning of this book I was sucked in to Syd’s journey and I wanted her to get a happily ever after. I was on pins and needles each chapter just hoping something would go her way. That she wouldn’t experience any more loss or sadness. It was so moving when she meets Gunnar and how he turns out to be everything she needs – but not without the hardships.
Reading Sydney and Gunnar’s story was just beautiful. I was so curious what this title meant and once it was exposed I just fell apart. Such a moving story! Thank you, Mrs. Barker for writing a book about something that is so painful.
What a wonderful book this was. The heroine starts the book homeless but is quickly brought into the embrace of a makeshift family at a nearby bar. She falls in love with the owner, who is the hero of this story. What I loved about it? He’s a single dad, a really good one. She has had a lot of terrible things happen but she is such a good person. Please be aware, there could be triggering things that have happeend and do happen to the heroine, but let me be clear none of that is done by the hero. He is a true hero and it is worth getting through her pain to read their love story. 5 star. Beautiful.
I absolutely loved this book. One of my favorite of Freya’s so far and I’ve read a lot of her books.
I read this a few years ago and still think of it from time to time. Fantastic book. Highly recommend.
Each book I read by Freya Barker has been better crafted than the last one. As an author, I think Ms. Barker has found her voice and in From Dust that voice is strong. This is an emotional story of one woman’s journey back from her own personal hell. To me, Sidney is the epitome of a broken woman. The tragedy in her past would be nearly impossible for any woman to come to terms with. Add to that a husband and parents who turned on her in her time of need and you have a woman living on the edge. For four years Sidney hid from her past, until one kind soul offered her a helping hand, one she was unsure she should accept. Accepting could allow her past to find her, but that may be what she needs to reclaim her life and make a future for herself.
Living on the streets, Sidney (Syd) watched the activity surrounding The Skipper, a pub where she scrounged through the dumpsters for food. One cold night, Viv, the pub’s manager offers Syd a hot meal and her first real human contact in nearly four years. That simple act of kindness completely turns Sidney’s world around and into the orbit of Gunnar, the owner. Gunnar is a terrific character and Ms. Barker develops this alpha male into something special. While he is an imposing figure to the shy Syd, in the beginning; he is a man who loves his family and fiercely protects them at all costs. Gunnar’s family is not only the children he has but also those that work for him at The Skipper. He learns a lot through the course of the book, including a bit about Viv’s past that his friend never shared with him.
This story functions on so many levels, it truly kept me reading when I should have been doing other things. It is an emotional story of one woman’s courage and her journey out of darkness. It is a very sexy, romantic love story between Gunnar and Sidney, and while he cannot fix her past, he is there to offer support for her future. There is suspense, intrigue and steamy sex scenes, all bonuses for me as a reader. I truly loved this story, and while it is supposed to be a stand alone book, I am hoping that Ms. Barker will revisit The Skipper and share more stories from the pub.
Favorite Quotes:
“Years of frozen emotions are starting to thaw and the process is almost painful. How long has it been since someone cared? How long since I cared?”
“I am rewarded with the same bright smile. It hits me right in the chest as well, but runs through me like a soft breeze, blowing the dust that has settled on my heart.”
“My emotions seem to be coming alive under the influence of good people and warm food. My heart is defrosting and it hurts like my fingers do when warming up after being outside too long in the cold.”
“I’ve been ground down by my loss; Only a collection of particles that threaten to be blown apart and scattered by a strong wind. I’ve only just begun to gather myself from dust. Another blow would surely decimate me.”
“You are a beautiful man, Gunnar Lucas. And you don’t look half-bad either.”
“I don’t care how long it takes, but I will remind you every time you struggle, what an amazing person you are, how much you are needed, and how deeply you are loved.”
“I used to think I was dropped off by aliens when I was little and a bit over-imaginative. I can see why now. They are like something from a different planet, aren’t they?”… “Uranus, more than likely.”
“Damn boy is virtually giddy; don’t think I can’t remember him like this since he fed his dog kibble soaked in rum, wanted to see what he’d look like drunk. He got his wish and a spanking from his dad that had his ten-year-old butt blue for a week.”
My Review:
From Dust consists of emotive, heart squeezing, insightful, and thoughtful writing. It was a deeply moving and thought provoking story, yet I did not find it maudlin or uncomfortably angsty, despite the tragic unpinnings of the premise. Freya Barker has mad skills and realistically flawed yet intelligent and lovable characters are one of her special gifts. I am deeply enamored with her style and could happily read her work every single day.
The main character of Sydney seems more than cursed. She has been decimated by a tragic loss and bad luck seems to continually plague her. She became one of the unseen homeless and lived by her wits in a solitary manner for several years, yet she still managed to retain her intelligence, dignity, and insightful observations. When discovered dumpster diving for her dinner outside a wharf bar, she was enticed inside for a warm meal instead. Ragged, malnourished, and taciturn, she quietly assists and vastly improved the lives of her rescuers as she began to heal.
The story never lagged or failed to keep me interested or invested, and despite the tragic history of the character that was revealed one layer at a time, Ms. Barker’s wry humor and uncanny insights retained the hope and light to the story while plucking at my heartstrings. I enjoyed this unique cast of characters and the big burly men with kind hearts most of all.
This book wrecked me. The emotional roller coaster kept me engrossed every page. From tragedy to triumph I fell in love with Syd and Gunner, under-scoring the fact that no one punishes us for our mistakes more than we do and everyone deserves a second chance.
From Dust took me on an amazing emotional roller coaster ride and I loved it! From start to finish, I did not put this book down once as I read it in a marathon few hours of page turning. Syd’s transformation from the time we meet her through the final page is like watching the phoenix rise from the ashes with a pretty heavy dose of turmoil and struggle to get there, but she emerged from each trial stronger for it as she slowly glues her shattered pieces back together with help from her newfound friends.
In her 30s, Syd is at a very low point at the start of the story. She has been living on the streets for far too long, and her latest home is an unused shed on the docks behind a pub and restaurant in Maine where she is discovered one night by Viv, the pub manager. Viv is a strong kickass woman now, but she recognizes a bit of her former self in Syd when she meets her. The streets have taken their toll on her outer appearance, but her inner spirit and speech still relay a bit of her upbringing and former life indicating this is a woman who is beaten down but who hasn’t succumbed to the dark possibilities of street life. Taking a chance in the spirit of paying it forward, Viv offers Syd a job just as she was given a chance at an opportune time in her past. Starved for human interaction and recognizing the lifeline being extended to her, Syd hesitates but takes a leap of faith and agrees. And so the first step in her journey toward moving forward with her life begins.
Syd is hiding from a tragic past that will be revealed to us over the course of the story. She has tried to bury the memories as deeply as possible, but the pain has a way of bubbling up when she least expects it. When pub owner Gunnar Lucas barrels into The Skipper on Syd’s first day, he scares the bejesus out of her and not just due to his gruff and seemingly belligerent demeanor. Those green eyes of his seem to see far too much and she finds him too intriguing for her comfort level. Letting people in or caring about them opens the possibility of too much loss and hurt, and after years of self loathing and self imposed emotional shutdown, that level of feeling isn’t something she is sure she can endure or survive again if things go wrong.
Although Gunnar’s gruff exterior disguises a loving father with a huge heart and a fierce protective streak in favor of those he loves, it is his children Dex and Emmy that are her ultimate undoing. She is drawn to them and allows them to see the woman she has tried to bury and forget for so long. The change in her when she is interacting with them is like night and day, captivating everyone who sees it including Viv, Gunnar and the other employees. Well, most of the other employees anyway- one jealous catty witch tries to make trouble for her when she sees Syd as a potential rival.
Gunnar is blindsided by the effect the timid “little bird” that has landed in his pub has on him, but with each passing day he sees a little more of her spark emerge and he is as intrigued as his children. A heartbreaking attack threatens to undo all the progress Syd was starting to make, but Gunnar finds himself determined to help her find her way through it, standing at her back and by her side until she is strong enough to stand on her own again. Unfortunately the turbulence doesn’t end there as they have to contend with Gunnar’s loose cannon ex-wife and a cop with a hidden agenda who threatens both the pub’s future and the exposure of Syd’s secrets from her painful past.
I have to include a bit of a warning here: this book does deal with some heavy issues. However I felt that they were illustrated and handled very well. Usually the male lead character is the one who tends to make or break a book for me. While I loved Gunnar, in this case Syd was the shining star for me. She had every right to break completely under the stress of the multiple traumas she experienced as the hits just seemed to keep coming, but she battled through, finding reason after reason to pick herself up and keep living another day. She eventually accepted help, but she fought her own battles and ended up a vibrant woman with a great sense of humor and self-worth surrounded by a network of loving people to lean on when painful reminders of the past intrude upon the present causing her to take a step back. Dex and Emmy added depth to the story, sometimes acting as comic relief and sometimes tugging on my heartstrings with their own moments of insecurity or sorrow.
If you have read this author’s previous works, you will definitely want to get a copy of From Dust ASAP. If you have hesitated to read this author’s other published books due to the suspense element, or if this is the first time you are hearing her name, From Dust is strictly contemporary romance and it is waiting for you to exercise your 1-click finger! Take a chance on a new-to-you author- I think you will be pleasantly rewarded!
OMG…This book is brilliant and I am soo not ready for it to be over yet. Definite book hangover going on here. Trying to thing back so I can put my review into words and I am tearing up again (mostly good tears).
When we meet Syd she is at her absolute very worst. She is living on the streets, sleeping in a shack, searching for food and essentials. Scared and thankful when she is caught and approached in the dumpster. After being isolated fo so long she is not sure how to react and certainly not feeling deserving.
From that one interaction we slowly see Syd transform. She slowly opens her heart and starts to feel again. Not only the wonderful new things she is experiencing but also the pain of the horrible tradegy that has brought her to this point in her life. She was so shamed by the people that were supposed to love her that when people start to show an interst she shys away again. But watching her find herself is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.
Syd is not the only character who transforms in this book. Gunner is this gruff and cranky man who is struggling to do right by his children while running the ‘Skipper’ his family resturant. His love and affection is evident when he is with his children. His personal life is not so happy but over time as he spends more time with Syd that changes. His love and understanding as Syd shares her secrets is astounding. Truly a wonderful transition that everyone notices.
Freya’s writing just keeps getting better the more she writes. I love how her characters find their way into my heart. I find myself lost in her books, just flipping pages and ignoring life around me. If you haven’t yet given her a try, I highly recommend her writing.