I thought second chances only happened to good, decent people.Not the broken and damaged monsters like me.But it did.And I can’t control it. But I need to.Charlie is my sponsor, the one person I’m not supposed to touch, but my heart has locked on to her and is finally beating after years of barely moving.I’m in over my head in more ways than one, and as I try to be the man she sees behind the … man she sees behind the monster, I only sink deeper, two sides of myself battling for clarity. The one that dares to hope, and the one that already knows I’ll lose everything.
I’m terrified my jagged past will slice her to ribbons but as my sponsor she’s obligated to dig up all the broken pieces and try to put them back together.
I don’t know what scares me more, who she’ll find when she’s done, or how far she’ll run once she realizes the truth.
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Ugh I wanted to continue hating Justin after every freaking thing he did to Blake and for a minute in this book I was able to. This one has a lot more angst than the first read in the series but dang it there’s plenty of reason for that. Justin truly hates the person he’s become. The self absorbed abusive inconsiderate twat. But that being said he does try to make some changes thanks to a blast from the past. I almost gave this one 5 stars as well but there’s too much I needed more from that kept that from happening. I needed the end to have a little more conflict even though I like the resolution. I really needed to know more about Charlie. I really like her and while I love that she takes no crap and rounds him out well I hope there’s more of her character. Once again though you feel the emotion and the connection this book doesn’t have more than one or two intimate scenes which I love but other’s not so much. And you really need to read Edge of Chaos before this book to fully understand it.
I have always been a fan of Justin no matter what he’d done, and now I like him even more. I’ve read the first book a while ago so I may have a different view than those who haven’t read it at all since I guess this book could be read as a standalone.
Justin struggled with his addiction but the force behind it, what drove him to reach for the bottle was much darker than what it seemed. What he had done haunted him day and night, so he drowned it even when it meant to fall farther down the rabbit hole. Life has dealt him a bad hand and sadly it wasn’t ending now. With the right push he eventually recognized his faults and mistakes and set out to make amends.
I really liked Justin’s story and I’m so glad that he got one even though he had to work very hard for his happy ending. It was sad to see Justin struggling so hard when he felt remorseful and tried to drown out the memories and voices inside his head with alcohol because they reared their heads again day after day. Justin’s anger issues got out of control once again and he found himself with the back against the wall presented with two options. Both got him locked up but one was with a promise for a better future.
The pace was good for a novella and I really liked how everything turned out – surprises and all. But although Justin did struggle a lot, I felt at one point that it seemed almost too easy for him to not drink anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it was very well done for such a short read but I think that a page or two of his physical problems due to withdrawals would have made a huge impact on the story.
What I really liked though was that the story focused on Justin’s recovery and that the romance part took a backseat (at least for most of the book) because I really was more interested in him getting better than anything else.
Believe it or not but I even cried during this read. The emotions were so raw and powerful that they hurt me as if they were my own. Sorrowful and painful moments made me tear up a couple of times.
Justin’s troubled soul finally found piece and I am very glad about that because I always knew that there was good inside him.
While this book was fantastic, I couldn’t give it the full 5 stars because of my intense dislike of the main character before even starting. That being said, I am impressed with an author who can take a much hated character like Justin and find something redeemable and “fix” him to where you might not love him by the end of the book, but you won’t hate him like before.
We get to see what Justin thinks of everything that went down in the first book in the series. We get to watch as he faces his own demons and tries to be a better person…making some mistakes along the way. I’m glad that the author decided to give us this follow up to book one and let us see how Justin was able to grow. And in addition to all that, we get a brief glimpse into Blake and Dash’s life again too!