Some wounds can’t be healedMax Logan longs for the joys of home and family he missed growing up in foster care. He fills that emotional void by becoming a kick-ass Marine, and for eighteen years, led his band of brothers from one hell-hole to another. Until the one that nearly destroyed him. Sixteen months of therapy and rehab put his body back together, but some wounds can’t be seen. Skylar Ward … but some wounds can’t be seen.
Skylar Ward dreams of a life that includes someone beside her. Someone to share her life and be a father to her young daughter. But if she learned anything from her failed marriage it was that you don’t rush into a relationship. Only Max Logan sparks her interest. But the handsome, brooding war hero remains aloof.
Seven-year-old Maddie Ward overhears a neighbor tell her mom she needs a male companion and immediately decides Max will do just fine. He needs a family. They need him. She just has to figure out how to make that happen.
Can a precocious child be the catalyst that heals and brings them all together or will ashes of the past bury hope forever?
HEAT LEVEL 4 – Steamy: Steamy on page scenes and mild swearing, open door, think R rated
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A Refreshing Contemporary Steamy Romance
Chasing Hope, by Dana Wayne, is a great story with well-developed realistic characters that made me care about Sky’s and Max’s developing attraction for each other.
I loved being drawn into the lives of Sky and her innocent but outspoken daughter Maddy. Maddy is the catalyst that helps draw former marine Max out of his emotional foxhole and her mother to learn to trust again. Drama from Max’s past challenges the budding relationships, but Maddy knows just what to do.
This is a very absorbing story driven by highly realistic characters. A single mum finds love with a traumatized soldier, assisted by her mature-beyond-her-years daughter.
The three main characters try as hard as they can to find happiness. This happiness is constantly threatened by misunderstandings and hurts from the past. But their main strengths, which are mutual integrity, iron will and the desire to do the right thing by others, help them overcome the challenges life keeps throwing at them.
Skylar, the heroine, has an interesting history. After suffering misfortunes and bereavements early in life, she has enjoyed a heady romance. It culminates in a dream wedding. Then her life is derailed when her only child is born. Maddie is born very ill and requires a lot of extra care. This drives her husband away from her. In the space of a few years Sky goes from being a happy wife to a single mother struggling to make ends meet.
Her problems are very familiar. She has to be the head of the house, struggling with technical problems such as broken steps and failed car batteries. Her financial problems are atrocious. She is frequently teetering on the brink of disaster.
Max, her love interest, is intriguing. He was the result of an unwanted pregnancy that caused a forced marriage. Although raised in an unloving environment, with resentful parents, he is a person of great integrity. He was abandoned by his parents, fostered as a child and bullied as a teenager, and later traumatized on the battlefield. While struggling with the challenges of PTSD, he lives life as best he can.
Sky’s daughter Maddie is a pivotal character. Wanting a father since being abandoned by her own, and taking an instant liking to Max, she plays a very active role in bringing the lovers together. It’s hard to know where her mother and Max would be without her proactive behaviour.
Secrets of a small town, and ghosts from the past, cause many obstacles to them finding any peace or happiness. But they never give up. I loved spending time with these characters. This book has a lot to do with love, perseverance and overcoming very realistic problems. The good characters were so relatable. The villain was slippery, odious, and the type you love to hate! It was very riveting. I’d definitely recommend it.
Endearing characters. Full review at maidamalby.com
Chasing Hope by Dana Wayne is more than a feel-good story about two people falling in love. The romance aspect is fun, of course, but this story is more about what it means to be kind, patient, and deserving of another’s respect and admiration. Max Logan and Sky Ward are trying to go it alone as best they can, but when fate steps in and offers them both a chance at happiness, well, they simply can’t say no. They quickly find a sliver of hope amidst their past sadness and struggles, with Sky’s daughter, Maddie, as an adorable and quite precocious link between the two.
The romance between Sky and Max is a fast-moving train ride, but it’s also sweet, without being overly mushy. A word of caution: be prepared for a slightly steamy scene as the story progresses and as the romance starts to sizzle, but the sensual moments fit well with the character and relationship development of these two lovebirds.
Chasing Hope touches on some serious topics, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gossiping, and bullying. Managing the symptoms of PTSD from his time as a Marine is no easy matter, but Max is working through them one day at a time. When he finds the acceptance and kindness in Sky’s eyes, he can feel the tight bands of panic and despair ease their grip on his heart and soul. Sky brings her own baggage to the table as a single parent trying to make ends meet, but the two of them fit perfectly together as they quickly flow through the phases of mutual attraction and love. Of course, no story would be complete without a wrench thrown into the mix, and Cade Jackson is quite the wrench. He is a manipulative and hateful bully with an ax to grind, which makes him the perfect antagonist. While all the characters are engaging, Big John is a personal favorite (keep some tissues handy for some happy tears).
Dana Wayne knows how to draw out a plot that is predictable in all the right places yet still offers twists that surprise, delight, and keep the story moving along at a brisk pace. The sentimental factor is high in Chasing Hope because it shows that even the toughest soldier and the most determined single mother need a bit of hope, a warm hand to grasp, and a home filled with family, laughter, and unconditional love.
Bonus: The two recipes at the end sound delicious and have already been added to my meal plan!