HollyGrowing up, I was treated like a Princess.But everyone knows, to get your happily ever after, you have to fight for the fairy-tale.And I’d certainly endured more than my fair share of fights.Relentlessly bullied at boarding school, my brothers brought me home to help me heal.But I was scarred by the secrets I harboured, both inside and out.Being home though, means risking everyone finding … out.
Being home though, means risking everyone finding out my ugly truth.
And I can’t let that happen.
Jack
My family’s a mess.
It’s probably why I spend more nights asleep in my ute, than I do in my own bed.
I don’t have the time or the energy to deal with anything more.
One day at a time is all I can handle right now.
Yet when I see her, the broken girl sitting alone in the dirt, I can’t simply drive past.
Before I know what’s happening my life’s tangled with my tortured, beautiful neighbour.
And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
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Fighting Back – Book #3 – Meet the McIntyres
A wonderful addition to this emotionally charged series.
This story focuses on Holly McIntyre.
Having returned to the family farm from her boarding school, she’s lost, feeling alone and emotionally crippled by the relentless bullying she was subjected to at the hands of cruel tormentors.
Unable to handle her future without dealing with her past first, she seeks solace in her friendship with Jack.
Jacks family is far from normal, more a strained version of a family relationship but his connection with Holly was simple, sweet and yet complex at the same time.
Rebecca Barber takes great care in the way she handles the delicate subject of bullying but still delivers an uplifting story, full of hope and belief in a brighter future for her characters.
Holly’s story is extremely emotional and definitely poignant in these current times but the entire Meet the McIntyres series, so far, has been an amazing journey with this family.
Every member of the family, every girlfriend, significant other and supporting character just adds more reader enjoyment.
Can’t wait for the next instalment in this fabulous series.
I wonder which McIntyre we will meet next?
I gave this Book a rating of 5 ’s
Title: Fighting Back
Series: Meet The McIntyres Book 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Family Saga
Author: Rebecca Barber
Format: Kindle Edition
Published on: May 5, 2018
I voluntarily received a Courtesy Copy of this book from Give Me Books Promotions and am choosing to leave a review.
>-< >–< >–< >–< >–<>–< >–< >–< >–< >–< >–< >–< >–< Character’s Descriptions: Holly McIntyre has returned from boarding school feeling alone and lost due to being bullied. Jack is Hollys best friend but is having his own struggles. >–< >–< >–< >–< >–<>–< >–< >–< >–< >–< >–< >–< >–< What I liked/Didn’t Like: This is a very emotionally charged story about bulling and abuse. It will make you laugh and cry in the same chapter.
This story broke my heart. It was heart wrenching but full of so much love. A story about how love from family and friends can help you heal and help you to begin to live the life that you deserve.
Holly was away at boarding school while her family was slowly falling apart. However, she was living in her own personal hell. Bully, tormented, totured, abused. It broke my heart.
She kept all of it to herself. Not wanting to burden anyone, she just let it eat away at her until all she wanted was for to stop.
This is Holly’s story of coming home. She not only has to face the ruin that has become of her family and home, she has to tell everyone what happened. Fortunately she finds a friend in Jack. He’s a good guy. He becomes her person to lean on and he protects her fiercely.
This story evoked so many emotions; anger, sadness, hate, love. The McIntyre’s are a force and their love is undeniable. Holly lost so much, but she is so strong. And the love and support of family and friends is just what she needed.
I hope we get to continue to hear her story because she deserves her own HEA.
It’s taken me some time to write this review, not because I don’t like it but because it hit home with me big time. I cried right along with Holly, I felt every ounce of pain she felt.
See, this book shows you that bullying doesn’t just affect you while it’s happening but how the scars, both mental and physical can stay with you for much, much longer.
Anyone that has been bullied will relate to Holly’s story on such a deep level because they KNOW the feelings Holly is feeling first hand, but Holly is a survivor she just needs to heal a little.
My wish is that every person that has bullied someone could read this book and maybe, just MAYBE feel a little bit of the pain, hurt and confusion that every victim feels.
My second wish is tbat every victim could read this book and see that there is light at the end of that long dark tunnel, and you won’t feel the way you are feeling now forever.
This book will stay with me for a very long time
This is a beautifully written book about bullying, told in absolute and brutal honesty.
Fighting Back picks up right where Picturing Perfect finished, and we get to stay with our favourite characters in the McIntyre Family as they each go through a watershed moment of their own. I have to say that while each book is written as a stand-a-lone, there is every reason to start with Beau’s book, where we are then lead into Gage’s story, which culminates with Holly’s crisis at school. This throws the world of her four brothers into a chaos of anger and helplessness as they try to come to grips with the fall-out of Holly’s ultimate and almost fatal cry of anguish.
Sh!t, I felt angry and helpless going with Holly as she was just trying to get through each day, one at a time. And, I just wanted to wade in and beat some heads, dishing out a large platter of revenge, especially when I read through the book and discovered just what had been going on in her life at boarding school. As I said, absolute and brutal honesty.
As for our hero, how Rebecca Barber managed to get into the head of Jack, a teenage boy, which his typical foul mouth of diatribe was nothing short of amazing. He is going through his own unsettled and soul-destroying family drama where his parents did everything to verbally knock each other around, and I felt like I was right there with him. Among all this, he is drawn to Holly, and sees the vibrancy beneath her façade, and he is a true hero in my book. I adored his young bolshy character, and Ms. Barber’s written language sounded exactly like me and the teenage boys I started my trade training with, back in the day.
I really want to emphasise, that as bad as it sounded for Holly, I am rapt that it was not diluted one bit. Being from New Zealand, I’m ashamed to say that we not only have the highest youth suicide rate in the world, but the bullying in our schools is out of control.
Kudos, Rebecca Barber for your beautifully written and highly emotional book that shows it is possible to fight back and heal from what was the most untenable of situations for a young teenage girl. 5 Stars.
This is a tear jerker, for sure! An emotional, heavy read, about a tough topic. The entire series, thus far, we have had glimpses of Holly. We could tell from those glimpses that something was going on with her, but didn’t know what. This is her story.
This book is all about renewal. It is about Holly’s journey back to herself, following her torment at the hand of bullies. It shows her at her lowest, when she is lost, and unable to find her way. It shows her strength, at working to take her life back. It’s also about friendship, and how it can play such a huge part in life, and how that empowerment can really move someone to become better.
This book is different than the others in the series, since it focuses more on the bullying issue, and less on the romance aspect. However, that doesn’t take away from the book itself. I feel it just makes a more powerful statement. This is definitely one that you will need tissues for!