★ There are some wounds time just can’t heal. ★
Brekka Thornton is headed for Olympic fame and glory until a car accident destroys all her plans. She redirects her efforts toward conquering the business world with her brother Trig, closing the door on her old life without a backward glance. She’s happy working with him—hacking up companies and rearranging the pieces becomes a new way of life.
… new way of life.
Until Trig confesses that he’s moving to Atlanta.
For the first time, Brekka considers an experimental surgery that could restore the use of her legs. She doesn’t want to be left behind, not again, not by the one person she really loves.
But is it worth the risk for a chance to walk again? Can Brekka accept her past and embrace her future? Or will her fear cost her everything that matters?
Finding Liberty was a Quarter Finalist in the BookLife Prize.
And Publisher’s Weekly said, that:
[Finding Liberty] has a serious emotional core. The story of two individuals recovering from injury and trauma, and redirecting their lives, is memorable. Baker’s prose is warm, engaging, and fresh, and the voices of her protagonists are both distinctive and immediately captivating.
Baker brings a unique and welcome level of depth to her primary characters. As such, their romance carries greater meaning and momentum. The leads are immensely sympathetic, and their chemistry is undeniable.
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Finding Liberty is the fourth book in this series. All are stand alone stories but it is good to know the characters that make up the cast of each book. It is like going to visit old friends for a wonderful reunion. But with this book, have your tissues ready as this story will bring out the tears and the comments that Rob makes will bring the giggles out too. This story talks about a sensitive subject that far too many people deal with on a daily basis and is constantly overlooked when it comes to society. Disabled individuals are considered broken, useless, and a burden on the people that love them. However, Bridget Baker shows us in this book that with the right equipment and accessibility these people are not broken, they just work differently than others. She also shows that the worst part of being injured and coming back disabled sometimes puts the thought in their mind that they are less of a person and feel they must be “normal” to be loved. A truly healing story for not only the characters in the book but also for the reader.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
illionaire heiress Brekka Thornton is headed for Olympic fame and glory until a car accident destroys all her plans. She redirects her efforts toward conquering the business world with her brother Trig, closing the door on her old life without a backward glance.
An IED blast sends Rob Graham back to the US with a purple heart and a broken back. After a miraculous recovery, he returns home to find that his dad needs him to run the family business. Rob never hesitates, even though he hates car sales more than pop up ads.
When Brekka’s brother proposes to Rob’s best friend, their paths are destined to cross at the upcoming wedding. Even so, Rob isn’t prepared for Brekka to roll into his life and turn it inside out. Brekka takes Rob to task for slighting her brother, but he’s distracted by her flashing eyes and captivating dimple. He can’t bear the thought of watching her leave his office, so Rob asks her to dinner.
Brekka hasn’t been on a date since the car accident, and Rob’s quick wit and winning smile unnerve her. She resolves to head home and duck back into hiding where the world is safe. Rob ought to let her go. He isn’t nearly good enough for the highly educated Brekka, but he didn’t become a Marine by quitting when things look bleak.
Can love mend these two broken spirits, or will the weight of the past shatter them beyond repair?
MY TAKE
I loved this book! It deals with a tough issue of the long-term consequences of spinal cord injury. While Rob eventually regained the use of his body after the IED explosion, he didn’t forget what he learned. His increased sensitivity about what the people living with it have to deal with demonstrates what a caring person he is. He gives and gives and gives. And that’s where a person’s strength can become their weakness.
Brekka is a force to deal with. A powerhouse, she was also very opinionated and there were times I wanted to smack her upside the head to shake some sense into her. Growing up in a seriously dysfunctional (seriously rich) family, I was surprised that she managed to do as well as she did. I’ll confess that I read book 1 in this series and then this one. That might have been a mistake because I didn’t get to see her brother Trig in his love story. He doesn’t shine in the beginning of this story, and it made it tough to like him at all (since I didn’t get to see his softer side in the other book). But, Baker is a gifted storyteller, and Trig’s story arc, while not the primary one of this book, is important as it relates to Brekka’s.
I’m not going to spoil anything but there’s one section of the book where Brekka is dealing with a tough choice she has to make and then the consequences that had me a nervous wreck.
I think it handles the accommodation issue gracefully and brings the issue to the forefront. Most of us just go blindly through life completely clueless of what others might be dealing with. I’ve never been a wheelchair user but I did suffer for a couple of years with a painful foot problem that made it necessary to use one of those motorized shopping carts.
I didn’t have a handicapped placard and too often when I went to the grocery store I’d have to park far from the entrance–and the cart. Sometimes I’d cry knowing how much it was going to hurt by the time I got to one. Inside the store, it could be a nightmare! People would go zipping around with their carts giving no concern about people like me who didn’t have that kind of mobility. And the stores weren’t any better, putting all kinds of displays in the wide aisles making it hard to maneuver around. I was lucky that surgery fixed my problem. But that experience left me with a tiny bit of understanding. I totally understood Brekka’s desire to be independent.
It’s a beautiful love story, and Rob was the perfect man for her. I think they’ll be good for each other.
Brekka may be ultra-wealthy, but she comes from an emotionally bankrupt family. Rob has modest means and a wealth of family love, but he struggles to find a love of his own past the friend zone. They both share a similar injury of an incomplete broken back, but one of them recovers, while the other has to come to terms with broken dreams and a shattered future. This commonality is what lets them understand the struggles they have had to face to get where they are.
These two can perfectly understand the other’s situation, but they still manage to let their insecurities mess everything up. Yet when it comes down to the important things in life, they never let one another down. I laughed and cried right along with Brekka and Rob on their journey to happily ever after and I think you will too. I absolutely adored the end of this book and what their future holds!
Finding Love and The Gift of Wings
This romance is in keeping with the series. It is deep and clean and an emotional roller coaster. As someone who has recently had a spinal cord injury, I can’t tell you how spot on this story is with that topic. I, too, have my very own Marine. It had me in tears more than once. I found myself taking breaks in the reading to fully mull over where the story had taken me. While this story can stand alone, a new reader may want to read the series in order as each episode shares characters. The author gave me this book, this is my honest review and the book is well worth the cover price.
Rob was so sweet to Brekka from the first meeting. He overlooked her need for her wheelchair and strived to make her believe she was enough just the way she was. A smart beautiful woman with lots of life and love to give. Great cast of characters.
I usually steer away from anything that says billionaire in summaries, but because this book added handicaps to romance and money, I downloaded it. I was pleasantly surprised by how well done it was and give it 4.5 stars because the characters were so well drawn and it made me think more about how people adapt to challenges. It was hard to put down. The characters were well enough drawn I want to know more about their lives (in spite of their unrealistic financial situation)! Nice job writing.
Along with a beautiful love story, this book contained so many positive, uplifting themes. I love the picture of beauty not being perfect and fighting for what you want in life, no matter what obstacles are thrown your way. Rob and Brekka’s story is beautiful and heartwarming but also realistic and well developed. I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful tale.
So, I loved this story. It was more than just a feel-good romance. I really liked the characters (which were introduced in Baker’s earlier books in the Finding Home series) and getting to see them as more three dimensional made me love them even more. A lot of depth in this book but it is still a romance story at the heart of it if that is what you are looking for. Rob is a marine veteran, still in amazing shape, not poor by usual standards, but Brekka could use $100 bills for toilet paper and never run out. A change from the usual man being the billionaire trust fund baby attraction. Brekka is actually brilliant with a spicy attitude to top it off. She is a wheelchair user due to an accident. Rob sees HER, not the chair, not a disability, not a sob story to be pitied, not a project to polish up and display. How can you not swoon? It’s such a sweet story and the details well researched. So far my favorite of the series!
This book dives into what happens when you lose your sense of self (in this case, a paralyzed former Olympian) and how one digs out of the hole it leaves inside. This book is a great, lovely story!
Such an interesting topic. I would have never thought of the handicap and wheelchair people out there. I can truly say I now understand.
A beautiful, emotionally gripping romance
Audiobook version: 5 stars overall, 5 stars story, 5 stars narration
Bridget E. Baker continues to impress me with this gorgeous, passionate “Finding Home” series. This fourth book stars Brekka Thornton and Rob Graham, who were minor characters in the second book. I loved Brekka when I first met her, and I enjoyed every minute of her emotional journey in this beautiful romance. Brekka had been a champion downhill skier until a car wreck made her a paraplegic five years ago. Although she is a brilliant business genius in the multi-million-dollar company that she started with her brother, Brekka thinks of herself as broken and less than she was before the wreck. She meets Rob, and they are just what the other one needs. I love how they carefully push each other to grow and follow their dreams. Although the sexual tension crackles, there are no love scenes. The story is so satisfying that graphic sex is not needed. I highly recommend this series, which is best experienced in order. Every fan of contemporary romance should try it.
The writing sparkles with vibrancy and verve. The witty, flirty dialogue is top-notch. The emotions wrapped around me and sucked me into the story. This exquisite romance was further elevated by the perfect dual narration by Jennifer Jill Araya and Connor Crais. They each have beautiful, emotive voices. Both of them match the characters’ voices extremely well, and they are both very talented at men’s and women’s voices. They are vocal artists at the pinnacle of their craft, and I can’t praise them enough.
I requested and received a free audiocode from the author via Audio Bookfly, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
Real good storyline! Liked it so much that I found the rest in this series and have read them all. What I enjoyed the most was the absence of detailed sex which was very refreshing.
Finding Liberty was a beautifully written novel. The delightful plot was entertaining, witty, and interesting. Kudos to the author for focusing on people, especially former military personnel who have struggled with navigating their way through life trying to overcome obstacles due to their injuries. Moreover, it was a great shout-out to paralympic athletes. To top it off, everyone could use a friend like Robert Graham, one of the main characters, in his/her life. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the narrative.
I loved this book. The author did a great job really building Brekka’s character. We really got to see inside her head – her struggles, feeling, doubts and fears. We saw her grow, but also take steps back. Sometimes, she brought some of those feelings on herself, and sometimes they were brought on by those around us.
Mrs. Baker did a great showing the different reactions and treatments to people in wheelchairs – both from those in the wheelchairs themselves and of those people around them.
And then, there is Rob. Hunky, gentle, amazing Rob who is not free of issues either. We got to see a look at his inner struggles as well. The phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” comes to mind. What you see on the outside doesn’t even begin to touch what you get.
i loved everything about this book. hope, acceptance, selfless love.. the characters are one better than the other and i loved that it was still romantic without explicit scenes. i would have loved to have another couple of chapters to see what happens next, but i guess the whole point was well expressed by where it ends. the narrators were both brilliant. i love both voices and they were able to switch between characters very easily and effortlessly. they acted both in a very believable way. i have received a free copy of this audiobook and i am leaving an honest review in exchange.
If you only read one book in this series, make it this one! I got to read a rough draft of this book and I was very impressed with it, even in that form. This is the fourth book in this companion series, and I think it’s the best one yet. I loved both Brekka and Rob. They are now my favorite characters in the whole series. Brekka dealing with her disability, and the things Rob went through as well, gave this book added depth and meaning that the other books didn’t have. Don’t get me wrong though, those books were good. I enjoyed them very much, and although they are pure escapism, they each had their own deeper meaning that is eventually revealed. This one however, was just special. I actually got emotional a couple of times while reading it.
There were a few times where the characters don’t communicate with each other as well as they should have, but I’ve come to accept that this is standard procedure for the romance genre, so it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. It may have been done fewer times here, but I felt like it worked to illustrate Brekka’s insecurities, which I thought were very realistically written. I’ve read very few books that feature a main character who is disabled and reading this one made me want to find more of them.
All the characters from the previous books are revisited in this book at some point, as they are all gathering for the wedding of Geo and Trig from book two, Finding Cupid. Trig, being Brekka’s brother is in the book quite a bit. He is my least favorite character from the series, mainly because he has a lot to learn. I will say that he had me very annoyed at certain points in this book, but he also does end up learning a few things that make him more likable. And even though he annoyed me, I could also understand his misguided efforts where his sister is concerned. Sometimes it’s easy to be too protective of the people we love.
Brekka is different. While other girls worry over their bodies or what they’ll do with their lives, she has perfect confidence and a clear vision. As one of the best skiiers in the world, she’s headed straight to the top. Until she isn’t, thanks to a devastating car crash. Now she’s different, but not in the way she wanted. And while she has anything money can buy and is a respected businesswoman, she feels incomplete, like her life is on hold. She’s never met anyone who sees past the wheelchair and the money and the false confidence…until she meets Rob. Rob doesn’t stare at her handicaps with pity, or at her money with greed. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, he may just be her perfect match. But Rob loves nothing more than fixing broken things, whether furniture or people. Does he truly love Brekka, or does he just want to fix her? And can he overcome his own insecurities so that he can be there for her?
This is a beautifully written book that skillfully touches on tough themes. Fear, feelings of inadequacy, difficult decisions, and ultimately acceptance of one’s self as whole and beautiful. Rob may be my favorite male lead of the series so far because of his consistent, loving pursuit of whatever is best for Brekka. He’s not pushy or overbearing or mindlessly devoted. He just loves her deeply, putting her first always and helping her work through her problems so that she can be her best self. His amazing creativity helps her navigate the world, but more importantly he helps her realize how much she can do and that she is still herself. As he tells her brother, “People aren’t stronger or weaker because they’re dealing with a disability. They’re who they are.”