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From Here to You by Jamie McGuire [arc review]

From here to you is the newest book by Jamie McGuire. It is a second chance at love romance that will have your undivided attention from the very first few pages. 
from here to you, Jamie McGuire
Blurb:
As Darby Dixon sits in a tiny Texas church bathroom on her wedding day holding a positive pregnancy test, she realizes that of all the bad decisions she's made in her life, marrying her abusive fiancé would be the worst. She's never been able to stand up for herself, but she'll sure as hell stand up for her baby. With just the cash she has on hand, she runs to get a bus ticket to the farthest place she can afford. Between her sheer grit and pageant-queen smile, she lands a job as a front desk clerk at the Colorado Springs Hotel. It's not a glamorous life, but she and her baby are all that matters.

A former Marine, Scott "Trex" Trexler has worked in the most dangerous, corrupt, war-torn places on earth. Now he finally has a chance to return to the last place he'd felt at peace--Colorado Springs, Colorado, to take a new job with the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, a top-secret military installation buried deep within the granite.

The moment Trex walks into the inn, Darby knows he's dangerous. There's no way she wants to get involved with another man who seems to be keeping way too many secrets. As charming and devastatingly gorgeous as Trex is, he clearly isn't telling her everything. But as wildfires rage on the mountain and Darby's ex-fiancé shows he isn't so willing to let her go, both she and Trex are soon to find out that what you don't know absolutely can hurt you.


2.5 Stars

I liked the book, but I did not love it.  I was hooked on the story from the very first pages. It has an intense and very emotional start. Our main character Derby finds out she is pregnant right before the wedding and although she didn't for herself, she does leave her abusive relationship for her child, her child deserves better than an abusive father. She takes off with nothing but the wedding dress she is wearing.

She ends up in Colorado Springs working and living at a hotel. There she meets Trex, a guy with way too many secrets. 
I liked Darby's character, having had the life she had it was not easy to make the decision  she made. She was a strong female character and stole the story completely. Without her the book would have failed completely.

Trex is many things, and most of those things he refuses to tell Darby. Although his character was loving and caring, it was also forceful and deceitful. I liked him, he had a good heart and good intentions. But his decisions were selfish and in the end I felt like she went from a physical abusive relationship to an emotional abusive one. All the things she learns about him she only learns when he has no choice but to say them or when someone else lets it slip. And to add to that, every time she discovers a lie he points a finger at her and her trust issues. Dude, of-course she has trust issues. Her ex was an ass and you do nothing but lie! Or even better yet, you have trust issues. Just tell her stuff already! -I felt like screaming often- 
I loved his tenacity, and at many times during the book I swoon for him. Specially when it involved the baby. He loved that baby as if it was his from the very first moment and that was beautiful.
But I also disliked his tenacity because it came with lies and deceit. So much so at times I wasn't sure he loved her or was obsessed with her.

Cause here is the other thing... Trex has been waiting for 'the one' his whole life, and the moment he sees Derby he just 'knows' it is her. I don't mind insta-love, I really don't, but as I have said on other reviews it needs to be done well. Most of the time insta-love only works on fantasy and pnr books. Those often have the famous 'true mates' idea running on the background and are not realistic in general. But contemporaries are meant to be realistic and insta-love just isn't, so it is difficult for a contemporary romance novel to pull off the insta-love trope. Insta-lust? yah, that works every time, but not insta-love. And of-course, it doesn't quite work here. Trex only shows her the sides of him he wants her to see. She doesn't fall in love with him, she falls in love with a version of him. And he doesn't know her, he loves this idea of her that he conjured in his mind. 

In the end, although I liked many parts of the book, the fact that she went from one type of abusive relationship to one that often felt like another type of abusive relationship (doesn't matter how loving and caring Trex was) just didn't sit well with me. 

To be perfectly honest with you, there was another character in the book, Zeke, and his friendship with Darby from the moment she arrives was so beautiful and open and honest I rather preferred him as her love interest. It would have felt a lot more natural for the two of them to start something than it did with Trex.

Find the book at:

*this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an Instagram feature.


Comments

  1. Onceupon_a_bookdreamAugust 21, 2018 at 5:16 AM

    Ugh this book has been getting such meh reviews from all the bloggers I trust and it makes me so nervous to read this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only saw the meh reviews after I started reading 🙈 too little too late

      Delete

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