Veena’s review of The Christmas He Loved Her (Bay Boys of Crystal Lake, Book 2) by Julianna Stone
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 24 Sep 13
Ms. Stone is an auto-buy for me. I love her insights into human nature, her strong three-dimensional characters who feel like real people, and emotions that reach out and suck you in to make you a part of whichever world she’s painting, whether it’s a paranormal or contemporary read.
Raine has always been one of the guys with the bad boys Mac, Jesse, Jake, and Cain as they grew up together in the small town of Crystal Lake. Jesse and Jake were both in love with her and she with them. She married Jesse, only to become a widow when he was killed in action in Afghanistan. Jake, who had served with his twin during that tour of duty, returned home a completely changed man, making Raine feel that she has lost him too.
It is heart wrenching to see Jake struggle with guilt and PTSD. It just doesn’t seem fair that he could have everything he ever wanted, but it’s at the expense of his brother’s life, whom he could not save. I cried along with his parents when he finally broke down and told his parents what had happened and why he felt that he did not deserve to receive a medal for his actions on the day his brother was killed.
Poor lonely Raine. If she could have had everything she wanted, it would have been both brothers, because it seems like she truly loved them both. But since this isn’t a ménage romance, she could only have one and then he died on her, and now the other one doesn’t seem to want her. She struggles with her overwhelming grief, isolating herself from the people who love and care for her, until a catalyst in the form of a beautiful woman companion whom Jake brings home for Christmas and an old house that she’s always loved galvanize her to reach out and finally seek and find the happiness she deserves.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the two bad boys finding their happily-ever-afters, and I absolutely cannot wait for Mac’s story. From everything we’ve read so far, he definitely deserves his HEA.
Grade: A
Summary:
You can always go home…In the small town of Crystal Lake, Christmas is a time for sledding, hot chocolate, and cozying up to the fire with those you love. For Jake Edwards, it’s also time to come home and face his past. He thought there would never be anything harder than losing his brother. Turns out there is: falling in love with his brother’s widow, Raine.
Other books in this series:
