Kristie J’s review of Collecting the Pieces by L.A. Fiore
Contemporary Romance published by Amazon Digital Services 15 Nov 16
I only read this book last month, but already I’m feeling the need to read it again. I was so invested in it that I read it quickly and now I need to re-read, more slowly this time in order to savor it. I’ve been a reading machine lately, plowing through a number of books. Thus I’ve forgotten parts of this one and I need one more go to remember them.
The book is written in two parts, Sidney when she was younger and Sydney when she’s older. Sydney was an abandoned child who was moved around in the system until finally she landed with foster parents. They were poor examples who were in it only for the money and totally neglected her, but there she found a foster brother and they became close. When she was 15, she met Jake. He was one of the most popular guys in school. He was hot and his family was very well off. Much to her amazement, Jake fell for her and they began seeing each other. His parents were completely accepting too, and for the first time in her life Sydney had family. Although she and Jake are young, they marry and are very happy. But life changes and sometimes not for the better. I was crying during this part of the book, and while that sounds odd, crying while reading is a good thing!
Some years later Sydney has made changes in her life. She’s moved to the other side of the country, started a new job, and there is a new guy in her life, Abel Madden. It’s reluctantly done, since he drives her nuts. While he comes across as rough and tough and a bit of an a-hole, he looks after injured animals and that says a lot about what he’s really like. So as she slowly begins to open up, she realizes he’s the best person for her now at this stage in her life.
Sydney, Jake, Jake’s parents, Abel, her best friend Rylee are all such rich, wonderfully written characters. Connor, her foster brother, is such a tragic character even though he doesn’t play a large role in the book. The role he does play, though, changes the course of Sydney’s life.
This is such a wonderful book. It hit every note for me in what I look for in a book. Great story, great hero/heroine, well-written secondary characters. A story that really engages my emotions.
This book just confirms what I already knew, that L.A. Fiore is an author whose books need to be read.
Grade: A
Summary:
At fifteen I fell in love. His name was Jake Stephens and he took the abandoned, lonely girl I had been and made me whole. His love was a pure and unconditional love that made every day better than the last…a fairy tale of my very own.
But this story isn’t about Jake. It’s about Abel Madden; the man I meet after the fairy tale goes to hell. A cocky, arrogant man who says what he wants, does as he pleases, and makes no excuses for it. He irritates me—downright pisses me off at times—but he also brings me back to life.
My name is Sidney Ellis and this is my story of finding love twice—the first when I needed it most and the second when I never saw it coming.
No excerpt available.
