Come to Me Softly
Closer to You, Book #2
By A.L. Jackson
ISBN# 9780451467973
Author’s Website: http://www.aljacksonauthor.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Beware of Spoilers!
Aly Moore has been devastated since Jared left three months ago, leaving her heartbroken, scared, and alone. And, when she found out she was carrying Jared’s baby, her brother, Christopher, was the only one she felt she could turn to for help. He has seen her through some of her darkest days, and has worried about Aly endlessly. But needless to say he’s less than thrilled when he sees Jared has returned, as he doesn’t want to see him shred Aly’s heart once again.
Now that Jared is back in Aly’s arms again he finally feels like he’s home and vows never to leave her again. The news of the baby is quite the shock, but there is nobody else he’d rather have a baby with. But after the car accident that killed his mother when he was 16, he has carried the guilt of her death on his shoulders, and doesn’t feel he is worthy of Aly’s love. But he will do whatever it takes to prove otherwise, making a home and life for his new little family. But sooner or later Jared will realize that you can’t run from the past, you have to face it head on. Can Aly and Jared survive the aftermath when his demons finally rear their ugly heads?
First off, I did not read the first installment of this series, Come to Me Quietly, but it appears that this book picks up pretty close to where it left off … well three months after it left off anyway. The author was kind enough to give us a recap of what happened so I didn’t feel lost in the reading of the novel. But I will admit that I found the first 100-150 pages or so to go at a snail’s pace. I was just so tired of reading Aly and Jared’s thoughts of how great the other was and the mundane day to day life they were sharing. It did start to pick up shortly before Thanksgiving dinner though and then it wasn’t too bad from that point on, and was even enjoyable at times.
I do think this couple really struggled with their lack of maturity though. Overall, it really felt like they were ‘playing house’ more than anything else. Jared was over possessive and controlling and it had the definite feel of a toxic relationship. And Aly for the most part just accepted it as his way of dealing with his sordid past. Jared lets his guilt over his mother’s death rule him, making for volatile situations. But I can’t say Jared’s dad was any more mature than this duo, blaming his own son for his wife’s death and abandoning his kids. He moves on, but doesn’t have the balls to face what he did to Jared, never trying to reach out and make it right. Instead it takes Aly forcing Jared’s hand to make the first move. His dad never knowing just how badly his actions have scarred Jared.
The last several chapters of this book are chock full of emotion though, and makes it very hard to keep a dry eye, as Jared finally faces down his past so that he can build a future.
Overall this was a decent read, it just took quite a bit longer than I would have liked to get to that point!
