Review: The Christmas He Loved Her by Juliana Stone

Title: The Christmas He Loved Her
Author: Juliana Stone
Series: Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, Book 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 1 October 2013

All he wants this Christmas is her.

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.

Ever since they were little, Jesse was the Edwards brother who was always there for her, and Jake was the one who knew just how to push her buttons. Raine can't imagine a life without them, which is why it was doubly decimating when Jake left town after his brother's sudden death. Now he's back and she doesn't know whether to be mad or thrilled. Maybe both. Maybe it will be the perfect chance for both of them to finally find happiness again.

After reading The Summer He Came Home, where we first met Raine and Jake, I was anxious to read their story. I knew it was going to break my heart and had the potential to be incredibly satisfying at the same time - something I was perfectly in the mood for. From the first moment we meet them it's easy to see that Jake's in love with his brother's widow, and it's ripping him apart inside.

Jake is eaten up by guilt, on multiple fronts; he has survivor's guilt, guilt that he didn't bring his brother home alive, guilt for wanting his brother's wife...my heart was breaking for him. What also was clear was that Jake is suffering from PTSD from his experiences in the war, and the day his twin died. I thought the author did a great job portraying this, with a few quibbles that I'll get into later. I loved the small moments that shows the closeness between Jake and his twin, Jesse throughout their childhood and even into adulthood. It really helped to cement the kind of person that Jake is, and the family that surrounds him, that means so much to him.

Raine's been a part of this family for years now, always tagging along with Jake and Jesse and the other 'Bad Boys'. It's her love as much as anyone's that has been such a constant in Jake's life. Raine's suffering from losing her husband too, and her best friend when Jake walked away for over a year, the depression, the loss, is clear in everything she does - or rather doesn't do. I loved that her road back from this was gradual - and not entirely due to Jake. She realizes bit by bit that she's not living how she wants to, and she takes small steps to change that, incremental and momentous.

I didn't expect an easy story between these two, and I definitely didn't get one. With all the guilt and hurt to be worked through Jake and Raine had a hard road to travel. More than once my heart broke while reading and I wanted to just see them realize what they had with each other. They had a lot of healing to do, and I was so glad when I saw them on the road to that...together.

My one complaint is that I think love healed a bit too much. As soon as Jake gave in and started sleeping with Raine, his nightmares stopped. Just like that, he was sleeping through the night. Up until this point the guilt and PTSD was portrayed so well, and to see it just cured made me disappointed. It seems to me that it'd be so much more realistic if he continued to struggle, even if his acceptance and love did make things significantly better. But overall, I was able to overlook this and enjoy this story immensely!

Now that I've confirmed my suspicions about the heroine for the third book, The Day He Kissed Her, I'm so excited to finish out this series! Juliana Stone continues to get better in this series, and I can't wait to see where she takes us next.

Grade: B+

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Review: The Summer He Came Home by Juliana Stone

Title: The Summer He Came Home
Author: Juliana Stone
Series: Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 2 April 2013

Sometimes the best place to find love is right back where you started...

Falling asleep in a different bed every night has made it easy for Cain Black to forget his past. It’s been ten years since he packed his guitar and left Crystal Lake to chase his dreams. Now tragedy has forced him home again. And though Cain relishes the freedom of the road, one stolen moment with Maggie O’Rourke makes him wonder if he’s missing out on something bigger than fame.

For Maggie—single mother and newly settled in Crystal Lake—love is a luxury she just can’t afford. Sure, she appreciates the tall, dark and handsome looks of prodigal son Cain Black. But how long can she expect the notorious hellion to stay?

The last thing either of them wants is something complicated. But sometimes love has its own plans.

I picked this book up because I have the second in the series (The Christmas He Loved Her) for review and wanted to read them in order - I can't help it. I must read in order! So, even though I've been on a holiday romance reading kick lately I switched gears entirely and hit summer in Michigan.

The book starts as Cain comes back to his hometown for the funeral of one of his best friends. I don't mind saying I was nearly in tears reading this. Though...well, the grief didn't seem to last very long for the rest of the characters (except the twin brother). Anyway, Cain's just starting to make it big with his band - he's the lead singer and front guitarist - but finds that he can use the break when he gets back home.

I mostly liked Cain and Maggie, though I'm hard-pressed to come up with some characteristics of them that aren't related to their chemistry and smexy times with each other. Cain is nothing like one would expect a rock-star to be - he's down to earth, kind, and caring to the extreme. Maggie, and here's where the majority of my problems come from, is stand-offish (though that's understandable considering her history) and, well, passive. Things happen to her. I never got the feeling that she had any hand in what was going on and she just kind of went with the flow.

I did have a hard time understanding why they fell in love. Cain mentions a few reasons of why he's falling for Maggie, but I honestly saw none of that in her. I felt like they never talked - though I was told about them talking, I didn't get to see it. And I really have no idea how the hell they're going to make it work when Cain needs to go back to LA in the fall.

I'm not a fan of the 'grand gesture' proposal at the end - and I didn't think Maggie would be either, but she was apparently into it; which just seemed like a complete reversal of her personality.

The secondary characters definitely had me intrigued, especially Jake and Raine! I'm so glad that Jake's story is next, because I'm dying to see how Juliana Stone resolves this.

I feel like I'm complaining a lot, and I did have issues with this - in fact I could nit-pick a few other things that continue to bother me. However, I was enjoying the book, for the most part, while I was reading it. The closer I examine things, and feelings about it, the more issues I come up with. The Summer He Came Home was a fun, quick, light read. If you're looking for something easy and straightforward, this could definitely be a good one.

Grade: C


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