Take This Regret: A.L. Jackson Review & Giveaway

by Kimbytx - Monday, January 28, 2013

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There are some mistakes we make that we will regret for the rest of our lives. For Christian Davison, it was the day he betrayed Elizabeth Ayers.

For five years, Christian has regretted the day he walked away from his family and will do anything to win them back.

Can Elizabeth forgive someone who has committed the unforgiveable? Or are there some wounds that go so deep they can never heal?

She was mine, had always been, and I'd always been hers. Despite what I'd done, the wounds I'd inflicted, she had always been mine.

This book just gutted me. And it was the second time I have read it! I decided to re-read it since after reading an ARC of the prequel novella Lost to You.

Christian... So handsome, so magnetic, so lost, so broken, and so full of heart wrenching regret. Even though he is supposed to be the "bad guy" in the situation, my heart broke for him during the most of the book. His impulsive decision years before changed the course of both of their lives. He had his own demons to bear that shaped his decisions.

I could not hold it back any longer. My soul mourned for what it had lost, for every day I have lived without them, for every moment wasted, for time that could not be reclaimed.

Elizabeth... Strong, stubborn, and still shattered. She was totally and utterly destroyed by Christian in college. She gave up her life, her dreams, and closed herself off from the idea of love. She is a wonderful, loving mom with a great support system, but has serious trust issues.

When I was alone, though, it was impossible to ignore the heaviness in my chest--the ache. I hated him for leaving it there. No one should ever have that much control on someone else's heart, and I would never allow myself to become so vulnerable again.

A.L. Jackson makes you feel every emotion, every bit of inner turmoil, every regret, and every fear. You are drawn totally into their sadness at what was lost and try to find a glimmer of hope that it can be salvaged.

When Christian sees his child for the first time, the intensity was palpable. And the development of their relationship was endearing and sweet. Lizzie's character was so precocious and adorable.

The staggering amount of emotion that hit me nearly brought me to my knees and I fell in love with the tiny person in front of me.

I loved how hard Christian tried to make amends and how desperately he tried to get his family back. I could understand Elizabeth's reluctance and fear. But it was hard to see them so emotional and struggling so hard. Trust is hard to rebuild. The past seems to interrupt the present and impact the chance of a future.

Sometimes I wondered why I fought it, fought him, that no matter how hard I tried, we'd end up in the same place--the place where he had control of my heart, the place where he could shatter it just as easily as he could make it whole.

Maybe now I really understood why Elizabeth had run from me all of these months, whey she would never allow herself to believe. A love as intense a the one we shared, one that had not dimmed though years of betrayal but had only grown, was terrifying. We had the power to destroy, to devastate, and ruin, to lay the other to waste. But I wasn't running.

It is a beautifully written story of lost love, betrayal, redemption, second chances, and family. I was truly moved by the story and the characters.

Never would I take what I’d been given for granted. I’d never look at her through indifferent eyes, listen to her fears and worries with distant ears, or touch her with impassive hands.

The new prequel novella Lost to You is the love story of Christian and Elizabeth in College and will be available January 31, 2013.

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