A broken woman…

Crystal learned long ago that loves brings only pain.  Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again.  She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.

A man in need of help…

Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life.  Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there’s an undeniable goodness in him.  And event though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel.  His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.

Only love can mend a shattered heart…

Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world, which had stolen everything from them, would bring them a deep love like this.  Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.

I am not sure how Mia Sheridan can create these characters that feel so real. These two people have been broken, but are survivors. The experiences they had to deal with ripped my heart to shreds. And neither of them were where they wanted to be in the present, but unexpectedly become a catalyst in each other's lives.

Crystal (Ellie) is a stripper, dancer, and waitress. She needs the money. as she has only herself to rely on and expenses that seem to keep growing. She is smart, guarded, prickly, stubborn, and fiercely independent. She hides emotion and is truly afraid to hope and risk more disappointment. She has been disappointed, taken advantage of, or hurt all of her life. It is easier to keep people away then to risk letting someone in.

Gabriel is suffering the after effects of his own trauma and he is very aware of his own issues. But he wants to improve them, feel whole,  and has a plan to work on them. He is lonely, inexperienced, gentle, trustworthy, but maybe a little pushy when it comes to wanting to help people. He is an unexpected  breath of fresh air to Ellie's difficult life. 

Gabriel and Ellie have survived their own prisons, but are no strangers to hopelessness, loneliness, lack of personal contact, and fear. They seem an unlikely duo. Their current life situations are different. She is more negative and has so many unresolved sources of pain. He sees the good and positive aspects of even bad situations and wants to make them better. She thinks she is unfixable and not good enough and does not like to be dependent on anyone. He likes to feel needed and wanted, and has his own issues. She is fearful of love and it being taken away. He holds onto love dearly and wants to experience it all. She runs when scared and he wants to hold on. But they find a connection that seems to stick even if it is fragile. But not everyone will support them being in each other's lives. The side characters added depth, support, and drama to the story and affected their lives in various ways.

Both of them have personal problems to work on and have to approach them in their own way. But in order to truly heal, they will have to be willing to face the past, open up, and find a way to move on. This is told in dual points of view and is centered around two damaged people who have survived terrible situations. I was glad that the past scenes were not graphic and overly analyzed because it was better to focus on the after effects.  

This is a raw, real, tragic, and triumphant love story about heartache, hope, trust, and healing. Mia's flawless writing style always manages to pull me in, grab my heart, and make me feel. The characters are multilayered and so well developed. Their layers are gradually peeled away as their pasts and secrets are exposed. They seem like opposites, but surprisingly find a bond. Gabriel was easy to adore from the beginning and I only got more attached to him, but Ellie was harder to warm up to due to her walls and attitude. But I came to love them together, and was anxious for them to work through all of their baggage.

This is Ellie's journey to find strength, confidence, purpose, acceptance, and faith. She cannot really love Gabriel or let herself be loved if she cannot love herself. And Gabriel also has his own needs and is seeking his own healing and happy ending he has dreamed of.  But they both have to find their own ways to overcome what they need to.

These two definitely have plenty of opportunities for personal growth and complications in their lives. It is not a book of sunshine and rainbows. It is full of challenges and trauma, but it also makes you believe in the human spirit and that with the right care even the most broken person can not only survive, but find a way to thrive. 

Gabriel Dalton escaped a horror no child should experience and for the most part is living life grateful to be alive and part of the normal world. But he wants to be able to handle closeness in ways he hasn’t been able to face since he returned home.

Crystal is as closed off as they come, having learned long ago that it is easier to be lonely than to feel the pain that comes with letting people in, especially men.

These two each have their own walls and histories that keep them from being fully present. But though they wouldn’t have guessed they could find common ground, they are drawn to the other in a way that surprises and challenges them.

It would be easy for these characters to be flat and one dimensional -- the stripper and the victim. But as the story unfolds, so do these characters. They are so much more than the simple labels they could wear (and really, they both work hard to not wear those labels openly).

Once again, Mia has crafted a plot and characters that pulled me in and didn’t let go. These characters are so unique, coming out of histories that scarred them each in differently but connecting them most unexpectedly. Of the books I had coming up on my list, I knew this would be a hard-hitting emotional story, and I was right. It is a good thing I didn’t try to read this in public, as I would have been a mess.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.