Lily Everett has been writing romance novels for a few years now and is known for her three series: Sanctuary Island, Billionaire Brothers and The Billionaire Bachelors. In 2017, two new books will be coming out in the Sanctuary series and I got a free ARC for review via NetGalley. The publishers took the time to e-mail me because I had shown interest in her books before, which I really appreciated. So because of that and the fact that I love reading romance, I immediately downloaded both books and read them over the weekend.
Close to Home is the fifth book in the series, which will be published on February 7th 2017. Tessa escaped her troubled youth by marrying Johnny. Since Johnny was in the army, they only saw each other a few times a year when he was home. Slowly but surely, Tessa fell in love with her husband but feared he only saw her as the young girl he rescued years ago. After almost a year of no contact with her husband, she decided to file for divorce and moved away to Sanctuary Island to start living her own life. She quickly settles in nicely, starts working in the bakery and gains a ton of self-confidence. She became the self-sufficient and strong woman she was always meant to be and knows what she wants to do with her life.
When Johnny returns from a 2-year undercover mission, all he wants is to go home to his wife. When he finds her gone, he is determined to go after her, not to win her back, but to make sure that she is okay. He has a strong saviour-complex and has been hiding his feelings for her because he fears she would only give in because he rescued her. Due to traumatic events in his childhood, he is also afraid to give in to love. But when he sees the woman his wife has transformed into, he is determined to make her his again.
This sweet romance novel is about a woman who has moved beyond her past to become a strong person who is sure of herself and her place in the world. She is in love with a man who rescued her and who now needs rescuing himself since he has trouble getting over his undercover persona (or more accurately: the mistrust and constant vigilance and paranoia) and becoming a normal person again. Will the couple be able to help each other and get through it together? Obviously yes, or it wouldn’t be a very good romance novel. But since it is indeed a VERY good romance novel, they do so magnificently and very realistically. The writing flows easily and fluently and this book reads like a train. Gold star!
I also received the sixth book in the series, Home At Last, which I will be reviewing next. Interested? Read my review right here.
Happy reading,
Loes M.
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