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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
You can see my full review over on the blog:
http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/the-christmas-he-loved-her-by-juliana-stone-the-bad-boys-of-christmas-lake-2/
Thanks!
http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/the-christmas-he-loved-her-by-juliana-stone-the-bad-boys-of-christmas-lake-2/
Thanks!
Great story
Story was good. Choose to read this because I love this type of stories, would definitely recommend it. I felt the pain & felt the love. I could clear visualize the characters.
Story was good. Choose to read this because I love this type of stories, would definitely recommend it. I felt the pain & felt the love. I could clear visualize the characters.
This book made me have ~feelings~. Gosh, Jake/Raine's history is so dark and twisty and angsty and just so tragically beautiful.
I was 100% completely invested in Jake and Raine, both as a couple and their individual stories. The supporting characters were all wonderful as well: Jake's parents, Lily and Gibson of course.
I can't wait to read Mackenzie/Lily's story.
I was 100% completely invested in Jake and Raine, both as a couple and their individual stories. The supporting characters were all wonderful as well: Jake's parents, Lily and Gibson of course.
I can't wait to read Mackenzie/Lily's story.
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: B
Jake lost his brother while they were both serving in Afghanistan and over a year later, he’s still in a dark place, never dealing with his grief. He left town shortly after the funeral leaving behind his parents and Jesse’s widow and Jake’s close friend Raine. Jake and Raine found comfort together before he left but he couldn’t begin to deal with the feelings he’s always had for Raine so soon after burying his brother, so he just left. His absence hurt the family even more especially Raine, who was dealt another blow that she kept secret and is still battling depression that she’s unable to pull herself out of. Jake is now back in Crystal Lake and while he might not be ready to talk about Jesse or what happened overseas, he is ready to stay and he bought an old fixer upper that he’s throwing all his energy into. The home has a lot of memories for Jake, his group of friends known as the Bad Boys and for Raine and it’s the catalyst that Raine needs to start to come to life again when she moves into the carriage house on Jake’s newly acquired property.
When we first meet Raine, she’s a mess. She’s spending all day in bed, not taking care of herself, she’s barely managing to take care of her new puppy and she’s rarely leaving her home. She’s depressed, angry, sad and most of her feelings are directed toward Jake once she realizes that he’s back in town and that he didn’t come back alone, bringing along a friend, Lily. It takes more than one visit from Jake, but Raine starts to come back to life. She’s tired of living in the dark and letting the past and her sadness ruin the present. So she starts to go out more and her new attitude is helped when she starts staying at the carriage house and not in the empty house she shared with Jesse. When she starts going nose to nose with Jake, like they used to do growing up, she starts to feel alive for the first time in months. Initially I wasn’t sure what I thought about Raine. Obviously I felt for her with everything she’s going through, but she was constantly going at Jake for leaving her and not being there for her and talking about how much she needed him and he wasn’t there. I don’t want to call her whiny, because it wasn’t that, but she was very much all about what Jake hadn’t been doing for her early on and I was glad to see her drop that as the book went on and start to do for herself instead of focusing on what Jake hadn’t done for her.
Jake and Raine’s relationship spans many years, first they were best friends as Raine would tag along with the Bad Boys growing up since her mom was absent and never around. We get a few short flashbacks to Jake and Raine as teens and it helped show how deep their relationship really is. This isn’t just about a brother falling in love with his dead brother’s wife. This group was best friends for years and Raine’s feelings for both brothers were strong. Jesse was the calm rock in her life and he gave her stability that she never had growing up. But with Jake, they would argue and debate about any and everything and she just had a different type of relationship with Jake. For me it worked, especially having the scenes between them when they were younger, it made it feel like their love for each other in the present didn’t just happen out of thin air. But they have a lot to work through. Jake hasn’t dealt with Jesse’s death and it’s slowly killing him. What I appreciated about his journey was, yes Raine gives him a new reason to move forward and he starts to come alive when she’s back in his life, but I really loved that the breakdown Jake needed to have happen, happens with his parents. It’s a touching scene and one that I’ll remember from this story.
The overall feeling of the book is very heavy. Jake and Raine each have a lot of pain they need to work through and it’s an emotional road for them both. Their romance felt deeper because of it and I really liked the progression of their relationship. But the heaviness wasn’t just centered around Jake and Raine’s relationship. Raine is also dealing with her now present mother who wants to build a relationship with the daughter that she all but ignored when Raine was growing up. As if that wasn’t enough, Jake’s friend Lily is losing her brother, a man who was injured during the fight that took Jesse’s life. I was expecting a happy, uplifting, light hearted Christmas read but there’s so much angst and heartache! The ending and HEA is sweet for both Jake and Raine and after everything they’ve gone through, it was well deserved. I was easily caught up in this story and yes the pain is high for these characters but seeing the broken relationships start to mend and especially seeing Jake and Raine find love together was worth all the angst they have to go through.
Blog rating: B
Jake lost his brother while they were both serving in Afghanistan and over a year later, he’s still in a dark place, never dealing with his grief. He left town shortly after the funeral leaving behind his parents and Jesse’s widow and Jake’s close friend Raine. Jake and Raine found comfort together before he left but he couldn’t begin to deal with the feelings he’s always had for Raine so soon after burying his brother, so he just left. His absence hurt the family even more especially Raine, who was dealt another blow that she kept secret and is still battling depression that she’s unable to pull herself out of. Jake is now back in Crystal Lake and while he might not be ready to talk about Jesse or what happened overseas, he is ready to stay and he bought an old fixer upper that he’s throwing all his energy into. The home has a lot of memories for Jake, his group of friends known as the Bad Boys and for Raine and it’s the catalyst that Raine needs to start to come to life again when she moves into the carriage house on Jake’s newly acquired property.
When we first meet Raine, she’s a mess. She’s spending all day in bed, not taking care of herself, she’s barely managing to take care of her new puppy and she’s rarely leaving her home. She’s depressed, angry, sad and most of her feelings are directed toward Jake once she realizes that he’s back in town and that he didn’t come back alone, bringing along a friend, Lily. It takes more than one visit from Jake, but Raine starts to come back to life. She’s tired of living in the dark and letting the past and her sadness ruin the present. So she starts to go out more and her new attitude is helped when she starts staying at the carriage house and not in the empty house she shared with Jesse. When she starts going nose to nose with Jake, like they used to do growing up, she starts to feel alive for the first time in months. Initially I wasn’t sure what I thought about Raine. Obviously I felt for her with everything she’s going through, but she was constantly going at Jake for leaving her and not being there for her and talking about how much she needed him and he wasn’t there. I don’t want to call her whiny, because it wasn’t that, but she was very much all about what Jake hadn’t been doing for her early on and I was glad to see her drop that as the book went on and start to do for herself instead of focusing on what Jake hadn’t done for her.
Jake and Raine’s relationship spans many years, first they were best friends as Raine would tag along with the Bad Boys growing up since her mom was absent and never around. We get a few short flashbacks to Jake and Raine as teens and it helped show how deep their relationship really is. This isn’t just about a brother falling in love with his dead brother’s wife. This group was best friends for years and Raine’s feelings for both brothers were strong. Jesse was the calm rock in her life and he gave her stability that she never had growing up. But with Jake, they would argue and debate about any and everything and she just had a different type of relationship with Jake. For me it worked, especially having the scenes between them when they were younger, it made it feel like their love for each other in the present didn’t just happen out of thin air. But they have a lot to work through. Jake hasn’t dealt with Jesse’s death and it’s slowly killing him. What I appreciated about his journey was, yes Raine gives him a new reason to move forward and he starts to come alive when she’s back in his life, but I really loved that the breakdown Jake needed to have happen, happens with his parents. It’s a touching scene and one that I’ll remember from this story.
The overall feeling of the book is very heavy. Jake and Raine each have a lot of pain they need to work through and it’s an emotional road for them both. Their romance felt deeper because of it and I really liked the progression of their relationship. But the heaviness wasn’t just centered around Jake and Raine’s relationship. Raine is also dealing with her now present mother who wants to build a relationship with the daughter that she all but ignored when Raine was growing up. As if that wasn’t enough, Jake’s friend Lily is losing her brother, a man who was injured during the fight that took Jesse’s life. I was expecting a happy, uplifting, light hearted Christmas read but there’s so much angst and heartache! The ending and HEA is sweet for both Jake and Raine and after everything they’ve gone through, it was well deserved. I was easily caught up in this story and yes the pain is high for these characters but seeing the broken relationships start to mend and especially seeing Jake and Raine find love together was worth all the angst they have to go through.
another 4.5 stars for Ms. Stone. She has become one of my favorite contemporary romance authors.
Too angst filled for me, too much bad going on.
Maybe I need to take a break from contemporary romances, or just stick to the humorous ones...
Jake saw his twin die while they were serving in Afghanistan. Jesse's widow turns to him in her grief and Jesse runs away. He comes back after a year and a half, but still hasn't dealt with his survivor grief.
Raine has her own issues, with mother desertion...
Maybe I need to take a break from contemporary romances, or just stick to the humorous ones...
Jake saw his twin die while they were serving in Afghanistan. Jesse's widow turns to him in her grief and Jesse runs away. He comes back after a year and a half, but still hasn't dealt with his survivor grief.
Raine has her own issues, with mother desertion...
When I started reading The Christmas He Loved Her, I could not put it down. There’s a lot of sadness and pain but there’s also hope, love and family. I highly recommend this book but I must warn you, it takes you on an emotional ride. I was exhausted when I was done.
Visit Love To Read For Fun to read the full review.
Visit Love To Read For Fun to read the full review.
Loved this! Although I personally find Lily a bit annoying and hard to really figure out... I mean, for example, that for someone who supposedly "does not like to be touched" she does a lot of it with Jake!
And I gotta say that Raine is a stronger person than I am because I would have smacked Lily around and put her in her place for her touchy-kissy-feely, emotional-and-borderline-physical-relationship, "the other woman"-ish thing with someone who supposedly loves me but runs to "the other woman" all the time & shares more with her than me. Hopefully that will drastically change - or Raine actually will do some serious smacking and place-putting... LOL =P
And I gotta say that Raine is a stronger person than I am because I would have smacked Lily around and put her in her place for her touchy-kissy-feely, emotional-and-borderline-physical-relationship, "the other woman"-ish thing with someone who supposedly loves me but runs to "the other woman" all the time & shares more with her than me. Hopefully that will drastically change - or Raine actually will do some serious smacking and place-putting... LOL =P
Sometimes there are stories that touch your heart, make you sad, make you laugh, or make you sigh. "The Christmas He Loved Her" by Juliana Stone is one of those books. The second in the Bad Boys of Crystal Lake series, this book was even better than the first book. Let me tell you about Jake and Raine.
"I think I've been in love with you since we were kids.
Jake Edwards is an ex-Army Ranger who is still reeling from the death of his twin brother Jesse. Add to that the fact that he has been in love with his brother's widow, Raine, for most of his life, and he blames himself for not being able to save Jesse from the bullet that took his life. Trying to outrun the demons and the guilt that plagues him, he left his parents, his friends, his home town, and Raine a year and a half ago, but no matter the distance, he can't change the past. He also can't outrun the love that he feels for Raine.
"I love you, Jake Edwards. I've always loved you. It doesn't lessen what I felt for your brother or cheapen the time I had with him.
Raine Edwards can't seem to function without Jake. Loosing Jesse broke Raine, but without Jake, she is not sure she can survive. Trying to make it day by day, to hide the pain of the love that she feels for Jake, that she has comes to realized that she has always felt for Jake, to hide the pain of a secret loss that she has not shared with anyone. Well now Jake is back and neither one knows how to erase the pain that they have caused each other, but they both realize that neither are complete, or at peace without the other. Can they learn to let go of the past, the guilt, the fear and forgive themselves so that they can find love again?
Ok, I loved Jake and Raine ever since I first met them in the first book of this series. I loved them even more by the end of this book. They are both broken and hurting and turn to each other for comfort, but when Jake runs, feeling that he has in some way betrayed the memory of his dead brother, Raine is the one left alone, and broken and confused. I love that they did not just brush the past and their issues under the rug but faced them head on and came out the other side stonger because of it. I loved how they, with the help of their family and friends, were able to forgave themselves for being the ones that survived when Jesse didn't.
I would recommend this book, this series and this author to all of my friends and I cannot wait until book three is released next year.
I was given an ARC for a fair review of this book.
"I think I've been in love with you since we were kids.
Jake Edwards is an ex-Army Ranger who is still reeling from the death of his twin brother Jesse. Add to that the fact that he has been in love with his brother's widow, Raine, for most of his life, and he blames himself for not being able to save Jesse from the bullet that took his life. Trying to outrun the demons and the guilt that plagues him, he left his parents, his friends, his home town, and Raine a year and a half ago, but no matter the distance, he can't change the past. He also can't outrun the love that he feels for Raine.
"I love you, Jake Edwards. I've always loved you. It doesn't lessen what I felt for your brother or cheapen the time I had with him.
Raine Edwards can't seem to function without Jake. Loosing Jesse broke Raine, but without Jake, she is not sure she can survive. Trying to make it day by day, to hide the pain of the love that she feels for Jake, that she has comes to realized that she has always felt for Jake, to hide the pain of a secret loss that she has not shared with anyone. Well now Jake is back and neither one knows how to erase the pain that they have caused each other, but they both realize that neither are complete, or at peace without the other. Can they learn to let go of the past, the guilt, the fear and forgive themselves so that they can find love again?
Ok, I loved Jake and Raine ever since I first met them in the first book of this series. I loved them even more by the end of this book. They are both broken and hurting and turn to each other for comfort, but when Jake runs, feeling that he has in some way betrayed the memory of his dead brother, Raine is the one left alone, and broken and confused. I love that they did not just brush the past and their issues under the rug but faced them head on and came out the other side stonger because of it. I loved how they, with the help of their family and friends, were able to forgave themselves for being the ones that survived when Jesse didn't.
I would recommend this book, this series and this author to all of my friends and I cannot wait until book three is released next year.
I was given an ARC for a fair review of this book.
Christmas He Loved Her was a thrilling read with all the angst and sadness you’d expect from two people that have lost a piece of themselves, but in the end they are able to overcome that loss and teach us all that just because you feel like the world has stopped doesn’t mean we can stop hoping or living for the future. Jake and Raine have been beaten down by life and broken by circumstances, but they won’t be defeated and when they finally dig themselves out of the hole they’ve fallen into, we get to see the strong-willed and loving characters that we always knew they really were. We are reminded of the magic of the holidays as they bring Raine back to life and force her to make Jake see her and accept the love between them. As their love deepens and they finally decide to stop running from each other, we can see Jake and Raine come to terms with the fact that though life has thrown them for a loop, together they can find their happiness and share the love in their hearts with each other and their family. If you haven’t read book one in the series you might miss a bit of the undercurrents and hints that are in this book, but you will catch on everything quickly. (Though I suggest you read Summer He Came Home of course because it is awesome.) I’m looking forward to delving deeper into Lily and Mac and their personal stories and their story, The Day He Kissed Her, will certainly be excellent and explosive when these two clash. Cannot wait for April to see more of these two. Another great novel Juliana, though of course I am not surprised!
Rating: 4 stars
For my full review see my blog at:
http://romancewitchreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/arc-review-christmas-he-loved-her.html
Rating: 4 stars
For my full review see my blog at:
http://romancewitchreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/arc-review-christmas-he-loved-her.html