Sunday, January 19, 2014

4 Stars for Live (Burnside #1) by Mary Ann Rivers


If there’s an upside to unemployment, Destiny Burnside may have found it. Job searching at her local library in Lakefield, Ohio, gives her plenty of time to ogle the hottest man she has ever laid eyes on: the sexy wood-carver who’s restoring the building. But as the rejection letters pile up, Destiny finds an unexpected shoulder to cry on. With his rich Welsh accent, Hefin Thomas stirs Destiny so completely that, even though he’s leaving soon, she lets herself believe the memory of his scorching kisses will be enough.

Hefin can’t help but notice the slender, confident woman with ginger hair who returns each day, so hopeful and determined. So when the tears start to fall, his silence—penance for a failed marriage—finally cracks. Once he’s touched her, what Hefin wants is to take her back to Wales and hold her forever. But Destiny’s roots run too deep. What they both need is each other—to learn how to live and love again.



What I thought...

4 out of 5 stars

Meet Destiny Burnside. Well, really the entire Burnside family, because up to this point in Destiny’s life, she’s pretty much defined herself by her family. She’s lost her job, and is still grieving the death of her father and the changes taking place between her and her three siblings.She spends her days job searching in the library in the town where she has lived all her life. While she’s there, she also spends her days watching the artisan woodcarver who is restoring carvings in the library.

Hefin Thomas is a quiet, serious engineer, displaced from his homeland, still grieving the failure of his marriage. He can’t find an engineering job, so he goes back to the woodcarving craft his father taught him. But out of the corner of his eye, he’s watching Destiny, until one day he approaches her.

It’s pretty much clear from the get go that these two want each other, and it doesn’t take things long to heat up. There is only one problem.

Hefin is planning to return to Wales when his work at the library is done. It’s a decision he’s made, and its a good one and they both know it. But in spite of the promise of heartache, they have no other choice than to listen to their hearts as they fall in love.

And they do that while Destiny is dealing with family drama. Her sister, Sarah is ill, and her brother Sam a jerk. And there’s another younger brother PJ. They are all working out a new dynamic between them, and Destiny is in the thick of it. She loves the roots she’s grown in her life, in her hometown. How can she leave, if Hefin were even to ask her?

The last third of this book has some really great scenes, particularly between Destiny and her family, and there was actually a chapter I felt like I was holding my breath. The book is rich with emotion and I absolutely adored the ending.

The first third of the book was a bit slow for me, and there were some bits of awkward writing which took me out of the story. The last two thirds of the book moved along nicely though with the lovely prose I’ve come to expect from Mary Ann Rivers.

Loved Destiny, Hefin and the story of these two. A good start to the Burnside series, I think. If you like to really get into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, you might like this.


Thanks to Loveswept and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

Buy links:   AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

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