Originally posted on my blog, Books Forget Me Knot.

I received an ebook copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book with no expectations. Just a clear mind. But, boy did it take me on a very heart-wrenching trip.

When Danielle is left sexually assaulted and beaten, Ryan, her hero, is the one who finds her after. No one understands the ordeal she has grown through, except him and he knows what it will take to have Danielle begin to heal. She writes her journey down, letters to Ryan, and we are taken on her own journey of survival and strength.

At the beginning, I am a little thrown off by the layout of the novel. It was hard to get used to Carly writing in first p.o.v. and then switching to second p.o.v. when she talked to Ryan. I’ve read novels where a point of view was in first and third. But never in first and second, which was a little hectic. But after 7 chapters, it didn’t both me so much. On that note, I really did like Danielle’s writing. It held such emotion that I sympathized for Carly.

For our characters, Carly and Ryan. Well, they are something else. There is a slew of misunderstandings between them. Neither know that they have had a crush on each other for years, their feelings for each other always being misconstrued. I didn’t like this because I’m a terribly hopeless romantic and at times, I just wanted to scream at both of them to get their sh** together.

But then, there was the other part of me liked how Ryan gave her space. Even when she accused Ryan of something that he did not do, he always there for her. Period. I liked that in his character. He was strong and loyal. It’s something that I really like in a MMC (male main character).

Aside from the difficult issues of abuse, there is also the topic of trust. Trust is very hard to garner when something horrible has happened, especially in Carly’s case. There are many instances where Carly distrusts Ryan’s motives, his actions, character, ect. He in turn, is hurt, and thus creates the unending string of misconstrued communication with one another. But love, if it’s true has the power to prevail against all odds and it was one of my favorite messages in this novel.

Overall, this was a really nicely written novel. It had some tough subject matter, but life isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. I liked that it dealt with a tough subject and how the author did not sugar coat it. I definitely recommend this book to everyone. It’s an inspiring story about a girl coming into her strength after dealing with a soul-shattering experience such as what Carly dealt. Strength, even as it slowly emerges in a person, is beautiful and Danielle Sibarium writes it wonderfully!