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Review

“This isn’t the sort of love that ends … It’s forever.”

I loved it! What an absolutely beautiful love story!

This is book 1 in Katy Regnerey’s Modern Fairytale series, and is based on the story of Beauty and the Beast – in this case, a beautiful yet tenacious young reporter, and a wounded and disfigured veteran.

Savannah’s dream of being an investigative journalist is in tatters after she was betrayed by a source and she was completely discredited and fired from her job. Returning to her home town to lick her wounds, she is given a chance to revive her career when she is asked to write a human interest piece on a true American hero – town recluse Asher Lee.

Asher was gravely wounded and left scarred and disfigured after an IED explosion in Afghanistan. After countless surgeries, and intense rehabilitation he returned to his home town only to be shunned and openly stared at when he went out in public, so he has locked himself away in his family estate with only his housekeeper (Miss Potts – I love it!) for company.

Entranced by the gorgeous young reporter when she comes to ask for an interview, he agrees to a series of meetings, and is stunned when Savannah’s very presence makes him feel more alive than he has in years. And as he opens up to her during their interviews, she does the same in return and they develop a bond which affects them both deeply, and soon grows into soul-deep, life-changing love.

Oh My God, I love this relationship! I honestly couldn’t read this book fast enough, unable to get enough of Savannah and Asher and their incredible love story. Full of great banter, laugh-out-loud humour, deep and meaningful emotional interactions and oodles of sexual tension, it had everything that I love about romance. Their shift from friends to lovers is slow and realistic, brimming with chemistry and written in a way where I felt everything!

(I know this is a long quote, but it’s such a great example of the easy banter between these two, and the lightness that they share together, I love it!)

“I missed you,” she said softly, her breath against his cheek making his body harden everywhere.
“You too.”
“It’s terrible to be this infatuated.”
“I agree.”
“I haven’t felt this alive in years.”
“Me either.”
“Screw the interview,” she said breathlessly. “Let’s make out.”
He saw stars. Literally. Stars. How was this possibly his life? Beautiful women did not show up on the doorsteps of disabled vets and proposition them.
“Are you an alien?” he asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Are we on Candid Camera?”
She took a quick look around the room. “You never know, but my guess is no.”
“Is someone paying you a vast sum of money to make me feel like this?”
She bit her lower lip, as if deep in thought. “Not that I recall, but if a million dollars suddenly hits my account, I’ll give you half.”
“You must be for real. Fine. You win. Let’s go make out.”

The whole book is paced beautifully to allow a great build up, and then plenty of time with them together – from the giddy highs of early infatuation to the deep love of soul-mates who were meant to be together. I loved every moment of it!

“Asher Lee,” said Savannah breathlessly, standing up at the table, her knees wobbly from the force of her feelings. “What did you just do for me?”
“Savannah Carmichael,” he said, his face softening with the most tender, loving smile she’d ever seen. “I love you. Don’t you know I’d do anything for you?”

I love that both Savannah and Asher were brave enough to follow their hearts without any angst or game playing. They were nervous but they didn’t shy away from their feelings; they were open with each other about how they were feeling, and they embraced it. Savannah’s acceptance of Asher was beautiful – she saw past his scars and his gruff exterior to the sweet, charming and fun-loving man he truly is. She loved him fiercely, and she let him know it.

“You’re mine. You belong to me, and your warm body presses up against mine at night, and what you do with that body makes me…makes me wonder how I ever lived without you.
…you walked out of my dreams fully formed. I wasn’t about to let you walk away.”

And Asher is just as amazing. His struggle to deal with his injuries and his gradual emergence from his self-imposed solitary life is beautifully written, and I could feel all that he was going through. His journey to take back control of his life, and his ability to love and to share so much of himself with Savannah was gorgeous. And OMG, the swoon!

“You brought me back from the dead and gave me a second chance at life. You’re my miracle, Savannah, and I will always belong to you.”

Along with all of the heartfelt declarations, there’s also a generous amount of sexy time. It’s mixed nicely with the deepening love between them so it’s all very passionate and intense, but it shows the progression in their relationship and adds to the story rather than just being there for the sake of it, and I thought it was really well done.

“What are we doing?” she asked, locking her hands around his neck.
“I’m ruining you,” he said unflinchingly, “for anyone else.”

So why not 5 stars? Well, there was stupid behaviour which bought the book down for me. I could see it coming, and I knew it was going to be bad, but when it all happened, I was both furious and heartbroken, and OMG, the feels! I actually had tears in my eyes. I wanted to slap Savannah so hard, I was so pissed with her! Why didn’t she talk to him about it????? Ugh!!! But I thought her very well-deserved verbal smackdown from Asher was absolutely phenomenal. I cheered, and had to read it over again to take in all of the awesome. Bravo!!. But there has to be conflict, right? And though it was internally generated, and could have been easily avoided, it wasn’t due to them doubting their feelings or pushing each other away, and for that I was eternally grateful! And I was very happy with the way it was handled – there were apologies and appropriate grovelling, and some much-needed character growth which made up for it, and it all led to a happy ending which had me grinning like an idiot and clutching my kindle in happiness.

This is the second of Katy’s books that I’ve read, and it’s put her firmly on my ‘auto-buy’ list. Her writing pulls you right into her stories which are sweet, emotional, and beautifully romantic with lots of heart. I devoured this book in one sitting, and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.

4.5 stars.