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Review

4 stars

I really like this series. Focussed around members of the police force, each book is a standalone with some character tie-ins, and this book is an emotional, dramatic, yet sweet story that sucked me in and completely captured my heart.

“I think it would be the easiest thing in the world to fall in love with you, Detective Ward.”

*dreamy sigh*

Officer Callie Ward is a dedicated police officer who is strong, feisty and intentionally single with no plans to change that.

I’m single by choice, not because of lack of options. The only thing I ever wanted to be committed to was myself.
… “Wonder Woman, Superwoman, Bat Woman, they were all single, and I’m single, too, because I’m like them, I’m a badass superhero.”

But her cold and emotion-free reality is thrown into disarray when the little 4-year-old girl from over the road knocks on her door late one night, with her baby brother in a stroller, asking for help because her mother is missing. And just like that, Callie is instantly drawn into the lives of the Sanborn family.

Dylan Sanborn’s life has been falling apart for a while now, but it completely implodes on the night when he returns home from work to find police in his house and his wife missing. Dylan is a hard-working man with a huge heart who has been trying for so long to keep his family together, but that night changes everything, and he finds himself drowning in the mess that has been left behind.

Callie is unable to have a family of her own, and when throws herself in to helping Dylan, his children very quickly fill a hole in her heart that she has tried so hard to ignore. And more than that, she finds herself drawn to Dylan himself. Her feelings are reciprocated, but Dylans’ life is in a mess and he is in no position to be exploring his feelings for another woman. It’s a difficult and heart-wrenching situation, but it’s a great set up for an emotional, slow-burning love story as Callie and Dylan soon find themselves in way over their heads.

I have to admit that I was a bit wary of this story. I’m not usually a fan of cheating in books, but I’m a big fan of Christine Zolendz, and I trusted her and I wasn’t let down. This is not a simple love story, it’s a story about two people wrestling with their feelings. They have both been through a lot in their lives, and this new situation is an awakening as they come to terms with where they are truly at versus where they thought they were at, and their journeys are really beautifully written.

“I guess we’re both a little broken,” he said after a while.
I pulled away then and attempted a small smile. “Everybody’s broken. We all just have different ways of putting our pieces back together.”

Callie and Dylan form a friendship at first, with Callie helping Dylan out, and the two of them become a support for each other as they open up about their pasts. They don’t necessarily hide what is happening between them. They both feel it, they are both confused and tormented by it, and even though they are both experiencing their own forms of heartache, they put it out there and say it like it is, and I really loved that about them (plus, Dylan’s swoon is all kinds of tingle-inducing).

“Do I think you’re beautiful? Yes. Do I believe you’re sexy? Yes, God forgive me, I do. But what I think about you most is how you deserve to be happy and loved and for once in your life cherished and worshiped … Do I want that person to be me? I would give anything to be able to fill that position, but I wouldn’t be able to give you all of me. God, Callie, you deserve all of someone. You deserve so much more than you give yourself.”

But there is one massive hurdle between them, and though the lines are blurry, I couldn’t help but feel for them. I could feel their torment, and my heart ached for both of them and their impossible situation.

“You can’t come at me with your perfect words and encouragement and make me think someone like you could be interested in someone line me. You can’t continuously make me want things you’re not able to give. Giving me hope is like slowly poisoning me.”
“I swear to God, I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m not,” he breathed.
“But you are.”

If you want the lowdown on the cheating situation, here’s the details….

I loved this book. It’s a well written, beautifully emotional story that sucked me in from the beginning and didn’t let me go. Callie and Dylan’s stories broke my heart, and I loved seeing them get the ending that they so deserved. The addition of Dylan’s kids was gorgeous, and they added a lot of heart and sweet moments to the story which I really enjoyed.  It all ends with an epilogue that wraps things up nicely, and I finished this book with a huge grin on my face.

A great read – 4 stars.

Behind Blue Lines