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Review

If it is possible to swoon to death, I think Jack Henry may just do it… Damn! I’ve had to wait a while to write this review, because I was left in a puddle of goo on the floor after finishing the book, and only now, the day after, do I feel capable of constructing sentences.

I absolutely loved Beauty From Pain. The story of Jack Henry and Laurelyn completely captivated me, and I have been eagerly awaiting the rest of the story. The book picks up right after the end of that devastating cliffy, with Laurelyn returning to the US, desperately in love with Jack but thinking he doesn’t love her, leaving Jack in Australia, devastated and furious with himself for not telling Laurelyn how he felt while he had the chance.

Devastated and miserable, Jack Henry is broken. But he realises that Laurelyn is the only woman for him, and is determined to track her down.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up to her because I hate what me without her looks like. I’m going to win her back, and when I do, I‘m never letting go of her again.”

Meanwhile, Laurelyn is just as heartbroken, but she tries to pick up her life, throwing herself back into her singing career. Things don’t go smoothly, but amidst dramas with her producer, and her selfish mother, she manages to find success with an up and coming country band.

And then life is thrown into a spin for both of them when Jack Henry finds her. OMG, my heart was racing, and I was squeeing like an idiot. Their reunion takes place as you would expect – a small amount of talking before they are all over each other, followed shortly by declarations of love, and that’s just the start of the swoon.

“I love you so much, Laurelyn. I swear I do.”
…
“It was a mistake to not tell you how I felt. It’s haunted me since the day I came home and found you gone. You’ll never know how sorry I am for letting you slip through my fingers. But it won’t happen again because I’m never letting you go. Ever”

OMG, Jack Henry! He loves his girl passionately, and he embraces those feelings whole-heartedly. No longer afraid of what he’s feeling, and letting her know it. And, of course, the two of them together are HOT, HOT, HOTTTT!!! Jack Henry has a filthy mouth, and some blow-your-mind moves – “You’re ordering up some extra dirty with a side of kink today”, but as hot as it is, it’s fairly vanilla, with nothing too disturbing going on.

“A gentleman would have pretended he didn’t see those.”
“I think we’ve established that I’m only a gentleman in public – not in the bedroom. But I must tell you that it makes me feel pretty damn spectacular to know that you needed two of those battery-operated boys to replace what I did for you.”

I loved seeing them together in an actual relationship. They are open and honest with their feelings, and say what is on their mind, but they also acknowledge their difficulties, because underneath all of the romance is the fear of the future. Jack’s future is in Australia, Laurelyn’s career is in the US. They both know that they need to be together, but how do they make it happen?

“I hear her soft, sweet voice against my ear and feel her trembling in my arms.
“Don’t leave,” she whispers.
I feel the tears when they come and I bury my face in her hair. “Don’t let me leave without you.”

But despite their heartfelt pleas *sniff*, neither one of them pressures the other to uproot their lives, respecting each other’s careers, and acknowledging the sacrifice that would be required without making any demands.

Jack Henry and Laurelyn are fantastic together, and the passion and intense connection between them leaps off the page. They experience huge ups and downs on the way to their HEA, but they dynamic between them is fantastic – I was constantly either swooning, laughing or fanning myself. Jack is definitely Alpha, but Laurelyn is a strong heroine, and their relationship is an equal one. They are functional, for the most part, although Laurelyn has a moment of stupid towards the end, and I thought she was way out of line with how she handled the situation, but I was never in any doubt about how the story would end.

“Laurelyn, I once asked you to be mine for three months. Now, I’m asking you to be mine forever.” She opens her mouth to speak and I place my fingers to her lips. “But I don’t want your answer right now because you’re not ready to say yes. You still need time to spread your wings and fly. I love you with all my heart and I want you to experience everything this life has to offer you because it won’t wait. But I will. I’ll wait for you as long as it takes, and you can come to me after you‘ve had enough of this life…when you’re ready to spend forever with me.”

… and then…

“Today I lay at your feet the man I’ve been so I may become the man you need me to be.”

OMG… SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!

Big shout out to Jack Henry’s family, I love them all! They are so funny, and the dynamics between them are brilliant. In particular, Jacks’ discussions with his brother, Evan, had me laughing out loud, and his mother is absolutely sensational.

“I interrupted whatever you were doing?”
“Indeed you did.”
“Son, if you stopped to answer the phone, then you weren’t doing whatever well enough and you need to get back to her and do it better. Don’t answer the phone next time.”
Damn. I just got zinged by my mum.

The book finishes off with a beautiful HEA, although I would have loved an epilogue. Georgia Cates is hinting at either another novel or novella to finish off Jack Henry and Laurelyn’s story in more detail, and I would love to see that happen. But in the meantime, I am very content with everything exactly as it is.

4.5 swoontastic stars.

 

The Beauty Series