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Blurb
Eight years ago, I gave Grayson Price a piece of my heart.
To him, I was the strange girl whose mom had just abandoned her.
To me, he was a savior, an anchor, someone who stood beside me on that beach.
The next time I saw him, I was twenty, and he was thirty-six.
He didn’t remember me.
And when he flirted…
I didn’t tell him.
By the time he found out, it was too late.
We tried to deny our desire, but our attraction was too enticing.
Eight years ago, I gave Grayson Price a piece of my heart.
Too bad he’s my dad’s best friend.
Review
3.5 emotional, forbidden stars
The blurb to this book hooked me right in, an emotional forbidden romance between a girl and her father’s best friend… Sign me up! With just the right amount of angst and drama, this passionate and intense love story is an engaging read from start to finish and I really enjoyed it.
River is only 12 years old when she meets Grayson. She has literally just been left by her flighty mother on the doorstep of a father she doesn’t even know, and it’s Grayson who comes to her and soothes her hurt on that devastating day, and it leaves a mark on her heart forever.
I think of the man who has haunted my dreams since I saw him at twelve years old … The man who saved me without knowing, and who I have loved ever since.
Shortly after that meeting, Grayson and River’s father had a falling out that led to them separating from each other’s lives. It’s nine years later when they finally get in touch when Grayson has a business proposition for his old friend, and that’s when a 20 year old River re-enters Grayson’s life. He initially doesn’t recognise her, and it’s lust at first sight when he lays eyes on her, but when he realises who she is he immediately declares her off limits.
There’s something about her that drives me mad. She is almost fully ripe, but not quite. Dancing on the fringe of fully blossomed. It’s like watching a rose opening its petals one by one in slow motion.
No one is opening anything, Grayson Price. Look the fuck away.
The age difference isn’t actually that huge, for most of the book she’s 21 and he’s 36, and that’s quite reasonable. It’s River’s father that makes it all so forbidden, coupled with the fact that Grayson has declared himself a bachelor with no plans to ever marry or enter into a committed relationship. He has reasons for this decision – very real to him, but incredibly frustrating for the reader – and it’s this battle that he fights as he finds himself falling deeper and deeper into feelings that he never wanted to have.
Grayson is a deliciously complex character. Gruff, broody and solemn, he lives a mostly solitary life, working side by side with his siblings to run their family’s empire. He’s controlled and doesn’t reveal his feelings (though he rarely has them), but there’s something about River that calls to him. He knows he can’t take things where he wants to, so instead he settles on being a friend – spending time with River, supporting her through hard times and being there for her. Staying close, but not too close. It sets up a slow burn as the two of them get to know each other, denying their feelings while their chemistry burns strong. Until it reaches breaking point.
“I can’t stop thinking about you. I wanted you that night and every single day since then. I have fought every single day not to grab you and make you mine.”
Oh, I do enjoy a slow burn! And by the time Grayson and River act on their sexual tension, feelings are firmly developed which makes it all the more intense, and I loved seeing them finally act on all of that passion for each other! We get to see lots of little moments that make up their ‘relationship that isn’t a relationship’, and it’s a continuously developing, intriguing and entertaining dynamic.
Despite what I wanted, it’s more.
I like her. Enjoy her company.
She makes me laugh.
Not many can break through the walls I have built, and she has. She didn’t just break through them, though. No, River took a sledgehammer, and now I’m the idiot with a smirk on my face in my office looking at her texts.
Despite their impossible situation, River knows she’s fallen, and she handles herself sensibly and maturely through it all. And as painful as it is to watch, Grayson’s heart is in the right place as he tries his best to keep his distance, knowing that River has been emotionally scarred by being left by the people she loves, and he doesn’t want to hurt her like that again.
It’s dramatic and emotional, but there are moments of sweetness, happiness and signs of what could be, and it’s those moments that kept me so invested in these two as a couple. They are gorgeous together, they fit so well, and there is some great character development as they figure it all out.
She made you feel so goddamn much, how could you not fall in love with her?
On the sidelines, Grayson’s brother Jaxson is an absolute riot, doing what he can to push his brother’s buttons, and I loved the part he had to play. I also really loved River’s father and stepmother. I love that the side characters add depth to the story, and to Grayson and River’s journeys, and with some minor family drama on the side, I thought the different aspects of the story were all woven together so well.
After all of that development and slow burning though, I did think that the ending of the story was a bit rushed. Everything seemed to wrap up easily and quickly, and then it was just over. There is an epilogue which provides some nice closure, but other plotlines are left unfinished, and I would have liked a bit more to really finish everything off properly.
But I did enjoy this book. It didn’t give me hard-core feels, but I was engaged and connected, and I thought it was a really good read.
3.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Ava Harrison is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author.
When she’s not journaling her life, you can find her window shopping, cooking dinner for her family, or curled up on her couch reading a book.
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