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Review

4.5 stars!

“Ya would not hate her so much now if ya didn’t love her so much then. And there is such a thin veil between love and hate.”

Ramsay is the newest novel in the Sign of Love series by Mia Sheridan. I am always amazed how much emotion I experience through Mia’s beautiful writing. This book is full of feels and is a wonderful second-chance romance. It’s about hope, love, friendship, betrayal, revenge, and ultimately forgiveness.

Brogan Ramsay is the son of the gardener who takes care of the De Havilland family estate. He and his sister were brought to Connecticut from Ireland for a better life. He is handsome, sensitive, and hard working, always doing what he can to help his family. He has a knack with numbers and is given the promise of a brighter future when Mr. De Havilland takes notice of his skills.

Lydia De Havilland is witty, beautiful, deep, and flirtatious. As with all the young men around town, she has captured the heart of Brogan. He dreams of being with her and wants to make something of himself so he is finally worthy of this beautiful woman.

On the cusp of a blooming romance, a deep betrayal rips through Brogan and destroys the relationship that may once have grown to a beautiful love. Forced out on the streets, Brogan and his family go through difficult times to make ends meet. Hate fills Brogan’s veins and he vows to never be on the bottom again or in the position to beg for things

”I’d imagine what I’d do to them when I was the one with the power, and it was the only thing holdin’ me up. The idea of revenge took hold and became the thing that strengthened me when there was nothin’ else.”

Seven years later, Lydia is the vice president of her family’s company. What was once a thriving enterprise is now in financial turmoil. Her brother, Stuart, is terrible at running the company and when he took over after the death of their father, it took a nosedive of epic proportions.

Brogan is a changed man and wants revenge. A simple plan to get back at the ones who wronged him turns complicated when Lydia walks back into his life. When they meet again it’s intense and even though Brogan seems unaffected, you can feel the growing tension. He pushes all of the positive feelings he has for her away because vengeance has been on his mind for seven long years.

Just sitting in the same room as her made me hungry in that same desperate way I’d felt when I could never get enough food, never feel the satisfaction of a full belly. Only it was worse because this hunger would never be satisfied, nor would I let it.

Even though he has hate in his heart because of Lydia’s betrayal, he can’t deny the pull he feels towards her. With the spark between them still burning, the situation gets even more complex and long ago feelings resurface.  He begins to see who Lydia is now and that her actions were not malicious like he’d once believed. She still knows him, really knows him unlike anyone else.

I had created an impossible situation, and I was going to try to make it right, but there were so many reasons I might not be able to now. There were so many reasons I might lose Lydia again. I had survived it the first time, but I didn’t think I’d survive it again.

The relationship between Brogan and Lydia is far from easy. Brogan feels so betrayed. He is a broken man who was forced to do things to keep his family afloat.  He can’t take back the things he regrets doing and he finds it hard to forgive himself for his actions and Lydia for her part in his hardships. Lydia is full of regret with the way things turned out and what Brogan went through.  Both of them realize that forgiveness is not alway easy.

“Forgiveness isn’t an emotion. Forgiveness is a choice. And sometimes it’s one you have to choose again and again.”

Can Brogan and Lydia find forgiveness and have a future together?

Ramsay is a fantastic book that I could not put down. I loved getting glimpses of Lydia and Brogan as teenagers and watching their attraction grow, as well as seeing how they were as adults. Brogan and Lydia were wonderful together, the banter between them was great, and I loved how they challenged each other.  I loved watching them get to know each other again as they tried to push the past behind them. I also loved that it was written in dual POVs because we got to see into Brogan’s head and see that his thoughts inside were different than the ones he portrayed on the outside. At times I worried about how he was feeling but was glad when I read what was really going through his mind.

I loved Brogan from the beginning. He was so gentle with Lydia when he was young and wanted nothing more than to be worthy of her. My heart broke when he felt betrayed and I knew he was going to have a hard life after that. I just wanted to help him and make everything better. He worked so hard and cared so much for his family that he was willing to do just about anything to give them a better life. I wanted to cry when he shared what he went through supporting his family. I was proud he used his wealth in helpful ways when he no longer struggled financially. I felt the hurt and hate fester in his heart and I was glad when Lydia was able to get through to him.

Brogan isn’t the only one who suffered seven years earlier. My heart broke for Lydia too.

“My scheming hurt you, and I’ll regret the consequences that you suffered because of it for the rest of my life. But my scheming hurt me, too. And I learned that life isn’t all about me. I learned that every choice has an outcome and I learned that holding on to bitterness is a poison that eats away at you from the inside.”

She changed after the incident that sent Brogan away. I thought Lydia was so brave and strong when went through what she did both emotionally and physically. I loved that she was willing to work hard and fight for what she wanted.  I really liked her personality and loved that she wholeheartedly supported the people she cared about.

Eileen, Brogan’s sister, and Fionn, Brogan’s best friend, we great additions to the story. I loved their support and love for Brogan. I loved Fionn’s personality and was so glad that he was also so welcoming of Lydia. I also really likes Daisy. Her loyalty to Lydia was wonderful and she was such a great friend.

The first two-thirds of Ramsay was almost perfect and definitely a 5 star story. The last third, however, was closer to 3 stars. I think that the drama at the end was unnecessary and I would have been happy leaving it all out of the story.

And now my rant….

Overall, I loved this book and can not wait to see what else Mia Sheridan has in store for us. She is one of my favorite authors and she continues to wow me.

Check out our Mia Sheridan Author Spotlight for more of her amazing books!!