“I don’t see scars when I look at you. I see a man who makes me feel safe.”
HOLY SWOOOOOOON!! This was AMAZING!
Devney Perry is my favorite author.
There. I’ve said it.
I don’t like to pick one favorite as a general rule because there are a lot of amazing authors out there and I do have so many top favorites who I’m always excited to read, but at this point I’ve actually read every single book Devney Perry has released and without a doubt every single one of them has been equally amazing!! I don’t even think I could pick a favorite among her books — they all are basically my perfect idea of what a romance book should be!
Her books have intense, heart-pounding romance. They have characters that you believe to be real and that you genuinely care for. Her writing is beautiful and fully immerses you in the story. She knows exactly what details to focus on and describe — gestures, feelings, actions — they’re written in a way that makes you feel like you’re right there in the moment with the story. To balance out the romance, her books almost always have a suspenseful element to them too. I love how this adds an edge to the stories — an angst that is never derived from relationship drama, and I can’t stress how important that is! While her characters and couples might certainly make mistakes (as all people naturally do), she never uses ‘stupidity’ as a source of tension and I can’t even tell you how much I respect her for that. The endings to all her stories give you all the heart-warming happiness you could ever hope for — and more importantly, you really appreciate the endings because of how invested you get in these stories. I could go on and on but really it comes down to this… Devney Perry is one of the most talented authors I’ve ever read! Her books are pure romance perfection and I highly recommend them to absolutely everyone!
Next, all her books can be read as standalones. However, within each of her series, the stories and characters are interconnected. She does a very good job of separating each one though so if you were to jump in and read a random one, you could still appreciate, understand, and follow the story. However, like I said, I’ve read all her books and they’re all amazing, so why not just read them all in order? Here is the complete reading order of all her books.
Ok I should probably start review this specific one though… So first, here’s the blurb:
Sometimes a single flame can ignite a love that lasts a lifetime.
Milo Phillips knows the meaning of pain. Suffering through the most intense physical agony of his life, he’s confined to a hospital bed to bear it alone. More than once, he wishes he’d died in the explosion that melted and mangled his skin. Darkness consumes him, snuffing all the joy in his life and leaving an empty hole in its place.
But one day, a flicker of light sneaks into his hospital room, driving away some of the hopelessness. For the first time in months, pain isn’t all he feels.
The flicker’s name is Sara Foster, his new nurse. Milo just hopes that Sara can see past his scars. Because underneath, his heart has begun beating again just for her.
What I really loved about the way this story was told was that this story had happened in the past and the reader is told what happened as though you were being told the story of how a couple met more than a decade ago. I really loved that format — it made it feel very personal, like you were a friend being told a story.
The hero of the story, Milo, was a cop caught in an explosion while he was on duty and his burns were very, very severe. They landed him in the burn unit where the heroine, Sara, worked as his nurse.
The more he healed, the more they got to know one another as she cared for him daily and even though they both knew they couldn’t allow themselves to fall for each other — they also couldn’t stop themselves.
He stayed perfectly still, his chest barely rising and falling with his breath, and I took his silence as my cue to leave.
But before I could turn away… his hand reached out and took my elbow.
The touch was scorching. Tingles ran up my elbow and spread like fireworks through my shoulder. Even with the layers of gauze on his hands and the long-sleeved thermal I wore beneath my scrub top, the touch was so powerful it stole my breath.
“You used to sit with her? My neighbor?” he asked.
“I did.”
His lashes lifted, and the misery in those dark pools sent a stabbing pain through my chest. “Will you sit with me too?”
The right answer was no.
But my heart whispered, “Yes.”
This was pure ANGSTY ROMANCE GOODNESS!! The literal definition of a tormented hero and a truly forbidden romance. GAH!! THE INTENSITY!!!! I flipped those pages so fast and my heart never stopped pounding!
“It’s killing me not to kiss you,” he said.
“It is?”
He gave a single nod, his eyes dropping to study my lips… “Right now, we can say we’re just friends. If I do this, you could lose your job.”
“Are we just friends?”
“Fuck no.”
Milo was the kind of protective hero that you can’t help but fall in love with — a good guy all the way. And there was more than just romance to the story. Angsty workplace and family friction — the kind that bled through the past all the way up to the present day. So between that and the gorgeous romance, I just couldn’t put this story down!
This was definitely one of my top favorite reads of the year! It was intensely romantic, beautifully written, a little suspenseful, and laced with that special heart-warming feeling that only the best love stories have!
Rating: 5 STARS! Contemporary Adult Romance, can standalone.
*** JAMISON VALLEY SERIES ***
Series of interconnected standalones.
Stacie says
What an unbelievably awesome book! I didn’t want the story to end! I love, love love these two! Devney Perry reminds me why I read with each of her books!
Aestas says
I completely agree and feel the same about her books!