Book Review — The Scars Between Us by MK Schiller

I think you belonged to her the moment you rescued her. There’s an old Indian proverb that says if you save a life, then you are responsible for it.

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If you’re a fan of tortured Alpha males, then you are going to fall in love with this book’s hero! Oh my gosh. His past was utterly heart-breaking!! As such, it became deeply heart-warming to read the contrast of seeing him falling in love and finding peace after all the horrific things he’d lived through. I read this book in one non-stop sitting. The story was both romantic and suspenseful and I really enjoyed it. Definitely a new favorite!

So it was actually the blurb of this book that initially made me so interested to try it. It sounded quite different and that intrigued me…

Emma Cooper is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish to scatter her ashes with Aiden Sheffield in Linx, Texas.

Just one problem.
Why Texas and who the hell is Aiden Sheffield?

The only clue is a faded piece of her mother’s stationary. Emma imagines Aiden is a former love of her mother’s, but when she meets the beautiful, damaged stranger, she realizes her assumptions couldn’t be more wrong. He’s hot and young. And Emma is as confused as ever…

Aidan was an incredibly strong, shy, mysterious character with a brutal past he was desperate to forget that had left his body and mind riddled with scars, a constant reminder of the brutality he survived. As both a former Marine and MMA fighter, he was skilled in combat, but his kind heart and deeply protective nature had him spending his days rescuing dogs from the worst situations. He understood the dogs’ pain on a personal level. He’d been where they were at one time and because of that, he was uniquely suited to help them heal and learn to trust again.

“There are over thirty dogs, all of them in need of medical help… I bring out pit bulls, German shepherds, and other breeds of dogs. Some of them come willingly. Others have to be carried. They are wounded and malnourished, broken and barely alive. I coax them with food and warm words and welcoming gestures. I earn their trust, little by little.
I recognize this pain and isolation and hopelessness. These animals and I are not so different. We have membership in the same club, after all.”

Emma’s unexpected entry into his life completely threw him off. He wasn’t expecting to ever see her and he knew their connection even though she had no idea why her mother sent her to him and yet everything about her arrival dredged up painful memories he’d been trying to move past. He was gruff and grumpy – sometimes even rude – but she sensed how good a man he was and didn’t allow herself to be put off by his attitude.

I reach a shaky hand towards him. He backs away from me as if my touch will injure him further…
“Who did this to you?” I whisper.
His gaze falls to my hands. His lips turn up in amusement. The expression is so strange until I realize he’s staring at my clenched fists.
“You aching for a fight?”
“Who hurt you, Aiden?” I ask again. My fingernails dig into the flesh of my palm.
He leans closer until his mouth hovers close to my ear. “You gonna fight my demons for me?”

When their lives became further entangled, he agreed to join her on the road trip to honor her mother’s wish and as they began to spend more time together, he slowly opened up. As the time passed they began to fall in love – sharing secrets and their heats – but there were still some secrets he couldn’t reveal… And the closer they drew to their destination, the more dangerous those secrets became…

“I have a question that’s been freaking me out for awhile now.”
“What?”
“Who are you?”
He looks at me as if he’s wondering if I’m joking. “You serious?”
“She didn’t tell me who you were. Obviously, you’re important to her, and she was important to you. But how did you know my mother?”

(PS: they are not biologically related!!!! For those of you who I know are wondering lol)

OMG!! I have to say that I did not see some of the reveals at the end coming! One of them could definitely be considered a twist and it was a pretty big shocker that made all the pieces of the story fall into place. And holy SHIT, I did not expect things to get as suspenseful and intense as they did in the last few chapters! But I couldn’t read fast enough and my heart was pounding. However, by the time I got to the beautiful, heart-warming epilogue, I had happy tears in my eyes 🙂

The story is told from both Emma and Aidan’s perspectives, with a few flashbacks that show Aidan’s pasts and the secrets he was trying to keep. To call Aidan’s past heart-breaking truly wouldn’t be a strong enough statement. He lived through the worst of the worst with nobody to turn to for help. Seeing his past made it so clear why he was left scarred both inside and out, but also made it even more admirable for him to have kept such a kind heart.

“Aiden, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. When someone goes through all the things you did, I’d expect him to be bitter and mean. To have a chip on their shoulder the size of Arizona… [But] you risked your life to fight for me… for everyone in this country. You rescue animals and give them a second life. You are the boy who protected my memories. From the moment I met you, I knew you were more shield than sword.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing and was very intrigued by the story and connected to the characters. There was the occasional ‘filler-y’ scene along their road trip that I got bored with and skimmed, and a few parts of the story were a little over-the-top unbelievable but y’know what… this is fiction. I took it as such and just didn’t analyze things too closely. The majority of the book was wonderful and I especially loved that once Aidan and Emma got together, they actually became a really solid couple. The majority of the drama in this book was external to their relationship (which is my favorite thing to read) and so all in all I consider this a solid win for me.

For fans of tortured heroes, this is definitely a book you should try. I had a good feeling about this story from the moment I read the blurb and I’m so glad I decided to read it because it is definitely a new favorite!

Rating: 4 – 4.5 stars! Standalone Contemporary Romance.

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• Buy THE SCARS BETWEEN US (Paperback)
• Buy THE SCARS BETWEEN US (iBooks)