Book Review — Within These Walls by J.L. Berg

“We all have scars… Some are just more visible than others.”

• Buy WITHIN THESE WALLS (Kindle)

What a sweet romance!

I loved the sound of this when I first heard about it and just had to give it a try. I thought it might be a bit of an emotional roller coaster to be honest, but it was more of a low-angst, “make-you-smile” kind of love story about a girl with a damaged heart and a guy who’d lost it all finding love and healing with each other.

Lailah was born with a heart defect and had spent most of her life in the hospital dreaming about a life outside it’s walls. She was a survivor though and lucky to be alive given her condition.

Jude was emotionally broken on the inside. After losing the woman he loved in a tragic accident, he began to work in the hospital she’d died in, the memories and guilt of his loss so strong that he couldn’t let go. He covered himself with tattoos and kept to himself, keeping his true identity a secret from the whole world.

But when he saw Lailah, something inside his heart came back to life. For the first time in three years, he felt something more than just emptiness and he decided to make it his mission to try and bring happiness into her life. And, that is how their story began…

“He was like a Greek god covered in tattoos — and scrubs. Or at least that’s what the nurses were describing him as.

Having spent the majority of my life in a hospital bed, I knew I was a little innocent when it came to the male species, but I understood “hot” when it smacked me in the face – or walked by my door and the little I’d seen was definitely droolworthy.”

I don’t want to tell you guys any more of the story, but I’ll just say that the way they actually meet is just SO incredibly cute!! There is a lot of swoon and sweetness in this story as they become friends first and then more. They were two broken hearts slowly mending each other but the scary thing was that she was living on borrowed time. She needed a transplant to live so throughout it all, their future was ever uncertain.

“Asking someone to step into my world would be like asking him to sign away his own life to take care of mine. I could never do that. Love wasn’t an option for me.”

I want to reassure you that this story won’t devastate you. No ugly tears! There are definitely some more emotional parts but they’re not going to rip your heart out. Oh, and it’s also a standalone so you get the whole story in one sitting! If you’re looking for a sweet love story to get lost in, try this one!

Rating: 4 stars. Standalone New Adult romance.

• Buy WITHIN THESE WALLS (Kindle)

Note: This can be read as a complete standalone.
After release, the author announced a second book which
continued the story into a 2-book duet. Both books are now available.

Click covers to purchase either one.