Shelter from the Storm (Perfect Storm #2)
Mari Carr
Blurb:
Desperate for a
new life, Gretchen escapes her abusive ex and finds refuge in the small town of
Gracemont. Her plan is lay low. But when she meets Theo Storm, her sexy new
boss, everything changes. Drawn into the warmth of his world, Gretchen
discovers the possibility of happiness, love, and family—things she thought
were out of her reach.
For Theo, it’s
love at first touch. From the moment he takes Gretchen’s trembling hand, he
knows he’s found someone worth fighting for. Though he senses she’s hiding
something, he’s determined to help her overcome her painful past.
When old demons
come knocking, Theo calls on his family to help protect the woman who’s quickly
claimed his heart. The Storms are a force of nature, and they quickly step up,
ready to defend their own at any cost.
Will they succeed
in keeping Gretchen safe, or will her dangerous past tear her and Theo apart?
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4.25 stars
Heat Rating:
Review:
I
always love to read a story of a woman finally getting a chance to take back
her independence and find her freedom, even if she has to do it the tiniest bit
at a time and with the help of many new friends—and with luck the love of a
good man. Mari Carr takes us on the heartbreaking journey of a woman that has
lived through hell and is finally taking a chance on life again as she clutches
her freedom in a fragile grip and taking a chance on a new life. I have been looking forward to Theo’s story
ever since we first met him, knowing he was going to be a sweet heartbreaker,
he just seemed to be one of those heroes that was going to grab your heart and
not let you go, and I was correct in my assessment. Gretchen and Theo’s story might be difficult
for a lot of people to read, either because they have lived through something
similar or because they cannot understand the depths of pain Gretchen had to
dig through in order to escape her past because they havent had to live through
it, but either way I hope they can appreciate the beauty of their love and the
skill with which their story is written.
I cannot wait for more of this series, and I really look forward to
whatever Mari does next with this series because I imagine it is only going to
get so much better as each of the Storms find love and loss in their own unique
adventure.
Gretchen
Banks is starting over, leaving behind the past and hopefully the abuse of the
relationship that has left her a ghost in her own life, but the fear is
never-ending, even as she looks for to the future as Storm Farms. Theo Storm
was drawn to the beautiful and vulnerable Gretchen from the moment he saw her
picture, but from the first moment they touch he knows she is his future. The woman is in no way ready for the passion
she ignites in him, not to mention she is his employee, but Theo cannot resist
spending time with her and becoming her friend, protector, and ultimately
learning everything he can about his new employee. But soon the attraction between them becomes
too much for either of them to resist and Theo and Gretchen have to take a
chance on their connection and chemistry. But Gretchen’s past is not ready to
let her go, soon coming back to try to steal her from her new life, leaving
Theo and the Storms having to step up to protect the newest member of their
family. Can this once broken woman have
finally found her place safe from the storms of life or will the danger
stalking her take her from her new beautiful life?
For
those that have never dealt with a narcissistic personality, one that can
completely rearrange your thinking about yourself over the years, it might be
difficult to understand how a strong woman like Gretchen accepted the abuse
from her first “husband” for so long, but to be perfectly honest I understand
perfectly. The emotional and mental
abuse, training you to look at yourself as less than them, is much more
damaging and long-lasting that any physical abuse anyone, especially someone
that is supposed to love you, could ever inflict. Gretchen finally takes a stand and takes the
smartest steps to get away from her abuser, knowing that sooner or later she
might have to face him again, but thankfully when that happens, she has her new
friends—family really—at her back, because the Storms have pulled her into
their clan. She is smart, sweet,
resourceful, calm under fire, and brave as she takes back her autonomy and when
she finds love with Theo, she doesn’t allow her past to keep her from claiming
her man. Theo is a protector at heart,
so knowing that Gretchen is scared and in trouble obviously hurts him, but he
knows that being her friend is an important first step, so he gives her exactly
what she needs, and that giving nature is what makes him such a great character. He is strong, loving, intelligent, crafty,
and passionate, but most importantly his love of family and faith in them
always being at his back give him the foundation needed to love Gretchen the
way she needed. At any point Theo could
have given up, deciding that Gretchen was too much work or too broken, to have
a relationship, but instead he is patient and gives her the love and friendship
she needs to trust him and understand he will never hurt her, never left her
down, and never abuse her. Then when the
chips are down, she has that foundation of love and faith to standup to her
abuser knowing that Theo and the Storms are at her back.
Sometimes
when life kicks us repeatedly, all we need is the love of a good man in order
to find true Shelter from the Storm and Gretchen learns that better than
most when she falls in love with Theo Storm.
Mari Carr takes us back to the hills of northern Virginia and Stormy
Farms as we watch a woman that has lived through hell escape her hell and find
a peace and happiness in the arms of a protector and loving hero. Gretchen has lived through a past that no
woman should ever have to face, but she is finally free and is determined to
stay that way as she begins her new life. However, she never imagined that
starting that new life would mean she found the love of an amazing man that
wants to begin a life with her, and she is determined to show him that she moves
beyond her past and be the woman he needs and deserves. Theo fell in love with Gretchen the first
time he touched her, and he is determined that she will be his, even if he has
to take things slowly by becoming her friend and confidant first. But soon he cannot resist his feelings and
has to make her his, even though there is danger around them and her fears have
to be overcome slowly, nothing stops a Storm from claiming the love of their
life. I loved the passion between
Gretchen and Theo, even though it began as a slow burn as they became friends,
but once they unleashed themselves that fire burned hot enough to light their
mountain on fire. This story was one
that reminds us that even though we often have a lot of trauma and pain to
overcome, with the right partner and patience, love can always overcome
anything in our past and lead us to a happiness that changes our worlds. I am looking forward to the next story in the
series (Caught
in a Storm)and cannot wait to see what trouble the rest
of these Storms find themselves getting up to, because I have no doubt that
Mari is going to be up to her tricks soon!
*eARC provided by author for the
purpose of an honest and unbiased review.
No compensation was provided.
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