If You Were Mine (The Cage Family # 3)

Carrie Ann Ryan

Blurb:

The last words I said to my best friend were “I trust you”. Then the world went dark, and I nearly lost everything.

While my best friend’s little sister lost even more.

I promised him that I’d take care of her—but if he knew my current thoughts when it came to Harper, he’d have never trusted me.

She’s too young for me. Too bright to my shadows. And too tempting.

Now I’m stuck in our small town, and I can’t escape her. I’d rather hide in my cabin, restoring what was once lost. Only Harper won’t let me.

I’ve already held onto more secrets than my family knows. I don’t know if I can keep what I feel about her secret too.

She sees beyond my scars and anger, and I know she hides her own just as tightly.

When one kiss changes everything, there’s no going back—even if it shatters everything in our wake.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

Carrie Ann Ryan never fails to rip out your heart in order to set up her characters for a journey through the pain of loss and growth in order to heal and accept the love that they’ve been denying. This latest edition in the Cage Family series is one that I have been looking forward to as much as I have been dreading it, knowing I’d be in tears as much as I would be falling in love. Harper and Dorian’s story began years ago despite them both denying or hiding from their feelings but when horrible tragedy changes their lives forever, they both begin to accept that some things can never go back to the way they were before, and maybe they shouldn’t. I enjoyed every moment of their story and while I was terrified that they wouldn’t find a way through their pain and sadness to happiness, I hoped that with the support of their friends and family they could accept one another and the future they deserved. Dorian’s life changed forever on the day that his best friend was lost, but he has worked hard to get his independence and freedom back and he is determined that hiding out in the small town his family owns wont force him to back slide. Harper lost not just her brother, the only family she had left, that day but also the man that she’d always secretly loved, because Dorian has pushed her even further out of his life. When he comes back to Cage Lake, she is determined show him that she will be there for him and that their friendship is worth fighting for, but when their friendship goes so much further, she wants to show him that her love could be something even greater. Now Dorian and Harper have to find a way to prove to one another and everyone around them that their relationship is everything they both want and need and that being together is worth any challenge and overcoming their fears to find the love they were always meant to have.

If You Were Mine is one of those stories that it is hard to summarize and review because it truly does need to be experienced to understand the depth and greatness of the connections between these characters. From the love between all the siblings, to the long-term friendships, depth of the love that develops between the H/h and even the twisted love between parents and children that have too long kept secrets. Dorian is the perfect tortured hero, one that is not only physically hurt, but mentally and emotionally challenged and forced to heal as he grows and changes with the help and love of his girl. It was beautiful to watch him find his balance not only with Harper and the love they shared, but also with his siblings when he finally let go of the secret, he’d been living with most of his life. Harper was wonderful as well, having lived through so much in her young life, loss after loss, but never giving up on love and never letting those painful experiences turn her away from living her life to the fullest. She knows that life is short and will do everything in her power to make sure that Dorian heals and give them a chance to find the love and happiness they both want and deserve. The more we get to know these MANY Cage siblings the more I love the and look forward to getting to know them, so I cannot wait to find out who gets their story next and what they will have to go through to find their heaven. Ms. Ryan will surely take us all on a wild ride and we will all be lined up for it.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.