Archer's Voice (A Sign of Love - Sagittarius) [Archer & Bree] by Mia Sheridan

I enjoyed this book SO MUCH. It was a lot more than I expected. While I WAS expecting a heart breaking story about an isolated man and the woman who brought him out of his loneliness - which was clearly written on the book synopsis! - I wasn't ready for the man - for Archer - the special, smart, funny, courageous, sexy, sweet, drool worthy and yeah, damaged pretty badly man.. having left with no voice, not only in the physical sense - not being able to speak - but also in the metaphorical sense - as he doesn't think he has the right to be, to think and express himself. Bree is also a beautiful person. A woman who sees a lot more than the physical (though she doesn't miss his attraction YUM!). Archer might have intrigued her at first yet later on she shows a real interest in him, an interest no one has ever made.


Bree is running away from home. What she has been through left her broken on the inside and somehow incapable of continuing where she is. Desperately she packs a few of her things and travels until she reaches a small peaceful town she remembered from her childhood, from a time of true happiness when both her parents were alive. All she wants is a little peace of mind, a time and place to let her burden go, somehow.. though she doesn't know how.. The people of Pelion are warm and welcoming to her, well almost everyone, there is one guy who is a total mystery, not only to her, but also to the people he lived "around" for all his life - Archer Hale. Though people have their own theories to what happened on "the day of the accident", they mostly know that he lost his parents as well as his uncle, leaving him somehow damaged (physically? mentally? both?). He was raised by his strange and a bit paranoid uncle who loved him dearly but wasn't a very sociable person himself so when he died Archer was quite lost to himself and society, not knowing how or if to interact with others - until Bree came along and talked to him like he mattered. 

Bree has a bit of a stalker-y nature and thank god for that! It's exactly what made Archer stop and really look at her and interact with her even if he didn't trust her or know what it is that she actually wants.. Bree saw in Archer something extraordinary. Yes, he is lacking in people skills but he isn't lacking in anything else - on the contrary. He is a very smart and capable young man. It takes time for their relationship to built and more time for them to act on their attraction but every step they make toward each other was simply beautiful to read. The built in trust, the sensitivity of both of them, the way they both saw each other - a pure joy to read. 

It's not easy for the both of them to build this relationship. Archer still feels "half a man" or not one at all as Bree has to teach him and be there for him far too much, and Bree has her own demons to deal with, the ones who made her run away. There are also some people in town that don't really want them to be happy, together or alone - Travis and Tori Hale - Tori being Archer's aunt and also the mayor of the city who is a total and absolute bitch! and Travis who doesn't have anything special against Archer except (!) for them both wanting the same woman.. 

While in another book I might have been exasperated reading of a man needing a woman to lead, teach and protect him and quite a lot, here I felt a kinship to Archer but mostly to Bree, I wanted to BE her, to find myself a beautiful sensitive man, one that I understood perfectly, even if no one else does, someone that I might have to stop and teach quite a lot, yet got so much more in return. Got to see things I would have never noticed before, got to meet someone so special to ME. The whole relationship felt unique as their connection and interaction was exclusive to the both of them. Something they shared only with one another. As Archer can't speak they communicated using sign language which made this book also unique in a way I haven't encountered before. There was something so powerful in the way they expressed themselves to one another and the fact that it was something they shared only with one another and no one else (even though most of the time there was no one around them..). 

The general idea of a man (or a woman) with a disability in romance novel is something that I find really special. I haven't thought about it before I took the book into my hands, I just wanted to know why this book got the GoodReads Award for Best Romance for 2014 while the one I voted for (The Boyfriend Mandate by River James) didn't... and I get it. I totally get it. It's not only a beautiful love story between a man and a woman, it's a story of overcoming difficulties in life, yet it wasn't the kind of book where the main hero was miraculously cured of his disability. No. He just learned how to live with it. 

I couldn't put this book down. Literately. I read yesterday til 3 a.m. not sure how I held my eyes open or how I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning yet when I went home all I wanted was to put my hands on this book and read of Archer and Bree. I should say that there was a part near the end that I screamed "WHAT?!?!" but I got over it in the end hehe Just a fair warning you might get pissed..

In my opinion this one is a MUST READ. Highly Recommended!! 

This isn't really a "series" since each book is either a stand alone (like this one) or a 2-parts story (like "Leo" / "Leo's Chance"), each book/s inspired by an astrological sign - this one is by Sagittarius. You can see all the books under this "series" under the tag "A Sign of Love".

Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 345 pages, 11-12 January 2015 / On GoodReads