Nikolai "Niko" Amorosa is angry and upset, it's getting harder for him to manage his temper which is no wonder he finds himself one night in front of the house he grew up in, throwing rocks at the windows. Lucky for him, he gets rescued by his best friend Jamie who offers the owner to replace everything Niko broke including more work around the house as needed. It's not what Niko would have wanted but it's better than jail.. and frankly he can use the distraction.. Thing is, about 7 month prior he lost his voice which as a singer and salesman was something he NEEDED and now he is not only unable to do what he used to do, he is unable and maybe not really wanting to communicate with the world around him. Jaime basically understands him, but everyone else, not so much.. which leads to some of his temper outbursts. I liked the fact Niko was "flawed" and not only because he lost his voice, but also because he wasn't perfect, he had his issues. It made him so REAL. I could truly feel his struggle. I believed him and I felt empathy for him. In a way he didn't WANT to move on. Maybe he didn't even have a reason to. He couldn't see a future for himself so why bother.
Carys Harper lives in her grandmother's house, the same house which used to belong to Niko's family. Maybe she should have called the cops when she saw Niko in his fit of anger, but somehow she didn't and through the days to months Niko and Jaime spend working on her house (after a while working for her to renovate and upgrade it) she started to see Niko and read him better than anyone around him (I'll have to re-think if better than Jaime though...), first, she sees him as a man, sure she sees his weaknesses, but she mostly sees someone she wants to help. She starts with teaching him sign language which is basically her second language since her brother is deaf. Niko was reluctant at first but it's hard to stop Carys from doing ANYTHING really, add her sweet charm and how Niko is attracted to her and yeah.. she TOTALLY won him over.
There's attraction between them from the start but they both have things keeping them at an arms' length. For Niko is mostly his disability making him doubt himself, for Carys it's having a hard time communicating with Niko, realizing he is fighting her, not really trying to change his life but wallow in what remained. But she also have another "problem" or maybe I should say difficulty - her brother Bennett is ALWAYS there needing her. He was her responsibility since he was a small child so it's not wonder she is used to putting him first, and he isn't used to her having someone ELSE in her life. I was half annoyed by him, wanting to punch him in the face, and the other half I was feeling sad because he truly didn't know anything else, this is how he was raised and taught and Carys never actually told him - listen up kid, I have things I need and are important to me! She just always complied and he was used to exactly that. This is something that made her real for me, but more than that, it showed her compassion and just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the people she cares about. Granted it was too much at times but it was also humbling.
Carys was exactly what Niko needed, someone to make him realize his life is worth living, he has things to offer, to her, to himself, even with his disability (as much as he missed how he used to be). For Carys, Niko is a wake up call to owning what she truly wants and needs. Not only Niko but her job, her interests. He puts her happiness first, something NO-ONE did before him. It's something she needs time to adjust to, and mostly Bennett needs to understand that his problems cannot be constantly solved by his sister.
There is more issues in this book, with Bennett, with Niko's younger brother, a bit of family drama mixed in, there is A LOT going on in this book, but the romance is always THERE between them, it's not just the attraction it's the connection, the relationship buildup. It was simply BEAUTIFUL to unravel. Also we get an interesting insight into the world of sign language, I really liked that. It was also a part of Niko and Carys getting closer together. This book has some much HEART in it. I loved the way everything played, and how it was concluded. It was just perfect.
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as all of Kristina's books are.
I kindly received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book will be out on the 27th of October.
You can pre-order it from Amazon
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 200 pages, 17 October 2016 / On GoodReads
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