Sunday, July 20, 2014

Lisa's Book of the Week: Tempt My Heart by Danielle Jamie



I will hold my hands up here and confess that I ignored the reviews: they warned me that there would be ugly crying but I didn't believe.  Yet sitting at my desk eating my lunch and reading, I did in fact ugly cry while reading this book.  It is an unbelievingly emotional read that hits you right in the heart. 

Brittan McKenna has experienced a loss that hopefully most of us readers will never have to experience: the loss of her fiancĂ© in tragic circumstances.  Her career in the music business was just starting to take off as lead singer of a band but she is set on a path of self-destruction to blot out the feelings of immense loss and the feeling that her life is worthless without him.  Her path of self-destruction nearly ends tragically.  With a lot of self-reflection and support from friends, she finds her way back but it would be easy for her to fall right back down again.  I was skeptical about whether I would be to empathise with Brittan after the path she goes down but Brittan's story is incredibly moving and your heart goes out to her, wanting her to fight and live her life fully as her fiancĂ© wanted.  Brittan is convinced that there is one true love for you and that she has found and lost hers. 

Enter bad boy rocker, Jordan Valentine, who is the unlikeliest of heroes but is the person who starts and helps Brittan fully on her journey to live again.  There is something about Brittan that Jordan finds himself drawn to; he sets out to prevent her from self-destructing and helps her to start to open her heart again to the possibility of love.  Jordan's actions go against everything you would expect from a bad boy rocker but that's why you fall in love with him.  His realisation that Brittan is the woman for him, brings out his very protective and nurturing side. 

This is not your typical rocker story.  It is a poignant story that is heart wrenching and heart pulling.  Danielle Jamie pulls you into the story and tells it in such a way that you cannot but help to experience the emotions of the characters.  A story that doesn't sensationalise being in a rock band but, instead focuses on the characters in such a way that the emotions are raw and real.  The emotions are, at times, over-whelming but necessary.  It is a story that will stay with you long after the last word has been read.  This book will forever hold a special place in my heart. 





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