Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Review: Back to You by Faith Andrews




SYNOPSIS

Sometimes dreams aren’t meant to be chased. Sometimes forevers change with one regret. But when it’s worth the fight—we always wind up back where we belong. Mia and Declan have struggled through infidelity, guilt, and betrayal. Declan wasn’t too proud to lay his heart on the line and show Mia that she is his everything, but can these two find a way to get past all the hurt, to heal old wounds, and get back to good?

I’ll do all I have to do to find my way back to you.

4.5 Star Review by Jen Skewes

Warning:  If you have not read Man of My Dreams yet then do not read this review.  You need to read that book first.

I loved Man of My Dreams, but I especially loved Declan.  To me he was just an amazing man, husband and father who made a mistake that he certainly paid for.  And for me personally I think he paid a little too much but that’s a story for another day.  Lol  I liked Mia I really did, but she completely frustrated me to no end in Man of My Dreams.  But in the end she figured it all out and made the right choice.

Back to You takes place where we left off.  Mia and Declan have found their way back to each other.  But that doesn’t mean that everything is all roses and unicorns.  After everything that they have been to you cannot expect for their relationship to miraculously be ok.  They still need to work on the pain that they caused each other, trust issues and work on becoming the couple that they once were.  They still had a lot of work to do but they were in it together.

Declan had planned an Anniversary getaway for him and his wife, in hopes of reconnecting and forming that bond again.  Declan wants to put the past behind him and work on the present and the future.  But Mia stil needs to deal with what happened.  She still has all this guilt that she is carrying over what happened.  They need to talk, clear the air, lay it all out on the table in order for them to move on.  While Declan knows this conversation needs to happen, a part of him just wants to live in the moment with his wife.  Will they be able to forget the past and reconnect and beome the happy and loving couple that they once were?

I loved this novella.  For one I completely fell in love with Declan all over again.  His love for Mia was always evident, even if his marriage started to crumble in part because of him.  But he loved her and fought for her and now wants to cherish every minute and make her happy.  He wants his wife back and I loved every minute of him in this book.  Mia actually redeemed herself in my eyes in Back to You.  She finally took responsibility and owned up to her mistakes.  She grew so much in this one.

Back to You is a short novella about two people trying to get back to that happy place.  To be able to reconnect on both a physical and emotional level.  This was their second chance at making it work.  I loved these characters and was so happy that Ms. Andrews gave us more of them.  It was the perfect conclusion to their story.



SYNOPSIS

Mia Murphy may be married to the man of her dreams. But the man in her dreams is the one that got away—her high school crush. 

Mia’s stuck in a rut, just like every other stay-at-home mom, and the only thing saving her from her monotonous routine is her perfect husband, Declan. He’s gorgeous, he adores her, and the man stole her heart with his sexy singing voice. Mia feels like the luckiest girl in the world, until she discovers that Mr. Perfect is not Mr. Faithful. Mia is devastated. Everything she once believed about Declan and their marriage is now covered in a big cloud of doubt and regret. On impulse, she kicks the cheating bastard out, pushing them into a separation that could mean the end of the picture-perfect couple. 

But when Mia receives an invitation to her high school reunion, she finds herself abandoning the present for the oh-so alluring pull of the past. Although her heart still belongs to her husband, inescapable thoughts of her crush, Noah, resurface. And ten years later, Noah isn’t afraid to make his move. When the build-up of fantasies and ‘what ifs' comes to a head, sparks fly and it’s Mia’s turn to question if her marriage is everything she wants out of life. Searching for answers, Mia dives head first into dating Noah, falling further away from her husband and closer to her old flame. 

But Declan’s not giving up so easily. Mia is his one and only and he’s not about to let another man win her heart.


4.5 star review by  Jen Skewes

Man of My Dreams is Faith Andrews' debut novel and she did an amazing job!  It is a story of love, faith, betrayal and second chances.  

Mia had the perfect life, or so it seems.  She married Declan, her college sweetheart who was the man of her dreams.  They fell in love, got married young and now have two beautiful girls.  Declan is an amazing father and a good husband.  But he also travels a lot for work and it seems like him and Mia don't spend enough time with each other.  Mia loves her husband and her life with him but lately another man has been appearing in her dreams, her high school crush Noah, the one who got away.  When Mia finds out that Declan betrayed her, their marriage starts to crumble.  Mia starts to re evaluate her life and her marriage.  She thinks back to their life together to see if there were signs that maybe things happened to quickly for them, maybe this life is not what either of them wanted.  She starts to question everything that they have.  Mia needs space from her marriage and her husband, but Declan plans on fighting for the woman he loves and his family.  But the question is how hard will he have to fight and will Mia let him?

There is always that one guy in high school that you had a crush on.  The one that you were too scared to talk to, the one that would cause butterflies in your stomach every time you saw him.  The one who you still thought about years later and always wondered what if.  For Mia that person was Noah.  She had a huge crush on him all though high school and regrets never telling him how she felt.  Recently he has made several appearances in her dreams and she cannot figure out why.  With her high school reunion coming up she wonders if he will be there and what it will be like to see him again.  When she sees Noah after all these years the attraction that she had in high school is still there.  When she tells Noah of her feelings for him in high school he makes it clear that he wants her and wishes he had known and paid more attention in high school.  Mia has the chance to finally be with Noah.  With her marriage on the rocks and the feelings of "what if" still lingering in her mind, will she take the risk and be with him? 

I am going to be honest here and say that I had a love/hate relationship with Mia.  She completely frustrated me at times and some of the decisions that she made had me wanting to jump in and shake her.  I loved her in the beginning, she drove me nuts throughout the middle and by the end it was like she finally got it and then I grew to love her.  I can't really go into more detail without giving anything away.  But I will say that even though Mia managed to bring out all these emotions in me it never took away from how amazing the book was.  If anything it is one of the reasons that this book was so good.   Any book that can bring out that much emotion, and frustration with a character is a sign of a great book and excellent writing, which this book has.

Now lets move on to Declan.  I absolutely loved him.  I am 100% team Declan all the way.  I think I have a soft spot for him and at times I honestly felt bad for him.  He messed up but in my eyes it was totally forgivable. I never doubted the love he had for his wife and children.  He was an amazing father, a loving husband and was willing to fight for his family.  And the way he fights for her will melt your heart and make you smile. 

But the question still remains, how hard will he have to fight?  Will Mia give up her marriage for a chance with her high school crush or fight for the man she married and the father of her children?

Man of My Dreams was a fantastic read filled with a lot of emotions.  There was drama, angst, and moments where you had knots in your stomach.  There were a few moments where I honestly did not know which way the story would end.  It had everything that you look for in a story.  The story was mostly told in Mia's POV with a few chapters from Declan.  I loved going back in the past to see the key moments in Declan and Mia's relationship that lead them to where they were today.  We also get to travel back in time and see how her crush on Noah started.  Faith Andrews did a wonderful job with this story.  A must read!


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