Title: Beholden (Book Two in the Belonging Duet)
Author: Corinne Michaels
Release Date: October 22, 2014
Catherine Pope got a second chance at love, only to have it ripped away—again. She should’ve known better.
But she dared to hope.
She refuses to let fate take the reins this time. Catherine decides she’s going to fight.
Jackson Cole risked it all.
He thought this time would be different.
With his loyalties pulling him in two directions—it’s time to make a choice…his past or his future.
Will they be beholden to their fears or will they both fight against their demons and finally find the love they both long for?
Beholden picks up right where Beloved ended. Of course Jackson is alive, but barely so. He is in Germany in a military facility. Mark contacted Catherine who dropped everything to be with him. He is in and out of consciousness, but since we get his POV we know his thoughts. He wants to be able to speak to her, to tell her he made a mistake by leaving, but his body won't let him. So he is frustrated, but can't communicate.
There is a lot of back and forth in the beginning of the book; Jackson's thoughts about his injuries, and Catherine's fears about his recovery and given their history, whether he would even want her at his beside.
"I hope you know how much you own my heart. And I hate you for it. I hate that you've stripped me of my defenses and made me feel, when all I want to do is be numb. Then this wouldn't hurt so damn much. I would be able to grab my bag and walk away. Let you fight your demons on your own."
When he finally regains consciousness, he wastes no time in letting her know he was a total idiot and he needs her to forgive him.
"All I can think about is that you won't be here if I go to sleep. When I opened my eyes and saw you I thought I'd died."
"What? Why would you think that?" I ask confused.
"Catherine, you're my heaven. So I thought I was dead, because that's when I thought I'd see you again."
He is eventually discharged and they can return to the States. Catherine is running ragged; tending to Jackson and trying to put out brush fires at Raven in preparation for the launch campaign. They have things to work out, but Catherine is adamant that honesty and trust are important. No more hiding things from her. Jackson's temper is easily ignited-he is weak and has to rely on her for the most basic activities, not to mention he is sexually frustrated. Although that drought is ended soon enough.
My eyes shift to his and it's suddenly hard to breathe. He rocks back and forth while staring into my eyes as we become one in every sense of the word. Our souls touch, and moisture builds in my eyes from the pure beauty of the moment. Before the tears can descend he kisses them away and I fight the urge to sob.
I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Where is the angst, there has to be angst right? And then..at the press release Catherine is going to get a bombshell dropped on her; publicly and in front of the entire world to see. She is devastated and humiliated and furious. Of all the things Jackson could have kept secret from her this may just be the worst.
"No one thought I should know this? As his publicist? As his f#*cking girlfriend? How could everyone let me go into this blind?"
The build up in Beholden is gradual and then once the truth that Jackson has kept hidden from Catherine is revealed, things move quickly in the book. Neither one of them is without blame-Catherine won't listen to Jackson's explanation and Jackson-well that idiot should have known that the truth would come out. His family and his friends all knew and it was only a matter of time until Catherine found out. But he was afraid he would lose her and ended up losing her anyway. Can they find a common ground living on different sides of the country? Both have much to lose by compromising, and is it worth it in the end?
"Is there anything I can say to change your mind?" I look up at him and a tear falls. "No." He nods once and pulls me tighter. "I'm not going to give up. You're mine and I'm going to win you back. I'm just warning you."
I love a man who doesn't hesitate to do anything he can to make things right. Jackson will move heaven and earth to get Catherine back. For Laurelin Paige fans, there is even a little reference to Hudson Pierce from The Fixed Trilogy. Nicely played with that move! Sometimes difference can be a breaking point for couples already having problems. Will they be one of them?
The questions swirl in my head. Did he see her naked? Has he seen her face when she comes? Has he known what's it's like to sink into her and bury yourself so deep you don't know where you begin and end?
Will they every be on the same page, without misunderstandings and lost opportunities? Beholden is a great wrap up to the cliff hanger ending we were left with in Beloved.
Beloved (Book One in the Belonging Duet)
Not enough.
Catherine Pope has never been enough. Every man she has ever loved abandoned her—from her father to her fiancé. She finally accepted the fact she would never be enough to hold any man’s heart and soul.
Then Catherine met Jackson Cole.
When her world literally collided with the sexy former Navy SEAL, everything she always believed is turned upside down and left scattered. He made her feel alive and desirable, consumed her with fierceness and loyalty—which completely unnerved her. Jackson got her in a way no one ever had, giving him the power to destroy her.
If she breaks down and gives him what’s left of her battered heart—will he protect it? Or will Catherine become an irrelevant part of yet another man’s life?
Will she get the one thing that has always evaded her – to finally be someone’s beloved?
Corinne is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.
I actually have this set to be read next week before beholden release party
ReplyDelete