It had been a while since I read the first book in this duology so I was a little worried it would be another romance that felt "of the times", but honestly it was really enjoyable. It handles the subjects of PTSD, anxiety, and depression really well (I can only speak to the anxiety/depression portions) and in a way that I think that those who have never dealt with it could easily understand. The romance is equal parts sweet and steamy, with such a short page count it was surprisingly well-paced.
It’s hard to see the light when history has put blinkers on you.
Do you sometimes get bubbles of emotions that boil up inside when reading a book? I do. I’m one of those crazy chicks that read a book and cry in the emotional bits. Doesn't matter if I’m happy or I’m sad, my eyes leak. In Love in the Light, the bubbles were popping all over the place. Some of them were the happy bubbles that leave you with a goofy grin on your face. Then there’s the sexy bubbles, where you squirm at the feeling as it hits your skin, and smirk at the dirty talk that vibrates and pops. Quite a few of the bubbles were the not so pleasant kind, where you can see it coming…you watch and wait, hoping that you’ll survive the hit. By the end I was in the love bubble where you’re so happy you could cry, and all the feelings were worth it because it looks like it will last forever.
Love in the Light starts with a gasp…a little chatting…and then some hard and fast, hold on tight, rocking and rolling. We get the awesome sexual chemistry I loved in Hearts in Darkness with a lot more emotions involved. Makenna and Caden are three months into their relationship and things are going well. They’re both fully committed, but Caden is still struggling with his emotional baggage.
Makenna is ready to take the next step and invites Caden to her family’s house for Thanksgiving. Things do not go entirely smoothly. Makenna’s siblings and Dad are all lovely…besides Ian. They all accept and welcome Caden…besides Ian. I liked the James family…besides Ian. Ian, the douchewaffle, dongo, spaz brain brother, knowing that Makenna is bringing Caden, decides to ask his best mate and Makenna’s ex to the dinner. You might be able to tell, I do NOT like Ian. The ex wasn't much better, but it was obvious that Makenna was not interested. Well obvious to everyone, except Caden.
When Makenna and Caden return from Thanksgiving, things do not go back to normal. Caden starts to doubt himself and doesn’t feel he is good enough for her. This part of the story is heartbreaking. I hated watching Caden crumble, but I also to some extent, felt like he needed to buck up and get over it. Yes, I was thinking like a lot of silly, narrow-minded people do… If he just thought more positively, talked it out, stopped over-thinking things...he could conquer his depression. I do know better, but it’s easy to judge from the outside. I’m not living it, so I don’t understand, and I shouldn’t have judged.
So many parts of this story brought my emotions to the surface. The love in the light took awhile to come through the murky depths. The sexy times were filled with dirty talking, and moves that sizzled. The doubts that Caden had, made me want to weep, and the hurt that Makenna went through made me cry. But in the end the challenges and obstacles they faced, brought them closer together and with a deeper understanding of each other.
When Hearts In Darkness came out and took the romance world by storm, we all hoped that the little novella wasn’t the last we’d hear from this couple. Luckily, there was more. We see, what appears to be a strong and confident man face his horrifying loss, and learn to be happy he survived. When push came to shove, he conquered one of his greatest fears and learnt that love can get you through it. It is not all hearts and flowers, but it definitely does have a light at the end of the tunnel. Was it everything I hoped for? Yep!!!
Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.
4.5 stars I fell in love with MaKenna and Caden 3 1/2 years ago and I wanted more. I'm so glad that Ms. Kaye gave us Love In the Light, I thoroughly enjoyed it! She packed a lot into this book, but it was all stuff that Caden and MaKenna needed to deal with. Really good!!! More to come closer to release.