Under the Stars (Bright Lights, #2)

by Tia Louise

[Eve1972]

 
 
What a fantstic duet this turned out to be. Great writing. A great plot. Likable characters. Love. Romance. Heartache. Pain. Perseverance and redemption. What more could you possibly ask for?


 

~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
The writing in this one was just as fantastic as in the previous book. The pace was perfect and at no time did I feel that the plot dragged (an issue I had with book one). The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. That said, I DID find the beginning a little confusing. The reason being I never got around to reading the novella book that takes place between book one and book two of this duet. It is this readers opinion that you really DO need to read that novella or you will find yourself a bit clueless about the events that take place from when we left this couple at the end of book one to when they pick up again at the beginning of book two. I will go as far as to say that the author probably should have included that novella as a bonus at the start of book two. That's just MY two cents though.


~HERO~
I ADORED Mark in book one and I continued to adore him in this book. I think the man might be close to godly in his patience and his ability to forgive Lara because some of the shit she pulled (always running, always putting Molly first) would have had me kicking her a$$ to the curb. 


~HEROINE~
Lara...she was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I had small issues with her in book one and again in this one, she annoyed me. One, she came across as a bit of a doormat when it came to Molly. I got she felt responsible for her. Made a promise...yadda...yadda...yadda. But she kept placing Molly above her own daughter AND Mark (at least in the beginning) when her loyalties SHOULD have been to them. Two, she did something that as I felt was just SO unbelievably selfish and my heart broke for Mark. He will NEVER get those months he missed back. Now that said, she DID finally get her head out of her a$$ but not until Mark YET AGAIN chased her down. 


~SIDE CHARACTERS~
I loved the cast of secondary characters in this one (well apart from Molly). I loved seeing Roland again, and he needs a book of his own. I also would love to see a book featuring Evie, Armand, and Phillip. Their story is waiting to be told (a girl can hope). You know who I could not stand? MOLLY...OMG was she a selfish and self-centered BRAT for the entirety of this book. I wanted to bitch slap her face so many times. That said, I still very much want to read the next book(s?) featuring her and hopefully Joshua because I quite liked him.





~HEAT LEVEL~
Medium. There were some good spicey sex scenes in this one and the frequency fit the tone of the story. 


~ANGST LEVEL~
Low. The beginning was the angstiest part of the entire book. Once the couple moves past a few issues it is pretty much smooth sailing in the relationship department. It's mostly the revenge angle that moves the plot forward. There was also no OW or OM drama. Because I haven't read the novella that takes place between book one and book two (five years and seven months pass between the full-length books) I can't say if either of the main characters slept with others during those years apart. I will say that there weren't any other people for them once they meet up again (in the novella).


~IN THE END~
I LOVED this duet. It was a magical love story of two people who found (and kept finding) the other half of their soul. Through ups and downs and heartache and pain these two always found a way back into each other's arms. The writing was fantastic. Both the plot and characters well developed. The ending will leave you with a huge smile on your face. And there is more to come with Molly's book. This duet gets two HUGE thumbs up from yours truly.