Derailed

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

[Cocktails and Books]

Molly comes back home to Clifton Falls, North Carolina to try and figure out what she's supposed to do next. Months after her fiance's death, she's quit law school and found that booze helps numb the nightmares that plague her. But she didn't count on her return stirring up the other ghosts of her past and making her finally take a look at where's she's been and what really makes her happy.

Despite the somber tones of this book, I really enjoyed it. As a reader, my heart went out to Molly right away. Given everything she'd been through you could understand why she was leaving school and running home. The poor girl carried around a lot of guilt, which ate at her. It made you want to wrap your arms around her and keep telling her it was going to be ok until she finally believed it. But as the story went on, it became evident that Molly needed to go through all the turmoil and torment to understand that the one person who could soothe her soul was the boy/man she ran away from five years prior. She didn't make it easy for Ben, but in the end she realized that she was never really happy without him or the small town she grew up in..

I dare anyone to not love Ben from the moment he first makes his appearance on the page. He's that boy we all wanted to love us in high school who grew up to be one of those good guys we could only hope we ended up marrying. He knew what his role was in the break up with Molly five years before, but he also had enough faith in both of them to know that she was brought back into his life for a reason and he wasn't about the let her go again. He may not have known the truth behind Molly's broken engagement, but he knew she wasn't happy and would do anything to get her back to the girl he knew. Sure sometimes he was pushy, but he also knew when to let Molly have her way and understand that he was always going to be there for her.

I wasn't sure what I was getting with this book, but I quickly discovered a very touching story with a carefully crafted storyline and characters that emotionally pulled you into the story. No matter your age, you can appreciate what these characters went through and faithfully hope they find the HEA you want for them.