For You ('Burg, #1)

by Kristen Ashley

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
For You is simply excellent - romance, suspense, 2nd chances, friendships, small town - it's ALL good



I have always been a huge fan of second chance romances, and For You delivered a very delicious one! February and Alexander could have had it all. They seemed destined to be together and started dating in high school. Then, something happened, and February broke up with Alexander. She went on a wild streak, and ultimately married another man. After that marriage ended in disaster, February kind of ran away from home and went around the US working in bars. Never getting too close to anyone, until she gets called home to help her brother run the family bar. Once she is home, though, February finds it hard to resist the lure of Alec, and when she discovers one of her friends - murdered - behind the bar, he's the officer in charge of the investigation.

It soon became apparent that someone was stalking February, as people who might be perceived as her enemy end up dead. And they ended up dead in horrific circumstances. For You has romance, too, though, and it's a slow burn, baby. Mixed in with the suspense, it was almost unbearable to read this story, and at the same time, I just couldn't get enough.  The character development was so well done, and seeing the reasons why February had left it all behind made sense in a sad way. And as things came to light, and more people died, there are clues that come to the surface as well. One of those clues prove to February that her reason for breaking up with Alec was possibly wrong... And so, their whole lives, difficult relationships and divorces might have been avoided.

All the time they had lost made my heart ache with sadness for them. At the same time, though, my heart was singing with happiness because they had a chance to make things right. To love each other once more. To have a more adult relationship. To learn to get to know each other again. For You includes both missed opportunities and new beginnings, and while some of what happened was extremely bittersweet, the sweet ultimately won out.

The danger was ever-lurking, though, and I was afraid For You would end with tragedy because of how things unfolded. The way my heart was hammering away both with fear and with adrenaline made me realize once more what an amazing author Kristen Ashley is! She had me right where she wanted me, on the floor, almost unable to breathe, in the same position February was in. Written in third person point of view, past tense and alternating between February and Colt's (Alec's) perspective, I was so immersed in the story I truly felt as if I was right there with them. The dialogues made that feeling stronger, and I loved both the main characters and the secondary characters - especially February's parents were righteous.



Alec's dark hair was too long but he'd always worn it too long, even as a kid. But he'd done it then because his mother was such a shit mother. She never remembered to get it cut. My mom finally ended up taking Alec to the barber when she took Morrie. Later he kept it long just because he was Alec. It curled around his ears and neck now and, as with everything Alec, it looked a little bit wild.

I decided to think about being with my family and friends and how good that felt without me holding onto shit and feeling mostly dead inside. how good it felt to laugh and feel it down straight in your belly. how good it felt to watch the face of someone you loved get animated while they talked about something they thought was funny or something their kid did that was cute. How good it felt to be alive.