Thursday, February 09, 2023

Book Review: Forgiveness by Celeste Raye

 
Book Description

Valerie has a normal life that she likes. She still lives at home with her mom, they get along, and she was saving money to finish up her degree. Every day was the same and she was content in it.

She had a boyfriend that she cared for. Life was good. Bland, but good.

All of that changed when she got a mysterious package in the mail. Her aunt had died and left her a house, as well as some assets. She’d never met her aunt, but knew the stories about her. Her Aunt June was a bit eccentric, but Val thought it was time for an adventure.

She got in her car and left. She didn’t know what she was going to find when she got there, but Valerie knew that it had to be better than the same old thing. Her contentment with her life took a sudden veer to the left and she was wondering what she was doing.

Then she met Frank.

Frank changed everything at a time when a relationship was the last thing on her mind.

He wanted more than she was willing to give, but he pushed boundaries to get what he wanted. He made her fall for him and Valerie was lost from the first time that they kissed. When his arms went around her, she felt like the world was anew and everything was going to be better than before. With Frank, everything else just fell away and they were the only two left.

But Frank wasn’t at all what he appeared. He had a wild side to him that she scared her.

She had to decide if she wanted her old, dull life back, or something new. It was frightening as hell, but Valerie was drawn towards the beast, as well as the man.


My Review

Val didn't know her aunt but when she died, her aunt left her a house. She goes to check out the house and meets Frank the neighbor. He's nice and hot and seems to have known her aunt really well. So she chats it up with Frank to get to know her aunt a little better and when she realizes that she really likes it there, she decides to stay instead of selling the land and house like her mother and boyfriend wants to her. 

What Val doesn't know is that Frank has a secret and so do some of the townspeople and they are hoping she will sell most of the land back to the people of the town that have been there for generations. Things are not what they appear to be and when Val finds out that her aunt might have been killed and how it has to do with her land, she finds herself in danger as well. Frank isn't going to let anything happen to her though and they fall for each other really fast, too fast if you ask me. I liked them as a couple of but I didn't feel the romance was real for most of it. The characters weren't as vibrant and believable as I would have liked but the story ended up being good in the end. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.