Review: Consequence, Book Two, The Confidence Game #2 by Rachel Higginson

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Consequence, the conclusion to Sayer and Caroline’s epic love story

Five years ago, I escaped a dangerous life I had always wanted to leave. I got away. I found freedom. But it cost me the love of my life.

For five years I lived in hiding, protecting my most valuable secret while Sayer Wesley sat in prison paying for both our sins. I promised to love him forever. I promised to never leave him. 

I broke my promises.

Five months ago Sayer found me.

Five weeks ago, I was forced to face my past.

Five days ago, someone took my daughter. They kidnapped her in order to make Sayer and me suffer. I will do anything to get her back. Even if that means coming clean to Sayer, letting him into my life and introducing him to our daughter.

All I wanted was to protect her from this life and now she’s right in the middle of the chaos. Sayer is the only one that can help me. He’s the only one that can get her back.

But it might mean losing him again.

Fifteen years ago, I fell in love with Sayer Wesley. Now I must pay the consequences for falling in love with a con man. 

Review:
4.75 out of 5 stars

From the moment I finished Constant, I was dying to get my hands on Consequence. I absolutely fell in love with Caro and Sayer and I had to know how their story ended.  Without a doubt my love for mafia drama is what sucked me into this story from page one. 

 Consequence begins exactly where Constant ended.  Juliet has been taken from day care and Caro and Sayer are hell bent on getting her back and exacting revenge on whoever is responsible.  Intertwined in the present day drama are a lot of flashbacks from Sayer and his childhood and what occurred in his life.  Some are the same scenes from Constant but with a totally different point of view.

Caro is still reeling from Juliet's kidnapping and is struggling with trusting Sayer.  She definitely wants to blame him for a lot of things and her inability to see what I could through flashbacks was at times annoying to me.  But, I realized I had the luxury of more information than she did, and so I tried not to let my aggravation with her waffling emotions keep me from liking her character.  One of the things I loved most about Caro was her tenacity.  She is strong, stubborn, smart and she loves with all she has.  She is one heck of a mama bear and will always protect her child.

For me, Sayer is just about the picture perfect hero.  Obviously he's hot as hell with a side dose of brooding and dangerous.  But as much as he's dangerous at his core is also this deep sense of loyalty and protectiveness towards Caro as well as Juliet.  While he's never had the luxury of meeting Juliet in person his parental bond to protect and get revenge is just as strong as Caro's. 

I always worry when starting part 2 of a two book series that perhaps the second book will loose momentum, I was pleasantly surprised this one never lost it's pace.  While I knew in my gut Caro could trust Sayer I loved watching the story play out and was pleasantly surprised to see some twists.  Whether or not you as a reader like Caro or even agree with her dramatics one thing is for certain she loves Sayer, he is the only person for her and Sayer's heart will only always beat for Caro!

Review: The Five Stages of Falling in Love by Rachel Higginson

Elizabeth Carlson is living in the pits of hell- also known as grief.

Her husband of eight years, the father of her four children and the love of her life, died from cancer. Grady's prognosis was grim, even from the start, but Liz never gave up hope he would survive. How could she, when he was everything to her?

Six months later, she is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and get the kids to school on time. Both seem impossible. Everything seems impossible these days.

When Ben Tyler moves in next door, she is drowning in sorrow and pain, her children are acting out, and the house is falling apart. She has no time for curious new friends or unwanted help, but Ben gives her both. And he doesn't just want to help her with yard work or cleaning the gutters. Ben wants more from Liz. More than she's capable of ever giving again.

As Liz mourns her dead husband and works her way through the five stages of grief, she finds there's more of her heart to give than she thought possible. And as new love takes hold, she peels away the guilt and heartache, and discovers there's more to life than death.

Review:  5 of 5 stars

Do you ever have a day that requires a good cry?  If so, pick up this book and you will ugly cry and get it out of your system.  I was tearing up and choking back tears from the prologue, but I could NOT put this book down.  I basically read it from cover to cover in one sitting.  And that is rare for me.  

The story begins with Liz Carlson losing the her husband, Grady, to cancer.  Add to the pain, the chaos of raising 4 children up alone and it is no wonder Liz was ready to pull her hair out.  She is angry, sad, bitter, devastated and more, all wrapped up in a package.  I can not imagine the grief, anguish and pain losing a spouse cause someone, however, Rachel Higginson seemed to capture all of the emotions seamlessly. 

The moment Ben Tyler is introduced in the story, I loved him.  Anyone that can bribe a child with Pop-Tarts to win a battle is special material.  I love that Ben never pushed Liz more than he thought she could handle, but he also didn't treat her like she was fragile.  He was the perfect balance for her and exactly what she needed, as well as the kids.  He was not jealous of Grady or made anyone feel like they could not love their Dad/Husband anymore.  He truly made the story epic.

The emotions that this book evoked from me were very intense.  I could clearly see how Liz was struggling with denial, guilt, anger and more.  And if I were in her situation, I think I would react exactly the same.  It was so refreshing to read about real life situations, with characters that could be real.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good Alpha billionaire along with everyone else, but sometimes you just need a good dose of reality.  It was profound to watch Liz grow and rise from the ashes of her past and circumstances she never asked for at all.  Hands down, The Five Stages of Falling in Love is one of the BEST books of 2015.  If you haven't read it, you are missing out on a heartbreakingly, beautiful story.

Review: Every Wrong Reason, by Rachel Higginson

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Synopsis

First comes love.

Then comes marriage.

Then comes the… really nasty divorce.

Kate Carter thought she married her soul mate. She thought she had her happily ever after. But seven years into Kate’s marriage, she realizes that her husband Nick is not what she wanted. He’s selfish, he’s oblivious and he doesn’t love her anymore.

Maybe she doesn’t love him anymore either.

Divorce is the only option if either of them wants to find happiness.

Kate and Nick thought they knew what they wanted, but neither is prepared for the heartache that separating will bring them. The journey they embark on is not the freedom they wished for, but a painful look at the people they’ve become.

At the end of it, Kate has to decide if this is really the life she wants or if maybe there’s a way to salvage her broken heart.

Review

4.5 out of 5 stars

In Every Wrong Reason author Rachel Higginson explores after the HEA.  You know life after you’ve found your soul mate, after you’ve said “I do,” years after the honeymoon phase of your marriage has ended and you’ve progressed into the every day reality where life isn’t perfect, where your partner doesn’t always do what you think is right.  Real life isn’t easy and marriage is far from being a piece of cake.  It takes two people willing to fight for one another, choosing to be a part of a whole unit.  It’s choosing to fight when you feel like you have absolutely nothing left to fight for. And wow, Rachel Higginson knows how to perfectly capture the essence of “real” life.

I don’t know that I’ve ever read a more genuine book based on two characters who seem as real as my husband and myself.  Every Wrong Reason doesn’t contain any unnecessary drama, I swear it could be based off of someone’s real life.  It’s a story full of angst, but not the kind you typically find in a romance novel.  This book is all about the good, bad and sometimes ugly sides of real love, and it’s brilliantly executed as well as written. 

Rachel Higginson starts each chapter with a reason why Kate is divorcing her husband, but as Kate explores the reason you begin to wonder if that isn’t in fact the absolute wrong reason to demand a divorce.  To be perfectly honest I found her character incredibly frustrating for most of the book.  As the reader, and not the character I could see more clearly that this was a woman who loved her husband, but she was proud, determined to stick to her decision and it clouded her perspective, blocked her from truly seeing what she wanted in her life.  In perhaps even seeing her own faults.  At the same time though Kate’s character is written so incredibly real that she could be me. 

I am telling you this book, this plot, it may seem simple but Rachel Higginson takes the simple to extraordinary.  I keep saying it’s real and I know many of us read to escape but sometimes we need a book like this to remind us that in marriage we are often better together!  While I feel as though I am struggling to communicate how wonderful I think this book is the answer is fairly simple….just buy it and read it for yourself, then you’ll truly understand my glowing recommendation!