5 SMOOCHES!
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SYNOPSIS:
Clara Saint-James is completing a journey started by an old friend. She’ll return a Cadillac to California, a place she’s avoided for more than a decade. But it’s time for closure and to put old ghosts to rest. And it’s time to find out if the feelings she’s cherished for the boy from her past are just fanciful memories–or if there’s a chance they are real.
Timing was never on her side, especially when it came to Karson Avery. The two of them lived in a junkyard as runaway teens, and though she wanted more than his friendship, he always belonged to another–until that one night when he was hers.
When Clara finds Karson living in a small, coastal town, she’s not surprised the beautiful boy from her past grew into a stunning man. His smile is as captivating as ever. His eyes have the same roguish glint. But timing is still working against her.
Clara must decide how far she’s willing to go to battle for Karson’s heart. Or if it’s time to let him go and surrender to the dotted lines that have always kept them apart.
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REVIEW:
I’ve just finished Dotted Lines, the fifth and final book in Devney Perry’s fantastic Runaway series, and my heart is full, happy and sated. This series had me swooning all the swoons, feeling all the feels and loving each new book even more than I loved the last. This series was inspired by my favorite childhood books, and so I was excited and intrigued when Perry announced it. I went into this series with high expectations, curious to see what she would do with this idea. But her execution and reimagination of my beloved Boxcar Children series took me by surprise, far exceeding anything that I had been expecting, hoping for or anticipating. Devney may have been initially inspired by Gertrude Chandler-Warner’s work, but she completely breathed new life into this concept, creating a premise that was all her own and so incredibly original. Perry’s writing is always on point, but it has been next level here, with prose that was fresh and creative. For me personally, the benchmark of a truly unique and memorable story is my personal internal struggle between wanting to race through the story while simultaneously wanting to slow down enjoy the ride. Reading each of these books, I found myself trying to floor it while I was also riding the brakes. This was that rare and special series full of the kinds of stories that I couldn’t read fast enough yet didn’t want to end.
Dotted Lines is the final installment in the series, and it’s finally Clara Saint-James’ turn behind the wheel of that old Caddy. She and her adorable little boy, August, set off from their home in Welcome, Arizona, where they live next door to her twin sister, Aria, who is married to Clara’s boss, Brody Carmichael. Their destination is California and Karson Avery, the boy who kept the five girls safe in that junkyard. The boy who stole 17-year-old Clara’s heart and never gave it back. The boy who is now a man and who is unaware that he’s about to become the owner of the now fully restored Caddy that was his home in that junkyard all those years ago.
Taking readers through their past and into their present, Perry penned a poignant and emotional story of the right person at the wrong time. Clara and Karson’s young love was derailed by the differing directions that their lives were heading. More than a decade later, Clara shows up unannounced on Karson’s doorstep to deliver a piece of their shared history, but will time be on their side? As heartbreaking as it was heartwarming, I felt the pull, the longing, the lust and the love between Karson and Clara. It was all right there, surging back to the surface from the depths at which they buried it. But theirs was the kind of love that couldn’t be contained, and neither time, nor distance, nor outside influences can stop these two hearts from calling out to each other.
I love second chance romances, and Dotted Lines was a fabulous one. Karson and Clara’s soul-deep connection rooted in their combined past is finally given the chance to be reborn, and Perry didn’t waste the opportunity. She penned an unputdownable story that was the perfect conclusion to this wonderfully unforgettable series. Sweet, sexy, and bursting with genuine emotion, Clara and Karson’s love story commanded all of my attention, and I positively devoured it. This is a special and memorable series, one not-to-be-missed by contemporary romance fans, and a top favorite of mine from this author. Brilliant, every word, every moment, every character, scene and story, all of it was absolutely brilliant. Five smooches from me for Dotted Lines by Devney Perry!
~Danielle Palumbo
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