Redemption
by Rebecca Brooke
5 smooches
Synopsis:
I am not what I have done. I am what I have overcome. And once I have faced my problems, only then will I find redemption.
Josh Walker and Lauren Pierce are opposites in every way. While Lauren is a committed student and girlfriend, Josh is a player with a very twisted moral compass…
Or is he?
Growing up with an addict for a father, Josh experienced disappointment from an early age. He puts on a front, shielding himself from everyone. Until he meets Lauren.
Lauren has it all. An accomplished softball player she maintains good grades, has great friends, and is in love with her dedicated boyfriend. Her life is pretty much perfect…until it’s not.
When two bruised souls collide can they help each other overcome their problems? Or are some souls just destined to be lost?
Review
Redemption is the second book in the Forgiven series by Rebecca Brooke. Although part of a series this book can be read as a standalone. Redemption is a story about how if something is really important you can change the pattern of your life. In Redemption, both Josh and Lauren have to overcome the troubles they had at home and in other relationships that can make it hard for them to trust in a relationship.
If you read Rebecca’s first book, Forgiven, you will remember that Josh is Caleb’s best friend and roommate. Caleb and Angie from Forgiven are now together and living with Josh in the apartment. At a surprise party for Angie’s birthday, Josh spots Lauren, a friend of Angie’s, and is immediately attracted to her. When Lauren meets Josh it is clear that this strong attraction is mutual!
Lauren is a star pitcher on the college’s softball team. Her good looks and talent make her more than a catch. After a bad breakup because her boyfriend was cheating on her, she knows getting involved with the campus player is a bad idea and has every intention of staying away.
Josh is a stud and he knows it. A football star and campus player Josh is never hurting when it comes to getting girls in his bed! Josh is known for only being with a girl one time and has no intention on changing that pattern! When Josh sees Lauren he knows he wants her, he thinks its for a night and can’t even fathom it would be for more.
After a night of fun and drinking with friends the two end up at Josh’s apartment and have some incredibly steamy sex! The next morning when Josh wakes up and Lauren is gone he feels something he is not used to, disappointment. After trying to stay apart they realize they are meant to be together.
Things are not all hearts and flowers with Josh and Lauren. Both have issues developed from their childhood and when Lauren’s moment of weakness tests Josh’s resolve, the future of their relationship is in danger. Can these two get past the troubles they grew up with and focus on the love that they can have?
Rebecca Brooke has written a love story set in the college age but the emotional depth of these two characters feel older than the normal silliness of that age. These two are so well written that you can feel what they feel. Josh’s change from campus player to the world’s sweetest boyfriend doesn’t feel fake or trite but more like a true love has developed and changed this man. Watching him grow and develop as the story unfolds is truly beautiful.
While reading the story I felt like Lauren started off a very strong woman but letting her guard down while in love made her softer and a bit weaker. This is not a bad thing and is completely necessary for the story development.
Redemption had everything I look for in a great NA read. It was fun, endearing, heartwarming, funny, sexy as hell and I really loved watching these two fall in love and test the strength of it. I went though the gambit of emotions reading this book but was so happy to where the story lead. I definitely think anyone who enjoys NA should read this book and watch how true love happens.
~miranda
