Random Reads is a segment I created to tackle my TBR list in light of the mandatory quarantines going on due to the Coronavirus. I have created a list of all review requested books I have accumulated (there are A LOT) and, using a random generator, I have it select the book I read and review. Today's Random Read is...
Retrace by Sigal Ehrlich
Publication date: November 6th, 2014
Pages: 230
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
A former FBI agent.
A Brazilian dancer.
Two souls haunted by ghosts of their past.
One looking for retribution, the other for atonement. Both seeking solace.
A solitary existence is all they know, until fate brings them together. Mutual attraction leads to the perfect pact that will keep them safe. No commitment, just friendship and sex. But nothing in life is risk free.
When suppressed emotions emerge, a seemingly impossible decision has to be made. Do they fight their growing feelings or retrace their lives back to where wounded hearts can be broken once more?
*THIS IS A STAND-ALONE NOVEL. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
Available at:
Review:
With quarantine still in effect and my 4-year-old driving me up the wall, I need literary escape. Delving into a new world where people aren't worried about standing 6 feet away from each other or hoarding toilet paper is a necessity. So, after my successful roll with my last book, I let the number generator fly again. I had read a few other books by Sigal Ehrlich so I had extremely high hopes for this book. I needed this one to be good too.
Nia is a Brazilian dancer running from her past. She shoulders a hefty load of guilt and anger towards her family to the point where she needs to escape the the States to try to move on. She loses herself in teaching little girls to dance and thinks that her life is completely fulfilled. So what if she hasn't had a decent nights sleep in ages? Small price to pay, right? But Nia had no idea how empty she was until a dangerous man with a cocky grin and secrets of his own mistakenly wanders into her hotel room. He is the calm she has been desperate for and the one person who can shut out her self-loathing long enough to smile and laugh once more. But he is not the commitment type and neither is Nia... at least she thought so when they entered into their arrangement of friends with benefits.
Reeves has never been the same since he lost someone he cared about during his undercover mission. He wanders through life sharing his bed with any woman he hopes can distract him from his reality. He waits for the day he can find a way to exact his revenge. He is not looking for love. Until he lays his eyes on Nia he hadn't know what it was to smile truly. Reeves has issues just as Nia does and they seem to find comfortable companionship with each other until friendship doesn't seem to be enough.
I loved Reeves as a character. Poor guy had so much guilt and was trying to do the right thing for everyone around him while also keeping himself sane. He was incredibly selfless to a fault and I loved that he finally had someone to dote on him when he found Nia. Very few book couples seem genuinely real to me. Most romances get to be too flowery and poetic to feel real. Nia and Reeves with their baggage in tow were just swoonworthy. I was rooting for them before they even laid eyes on each other.
One drawback I would like to mention is that the guilt that Nia felt seemed a little... farfetched? I can see how someone can feel guilty over that sort of situation but I don't believe someone who went through what she did would blame themselves to the extent that she did considering she didn't truly play much of a role in it happening. I don't want to give too much away and maybe I'm wrong. I'd love to hear from someone else who has read the book so we can discuss. Nia's guilt: ill-placed or understandable?
All in all, I did thoroughly enjoy the book and the characters. Reeves is definitely top 5 fantasy book boyfriends for me.
