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Book Title:Let Love Be
Author: Melissa Collins
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date:April 7, 2014
Hosted by:Book Enthusiast Promotions
What would bring you happiness in a world that was suddenly empty?
For Lucy Crane, the answer is simple: her daughter. When her husband is killed in a tragic accident, Lucy loses her desire to live, but only one thing keeps her going – her unborn daughter. Focusing on being a mother helps Lucy cope with her loss, but kids grow up and they leave home, eventually. Eighteen years after losing her first and only love, Lucy is faced with the opportunity to find the happiness for which she’s always longed. Her own fears become her worst enemies as she learns how to embrace love once again.
Evan Donovan is also facing his own struggles. Forced to retire from the FDNY because of lung damage caused by 9/11, Evan moves to upstate New York where he hopes to find a little peace and quiet. Old habits die hard, and Evan’s hero complex and survivor’s guilt constantly remind him of how difficult it is to be vulnerable. But for the first time in his life, he’s tired of being alone.
Drawing strength from one another, Lucy and Evan discover how beautiful it is to let love be a part of their lives.
If there is ever a supporting character in a book series who deserves her own happily ever after, it has to be Lucy, Momma, from Melissa Collins’ Love Series. In the previous stories, Lucy is selfless and beyond giving; she puts everyone else’s needs/wants in front of her own and is always willing to help at a moment’s notice. By watching her interaction with Maddy, Reid, and Melanie, readers would never know of her extreme loss or the severe depression she faced when her husband died so young and left her alone to raise their baby girl who was due to be born just after he died. Lucy simply “exists” for so many years, giving everything she has to ensure Melanie has a good life without once thinking of herself. But that all changes when Evan enters her life and puts her wants and needs first. Evan helps Lucy to live again; he brings out her feistiness, her desires, and her snarky attitude…all characteristics of Lucy’s personality that have been dormant since her husband’s death.
Let Love Be opens up 18 years earlier. Melissa takes readers simultaneously through Lucy and Evan’s dark days. We’re there with Lucy when she gets the news of her husband’s death, and we watch her struggle to keep living even after her little girl is born. These scenes are extremely well written; they give readers a realistic look into all of the emotions that are involved with the loss of a spouse. While Lucy is enduring her heartbreak, Evan experiences torment of a different type. As a firefighter, Evan’s job is to help those in need, but when he can’t, he feels powerless as well as responsible for what occurs. His job means everything to him, but that’s because it’s the only thing he really has. Evan closes himself off to any ideas of a relationship. He doesn’t allow himself to get close to anyone except for his fellow fire fighters. He refuses to make his life messy, but like Lucy, Evan has merely been existing all these years. Fast forward eighteen years and a chance meeting as well as Evan’s decision to relocate provides both Evan and Lucy with an opportunity to finally get back to living and loving.
What follows Evan and Lucy’s first encounter is a beautiful love story; one that speaks to finding love again even after you think all hope is lost. It’s about letting go of a past filled with hardships and devastation and grabbing on to every piece of happiness you can manage. It’s about moving forward with a person you thought you would never find but thanking God that you have the opportunity to do so.
Melissa Collins’ Love Series is an emotional experience. Each book offers insights on a plethora of topics. Melissa shows her readers that even though love may not come easy and there may be frustrations, tears, and loss along the way, there’s nothing better than living a life with the person who completes you; a person who is meant for you and you alone, and in Let Love Be, Melissa proves that even when you think all hope is gone and you become complacent in your life, fate has a way to knock you on your ass and wake you up to what is truly important in life.
The whole series is MUST READ, but if I had to suggest one book out of all of them to read, it would definitely be this one. The growth of Lucy and Evan, even as adults, is a wonderful thing to watch. There is so much depth to both of them that readers can’t help but fall in love with their story.
A complimentary copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
5 poison apples
“Oh, I love this movie.” She settles on Forrest Gump as I grab my second slice.
“So, you already know about my history. What about you? Have you ever been married?” Forrest’s proposal to Jenny plays in the background.
“No. I mean, I’ve had a few relationships here and there, but work always got in the way. Staying single was somehow easier.”
“Same here. I mean, when Melanie was a kid, it was much easier to just focus on that part of my life.”
“Now?” I hazard a question that takes even me by surprise.
She puts her plate down on the coffee table and swallows back a large sip of water. “Now, I’m not so sure.”
Suddenly, my mind races with the possibilities of what her words mean. It’s crazy to think how just a few encounters with Lucy have made me re-evaluate my feelings. Obviously, she feels the same way. A calm and peaceful air falls on us as a small smile curls at my lips.
A comfortable silence fills the space as we watch the movie, recalling some memories when certain scenes come up.
Nothing prepares me for Lucy’s reaction when Jenny and Forrest get married and she tells him she’s sick. I try not to look at her, wanting to avoid making her feel like she’s in the spotlight or anything like that. I do notice a few stray tears streaking down her cheeks so I can only imagine what’s to come.
As we watch Forrest sitting beside Jenny’s grave, reading a letter from their son, Lucy reaches for a napkin. Clutching it to her chest, I can see her breathing rapidly. What were just a few tears earlier is now a steady stream. She doesn’t say anything, won’t even look at me, but I can’t watch her cry like this.
I shift on the small, overstuffed sofa and drape my arm around her. The top of her head fits perfectly into the crook of my shoulder. The scent of her hair takes over my senses; the sound of her softly sniffling through her tears tugs at my heart.
I alternate between squeezing her arm and tracing my fingers up over her shoulder. When she seems to have gathered her emotions, calming down a bit, my instincts take over and I act seemingly without thinking.
Or maybe I am thinking and I’m just afraid of what I’m thinking.
Gently pressing my lips to the top of her soft, brown hair feels like second nature. She tenses momentarily, and I realize I may have just overstepped my boundaries.
“Sorry about that.” I straighten in my seat and try to move my arm, but her fingers fall to my forearm. She looks up at me through long lashes with puffy, red eyes from crying.
“Don’t be.” Her voice is soft, angel-like. “It’s nice to be held.”
That piece of information prompts me to pull her even closer. “Well, I’m glad I could be of service.”
She laughs softly and then takes a deep breath before she shifts to move away from me, which just makes me pull her close once again. “Don’t,” planting another quick kiss to her head, “it’s nice to have someone to hold.”
Let Love Be
Let Love Shine
Let Love In
Let Love Stay
Let Love Heal
Melissa Collins has always been a book worm. Studying Literature in college ensured that her nose was always stuck in a book. She followed her passion for reading to the most logical career choice: English teacher. Her hope was to share her passion for reading and the escapism of books to her students. Having spent more than a decade in front of a classroom, she can easily say that it’s been a dream.
Her passion for writing didn’t start until more recently. When she was home on maternity leave in early 2012, she read her first romance novel and her head filled with the passion, angst and laughter of the characters who she read about it. It wasn’t long before characters of her own took shape in her mind. Their lives took over Melissa’s brain and The Love Series was born.
Web – www.melissacollinsauthor.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/melissacollins.author
Twitter – @mcollinsauthor
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