Blurb
She’s the only one who ever loved him—and the only one he can never have.
Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there’s no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.
Sophie Haines is stunned by his reappearance. After a three year absence, the man who killed her brother and broke her heart is suddenly everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never volunteer in the church kitchen.
No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie’s police chief father. But it’s a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself.
Review
Steadfast is an absolute gem of a read and the title couldn’t be more perfect for how Jude needs to be on his new path in life and his recovery. Sophie also heeds the advice of being steady and regardless of what her life has been like for the 3.5 years that Jude has been gone, she continues to survive…to persevere, which is amazing to me given the way her father treats her and how she must deal with her mother’s depression.
Sarina Bowen does a tremendous job of illustrating Jude’s struggles to remain clean when he has to leave the Shipley farm and head home. She doesn’t sugarcoat his cravings or lessen the torment of his past misdeeds. He owns up to who he was and what he did while high, and even though it almost kills him, he fights his need for a high Every. Single. Day. He won’t take the easy path of addiction if he can help it because he knows it will lead him nowhere else but back to prison. But there are ghosts in his old hometown and add to those the demons that are in his head pushing him towards giving into ridding himself of the pain..of the memories, and Jude feels like he’s one bad day away from falling off the wagon.
Sophie is an incredibly strong young woman. With the abuse she receives from her father for her relationship with the junkie who killed her brother and the way she tries to keep up appearances for both her mother and father by doing everything for the house, a lot of women would have given up by now or at least lost it in a way that there might not be a way to come back from, but Sophie hasn’t and she continues to fight her way through her loneliness, her pain, her broken heart without anyone to help her get past everything that’s happened. And, when things start to not add up and she finds holes in procured information, regardless of how painful it will be, she does the right thing and seeks the truth, not only for herself but for all those involved and it’s her tenacity that ends up saving Jude in so many ways.
Because Steadfast is told through both Jude and Sophie’s perspectives, readers are privy to all of the brokenness that they hide inside. They’re both in dark, empty places, and even though Sophie shouldn’t still want the man responsible for her brother’s death, Jude has always been the only person who truly listens to her and soothes her soul, so as much as she knows reconnecting with Jude is not going to end well, she’s addicted to him and needs him to feel whole again.
I have to admit that I was worried about Jude’s story. I knew that it was going to be emotional and heartbreaking, but the thought of him giving into his cravings completely tore me up before I even started reading. And, while there are extremely low points in the book where Jude has to fight with everything inside of him to beat back the cravings, Sarina Bowen realistically illustrates the struggles of an addict and the highs and lows that constantly occur just to make it to through the next minute…the next hour…the next day.
Sarina Bowen continues to pull me into her stories with her dynamically round characters and plot driven text. I felt like I was right along side both Jude and Sophie fighting to keep them above water…above the demons fighting to bring them down, and while it was a terribly difficult journey, both characters faced it head on and I was blown away by their tenacity and their heart in overcoming the obstacles that kept them apart.
I also love that the Shipleys still played a major role in helping Jude cope regardless of the fact that he no longer worked on the farm or lived under their roof. The Shipleys are definitely the kind of people I want to have on my side when my back’s against the wall because it’s clear they’ll step up no matter what.
Bring on Zach’s story!
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
5 Poison Apples
Author Links
Sarina Bowen
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7737308.Sarina_Bowen
http://www.sarinabowen.com/
http://www.twitter.com/sarinabowen
https://www.facebook.com/authorsarinabowen?fref=ts
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