J.M. Darhower

This book was on my wishlist and to-do list for quite a while and now I have finally read it. And I´m not disappointed. It was a sweet 2nd chance romance.

It´s about the importance of love, dreams and life. It´s about making decisions and how much influence people, situations and things have on someone. It´s about trying to do better, to become better, realizing what you want and need and fighting for what you love. And it´s also about forgiveness and trust.

The main characters of this book are Kennedy and Jonathan. But there are also a couple of side characters. Madison (Maddie), their daughter, the most important of them.

Kennedy Garfield is a single mom and assistant manager in a grocery store. She´s doing everything to support her daughter and herself and works hard to be independent. Her dreams of going to college long forgotten. Her love life basically non-existent. But she is fine as long as her daughter is happy and healthy. And she´d do everything to keep it that way even though Maddies father shows up every now and then and keeps sending the checks. But the only support she accepts is the one of her dad and Maddies aunt Meghan. But when Kennedy learns that THE MOVIE was about to be filmed close to her, her heartrate picks up. And then he´s standing in front of her-the love of her life, the man she could never let go. He wants to talk, he wants more... Can she do it? Is she able to hear him out? Trust him? Forgive him?

Jonathan Cunningham never had an easy life even though on the outside it seemed like it. Growing up being abused by his own dad, he became this troubled young man who didnt care about much. That is until he met her. She changed him, love was inevitable. And when Jonathan finally had enough he packed all his things and was gone. But he didn´t go alone. Kennedy, his love, went with him. Living a life without a job and not much money isn´t easy, though. Both find themselves struggling. Jonathan tries everything to make his dream come true but it´s hard to get into this business. Through all this struggle their love was still strong. That is until Jonathan finally finds a manager, films his movies, goes to parties and starts using drugs. The more this business swallowed Jonathan, the more Kennedy finds herself being left behind. Him changing and his addiction becomes a problem. So much, that Kennedy has no other option than to leave. Because now there is someone else to think about as well.

Now, Jonathan is one of the most famous actors in Hollywood and after years of being addicted he finally can celebrate the first year of being sober. Filming the last movie of this series leads him close to his hometown. Close to the woman he always loved. Close to his daughter he never sees. One accident and the whole shooting has to be resheduled. Him unable to work, had him hiding in his hometown and that´s where everything changes for everyone.

What happened between Jonathan and his father? Why did he change? Why did Kennedy leave him? Why is he standing in front of her fathers house every now and then? Why has he no contact and relationship to his daughter? Why did he had this accident? What happens when Kennedy and Jonathan stand in front of each other after such a long time? And what happenes when Jonathan sees his daughter for the first time? Will Kennedy forgive him? Will she give him a chance to be a father? Will he disappoint and hurt them? Would it be a mistake to let him into their lives? And what happens then? What happenes when the feelings are getting stronger again? What happenes when Jonathan has to leave again? Is a happy end even possible?

Read and find out ;)


My Opinion:

I loved this book. The characters were all likable- well except for Serena and Jonathans Manager :P

I loved the writing style. The book was written in dual POV and also had chapters that were based on what Kennedy wrote in her journal. The journal was written like you´re the outsider, watching a movie or play. I don´t know how to explain it. But those chapters, this journal, were/ was also a bit like a diary. It showed and explained what happened in the past. How they met, what they did, what they felt, how they grew up together, how they spent their years and what led to their break up, and so on. It was different. I liked it. I think, I haven´t read much books that connects the present and the past in that way. It was good. I enjoyed reading it.

I had to smile, grin and laugh a couple of times. Maddie is soooo adorable. So cute. I loved every single scene with her. Heartmelting. And I loved how she interacted with everyone. And father-daughter scenes are always my favorite scenes <3

I also loved how Kennedy and Jonathan struggled- with themselves, their feelings, with their fears, with their hearts and what they wanted and needed. They seemed real. Their developement was good. And I really loved how they never stopped loving each other. They had their ups and downs and this break, but they were meant for each other and knew it somehow :)

Kennedy´s dad, Jack and Jonathans sister Meghan- They were awesome and funny too :D Loved every nickname Meghan gave Maddie, loved how Jonathan and Jack talked with each other and the back and forth between Kennedy and her dad- loved it as well. Really, really liked all those characters.

I really loved how their (Kennedy & Jonathan) shared passion and love for the comics made his dream come true. How he became the hero. I loved the lines like :" You´re the Queen. I´m just the commoner". I had to mark some quotes in my kindle and liked them on Goodreads as well :)

There were quite a lot of scenes I enjoyed reading about. There´s really not much I can complain about this book :)

One thing I didn´t like was that Kennedy didn´t seem to have told Jonathan her due-date. He should´ve been there when Madison was born. I bet he wouldn´t have missed it if he´d have known and maybe this would´ve led to him getting sober sooner. She should´ve have send him pictures too. Kennedy loved him, she knew that he was basically a good guy. Why wouldn´t she give him at least the chance to see his daughter this way?

Another thing... She gave Bethany her phone and left it with her. Erm... She knew Bethany is a stalker and fan. Honestly... I´d never have her left alone with my phone. She could´ve written his number down or saved it in her own phone so that she could stalk him better and more often. She could´ve even posted it online. So leaving Bethany with that phone wasn´t a good idea.

The scene with Madisons play... predictable. It´s the same in almost all books and movies. The last-minute-show-up. But her play was cute nontheless ;)

I wasn´t happy with them doing the same things all the time. Waking up, breakfast, school, dinner, playing/drawing and the same thing again and again... A little change here and then would have been nice. But it´s nothing that bothered me too much.

To me the book doesn´t seem finished. I need more with this couple or rather this family. Especially now that Jonathan can be part of everything he has missed the first time. He can now be a daddy from the start and I want to read about it. And I want to read more about Madison as well. I´m also interested in his career and I want to know what Kennedy will do? Will she write books? Will Jonathan get an Oscar like Madison told him? And what about Mrs. McKersky (Or whatever her name was)? What happens with her? She seemed quite interested in Kennedys dad ;) So as you can see- I need to read more :P

I´d love to have a book about Meghan and Jack as well :D That could be fun. They kept making me grin and laugh.

So. All in all a great book I can and would reccommend. I really enjoyed reading it. It was also my first J.M. Darhower book and def. not my last :)

“You ´re to demand a cease-fire from the leader of the uprising. The fighting has gone on long enough without reprieve. Too many have fallen. You have until the snow falls on you to establish the truce.”

Serah geht eigentlich ihrer Tätigkeit als Schutzengel von Kindern nach. Doch dann fällt ausgerechnet ihr Freund Samuel der Sünde zum Opfer und wird aus den Reihen der Engel ausgeschlossen. Auf dieses Ereignis hin ändert sich auch für sie einiges. Sie wird zu Lucifer geschickt, um einen Waffenstillstand auszuhandeln. Lucifer ist anders als erwartet – es steckt noch mehr menschliches und engelhaftes in ihm, als sie sich gedacht hatte. Dabei ist Lucifer kein leichter Gesprächspartner. Kaum hat sie einige Sätze an ihn gerichtet verschwindet er immer wieder und sie muss zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt wiederkommen. Dennoch ist da etwas, das sie immer wieder zu ihm zieht.

Lucifer ist nicht das personifizierte Böse. Er muss eigene Qualen leiden, hört immerzu das Chaos und den Lärm der Hölle um sich, obwohl er sich nur Ruhe wünscht, seine eigentliche Form (mit Flügeln) ist ihm in der Hölle hinderlich, sodass er sie verändern muss und in sich selbst spürt er ein Monster lauern, das ihn in Wut, in Rage versetzt und zum Durchführen brutaler Taten bringt. Bei seiner Verbannung wurden ihm Emotionen gegeben und die Fähigkeit zu fühlen.

Serah gehört noch zu den Engeln, sie kann nicht riechen, schmecken aber glaubt zu fühlen, wenn sie mit dem Erzengel Michael zusammen ist. Sie glaubt ihn zu lieben. Dies geht sogar soweit, dass sie miteinander schlafen. Allerdings dürfen sie sich dabei nie der Sünde der Lust ergeben um nicht zu fallen. Samuel ist ein Bestandteil ihres Lebens, ein Zwillingsbruder, der ihr immer viel bedeutet hat. Sie kann es nicht verstehen, dass alle anderen Engel ihn nun vergessen müssen und nicht mehr über ihn sprechen. Sie möchte verstehen, was mit ihm passiert ist. Sicher ist das auch ein Grund dafür, dass sie sich auf Gespräche mit Lucifer einlässt und beginnt ihn zu verteidigen – sehr zum Missfallen Michaels.

Die Geschichte ist locker geschrieben, hält sich nicht mit unnützen und langatmigen Erklärungen auf, ist aber dennoch verständlich. Sie wird aus Sicht Serahs erzählt. Gleich zu Beginn werden die Vorstellungen von Himmel und Hölle erläutert. Dabei besteht der Himmel hier aus unterschiedlichen Plätzen, von denen manche auch der Vorstellung der Verstorbenen entsprungen sind. Die Hölle hingegen ist ein konkreter Ort unter dem Erdmantel, der als Gefängnis dient und nur durch sieben Portale (die sich witzigerweise in Pennsylvania befinden) erreicht werden kann. Die Geschöpfe der Hölle entsprechen keinem Klischee, was mir sehr gut gefallen hat. Dämonen sind keine bösartigen Wesen, die aus einer Laune heraus geschaffen wurden, sondern werden damit erklärt, dass die menschliche Seele nur eine bestimmte Menge an Qualen aushält, bevor sie zerbricht und zu etwas Neuem wird.

Das Buch hat mich in seinen Bann gezogen - ich konnte einfach nicht aufhören zu lesen, bis ich wusste, wie die Geschichte weitergeht.