Why did the heroine’s sister hate her so much? That was my main issue with this book. Lucy’s sister, Lyric, hated EVERYONE. The only person Lyric ever cared for was her husband, Graham’s alcoholic, abusive, jackass father, a man who was so twisted he stunted his own son’s emotional growth. 

This was a weird book. I loved the love story. I loved the happy ending. I loved the hero, Graham. I really liked the heroine, Lucy. I liked professor Oliver and several other peripheral characters. 

The rest of the book was a little weird and “off” for me.

The oldest sister, Lyric, was responsible. When their flighty, hippie mother didn’t pay the rent or moved herself and her three daughters to and fro, the older sister suffered. So what? Get over it. She was loved, and she was fed and cared for. She was jealous of our heroine, Lucy, because Lucy was just like mom and mom loved Lucy best. That’s the reason why Lyric is a cold, nasty bitch? That was a ridiculous reason. 

Lyric, who now calls herself Jane, gets pregnant by someone other than her husband (he has no clue). She runs away for a year and abandons her husband and her sickly newborn while the baby is still in the NICU. What happened to the idea that Lyric was so serious and responsible?  That irresponsible behavior just didn’t fit. She hated the flighty hippie mother and her flighty free-spirited sister. So she acts flighty herself??

Lucy, of course, saves the day. She steps in and helps Graham raise the baby. She teaches him about love along the way. 

Then there was the other sister, Mari. She has cancer and she’s dying (we think). Then her husband runs off when things are at their darkest. He’s gone for a couple of years or more, and Mari takes him back again. Her character did a complete 180 degree turn. She went from sweet and loving to vicious and mean, and she was mean to the wrong person. She should’ve attacked the useless ex-husband and instead she attacks Lucy. 

Lucy was a bit of a doormat. She was sweet and emotional. She took care of everyone. I loved her with Graham. I loved her with Talon, Lyric’s daughter. 

Graham had been abused by his awful father when he was a child. Seeing him learn how to love and love his daughter was sweet. It was inevitable that he and Lucy would fall in love. I loved that he never once wavered. He never once gave  up on Lucy or their love. I knew Lyric would return one day. That was also inevitable. I loved the fact that Graham didn’t rush to fix things with her. He was done with Jane/Lyric, and that was great. He was a strong hero who grew along the way. 

Overall, I liked the book. I just didn’t get some of the characters. Lyric was too one-dimensional. She made no sense at all. There should have been a better explanation for what made her that way.

By the way, the cover doesn’t fit the story. The hero was not musclebound, he didn’t  have a tattoo, and he didn’t have a beard. This model doesn’t fit how I pictured Graham at all.