Pieces of Me
Author: Shiloh Walker
Reviewer: VampBard
Rating: A
What I’m Talking About:
Pieces of Me is a book about survival, first and foremost. Well, to me, anyway. Shadow Harper is living with the hell her ex created, and she’s learning to move past it—using whatever coping strategies she needs to use. Readers need to know that there’s a lot of domestic abuse and emotional abuse flashbacks in this book, and it isn’t for the feint-hearted.
I was really conflicted and made to think while reading this title, however. I think that Shadow did herself a solid—so readers will see a survivor. What I wasn’t so keen on was how it seemed like she let Jenks in pretty fast, but I could overlook that in the name of the ‘leap of faith’ I try to use when reading. I thought a lot, that’s for sure. I’m not even really sure her relationship with Jenks is important enough to legit be on the table. It’s the act of trusting again and finding balance that was important, in my opinion.
I struggled with the ending—things aren’t tied up in a neat little bow. I wonder if Ms. Walker is going to give us another title in this universe. There’s enough room for that to happen.
As is customary when I review a romantic suspense, I can’t write a lot in my review without spoilers, so I don’t. Just know this is an important story, and one that needs to be told. I was riveted to the page from beginning to end—in typical Shiloh Walker style.
My Rating: A, Loved It
About the Book:
Obsession can be deadly…
Nobody knows that better than Shadow Harper. It seemed like a dream come true when a rich, suave older man noticed her during her second year of college. Stefan Stockman seemed to love her obsessively. He came into her life and swept her off her feet, seduced her, married her…and then slowly, eventually, that dream come true became a living nightmare.
Now, three years after she finally escaped him, she’s trying to put her life back together. Haunted by memories, struggling with post-traumatic stress, she spends most of her time locked away in her home on Pawley’s Island, a small town on the South Carolina coast. Her rare moments of joy come from her trips to the nearby beach.
She compulsively checks the locks on her doors, makes sure she has her cell phones—five of them—and if she misses something on her schedule, it throws her into a panic.
When she accidentally leaves a sketchbook on the beach, an anxiety attack seems imminent. Her art has become her salvation, her sanity, and losing even one sketch is like losing a piece of her soul. When she returns to hunt for the sketchbook, already fearing it’s gone for good, she’s surprised to find it still sitting there, saved by a sexy fellow beach lover—the mysterious Dillian Jenkins.
He’s brash, bold, brutally handsome…and gentle. He’s the exact opposite of the man who’d tormented her for years, and Shadow finds herself slowly, almost reluctantly, falling for him. Even obsessing over him.
When her ex-husband once again intrudes on the happiness she’s finally discovering, Shadow turns to Dillian. But will she find shelter there…or another betrayal?
Release Date: July 25, 2017
Publisher: self-published
Series: Standalone
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format(s): paperback (176 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author/NetGalley
Purchase Info:
Amazon