Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Nights in Bliss, Colorado #6
Audience: Over 18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC
Release Date: March 5th 2019
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Re-released in a second edition with new content.Every new story that takes me back to the town of Bliss makes me a very, very happy reader. I always expect the craziest of stories, the most intense and heartbreaking backstories, as well as very hot sex scenes. I expect it all, and Lexi Blake delivers each and every time.
The town of Bliss, Colorado, offered Hope McLean a second chance at life, a gift she cherishes every day. Her past was dominated by dark secrets and regret, most of which centered on a man named Christian Grady. All of that was behind her now, years of horror distilled down into the occasional nightmare or a random feeling of being watched. Surrounded by new friends, she tried hard to leave the past where it belonged—in the rearview mirror.
Raised together, James Glen and Noah Bennett were the best of friends. They dreamed of growing up in Bliss, finding love, and settling down to share their lives on the Circle G ranch. James would manage the day-to-day operations of the ranch while Noah served the town as the resident veterinarian. Everything was perfectly planned out, until a woman came between them and their future shattered. Noah left Bliss for New York City and James was left to struggle to keep the Circle G alive on his own.
Noah returns to Bliss on a mission to rebuild his life. When he sees Hope, he knows his return home was meant to be. Hope’s kindness shines like a beacon calling him to her. Unfortunately, he isn’t the only man interested in Hope. James is also interested in the beautiful girl with a mysterious past. He can’t be forced to choose between the woman of his dreams and his best friend again.
As romance begins to bloom, a dark specter from Hope’s past returns to claim her. To save Hope, and themselves, James and Noah will have to rebuild the relationship they lost and fight for their future with Hope together.
Pure Bliss is a story of second chances and forgiving yourself. Each of the three main characters have some redeeming work to do, but also some self forgiveness. James needs to forgive himself for bringing Ally in his family, Noah needs to forgive himself for leaving his brother, and Hope needs to forgive herself for being young and naive. James needs to redeem himself with Hope, for making her believe he didn't want her, Noah needs to make amends with everyone in Bliss, and Hope needs to make amends with herself and her own past.
Hope's story was really hard to read. She was used in the worst possible way, by a man who preyed on people, and she did what she could to escape his clutches, and then she did whatever she could to forget about him. She's a strong character, and like most of Lexi Blake's female characters, she is special and perfect in spite of what happened to her. The scene from the beginning of the book, with her and Alex McKay, broke my heart a little bit. I liked it, but it was also so heartbreaking. We get to see Hope gain confidence in herself, forgive herself for the things she went through, and seeing her come to the realization that she didn't do anything wrong was a powerful moment.
I loved Noah. Seeing him interact with his brother after all those years, and seeing him admit to being ashamed of coming back to Bliss before because of shame made me relate to him so much. Shame can be a paralyzing feeling, and I totally understood him not being able to do anything to make amends before this moment. I also loved James, even though he was a bit too intense at times. I understood his anger at his brother, but at the same time I understood that Noah needed to grow up on his own and away from James.
The story takes a dark turn, but not for long. The pacing is perfect and I read this book really fast. The McKay-Taggart connection wasn't as big as in the previous books, but I'm hoping we'll get to see Hope and Alex have that talk that she got away from.
All in all, I truly loved this book and I can't wait to see what comes next. Obviously, I still keep kicking myself for not having read these books back when they first came out, but I guess better late than never.
AVAILABLE NOW
Amazon | B&N | Apple | Kobo | GooglePlay | Print | Smashwords
