ARC received from author for an honest review
I have loved this series from the minute I first started reading "It All Started with a Lima Bean", and I have to say, it just keeps getting better and better.
Tangled Paths is the 3rd book in the series, but it could be read as a stand alone - but why would you want to miss out on the two beautiful stories before it? Plus, it gives you a much better idea of the other characters and relationships.
So, we have known Bri since the first book, and we first met Josh during the second book, but this third book is their story right from the beginning.
And what a story it is! I was drawn in right from the get go. The beginning of Bri and Josh's "relationship" is not a pretty one. I may or may not have had a tear in my eye for one or both of them, and might have possibly mentally bitch slapped Josh numerous times!
As we get to the here and now, I could completely understand Bri's ill-feeling towards Josh. I know I would have done more than give him the stink eye!! But they do say that there is a fine line between love and hate and she is toeing that line pretty closely!
You can feel the tension between Bri and Josh, it jumps off the page at you. There is lust, attraction, confusion all thrown into a tight ball and BAM hits you in the face. I wanted to bang their heads together to tell them to get their act together, or throw them in a darkened room and see what happened!
Well, that sort of happened, but on an island not in a darkened room, but the results were pretty darn hot!
My heart broke over and over for Bri as we learnt more about the troubles she has with her mother. Gah!! Her mother is a 100% grade a BITCH! There was not one redeeming quality in that woman! It is a wonder that Bri is as normal, and (seemingly) unaffected as she is.
Josh, Josh, Josh. Oh how wonderful I think you are. Not so much the younger Josh, but I love the man that you have made yourself today.
So, can Bri and Josh move on from the past and have a beautiful future together?
Nuh uh, for that you are going to have to read for yourself!
There is a wonderful cast of secondary characters (who if you have read the previous 2 books you will already love). Love this motley crew of family and friends! And it goes to show that family is not just blood, it is the people who love you for who you are, as you are, warts and all. And this is a beautiful family they are creating.
Ms Flores' writing just keeps getting better and better. Tangled Paths is a lot darker than the other two books in the series, dealing with issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, mental abuse and the effects it has on it's victims. She deals with these issues sympathetically and you cannot help but feel for the characters
She has completely seduced me with this series, and now I am impatiently waiting for the next book in the series, Grafted Vines