"If you asked ten thousand couples you'd hear ten thousand tales. And they might all be pretty damn close to the same love story, with slight variations, each perhaps told a little bit differently. This was mine."
Angela Durant, the heroine of Reckless Point's final thoughts rang so true for me...because reading this debut novel from Cora Brent brought back such vivid memories for me of my childhood, growing up in a time when parents treated their adult children like they were still teenagers and going "home" to the one who would always be yours...it made me nostalgic and teary eyed.
I probably went about things backwards since I had already read Cora Brent's three biker books and then her Gentry brothers books before I gave a look at her debut novel. Some authors start off not so great and only improve with experience...I want to make it clear that this book was just as fulfilling, full of complex and relatable characters and seriously sexy romance, as her more recent works and I absolutely LOVED every word.
When Angela catches her boyfriend with his pants down, literally, she heads home to her parents house for the 4th of July weekend alone...and back into the familiar and not-so-happy place she escaped from. Everything was the same, from the old houses to the town that seemed to be stagnant and had seen better days, to the same miserable people who lived their lives in sad acceptance and familiarity. When she sees her neighbor, town bad-boy Marco (who she grew up with and hung around with her brother) and they lock eyes after all these years, attraction that had been dormant for years flares up and let me tell you there were more flaming fireworks between them than at the 4th celebrations! I pretty much fell in love with him, Angela and their whole damn love story because it was just so well written and brought back memories of my own return "home" after being gone for many years.
There were some times where Angela's father and Marco would say similar things and you get a sense that sometimes people are way more alike than they would ever believe and no matter how old your parents are, they were once young too and probably experienced life in the same carefree way that you do...it was just so insightful.
The author's attention to details and to the histories of all the characters, made the reader feel like we really knew these people and I appreciated how we were given background stories to clarify events that were occuring as these two lovers found their way to each other.
A beautiful universal love story with a cool old time vibe (no cell phones and music that was part of my younger days) made this one a favorite for me. What an awesome debut book and sweet story about discovery and realizing that you don't have to run away from home to find freedom or happiness.
***** 5 ***** "going home to where you belong" stars