This review was hard for me to write, for a few different reasons. First, at the beginning of the book I was teetering between 4-4.5 stars and I hated that because I LOVE Rachel Blaufeld and all of her work. And the only reason I felt this way is because I hated how horribly Alyson saw herself. However, somewhere between the first quarter and the first half of the book it sky rocketed to 5 stars and literally left me craving and yearning for more.
Normally, I start with the heroine, but this time I’m starting with the hero, Jake. Holy smoking hotness, Jake. My heart hurt for him so much in the story, and I wished he was a real person I could hug and comfort.
“But I wasn’t whole. I had a past. A bad one.”
Jake has this hard, tough guy façade but inside, he was one amazingly soft and sweet human being. He was selfless and kind and he knew Alyson (Aly) was the one for him.
“My cheek prickled under her touch and my heart tumbled with emotion. Yes, my bad-ass black heart tumbled.” – SEE?! He. Is. Perfect. Imperfections and all.
Alyson Road—Aly—is a character that you love, but she’s also a character that drives you mad. I hated that she was so hard on herself. I totally understand why, but as a reader, I saw and felt her beauty written throughout the pages.
When something terrible happens to Aly, Jake’s world—and hers—is changed dramatically. I am not going to spoil ANYTHING, but let me just say, I was left in TEARS. I hated that this happened to them when they were just finding out that they BOTH deserved to be happy. Ugh, even just writing about it, shatters my heart into a million tiny pieces.
“We stayed like that for a while, her cheek tucked into my neck, a river of tears falling from her eyes and sliding down my throat.”
Rachel Blaufeld wrote Jake and Alyson’s story exactly as it needed to be. The feelings were real and intense and the words molded together to bring together the life of the characters effortlessly. While reading it, you can’t help but look at your life. Aly and Jake spent so much of their lives denying themselves the happiness they deserved and even when life threw them completely off kilter, they rolled with the punches and came out on top and better than ever.
This is right there at the top with my favorites. I highly recommend Absolution Road, or anything by Rachel Blaufeld. The way she writes is just beautiful, and you feel like you're living life right there with her characters.