I'm a huge fan of Pamfiloff, and this book was everything I love about her writing. She took a simple concept, looking beneath the surface of a person, and turned it into a mesmerizing story full of drama, intrigue and of course love. I'm always invested in her stories, but this was the first time I felt a personal connection to one of them.
Pamfiloff writes about Colt Young, hot rock star who is constantly in trouble. He lands in front of Judge Sarah Alma for the second time. Sarah can't seem to hold it together because she has a huge crush on him. They run into each other after his first court appearance, and sparks fly. It's then that we as the reader realize that there is more to Colt than meets the eye. I Don't normally post any spoilers, but I feel like I must this time to a certain extent. Because this story has an element that hit me hard and very personally. I will try not to give up too much.
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SPOILER:
So it's discovered that Colt has a traumatic brain injury from an accident, and doesn't have much of a short term memory. He writes in his notebook in an effort to try to remember things. He isn't able to reconcile Sarah the Judge with Sarah the woman he is attracted to. I was completely amazed at the detail and love that was put into this character. My sister has a traumatic brain injury from a drunk driver that hit her while she walked across the road. I don't know if Pamfiloff did research, but the details about Colt were spot on. My sister also has poor short term memory and also writes notes to herself to remember. Colt has panic attacks. My sister also has panic attacks. The nature of brain injury is that no two injuries are alike. Everyone is different and everyone deals differently. And some parts of a brain injury are psychological. Colt tries to hold onto what he loves: music. Pamfiloff does what my sister does with her family every day. Makes us wonder what it would be like to not have your memories. We as humans are made up of our memories. My sister now does public speaking and is a member of a coalition for Brain Injury that works directly with the governor. But it was her stamina and personality that helped her get through rehab and become the person she is today. Just like Colt, she found people who helped to shape the new him. People who were willing to see her for more than what they saw on the outside. So this is why this story was personal to me.
Don't get me wrong. The tone is still all Pamfiloff, light and breezy with love as the ultimate goal, even after a scary event happens. It's not all doom and gloom. And the end is wonderful, as we get a glimpse of what's to come in the following books.