A broken and battered U.S. Marine. A rock-and-roll diva who’s just been dumped. When there’s nothing left to lose, will you turn to the one person who can save you?
A dozen years ago, they were high-school sweethearts, until life took them in different directions. Marine Mike Lindstrom lived and breathed the Corps until an IED ended his career and took away the most precious thing in his life. Emotionally and physically broken, he’s come home to the small Maine town of Jackson Falls to heal. But Mikey’s not the man he once was. Angry, bitter, and grieving, he’s adrift, lost in a sea of anxiety, nightmares, and well-meaning family. He's as broken as Humpty-Dumpty, and nobody can put him back together.
Then Paige MacKenzie walks back into his life.
Rock-and-roll royalty, Paige was recently dumped and publicly humiliated by her fiancé. She’s come home to lick her wounds and wait for the media frenzy to die down before she returns to L.A. to finish her next album. The first person she runs into is the man she almost married at seventeen. The last she’d heard, Mikey Lindstrom was halfway around the globe, saving the world. They haven’t spoken in twelve years. Until now, that was just fine by her.
So why does it feel like Mikey’s drowning, and she’s the only one who can save him?
Come home to Jackson Falls. You'll be glad you did.
Laurie Breton is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic suspense and women's fiction. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her two grown children and with her two grandchildren, who are the light of her life. If you went looking, you might find her at the beach, or attending a sidewalk art festival, or walking the streets of Boston. Laurie lives in a small town in Maine with her husband and two adorable dogs named River and Jasmine.
I loved this story (recommended by a friend and my first time reading Laurie Breton). Mikey and Paige are perfect together. Mikey is an exquisitely complex wounded hero, an honorable, tough and tender former Marine filled with too much pain and sorrow. There’s a great cast of secondary characters too. And the way music and bands/musicians are interwoven through the story is lovely. I was delighted with the character of Gunther, a Vietnam veteran, and his old record collection, which included some protest songs by Neil Young’s first bands (Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young). An awesome and very satisfying read!
I could not wait to read Mikey and Paige's story and Ms. Breton did not disappoint. I love the angst that is always present in her storytelling, and the perfect placement of the love story as it fell into place. The chemistry between the two characters was ever present and I can not wait to read more about them. Five stars
Paige and Mikey get their story told....last we saw them they were teenagers going their separate ways. Years later ...what has life been like for them. I was so excited to find out !!
Face the Music is awesome, sad, inspiring and sexy all wrapped up into one epic romance. Paige now a super star musician and Mikey now a war veteran, have been given a second chance to re-ignite their once teen love..... but they are different people now....much different. Can they leave their past behind and trust the feelings they feel when they are together? With all that is going on in their heads can they trust their hearts?? I hope so !!!
Please make this must read a beginning to many more stories of the next generation of Jackson Falls. After-all the first generation of Jackson Falls had me glued to the pages of their lives . Great job Laurie Breton. Thank you for the giving us more MacKenzie's !!! Never enough Casey and Rob !!!
I love a good series and the jackson falls series was great. I like a romance with a good story to get into and this was that. The characters were well defined and interesting, and the topics well explored. The only down side is there was perhaps a little bit too much tragedy. Still, I'm hoping there will be more because I can't get enough of the characters.
All the faithful Jackson Falls reader's waited a long time for this story. It did not disappoint. I have read ever one of Laurie Breton's books and enjoyed them all. This book could stand alone, but I would recommend reading them in order. I hope the "Jackson Falls Book 1" means more to follow. I eagerly anticipate the next book.
I was so excited to go back to Jackson Falls with Paige & Mikey's story! Laurie Breton nailed it, once again, by taking us on Paige & Mikey's journey, while reconnecting with their families. I'll be waiting (impatiently) for the next book in the Beyond Jackson Falls series!
This book was a little different from what I normally read but I have read her other books and decided to take a chance on it and I really liked it.👍 👍 👍 I won't give any spoilers but get that tissue box ready, you will need it and it's all worth it. ☺ Thanks again for the great read. I hope there will be more in this series.
I loved being back in Jackson Falls and to finally get a conculsion for Mikey and Paige. Well their story was a turbulent one but at last a happy ending. I liked Mikey's history, that made the story so very heart felt and how he delt with everying. Paige was a peach, she was so strong and they were so perfect for each other. Overall this was a perfect series for me and i just loved all the characters.
Really well done all the way around. Very good writing, characters that seem real, plot that seems realistic and not far-fetched. A lot of heart here. Not as steamy as the books I usually read, but a 100% romance. It was the first book I have read from this author and I hope her others are just as good. Very impressive.
This was my first Laurie Breton book and it was a very enjoyable one. The story itself was beautiful and I loved the characters and chemistry between them. I did find it a bit long winded at times but that is my only criticism. I'd recommend it and I'll definitely read this author's work again.
Interesting young love novel. Well developed characters, storyline, nothing to complain about. A new author for me, whom I will be checking out in the future. Read It in about 6.5 hours. Good book for the weekend
As with the other Jackson Falls books it is sad when the book ends! I always check our Laurie Breton to see if there is a new addition to the series. Looking forward to another Paige & Mikey book or a book about the escapades of their teenage sisters...
God, I love the Jackson Falls books. Every time I read one, I'm amazed at how (and I mean this in the best sense possible) human the characters are. I feel like I know them, or could run into one of them at the gas station down the street. They all have passions and problems of their own, taste in music I can appreciate ;-), likes and dislikes, and flaws I think anyone can relate to. They're wonderfully three-dimensional. A delight to read. And frankly, they're a blessed relief from the cardboard cutouts many authors present as characters, that we're meant to accept and root for simply because they're there.
I fell in love with Mikey and Paige in the same moment they did and was heartbroken when the Jackson Falls series ended with them so far away from one another. Thank you, Laurie Breton, for bringing them back. This book is lovely and more than does them justice. I sincerely hope to see more of them and the other characters we've grown to love in future installments.