Reading this book I ran the gamut of emotions. Patience has so much to deal with and her story tore my heart out. Couple that with Zeke's life and the two of them are destined for a bumpy road. I warn you there is incest, abuse, drug use, and other emotionally charged issues woven throughout their story. I found Vargo's writing fresh and well done. The story is well told. The characters are completely developed and their world is vividly created on page.
Patience and Zeke made me crazy. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse for them, something else happened to tear them apart. They are both incredibly stubborn and independent, but need each other to hold the pieces together. I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted them together in the end though. They had so much history to overcome it seemed too much. In the end, their love for each other is enough. The sum of their experiences pulls them together.
Finn and Faith are another story Vargo created out of Zeke's story. Finn and Zeke are bandmates and hit it big, but before that, they both struggle with being from the wrong side of the tracks. In Zeke's book, Finn is the solid friend and level headed one. He came to be this way after a rough childhood and losing the woman he loved. You hear about her briefly in the first book and then you get the big picture in their own part of the novel.
Faith is a preacher's daughter who is straight-laced and sheltered. She is also beaten in the name of the Bible and kept under lock and key. Finn is in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up having community service for a crime he didn't commit. He meets Faith and decides it might not be so bad. The two clash and come together, her innocence drawing him like a moth to a flame, but they are not meant to be together if her father has anything to say about it.
Similar emotionally heavy topics are woven into their story. Each chapter is told from alternating POV's so as a reader you get the big picture. Sometimes though, the pieces of the puzzle don't come together right away. The stories are heart wrenching and at times I wanted to put the book down, but I had to keep reading! Finn needed me! I love Finn. He is the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to meet, even if he is a bit rough around the edges.