Release Date: November 22, 2013

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Synopsis:

College senior Kate Camden has learned to adapt - to her last year of school, to the promise of motherhood, to the fact that she’s doing it all alone. But just when she’s learned to adjust, heartache threatens to break her apart.

Pro hockey player Jason “Ryke” Ryker has it all: adoring fans, a promising career, and a beautiful wife. But when his seemingly perfect life is shaken by tragedy, he’s left questioning whether having it all is ever more than an illusion.

When circumstance brings Kate and Ryke together, they discover they don’t have to hurt alone. Bound by a grief that haunts them both, they must rely on one another to survive heartbreak. But that grief is more powerful than they realize, and the tie that binds them together may ultimately tear them apart.

Review:

Kate has lost a baby. She got pregnant in her senior year of college and when she told her boyfriend he left her and wanted nothing to do with her or the baby. When she went to her eighteen week sonogram to find out the sex of her baby they discovered there was no heartbeat. Her baby had died in her womb. Now six months later she has graduated college and is looking for a job to pay off her mounds of debt. Every day is hard. Hard to get out of bed. Hard to find a job. Impossible to be happy. Her mother persuades her to go to grief counseling, maybe it would help.

Ryke is a professional NHL player and underwear model. He lost his wife when she was hit by a drunk driver two years ago. Other than a few "puck sluts" he hasn't been with anyone since. He doesn't know if he'll ever be ready for another relationship and with his schedule is it right to bring someone into his life? He still attends a group grief counseling session every week to help get him through. That's where he sees her. Kate. He is instantly drawn to her and when he finds out she needs a job he offers her one. As his personal assistant.

The two of them both have issues with relationships. Ryke's marriage was on the rocks when his wife died. She hated that he was away so often playing and accused him of being unfaithful. Kate feels like she is unworthy of love. The one guy that she was close to left as soon as he found out she was pregnant and treated her like shit when she told him she lost the baby. She hasn't had sex in almost a year and really can't see a time when she will want to again. And she will never get pregnant again.

Watching the relationship build between these two was wonderful. Ryke is a sweetheart, really knows what he wants and is willing to give Kate all the time she needs to heal. This book does not rush the two of them together. It is June when they meet and September before they are ready to start more than the employer/employee relationship even though they are both drawn to each other from the start. I liked that we got to watch both go through their insecurities and come out the other end. This book is a HEA but I would love to read more from these characters. Maybe the author will write about one of Ryke's teammates and we will get a glimpse into what happens with Kate and Ryke?? That would be awesome!

About The Author:

Brenda Rothert started her writing career as a print journalist. She now writes Romances, some Contemporary and others with a twist of dystopian society and adventure. Rothert lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three boys.