Dare to Live

Dare to Live, The Maxwell Series,  S.B. Alexander

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Women's fiction, Romance

*sigh* Women's Fiction – just why? Why exclude men, why shouldn't they enjoy romance too? Many of them even write romance so why do we cut them out like this?
Rant over....

I was sucked in by the description, and didn't notice it was book five til too late. Still, each are stand alone reads so it wasn't a huge issue. I think though if I'd read earlier books I'd probably have got more from this, as it is its a decent read but didn't have any magic for me and I found myself putting it aside for something else several times. Given there's a slew of reviews from people that adore the story clearly its one of those reads where its Me not the book that's out of step ;-).

I hadn't realised Kody was so young, just 21, and Mack too was similar age. Somehow I'd got the idea the characters were all late 20's early 30's. It only matters in that for me at 21 he/they just haven't usually experienced enough of life to be so mature in outlook, to be so decided about family, kids etc. Most guys at that age are still finding their feet, deciding on priorities ( Beer!!) I'm using a very rough generalisation there of course.
Then there's Jessie, a little older but wow – that girl has the trails of job. Still grieving her mum's death, who has her older wheelchair bound brother for whom she feels responsible, the financials of their struggling business and the breast cancer gene scenario to deal with. On top of that she gets even more drama heaped on as the story flows, accident, obsessive behaviour from an ex one nighter, possible singing stardom....

In a way I felt there was so many things happening here that it was hard for any one of them to really form a solid part. The story seemed to be so packed. Even Kody's parents were multi layered and had lots going on. I often whinge about too simple, one plot reads, but this almost went to other extreme. Again, if I'd been following the series I think it would have flowed naturally, instead all these events and characters seemed to overload the romance between Jessie and Kody for me. My bad for not being observant enough, and if you're in a similar position I'd say start with book one.

Stars: A good story but which didn't really make more than an OK read for me though.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

Kody had lost a lot in his young life and almost list his own life, so when he meets Jessie and is drawn to her in a way that he hasn't experienced in a long time, he tells himself to stay away. The only problem is that his heart, which he thought was barricaded forever, won't let him give up. Jessie has also had a lot of turmoil and lots in her life and has just found out some life-changing news, so she is also afraid to admit her feelings.
Each character had valid reasons for not wanting to get involved: he was afraid that he would lose her the same way he lost the only woman he had ever loved and she was afraid he would leave her when she told him he medical 'secret'. Add in that a closer family friend is in love with with her and is one of the people who almost ended his life and it almost seems like there is too much to overcome.
The side story of the music was good and the story of her brother, as well as the friend were also good stories and I hope to see more of them in future books. Although there were times that I wanted to shake both Kody and Jessie because they weren't communicating, it was a wonderful second chance story.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.