From Here to You by Jamie McGuire Pages: 384
Series: Crash and Burn #1
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Colorado Springs
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Goodreads
As Darby Dixon sits in a tiny Texas church bathroom on her wedding day holding a positive pregnancy test, she realizes that of all the bad decisions she's made in her life, marrying her abusive fiancé would be the worst. She's never been able to stand up for herself, but she'll sure as hell stand up for her baby. With just the cash she has on hand, she runs to get a bus ticket to the farthest place she can afford. Between her sheer grit and pageant-queen smile, she lands a job as a front desk clerk at the Colorado Springs Hotel. It's not a glamorous life, but she and her baby are all that matters.
A former Marine, Scott "Trex" Trexler has worked in the most dangerous, corrupt, war-torn places on earth. Now he finally has a chance to return to the last place he'd felt at peace--Colorado Springs, Colorado, to take a new job with the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, a top-secret military installation buried deep within the granite.
The moment Trex walks into the inn, Darby knows he's dangerous. There's no way she wants to get involved with another man who seems to be keeping way too many secrets. As charming and devastatingly gorgeous as Trex is, he clearly isn't telling her everything. But as wildfires rage on the mountain and Darby's ex-fiancé shows he isn't so willing to let her go, both she and Trex are soon to find out that what you don't know absolutely can hurt you.
From here to You is the newest Jamie McGuire romance and fans of her Maddox brothers will love this! Let me start with the things that bothered me. Why you ask? Because I still loved this book regardless!
- Darby is one of those girls that is so beautiful, everyone wants her. I’m kind of tired of this too gorgeous heroine. I am over the author constantly pointing out how pretty and desired the heroine is. Its shallow and vapid.
- Why are characters so against letting someone help them? I understand the fear that getting help will allow someone else to control you, but I think stories like this send a bad message to women in abusive situations. Trying to get away without support is dangerous. There are so many amazing agencies that do amazing work. When authors write a heroine who eschews any and all support, they are putting women in danger.
Ok, so now that I have mentioned my irritation, let me share why I liked the book despite that! I love the girl on the run trope. Darby is running from an abusive fiancee who doesn’t know she is pregnant yet. She runs to Colorado Springs and accepts a job as a night desk clerk at a hotel. Filled with “hotshots” who are fighting the wildfires, she meets Trex. Trex has a top secret job that he can’t share with anyone. So, he lets everything think he is one of the government agency guys here for the fire effort. Trex knows that Darby is “the one” for him right away. But what can he do? Once she finds out he is ex-military, she will bolt.
If you enjoyed the angsty Maddox series, you will love From Here to You. Filled with that same angst, the love story between Darby and Trex is push/pull. She isn’t going to trust easy, and Trex has lots of secrets. Throw in jealous former lovers and an abusive ex-fiancee and you have plenty of drama to keep you going! Also, there is a very interesting dichotomy between Trex’s religious beliefs (atheist) and Darby’s (Christian). I though McGuire did a marvelous job of showing why each character believed what they did and how to appropriately handle differences in religion in a relationship. It was very well done and she blended it seamlessly into the story. Finally, I love that Trex was the one who was looking for “the one”. I thought it was incredible that he had been talking about her to friends and family since high school. It made Trex, despite his flaws, a very swoonworthy hero. I’m also still really curious about what in the hell is going on at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and hope it will be further explored in future books!
- POV: dual 1st
- Tears: yes
- Trope: on the run
- Triggers: View Spoiler »
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
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Lead Me Home by AL Jackson, True to You by Jennifer Ryan, Survive the Night by Katie Ruggle, Ultimate Sacrifice by KC Lynn…then you will probably like From Here to You!
From Here to You
Thanks for the fantastic review and yes often we don’t want to be helped and I don’t know why! Pride?