Review: Spring Shadows

Release Date: October 1, 2014 

Published by: Booktrope Editions

Genre: Romance, Women's Contemporary 

Buy It Now: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes

  Summary

Lydia wasn’t looking for love. Having just finalized a difficult divorce, she attended her best friend’s destination wedding with a simple plan: to reconnect with old friends and take a much needed break from the stresses of single parenthood. But life had more in store for her. In AUTUMN GETAWAY, Book One of the Seasons of Love series, Lydia connected with charming, sensitive Sam over that weekend, and took a chance on someone new. Then, in WINTER HOPES, Sam and Lydia explored the excitement of blossoming romance. Even though a long distance relationship isn’t easy, in each other they found renewed hope, both overcoming past losses to learn to trust and love again.

Now, in SPRING SHADOWS, Book Three of the series, author Jennifer Gracen brings Lydia and Sam one step closer to lasting happiness. But it isn’t all romance and roses. The realities of a long distance relationship held between Chicago and New York start to take a toll. Add in the complications posed by Sam’s overprotective brother, Lydia’s difficult ex-husband, and an unexpected tragedy, and it all threatens to tear them apart before they’ve even begun to truly be together.

Lydia and Sam must face their pasts and come to terms with old fears and insecurities. They need to focus on the things that really matter: true love, forgiveness, compassion, and fearless commitment--another leap of faith. Full of the sweetness and heartfelt emotion you’ve come to expect from the Seasons of Love series, SPRING SHADOWS shows us the power of purposeful communication, understanding, and unrelenting self-awareness, proving that true, lasting love is possible when nurtured by healing and hope.

 Holy emotions, Batman!

Grab some tissues and be prepared to shed some tears with this one, my lovelies.

Spring Shadows is the third installment in the Seasons of Love series by Jennifer Gracen. I had the pleasure of reading the first two and was looking forward to the continuing story of Sam and Lydia and Gracen did not disappoint.

The roller coaster of emotions this one puts you through is exhausting—in a good way. Gracen has a way of making you care about her characters and when they hurt you hurt. When they’re angry and betrayed you feel exactly the same way.

If you read my review, then you will know there was an incident in Winter Hopes that really got my blood boiling and I felt a little hatred for Sam at that moment. I can’t give too much away without splashing a big SPOILER sign on this review so I won’t say much, but, as promised, that incident did come to light in Spring Shadows. Ugh. My fury matched Lydia’s when she discovered it. Her reaction was exactly the kind of reaction I would have had. If you want to get into the technicalities of it all, then fine, technically Sam didn’t really do anything wrong. But our head and our hearts don’t always agree, am I right? And Gracen hits that target perfectly.

I really love that Sam and Lydia’s characters aren’t portrayed as this happy-go-lucky newly in love couple where nothing goes wrong and they live in a world where everything is perfect. Couples have problems, particularly couples who are individuals with baggage like Sam and Lydia have. Gracen gives them real obstacles to face, and makes everything part of their life fit into the story somehow. Even Matt, Lydia’s ex-husband, is real and believable with his actions and attitude towards Lydia and the new man in her life. His threats regarding Andy (Matt and Lydia’s son) were bang on. I could totally see that happening to someone that I actually know.

But Gracen doesn’t stop there. Towards the end she throws us a curve ball no one saw coming—a heart wrenching one at that. This is where you will need your tissues, people. Maybe a whole friggin’ box of them.

There is one more book to come in this series, and I cannot wait to see how this story ends for everyone involved.