*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
There's only one place in the world Lacey Evans feels normal--the roller derby track. When she laces up her skates and fastens her helmet, she'd powerful and in charge. She knows exactly what to do and say. The rules are clear and penalties are given for those who don't follow them. But in the real world, she's far from powerful and in charge. She never knows exactly what to do or say. For years, she counted on one person to be exactly who he said he was--her best friend, Wyatt Tanaka. Only she changed the rules on him, without any warning, and now she's the one being punished.
Marine Veteran, Wyatt Tanaka, came home to a hero's welcome. Only he's hiding a secret that makes him anything but a hero and could potentially destroy his life. He's doing the best he can, trying to cope with the guilt, and the pain of the girl he loves pushing him away by doing all the things he'd sworn not to. With Lacey's new rules, he has nothing and no one to hold onto. Nothing to keep him from feeling dead. Instead, he allows nameless women, bars, drugs, and drinking consume him.
Then one night, he goes too far, gets in too deep, and when the truth comes out…will Lacey push him away or help save him?
Review:
I was looking forward to reading Lacey and Wyatt's story ever since they were introduced in Live For You. Even then the sparks between these two was impossible to deny. Unfortunately after finishing this book I felt a bit disappointed, I just expected more. The story was actually really good, but the execution wasn't up par with the rest of the series.
Ever since Wyatt came back from the war he hasn't been quite the same (which is very understandable) and Lacey denying their relationship isn't helping either. To drown out his sorrows, he finds solace in booze, drugs and women. He is able to hide it really well from all those who care about him, he isn't even being honest about it with his therapist. The only thing he knows he wants is Lacey, but she changed the rules and Wyatt isn't sure he can accept them. Knowing that Lacey is the only good thing in his life, makes it hard to stay just friends, certainly when she moves in with him.
Lacey is a strong girl, even if she suffers from extreme anxiety attacks and is borderline OCD. Rules are what makes her able to cope with life and when things change around her, she doesn't respond well. She has never been diagnosed or even talked to a therapist, but Wyatt has always been the one to help her stay calm.
Now these two have pretty much loved each other since the beginning. So you know something was bound to happen. Even with Lacey pushing him away you expect that. She thinks she is not good enough for Wyatt. That he deserves someone with the same roots, a good education, big goals in her life and someone who doesn't suffer from panic attacks. Meanwhile Wyatt doesn't know what he did wrong for Lacey to push him away, she also doesn't explain it to him. All he knows is that he can not just be friends with the girl he's in love with.
Then some secrets are revealed. Lots of drama going on, still it all happens really fast and is gets glanced over really quickly. Some parts could have used some more details. Also there was a lot of jumping from one moment to the next without a smooth transition. This is mostly towards the ending and because of that it all felt a bit off kilter.
The topics approached in Wish For You aren't the easiest (PTSD, anxiety...) but Marquita Valentine did a really good job on them, though once again she could have gone a bit more in detail for my liking. Wish For You is a good book, but it is not great. It even could have been amazing, there were just too many things that were not quite right. I really liked the other books in the series, this one felt a bit lacking compared to the others.
Connect with Marquita Valentine:
**GIVEAWAY**
(1) Engraved set of dog tags from Things Remembered – Continental US Only
(1) $100 USD Gift Card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble - International
Click the image for the full tour schedule.
Total Book Geek
