Review: Under the Influence by L.B. Simmons (Chosen Paths #1)
I find myself utterly fascinated, awe-struck even, that there are people actually capable of truly loving someone without wondering when and how they will be betrayed. However, the knowledge of their existence also saddens me because the cold reality is, I will never know that type of love. I will never know the freedom to just be with someone, without pretense or fabrication, without the endless lies and untruths.
Maybe that’s why I keep holding onto Spencer when I know I shouldn’t. When all my instincts scream for me to let her go, to cut those ties and just let her be.
I can’t.
I’m too selfish.
Dalton Greer doesn't need to get close to Spencer Locke because they've been that way since they first met on her front porch five year ago. It's remaining close that Dalton knows will end up being a detriment to Spencer. He isn't a good influence in her life, but he can't seem to break free of the habit that is Spencer. He's addicted to her and everything she represents. He doesn't want his darkness to block out her light, but he also refuses to let her go...until the time comes when he has no other choice but to walk away from the only girl he's ever loved. He knows she's broken her trust and crushed her heart, but staying away from her is something he needs to do in order to protect her. Spencer may already hate him for letting her go, but the thing that keeps Dalton going is the belief...the hope...the faith that one day, he will return to her.
Prior to this latest release, I'd read every single book that bestselling author L.B. Simmons has published, and while this may have taken me longer than usual to get to, especially since it's been sitting in my tablet via my Kobo app since May (damn you, never-ending to-be-read list!), it is quintessential L.B. Simmons--tugging on my heartstrings to the point of fraying them, making me feel the thrill of first love, the despair of first heartbreak, the need to move forward but not wanting to, and the endless well of hope that true love will find a way. Dalton Greer and Spencer Locke are the kind of couple, whether fictional or not, that are simply meant to be together, and even when circumstances pull them apart for years--threatening both of their sanities (does "sanity" even have a plural form?)--fate intervenes in its very own perfect time.
Dalton's life has been far from easy, his past leading him on a path that he should have veered away from if he could have, but then he feels like he has no other choice but to continue on. After all, he still had Spencer in his life and to him, that was the one thing that always mattered to him. When everything falls apart, he ends up on a different route, but being with Spencer is an option that has to be put on hold. Of course, Spencer doesn't know what the heck is going on and even though the poor girl valiantly holds on to the hope that true love will prevail and that Dalton will prove the naysayers wrong, weeks that turn into months that result into years of silence leave her with no other option. While all this is happening and knowing what was really going on, I couldn't help but feel terrible for everything these two had to endure.
There's a good dose of suspense in this love story, and that suspense leads to that feeling of anticipation as to what the future holds for Dalton and Greer, and how, when the time comes that their paths will inevitably intersect once again, will they handle it all. Yes, this new adult story combines the friends-to-lovers trope with that of the second chance romance theme, but it distinguishes itself by giving readers a tale that's different, one that's not just about falling in love, but also about seeking redemption and garnering absolution. Then there's seeking justice, but within parameters requiring patience and sacrifice. The January 2016 release of Out of Focus answers my question about Cassie Cooper and Grady Bennett (TBR time!). If you have yet to read the five-plus-starred Under the Influence, rectify that oversight today. ♥
Date Read: 05 December 2015
Learn more about L.B. Simmons.
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