Review: "Salvation" by Robin Covington (Nashville Nights #2)
Note: This ebook was provided by Barclay Publicity via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
She may have won a dozen medals during the games but Carlisle Queen lost so much more when terrorists planted bombs in the athlete's village, killing her boyfriend and friends and leaving her with shrapnel embedded in her back and other injuries. It was a miracle she survived, but the shrapnel may have put an end date on that miracle, with doctors telling her she could end up having paraplegia or simply be dead one day. There's only one surgeon capable of performing a surgery that could remove the shrapnel, even though doing so will not guarantee she'll ever have the mobility she did before the bombing, but he's already turned her case down, leaving her with only one viable option: taking her own life before her condition worsens and she's forced to spend what's left of it in a wheelchair.
After everything that's happened to her after bombing, Carlisle has taken her life back and refuses to engage in deep or committed relationships, preferring to meaningless hook-ups. This is why she avoids Mateo Butler, because even though she knows he also sleeps around, the chemistry between them has always been off the charts and beneath his cool and confident exterior, she suspects he's truly a nice guy. When Carlisle gives in to her basic needs and finally hooks up with Mateo, they both know one time isn't enough. As much as they try to avoid falling for one another, fate has other plans but when Mateo learns of Carlisle's plan to end her life, will memories of his sister's death break them apart or bring them together and give them the possibility of becoming each other's salvation?
My expectations for this second installment in the Nashville Nights series were high, what with how much I loved the first book, but goodness, Robin Covington took a route I didn't see coming with Carlisle Queen and Mateo Butler's love story in Salvation and I just become so invested with these two seemingly rudderless souls. No one could touch Carlisle in the water, winning medal after medal in swimming competitions, but after losing her beloved boyfriend and suffering through numerous injuries and even more surgeries, she refuses to go anywhere near a pool and numbs her pain with drugs, both the synthetic and herbal varieties. Mateo lost the person closest to him--his sister--when she chose to end her life because of a medical diagnosis and since then, what was once a clear road map of his life has become out of focus and confusing, leaving him unsure of what to do and where to go next.
I liked that Carlisle and Mateo were already acquaintances and didn't have to go through the whole first meeting scene, giving the beginning section of the book an already different feel. There are some parts of the story that did go as I predicted, but the parts that didn't caught me unaware and I found myself unprepared for where Carlisle and Mateo veered off to, leaving me with a heart squeezing for what these two had to face as a couple. There was a lot of angst going on, especially on Carlisle's end, and I may not have fully agreed with some of the choices they made, but goodness, how could I not root for these two to get to their much deserved happily ever after? Even with all the drama, the story never felt melodramatic or overly angsty, because the emotions Carlisle and Mateo were feeling came off as real, something we could be able to have some amount of understanding and empathy toward.
As was the case with book one, I so appreciated the best friends and family these lead characters had, because they provided even more life and balance to the story and weren't simply decorative. While Mateo is cousins with Max Butler, the male lead character from Temptation, and he and Kit Landry do make appearances here, this can totally be read as a standalone. Though, if you've read enough of my reviews that have to do with books that are part of a series, you should already expect me to suggest that you read the books in order. They're both really good books so it'll be time well spent on your part. Also, the third book involves Kit's sister and Mateo's best friend, so I'm thinking my suggestion is a pretty good one, don't you think? With Salvation, my love affair with Robin Covington's books continues, and I bought the book after reading the ARC. This is another 2015 favorite and five-star read. ♥
Date Read: 16 May 2015
Learn more about Robin Covington here.
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