Review: Grayson's Vow by Mia Sheridan (Sign of Love #8)
Note: This ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
"There is always pain in this life. Not just for me, not just for you--for everyone. You can't avoid it. And sometimes the pain is so great, it feels as if it carves out the very essence of who you are. But it doesn't, not if you don't allow it to. It carves out a place in you, yes, but love is meant to fill that space. If you let it, pain makes more space for love within you. And the love we carry inside makes us strong when nothing else can."
Kira Dallaire takes one look at Grayson Hawthorn and a plan begins to take shape. He's acceptance of that plan is the key to its success, especially since they're both in financial dire straits at the moment. A desperate person may agree to the strangest of business arrangements--even saying yes to a marriage proposal from a woman he's never met before. Even with both of them prejudging each other from the beginning and engaging in a constant battle of wills, there's an underlying attraction between Kira and Gray. They have far more in common than they earlier realized, including respective pasts with parents that who treated them abhorrently. Can the little witch cast her own kind of spell strong enough to overcome their shadowy fears, one that will show the stubborn dragon he's more than worthy to be loved?
It never ceases to amaze me how Mia Sheridan can make each of her books come to life in such distinct fashion. Her stories are always exquisitely written, every single one standing on their own merit, and her characters capture your heart and leave you with an even stronger belief how empowering true love is. Her latest addition to her Sign of Love books is Grayson's Vow and is a shining reminder of everything I just mentioned. Grayson Hawthorn and Kira Dallaire's respective life stories and their romance that follows spark that feeling of hope that is a common thread in the author's published works. The emotion-filled tale has a certain touch of playfulness to it, but then I wouldn't expect anything less from two main characters who nickname each other "little witch" and "the dragon" soon after their very first interaction.
Gray and Kira endured the less than exemplary parenting they received, but both came out of that in somewhat different ways. While they're both independent, Kira refuses to be shackled to her domineering father and no longer allows herself to be manipulated by his dictates. On the other hand, Gray, upon learning that his late father left him the family-owned winery, believes this was an opportunity entrusted on him to make the man who never failed to remind him he was a mistake proud. There's a twist in the story that I somewhat saw coming, and yet, when it was finally there, I still reacted as if I wasn't aware of it all. That's what happens with Gray and Kira--you can't help but become emotionally invested in these two headstrong but hurt individuals who deserve to live a life together no longer overshadowed by their pasts.
Our pasts can irreparably break us if we allow them to, but the wonderful thing about hope is that once you have it and don't let it go, it's as if you've got a lifeline--a source of strength that makes you believe that you aren't broken beyond repair and makes you want and need to do something about it. Gray and Kira are given the choice to let their pasts dictate their present and future, and the journey they take is far from easy, but it's no less an inspiring one. They may get to certain realizations at different times and sometimes, on their own, but the fact that they become each other's source of strength--each other's hope--means that they're no longer alone and can continue the journey as one. Grayson's Vow gets five-plus stars. If I could give it ten stars, I would. I would even give it ten-fold that. It's that exceptional of a read. ♥
Release Date: 10 September 2015 09 September 2015 (early release!)
Date Read: 09 September 2015
Learn more about Mia Sheridan here.
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