Early Review for "Where There's Smoke" by Elizabeth Lee

Where There’s Smoke

Author: Elizabeth Lee

Publish Date: May 20^th, 2014

***This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity!!***

Summary:

There is something to be said for letting go. Ryland Roberts knows that better than anyone. He'd let go of his ambitions, of his family and—most of all—of her. He'd perfected the art of putting his past behind him and accepted the fact that the town he wanted to leave in his rearview was the place where he was going to live out his days. But sometimes the past doesn't just go away. Sometimes it comes back to haunt you.

Piper Jameson convinced herself that she left for all the right reasons. She'd saved people by leaving—made sure that they weren't tainted by her rebellious ways. When her little sister asks her to come home and say goodbye to their ailing mother, she's forced to see that things aren't always as they seem. The people who she'd left behind might not have been saved at all.

In the amount of time it takes a bullet to travel from point A to point B, Piper and Ryland will have to put their feelings for each other aside and make a choice. Forced on the run with Piper's sister, they begin to understand that the future they thought was gone was never really lost.

Review:

Wow!!! When I read the summary for "Where There's Smoke" I instantly knew I wanted to read it! I couldn't have been happier for do so. This book had the right amount of romance and suspense and it didn't feel overdone.

I loved the characters right away! Piper, the female lead wasn't the good two shoes girl that never did anything wrong. She's that girl that stands up for herself, takes chances, and lives life. Of course there is the background that could have something to do with it, but it doesn't matter. Not all girls are innocent and foolproof. Piper was also the girl that wanted to do what was best for the people around her. She fell in love with someone that she wasn’t expecting. When things don’t happen the way we think they will, we will do anything for the people we love, whether it’s for family or a person that we are in love with.

That goes for Ryland also. When a catastrophe hits the small town or Truitville, Ryland does the unthinkable and stands up for Piper putting his life on hold. Ryland is shy and caring. He’s a sweet and he’s not one of the typical, ‘I think I’m hot’ guys. I loved this. It gets tiring reading about these types of guys all the time. There are definitely things that he did that I wish he didn’t, but not everyone is perfect. Overall, I thought these two characters were developed nicely, but I would have liked to get a little more of them.

Ryland and Piper as a couple are awesome!!! They are a fun couple that brings something different out of each other. They definitely have the chemistry together and they don’t have to try hard for you to see how they feel for each other. The romance aspect was fun and light and it wasn’t overdone. Some scenes can leave a bad taste in your mouth and can also be overabundant, but these scenes were tasteful and perfect.

Throughout this book, you follow the journey of these two. They learn that their actions do have consequences. They learn that through heartache, you can still find love. Mostly is that even though you may be broken, you can heal and you can rise above the hardships that have come your way. They also learn that not everything is as it seems and it comes down to protecting Piper’s sister, Hadley and each other. Hadley, herself, is an interesting character and when I finally put two and two together I was a little disgruntled. However, it didn’t throw me off the book. I can’t wait to see more of character develop in the next book, “There’s Fire”. 

Would I recommend this book to anyone? YES!!! It has everything in place to be a great book. It brought me in from the beginning and I didn’t want to stop reading. This was definitely a great book from Elizabeth Lee!