Blurb/Synopsis

The guy she wants…

Growing up on the coast of Maine with a revolving door of foster siblings, Caitlyn Michaud spent one intense and passionate year falling in love with her foster brother, Heath. Then he left without a word. The betrayal devastated Caitlyn and made her vow to forget the compelling bad boy. But forgetting his sensual touch and their deep all-consuming friendship is easier said than done. Isn’t the guy she needs… Determined to move on, in college Caitlyn has risen above her small town impoverished roots and has joined a sorority, reinvented her appearance, and landed the right boyfriend. Pre-law major and frat president, Ethan, is thoughtful and always laughing, and he makes her feel happy, calm. He also gives her the social acceptance she craves. But the perfect world she tried so hard to attain is ripped apart when Heath appears one night out of nowhere. Caitlyn remembers all the reasons why she loves him, even if they don’t make sense to anyone but her. Out of the military, Heath is as brooding and intense as ever, and he is determined not only to win her back, but to exact revenge on everyone who kept him from her… And when one love allows her to breathe, but the other feels as essential to her life as air, how does she choose between them?

Review by Trish Bacher

4 LONGING STARS

I really enjoyed this book. It’s the first Erin McCarthy book I’ve read and she really did not

disappoint. True love – the one that got away. That person that you never really let go from your heart. The story was told in Cat’s POV and it captured all the feelings of one’s first true love. Feelings of finding your soul mate. Cat and Heath are just that – Soul Mates. From the very beginning Erin McCarthy had me feeling this and so much more for Cat and Heath. Heath “I don’t exist without you, you know that, right? You make me who I am.” A slightly angsty love triangle filled with first true unconditional love, safe, secure love, making choices, friendships, loyalty, heartache, secrets, desire, passion and longing. Cat was in love. In her teens, Heath was her true love. Then he left her. Left without a word. No explanation, no understanding. He broke her heart. Four years on, Cat or Caitlyn as she refers to herself now, has moved on, safe life, safe boyfriend. Ready to marry him and start a normal, secure life. Ethan – the boyfriend. Cool, calm, understanding and flawless as boyfriends go. The life she has made for herself now is one of “what she thinks is the safe option”. Is it really her? Can she be someone she thinks she wants to be? That is until Heath walks back into her “safe” life. She never got over Heath and holds a place in her heart for him and always has. Why is Heath back? Where has he been? Why hasn’t he contacted Cat in 4 years? What will it mean for Cat to have Heath back in her life? So many unanswered questions and secrets to unfold. Ethan becomes insecure after Heath’s arrival and Aubrey (Ethan’s sister and Cat’s best friend) become suspicious of Cat’s past as she never really talked about it. The only thing I would have liked to have seen more of was Ethan fighting harder for Cat/ Caitlyn. I felt that he just sort of let her go. I would have liked to have seen more depth and delving into why Ethan just gave up. The story takes us through Cat/Caitlyn’s relationships with Ethan and Heath. How she loves them both. But loves both differently. Ethan is the man she was going to marry – the safe option and the one she thought she wanted. Heath, on the other hand holds a flame in her heart that has never been let out. The passion and desire she feels for him is overwhelming and she is torn between what is safe and what feels real. Ultimately, this story is a second chance romance of two people reconnecting to find that their fate is to be together. Cat is real. She is so confused about her life and what she wants. Her moments of breakdown felt raw and genuine. Her inner thoughts were honest – even though her actions drove me a little crazy. She struggled with who she was and who she wanted to be. She had to make choices – but what was the right choice for her? Heath & Cat “Do you love me? I asked before I could stop myself. The question felt more important than anything else. I had to hear him say it loud. Just one last time. To hold to me forever. I wasn’t even sure why I said it. I knew it wasn’t fair to ask. I knew that I was only hurting him and myself. He’d already admitted he’d come back to see me. He reared back, burying his hands in his hair. “Fuck. Don’t do this to me. Seriously. Don’t. You know I love you.” “I love you, too.” I was sniffling, and his face blurred in front of me from my tears. “But you’re not in love with me enough. Or if you are, you’re not willing to risk your perfect world for me.” Heath knows what he wants and will do just about anything to get it. He is just strikingly beautiful. Tough and scary on the exterior but gentle and soft on the inside. “I came for you, you know. It’s the only reason I’m here.” He is totally straight forward with Cat, he may have his own secrets which he reveals in his own time, but when it comes to Cat and how he feels, he is direct and unreserved. He is just so sexy, broody, scary and beautiful at the same time. His words just captivated me when he was pouring his feelings out. Heath I’ve loved you for five years. I’ve thought about our one and only time together a million times, wishing I had one more chance, just one more kiss, one more touch. It will always be more than good enough with you. It will always be the ultimate, because you’re my ultimate.” He kissed me.” Do you understand? The romance through this story was wonderful. Heath loved Cat unconditionally. Their souls were connected. The connection they shared was all too crushing and consuming for both of them. It drove Cat wild and crazy. Heath and Cat “Why are you here?” I asked, wiping droplets off of his eyebrows. “Because I couldn’t accept what you said. Because you belong to me. And I belong to you. Cat and Heath.” He ran his finger over the tattoo on the inside of my wrist, brought it to his lips. “Forever. Like I said earlier, it made me feel a range of mixed emotions. I love when a book does this to me. I was anxious to read the next page and wanted to know every little detail to get more out of the characters. It is written beautifully, the characters are portrayed skillfully and the flow of the story was perfect.