Monday, August 29, 2016

Wide Open Spaces By Aurora Rose Reynolds


Before I get into this review when I first read the title the Dixie Chicks song, Wide Open Spaces played in my head and stuck throughout the entire book. One lyric in particular: " She needed wide open spaces, room to make her big mistakes." The main characters in the book Shelby & Zack have this for a lack of a better word "wide open space" that needed to be filled and are not mending the broken pieces together. This book for me was a "real" read to where you can relate to the characters on a human level.

Wide Open Spaces from the beginning had me hooked. The authors dedication and prologue are very telling of just what you are about to jump into. Some of the most beautiful stories are the hardest to take. This story deals with themes such as adoption, betrayal and love but the beauty of the story is that like life you make it through.  

Shelby & Zack have a connection that cannot be severed. They created something beautiful together but couldn’t afford to hold onto it. In her emotional state Shelby blamed Zack for the pain she was experiencing over Samuel. He never left her but the sadness and anger drew a wage between them. Now decades later she is back in town and running into the one man who broke her, Zack.

Shelby ‘Shel”….

I felt like even through all the emotional turmoil Shelby experienced she was still trying to find her voice. With her ex- Max she allowed him to dictate her happiness and now that she is back in her home town pieces of the old Shel are starting to resurface. Trying to get her life back together along with her son they move back into her childhood home right beside Zack.

Now it may sound a little cliché but here is where the story gets sticky! Zack lives next door with his kids as well. I know you are saying well they both seemed to move on. But what happens when it seems like your love has moved on with someone you considered a friend?

I do love that the author digs deeps into the emotional sadness and devastation that many feel when they give up a child for adoption. We get to see how Shel & Zack coped with recovering from the loss of Samuel. Now don’t get me wrong this book isn’t all that heavy, I mean this is Aurora Rose Reynolds we are talking about. Zack is a complete Alpha and loosing Shel again isn’t a mistake he will repeat. ( let’s just say the love scenes are very steamy) The kids are very funny and I love their covert mission to get their parents together. This story has a few twists like an ex, oh a bear, and the most important redemption.


Although I loved elements of this story Shelby was annoying at times. I just wanted her to find her voice and fight for herself instead of crying. Zack’s characters helped balance her out. He knew what he wanted and what he lost. Some parts dragged a little and I wanted more of the couple to have interaction and discuss the issues between them it almost seemed glossed over for a second. One of the things I am excited about is Aubrey’s story!!! All in all this was a good read and I would recommend it. Please judge this book for yourself and not based on this one review. 

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