WORTH IT
Series: Forbidden Men #6
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: Linda Kage
Release Date: August 25, 2015
I fell in love once.
It was amazing. She was amazing. Life was amazing.
I lived for each time I could see her, and nothing else mattered, not that our families were enemies, our time together was forbidden, or we had to meet in secret.
Our love could conquer all.
Until it didn’t.
So I was ripped away from the love of my life and shoved into hell, forced to continue without her.
It shattered me, broke the best parts of me, left me permanently damaged.
Or so I thought.
Years later, I swear history’s trying to repeat itself because she’s back in my life, and I’m just as drawn to her as I was before. But I’m older and wiser now, and I know she should stay away from a worthless ex-con like me.
So, I will not let her in. I absolutely refuse to hurt her. I will keep her away.
Then again, sometimes risking your greatest fear to get to a smile makes everything worth it, and besides, I’m not sure I can resist her, anyway.
This is the story of how Felicity Bainbridge changed my life forever, starting one summer day long ago after I was forced to change a dirty diaper…
–Knox Parker
I craved every little second I got to see her, but I knew I should stay away. It was torment, the two cravings rivaling and constantly churning in me, playing tug-of-war between what my heart wanted and what I knew was best.
Wow. Suffice it to say that I’m drained. This book absolutely gutted me. It was devastating and beautiful all at once and I loved every painful second of it. Worth It is unlike any other book this author’s ever written. It has much darker undertones than the other books in this series, and it’s no light read. It’s gritty, it’s emotional, it’s devastating, made you ugly cry while hugging your kindle sort of read. It’s a beautifully unforgettable second chance romance about two people that didn’t belong, but yet belonged to each other that fate ripped apart in the cruelest of ways, only to bring them back together a little more broken to put their shattered pieces back together six years later. If you don’t recall these characters from previous books, that’s because they weren’t introduced there. Linda Kage managed to flawlessly interweave them, so if you’re wondering why they got a book before Asher, trust me when I tell you that you’ll understand once you read. Both of them have such a profound connection to a few of the previous characters that I never saw coming and definitely loved reading about. This also makes this book an easy standalone, so if you haven’t read the rest of the series, you’d still be able to enjoy this one fully.
Knox Parker is the boy from the wrong part of the railroad tracks, so to speak. His father’s a drunk, and his family are the pariahs of their town. He’s the last boy that should catch the eye of the daughter of the rich and influential Bainbridge family, but that’s exactly what happens. One chance meeting in the woods between Knox and Felicity is the start of an incredible friendship that soon turns into a unforgettable young love. Knox may only be 18 to Felicity’s 16, but that doesn’t make their love any less real.
Worth It is told in alternating POVs, jumping from present to the past of six years ago, slowly showing the reader how they fell in love and what ultimately led to the devastating event that tore them apart. This was probably my one biggest quibble about the book. The “past” is set in our “present”. Meaning the books, movies and songs that are described are from this year; but it’s set to six years ago. The “present” doesn’t have a year, but it starts pretty much almost right where A Perfect Ten ended. I’m one of those readers that has a hard time turning off my disbelief during books, so this was a little odd for me to wrap my head around. Also there was the part about Knox (this is not a big spoiler (it’s revealed in the very first chapter), but just in case you don’t want to know more than what the synopsis gives you, I’ll hide it)(view spoiler) Luckily it wasn’t significant enough to ever take away from the story because I was completely enraptured in it.
Six years after they were ripped apart, Knox is back in the town he grew up in, but he’s no longer the boy he once was. He’s broken and he’s harboring his fair share of demons from his time in hell.
There’s enough hints and bits and pieces given about what he’s been through to slowly let the reader connect the buttons, and my hear absolutely broke for Knox. His life was so tragic and when the whole truth of it gets revealed, I flat out sobbed. It was one thing trying to connect the pieces, but when you’re hit with the full picture of what he’d been through, it’s absolutely devastating.
If you love broken and tortured heroes, trust me when I tell you that you will absolutely fall in love with Knox.
Felicity was a wonderful heroine. She always had this understated strength about her, and I loved the way she fought for Knox and what they once had even though he does his best to push her away because he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her now.
This book was definitely a step away from the rest of the series, but it was amazing in it’s own right. It was emotional and completely unforgettable. It’s a story that will definitely be staying with me for a long long while. It’s just one of those books that truly touches you on a visceral level with the amount of emotions it brings out in you.
There’s also a hell of a teaser in the epilogue for Asher’s book that’s sure to whet your appetite if you’ve been waiting for it like I have. If you’re on the fence about reading this book, I can only tell you that you need to. It may not be a light read, but it’s so worth it. I love a good second chance romance, and this one was just so beautifully tragic and yet wonderful all at once. I simply can’t give you more than that because you need to experience it for yourself. But believe me when I tell you, that that’s what you need to do; experience it.
Read this amazing series in order!
Speak Your Mind