Rooke by Callie HartMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was another soul-stirring story by Callie Hart and one which has left me with an everlasting fondness for Rooke.
Blending together two very different character’s lives, this book manages to open the doors to a love affair which ordinarily would have remained firmly shut. Sasha’s past is horrific and almost impossible to appreciate but Rooke seems to hold the key to unlocking her future.
Rooke could have had it all and yet he chose to become a criminal at a young age and having spent time in juvie, still finds himself balanced on a knife-edge where the law is concerned. Not wanting the financial support offered to him by his family, he continues to boost cars. Sasha thought she had a perfect life, married with a beautiful son, that is until life dealt her the cruellest of cards when her son is killed in heartbreaking circumstances. Now working as a curator at a museum, she lives a simple life supported by her friends but it’s a life in which she endures relentless pain and suffering.
Whilst years younger than Sasha, Rooke finds himself inexplicably drawn to her and when he uncovers her past, his feelings for her become cemented in his heart. After initially bumping into each other at the museum, Rooke finds a way to ingratiate himself into her life, thanks to a romance novel of all things. Rooke uses his relentless charms and sweet and endearing ways to make Sasha realise that they are destined to be together. Despite living in the shadow of her past, Sasha enters into a physical relationship with Rooke but as their feelings grow for one another, they find themselves embroiled in danger as Rooke’s illegal activities puts both of their lives in peril.
There’s a darkness inside him. The night owns him, or at least it owns a decent sized chunk of him. There will always be a side to him that needs rebellion and destruction. The real question is, can I accept that?
Whilst this story still captures the familiar essence that we love about Callie Hart’s writing style and it even resurrects a ghost from works past, we find ourselves stepping into an overall more emotive storyline with Rooke at the helm. Yes, there is danger and violence around every corner, something we’ve come to love from Callie Hart’s books, but on the flip-side, we find ourselves in uncharted waters thanks to Rooke’s almost unbelievable saccharinity.
I cried at the start of this book and wondered what was going to befall me from there on in. From Sasha’s devastating loss, to what her ex-husband, Andrew, puts her through as an ongoing torturous reminder that she lived when their son died, this book will send you free-falling into a spiral of emotions.
Whilst I loved Rooke and the developing relationship with Sasha, I felt that something was missing from this book but for the life of me, I can’t put into words what it was. I didn’t mind the age gap, although Rooke’s maturity at times seemed a little too good to be true. However, I did find the scene at the museum a little strange and unexpected and almost at odds with the overall storyline. Maybe I was expecting the danger to be connected to Rooke, but what was written just seemed a little too random. I did love the ending, though, for all of the right reasons, as Rooke unexpectedly finds that the person he least expected to have his back was there for him all along.
This ebook was kindly provided by the author prior to release date in return for an honest and unbiased review.
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