Scarred

Spoilers
Im sorry but the biggest problem for me was I didn’t buy their love story. I mean the hero constantly lies. He feels bad but he doesn’t change. I guess a big problem for me was the fact he cheated once before they married, and then had the other woman around the heroine at work functions and was friends with her. Talk about betrayal . When I read the blurb for the book before this one it said this story was not about cheating. Had I known that the hero did mess around I probably wouldn’t have read these books. I wanted to scream at the heroine a lot. I wish she had more of a backbone. She was kinda pathetic. Side characters were OK. I found myself for Jake. This book just wasn’t for me.

I love this book. I hated this book. I was irritated by this book. I was sad and happy and all of the things while reading this book. If I were rating purely on the depth and breadth of feeling a book evoked this would easily be five stars, as it is, I consider many other factors in my review, so it doesnt quite reach that height of perfection for me.

Scarred is the fourth book in Willow Winters Sins and Secrets series and the second book in Kat & Evans duet. While reading the first book of the duet, Damaged, is vital to the understanding of this book, reading the first two books of the series, is not. I havent read those books, but after seeing the characters from Imperfect and Unforgiven in these books, I will be adding them to my TBR.

I found both Kat and Evan to be highly infuriating in both books of this duet. While I couldnt imagine being in either of their shoes, it seemed as if they were going out of their way to disappoint one another. For people who love angst for the sake of angst, Im sure it would have been a profoundly satisfying book; Im not one of those people, so it just made me angry, because it all seemed so unnecessary. I have no doubt knowing more of their story before Damaged would have made their actions more understandable, but as the story was it just felt excessive.

I honestly cant tell you if I loved Kat and Evan or if I hated them. They were very complex characters, full of flaws and pain. They were well written and sympathetic characters. While I did find their actions maddening at times, it was part of what made them feel so real. When stress is high, and emotions are on edge, people react in nonsensical ways, and that was demonstrated perfectly with both Kat and Evan. Ms. Winters did an excellent job of writing characters that elicited intense reactions from her readers.

I wish the timeline of this book were more structured. I had a hard time knowing how much time had passed, while it didnt always make a huge difference, there were times when knowing whether things were happening simultaneously or days or weeks later would have made a huge difference. Since a lot of Kats anger was based on the time Evan was taking to tend to his situation, knowing how much time was elapsing between scenes would have made her anger and his frustration more pertinent.

Willow Winters has been on my radar for a long time, but I hadnt made the time to read her work. I have a feeling that, had I been reading her books all this time rather than just admiring her from afar, she would easily be one of my top authors. Her prose is highly evocative, while still intimately relatable. She was able to wring out more emotions over the course of a relatively short novel than some authors can in epic tomes. I was highly impressed with her writing, even as I was having mixed emotions about her characters, and that proves to me she is an author to keep on my must-read list.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. .*’.*’.*’.*’.*’.*’.*’ .*’
SIMPLY PUT, THE INTENSITY OF THIS STORY PUSHED ME RIGHT OFF A CLIFF. A CLIFF WITH A JAGGED EDGE THAT BROKE ME DOWN & LEFT ME SCARRED. THOSE SCARS ARE WHAT KEPT ME GOING AND ULTIMATELY PUT ME BACK TOGETHER! 5 EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN STARS
.*’.*’.*’.*’.*.*’.*’ `*.`*.`*.`*.`*.`*.`*.`*.

Wow! What a journey this was. The conclusion to Kat & Evans story was gut-wrenching to say the least. I cried quite a bit throughout this book because of all the extreme turmoil Kat went through within herself, by herself, in front of her friends, with Jake and especially with Evan.

All while shes trying to be joyful at the thought of having a baby, Evans baby, while Evan is off trying to solve the dangerous predicament he found himself in that threatens the people he cares for.

Kats ability to hang on to everything she holds dear to her heart despite the fact that her mind is telling her to let go, while her heart screams for her to hold on tight is staggering to an unimaginable degree.

At times, they cant seem to stay away from each other, giving into the magnetic magnum force that draws and pulls them together. The intimacy is sizzling hot and downright lustful.

Accepting what Evan tells her on blind faith tests her resolve for sure. Trust in love . Its as simple as that.. or is it?

This book had me asking myself, would I, could I, trust in that same blind faith? I dont know. I struggle with that one. Then I remember that marriage is about acceptance, forgiveness, trust, and above all else, love. But will it be enough?

Both Kat and Evan are suffering with loss. A devastating loss at that. Will this loss bring them together or push them further apart? Not to mention the reality that their marriage may be ending.

One of the things I could relate to the most was how Kat reached out to her mother, who passed away years before and the way that she did that. Reaching out to her in ways that some may see as silly and pointless, do in fact, help her.

What do you do when you trust and that trust is blindsided with rumors, accusations and betrayal? The very people you are trying to protect are really in fact, the ones set out to destroy others. When the secrets and the truth is revealed, peoples lives will be altered. Things are not always what they appear to be.

Simply put, the intensity of this story pushed me right off a cliff. A cliff with a jagged edge that broke me down and left me scarred. Those scars are what kept me going and ultimately put me back together.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book but I also preordered my own copy.

Grab you copy of this 5 star, extremely emotionally driven story today. I loved it!

Don’t need to say a great deal about this series, apart from READ IT!!! Loved the story, loved the characters. Had everything you want to keep you glued to your reader. Angst, love, friendship, twists, lots of frustration. I raced through it because I was desperate to find out how things worked out. However I was sad that a great book had come to an end. Read the first two, Imperfect and unforgiven as characters are in both books. Not essential though to love this. A great series to get wrapped up in over Christmas with lots of chocolate. Enjoy!

Part two of the two who constantly misinterpret each other. Evan is a one to be sure, he’s really hurting his wife with all the secrets and lies. Definitely a heartstrings puller this one. In my opinion kat is far too forgiving, the stunts and cruelty Evan pulls despite his intentions, I’d make him earn forgiveness.
It’s predictable but still consuming. The musings of both main characters did give the story a pulse and an emotional connection but the story needed a little more. Kat was an absolute doormat.

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