Love Realized

From Amazon: Jake and Gillian have been friends since high school. As friends, they have supported each other through all the typical life changing events such as marriages, births, divorces and even death. Gillian couldn’t be more thankful for the bond she shares with Jake than she is when all the shameful secrets of her marriage appear front and center, demanding attention. The emotional support she has so freely given to her friend over the years is returned in full force as she nurses the wounds of her failed marriage. But when she starts to notice there might be more to her feelings than just friendship….is she willing to risk what they already have, for what might be???

For Jake, it has always been Gillian. If only she knew she has owned his heart since the day he met her. After watching her fall in love with one of his best friends, he accepted his fate of being one of her closest friends and locked up the deeper emotions he felt for her. So when he watches her marriage fall apart before his very eyes, he knew she would turn to him for support. What he wasn’t prepared for was the return of those emotions he had long ago locked away. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that this was his chance and he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers again. He only needed to make her realize, his love for her was real.

What I Thought: At first, I thought- no way is this going to work.
A woman who's been married for 16 years finds out her husband has been cheating on her, then falls in love with the guy she has known practically her whole life all in 400 pages.
That's the thing about the escape from reality that a really good book gives you- it all totally works. I LOVED IT!
One of the things I loved most about this story is how we often our perspective of someone's life who is close to us is skewed by what they let us see.
From the outside Gillian appears to have the perfect life. Mother of 3, wife to a caring husband and she takes care of everyone around her. What all the people who love her most don't see is that she's been hiding the mistakes of her husband for some time.
Jake loved Gillian from the first time her saw her in High School, but when she ended up with his friend, he went on with his life as she did. Always a part of each other's lives, those feelings never really went away.

When the secrets of her husbands indiscretions blow into the open all at once, Jake helps Gillian through the most horrible time of her life and they find that maybe together is where they were always meant to be.

And-- let me just say Oh Swoon! When Jake says "Can I have you, Gillian?" It is one of the most romantic lines I've read recently.

I  also love the title of the book, because throughout the story you can see, before even Gillian does how much she loves Jake and that makes you want to cheer for them.

Geez! Gush much, Amy? I know but I can't help it!

The cast of supporting characters in this story are so much fun and so similar to people you know in real life. This group of friends and family have been there for each other through it all and these relationships really shined through. I have a feeling that we will be seeing more of them and I can't wait!

AND-it's on sale! How cool is that? .99 on Amazon for a limited time!!

My Rating: