From Dust (Portland ME #1)

By Freya Barker

Synopsis

Pain punished her.

The bottle numbed her.

Guilt kept her trapped.

In the dark alley of a pub, the words “Please don’t” take hold of her heart and break the silence she seeks. Thinking herself beyond redemption, she tentatively grabs on to the slim thread of hope that unfolds inside of her.

Holding her secrets close, she can’t resist the comforting draw coming from The Skipper. The unconditional friendships it offers, the protective roof it provides, and the spark that its owner ignites in her—melting the frost off her heart, and slowly stripping away her resistance.

His life flows from one crisis to the next. Under the pressure of competition crowding him out of his family’s pub and the need to protect his children from the ruins of a bad marriage, he barely breathes. That is until a mane of strawberry-blonde hair and a set of big, pale blue eyes, shake him up.

He never expected the shadow of a woman he finds on the floor of his washroom to bring him the air―the balance and the light he’s been missing.

**Due to some content of a sexually explicit nature, this book is recommended for a mature audience only.**

Review

From Dust, I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing and very emotional read. You are taken into a place of utter desperation, loneliness and heartache but then you are given amazing moments of love, family and putting darkness into perspective. The growth and change in Syd from the first chapter to the last chapter was full of inspiration and just pure joy. When she reconnects with her old life in a particularly emotional section, it was done in such a highly respectful way by the author.

From Dust is just a beautifully written story of a woman finding her second chance at love, family and friendship. Syd is strong however at the start you may not think so but again the author has me immediately connecting with her on a level that a woman does, you want to see her find her light again.

Now onto the main man being Gunna, well if you have read “Sweet Dreams” by Kristen Ashley and love Tate then you are in for a real treat. As soon as I read the first few chapters with Gunna well all I could think about was how can I be so lucky to find another story with a god dam hot headed bar owner who is a most amazing man when he falls in love, both in bed and out and is a fierce protector of the people he loves.

Viv and Dino were great supporting characters for Syd and then Gunna’s children, well they just brought tears to my eyes and provided moments of light relief from the main story line.

As I drew to the end of Syd’s journey I simply did not want to leave this amazing woman and the new family she had created. When you get to that last chapter and Gunna gives Syd the recognition of her past as she begins to move forward well as I write this I have tears forming again.

From Dust is my second book by this author and upon finishing I immediately went and purchased Cruel Water (Portland ME Book 2) which is Viv’s story and I cannot wait to lose myself again.

All books in this series are available.

Quote: Locking yourself away will only turn you to dust. This I know for a fact because I came from dust

My Rating: