Wherever You Will Go - Book Review

By Stephanie Smith

Synopsis

Brooke Willis had everything she ever wanted: a happy marriage, volunteer placement at the art gallery, and the promise of starting a family with the man of her dreams.

Saxon Reed had everything he ever thought he needed: a successful career, nice cars, expensive apartment, and more money than he knew what to do with.

After losing her husband Brooke insists on taking over his company to keep his dreams alive. Struggling in an industry she knows nothing about, Brooke turns to Saxon, her husband’s best friend and business partner, for guidance and support. Their mutual grief, and Saxon’s need to look after his best friend’s wife, creates a connection beyond just business.

Can Brooke take over the company and find a new life without saying goodbye to the past? Can Saxon protect and care for Brooke without scaring her away?

What happens when your heart doesn’t listen to your head? When lines are crossed and boundaries are pushed?

Review

After losing her husband, Nate, in a car accident, Brooke is overwhelmed by her emotions. Shutting herself away from family and friends, she struggles to deal with the grief and anger that swallow her whole on a daily basis. After a surprise visit from Nate’s best friend and business partner, Saxon, she knows it’s time to face the world again and decides she’s ready to take over Nate’s business. Argo Investments was his dream and with Saxon’s help she’s determined to keep his dream alive.

Despite her grief, I never thought of Brooke as weak. In fact, when she was ready to return to the land of the living, despite her fears and desires to run back home to hide away again, she never did. But when her relationship with Saxon grew and evolved, I was disappointed with how she treated him.

I liked Saxon and thought he was a wonderful man for Brooke, but he did come with a little baggage. He’s handsome, wealthy and successful, but he believes he doesn’t have anything of substance to offer a woman, nor does he envision ever getting married. His issues stem from the lack of love he received as a child and witnessing the toxic marriage his parents had. But he also spent a great deal of time with Nate’s family, whose parents were happily married and treated him like their own, so I don’t really understand his issues if he experienced both sides of the coin. Despite the feelings he had for Brooke for years, it’s these issues that cause him to shut down his emotions when he’s around her, which of course has her believing their relationship is nothing more than sex and comfort.

WHEREVER YOU WILL GO was an amazing debut novel that’ll have you crying from Chapter One. I just love a book that can get me so emotional right from the start. The story is told in dual POVs, moves at a nice pace and comes with a nice HEA. There are gaps in time, but they’re pointed out so you’re not left wondering where all the time went. It’s written by an Australian author and there is some Aussie slang in there that non-Aussies probably won’t understand. I loved this book and I am looking forward to reading WHATEVER YOU DO, book 2 in the Try Again series.