When low, the only way is up…

Synopsis

It’s never too late…

Lyra Clarkson has built a career capturing other people’s perfect moments. She loves her work as a wedding photographer – despite her family’s disapproval – but she’s never quite found her own path.

Guy Walker, former rock star turned wedding singer, has hit a new low. Desperately needing cash, he’s agreed to take any gig his manager can get him, even if this new form of entertainment isn’t justsinging.

As Lyra and Guy’s paths cross – in the most bizarre way possible – an unexpected kiss will change everything. But was it simply a chance encounter or is fate bringing them back together?

Now forced into each other’s lives for the entire wedding season, the unlikely pair may just figure out together how to realise both their dreams…

My review

Seven years ago, Lyra Clarkson had That Night, a night that changed her life. Now she is a wedding photographer, capturing perfect moments of couples’ special day. No matter how much she loves her job, it isn’t exactly her big dream. And the fact that her whole family disapproves of her career choices, doesn’t help her self-confidence.
Guy Walker is a former rockstar working as a wedding singer. At the height of his fame and fortune, he also that a That Night, that completely changed his life too. Even if the last thing he wants, is to attract any attention, as he is in need money, he has no other choice than singing at weddings when needed.
And it is at one of the (pre-) wedding activities that Lyra and Guy first meet, in an unexpected situation.
The more they meet during wedding season, the harder it becomes to resist the mutual attraction. But with both having several huge demons haunting them, is there a way to find happiness again and a way to realize their dreams?

Haven’t we all had at least once in our lives a crush on a famous person? Whether it is a musician, an actor or someone else, we all have been in love. And in most cases, that was just an impossible love, an unrequited love, a love from afar. And as usual, such kind of loves pass overtime.

But what would happen if years later, you would meet that same crush? However, he would not be the rockstar but more a ‘has – been’? Yet there is still something that attracts and now it appears to be mutual? What would you do?

And that is exactly what happens in this book, although there are obviously more layers and more depth to it than the situation I sketched here above…

While I liked Lyra’s character, her situation angered me. I was proud of her that she made the decision years ago to follow her own dreams. But reading how her own family, instead of supporting her and being proud of her, keep on ridiculing her and making her feel small and even less than her own sister, made my blood boil. Yes, I understand that as a parent you have a certain dream for your child. But isn’t being a parent also about letting your child chase her own dreams?

And her family’s behaviour clearly affects Lyra. No matter how amazing she truly is, no matter how much she pretends it doesn’t hurt her, it’s obvious that she blames herself for what happened to her father, and she feels like it’s her penance to make her family as happy as possible, even if she doesn’t always agree with everything they say or do…

Her passion for photography is palpable each time she takes her camera in her hands. She manages to capture perfect pictures, unexpected ones. It couldn’t be more obvious that taking pictures is what Lyra was born to do. And thus seeing how she parked her passion, it just didn’t feel right…

And then there is Guy… a man who literally had it all, yet one night destroyed it all…

His story for sure broke my heart. His past as a rockstar, and everything he has lost because of the fame and fortune still haunts him. I could understand why he doesn’t want to be recognized anymore, and be as far away as possible from everything that he once wanted…

It sounded a bit weird to me that he is doing jobs that he doesn’t want to actually do, as he needs the money. Initially that made me think in a certain direction, a direction that we have heard also in the real world, how famous people have lost all their money due additions.

But I was glad to discover that Guy isn’t that kind of rockstar, and that the money is going somewhere special, somewhere that matters to him…

Guy in so many aspects is the kind of character that you just feel truly sorry for. It is not only because he is at his lowest now, but what he has been through is devastating, and he is still carrying around the burden of it, the sense that he failed and that he still has to pay the price for him not being there when it matters.

He even believes that he is truly broken and that he doesn’t deserve to be loved, as he is not worthy. He also doesn’t want to put a burden on the woman next to him. Because he is certain that it will all just end in heartbreak…

When Lyra and Guy start bumping into each other, (pre) wedding after (pre)wedding, something is simmering between them. Yes, they initially don’t get along, and Guy is afraid that Lyra is only after the famous Guy, thus their relationship (if you can call it like that), doesn’t start that greatly.

But is was so sweet to see further along in the story how Lyra truly gets Guy, she sees behind his façade, she realizes when he needs comfort, when he needs a listening and understanding ear, and even when he just needs a supporting hug.

Of course in this book, the readers need *a lot* of patience 😊 Because it takes a while before something truly happens. Correction, when something truly significant and something that matters happens between them. Talking about a very slow burn! But with two characters, both haunted, it makes sense that they just don’t dive in a relationship, as those nasty demons need to be chased away first!

I don’t know why it is that romance stories like this one are just more. Is it because both main characters have to grow a lot in it? There has to be a lot of trail and error? The characters need to understand that they are allowed to dream big? Or that the past is in the past and they have to learn to let go?

Laura Carter wrote a beautiful story, with  several moments that made me laugh, but also several that nearly put tears in my eyes. Because no matter what happened in the past, how haunted you are, what you believe of yourself, you are always worthy of love, a second chance (you’ll get the second chance reference while you’re reading! 😊) at love.