"complex, intense, heartbreaking terror, healing love"
Fragile is an intense and well-written book. We
start with Luke as a little boy when he learns that he has
a twin, Quinn. Even as a child, Luke has a need to help and
heal others around him, and he starts with his abused
brother. His need to fix things moves with him as he grows
into an adult and joins the Rangers. After years of living
that life, he is nearly crippled and leaves the Rangers to
become an ER doctor. It is in the ER that he meets Devon.
Devon is a social worker and is very dedicated to her job.
Luke asks Devon out and that begins an intense and
complicated relationship. Devon has battle scars of her
own, and Luke picks up on them quickly. She went through
unimaginable horrors as a child and has come out on top.
Luke does his best to treat Devon carefully because he
doesn't want to scare her away. Someone begins stalking Devon and Luke's protectiveness
becomes nearly smothering for her. The plot begins to twist
and turn in a few different directions, leaving me jumpy
and guessing at what is really going on. Just when I
thought that the suspense was solved, it started again, off
in another direction. Fragile is not a sweet romance, but a book that
takes the reader to the darker side of life and emotions. I
was pulled in by Luke and then Devon and their raw emotions
and scarred pasts. Every bit of this book, from the
characters to the plot, are unbelievably realistic and
entirely possible. The characters have been through
traumatic events, but instead of being weak; they are
strong and fight back. Luke's extreme guilt over the
situation is silly, but understandable coming from a person
like him. Devon's insistence that she isn't fragile was
almost unbelievable, yet after knowing what she went
through, I have to agree that she isn't fragile. After reading Fragile, my greatest hope is that
there may be a future book starring Quinn. For half of the
book, I thought really bad things about him. He has a very
big story to tell and I would love to know that story. He
deserves a little happiness and I have a feeling that
Shiloh Walker could bring that happiness alive. I highly recommend Fragile. Just keep in mind that
this is a romantic suspense. There is love and passion, but
there is also a dark side, filled with terrors and twists
and turns to make your head spin.
Reviewed by Melissa Conatser
Posted July 25, 2009
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BATTLE SCARRED Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty still hasn’t found what he’s been searching for: a normal life. At his job, Luke is faced with things just as heartbreaking as those on the battlefield, none more so than the abused children brought in by a pretty red-headed social worker. HEARTBROKEN For Devon Manning, being a social worker is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon takes everything one day at a time—unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues. A DESIRE TO HEAL… When Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he’s been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants, Luke has to break through Devon’s emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs… Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
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