Simple Perfection by Abbi Glines

Woods had his perfect life mapped out for him. Rise up the ranks of the family business. Marry the rich girl of his parents’ dreams. Pretend that wealth and privilege was all he’d ever wanted. Then a girl named Della breezed into town, a beautifully imperfect stranger who captured his heart and opened his eyes to a new kind of future. Woods is ready and willing to sacrifice everything for her when the sudden death of his father leaves him with his mother to care for and a business to manage.

Della is determined to be strong for Woods, even as she’s quietly falling to pieces. No matter how far from home she’s run, the ghosts of her past have never stopped haunting her. Struggling to hide her true feelings from Woods, Della fears she can’t be his rock without dragging him down into the darkness with her. But is she strong enough to let go of the last thing holding her together?

review

“Our chapter was over. It was the most beautiful chapter in my life. I knew I’d had the happy ending way before it was time and now I had to live the rest of the story without him.”

Brace yourselves because Abbi Glines is armed and dangerous in this second instalment of the Perfection series and she is taking no prisoners. I was on pins and needles throughout most of this book, absorbing all the emotional curveballs being thrown at me and just when I thought it was safe to relax and breathe easy again, she did the unthinkable and dismantled my heart into a million little pieces. Have some tissues ready, maybe a bottle of wine nearby, and get ready for another rollercoaster ride that is guaranteed to leave you wobbly at the knees.

“Hold her for me. Hold her tight. Don’t let her be lonely. Don’t let her hurt. Please.”

In Twisted Perfection, Della and Woods have finally realised that they are stronger together than they are apart and have emotionally committed to one another and to a future together. But one tragic event in Woods’ life shakes the foundations of their young relationship and forces them to confront a reality that neither of them wished to face so soon. Having to deal with the aftermath of his father’s sudden death and a mother who refuses to acknowledge the woman he loves, Woods is torn between his love and devotion for Della and his need to protect her from her past, and his new responsibilities as head of the Kerrington Country Club. He has not grieved the loss of his father, his grief too intermingled with anger for the suffering his father had caused Della, and has chosen to bottle his emotions in favour of taking care of Della and her fragile emotional state. Woods has put Della first in his life, over anything and anyone, that resolve putting only further strain on his already problematic relationship with his only remaining parent.

“I won’t let you near Della nor will I put you before her. Understand that if you make me choose, I will choose her without a second thought.”

Della feels safe and loved for the first time in her life. Woods’ demonstrative and overly protective personality is equally comforting as it is overwhelming, at times making her feel smothered by him and convincing her more and more each day that she is an unfathomable burden to him, only holding him back from living his life.

“What was I good for? He had to worry about me. I was weak and needy. I was one more thing for him to stress over. I wasn’t any help at all.”

In an ultimate act of selflessness and love for the man she thinks she would end up destroying, Della walks away. From Woods. From Rosemary. From the only security she has known in her life. And so she begins her transformation from broken and frightened little girl always depending on others to hold her hand and try to fix her, to a woman standing on her own two feet, drawing strength from within rather than from others, and unafraid to fight for what she wants the most in life. With further insight into Della’s horrific childhood, we get a complete picture of the battle she has had to fight daily in her mind, her journey of healing being full of unexpected surprises, but the more she has to overcome, the more she grows stronger and more confident in herself.

“He wants you, Della.”
“Sometimes what we want isn’t what is best for us.”

Woods and Della’s story has not been smooth sailing right from the beginning and it is laced with drama and heartbreak all the way to the end. The chemistry between them is so deliciously multilayered, one minute they are tenderly romantic and genuinely vulnerable towards one another, and the next an almost frantic passion overtakes them and they use that intense connection to communicate their fears, to comfort each other, and to heal one another.

“… I can’t live without Della. I can’t breathe. I can’t f*cking concentrate. I need her. Just her. I can do anything if I have her with me.”

Ms Glines’ writing style remains unique and unquestionably effective. Short sentences, complex emotions under the guise of simplicity, and a method of story-telling that keeps aiming at the reader’s heart with what I’d like to call “peanut butter sandwich” moments (hint: Rush and Blaire in Fallen Too Far) – simple scenes that are deceivingly ordinary but capable of stinging like an electric bolt. This is the conclusion to Woods and Della’s passionate story and it is everything I hoped it would be.

“Love should be simple. I wasn’t simple.”

5stars

signature2

Pre-order book: Amazon US | Amazon AUST/NZ | Amazon UK | B&N

The Author

abbi_glines_pic Abbi Glines was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She grew up in the small town of Sumiton, Alabama where she left the summer she turned eighteen. She didn’t get far… she chased her high school sweetheart down to the coast and she’s been there every since.

Abbi now lives in the quaint southern town of Fairhope, Alabama with her three children and husband Keith (the high school sweetheart she chased after). Her life is never dull and Keith always makes sure there is another “experience” for them to explore.

Books published by Abbi include The Vincent Boys and the USA TODAY bestseller The Vincent Brothers, Breathe, Because of Low, the USA TODAY bestsellers While It Lasts and Just For Now, The Existence Trilogy that includes the USA Today Bestseller Ceaseless, and The New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal bestseller Fallen Too Far. Currently she is working on Never Too Far, the sequel to Fallen too Far.

When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.