From the Ashes: Golden Falls Fire Book 3, Scarlett Andrews

Secrets have a way of digging deep and sinking deeper the longer they're kept.  And when it's a secret born of pain, it festers inside the keeper, infecting the way they view the world and others involved with the secret they hold.  In Jack's case, his secret destroyed one family in favor of his own.  He had no way of knowing that his soul mate would be hurt the most but when he realizes that the woman he loves is the woman he could crush if he were to speak the truth he's left with a difficult choice to make.

Elizabeth is an incredible woman.  She's had to grow up under the shame and shadow of her corrupt cop father.  Despite that, she's worked hard and does her best to keep her home and her brother from crumbling all while nurturing her dreams of becoming a nurse, a wife, and a mother.  Her relationship with Jack is a bit of a roller coaster.  She knows he's it for her even if he's to stubborn to give her half a chance.  It bothers me a little that she has her moment of knowing in her soul that Jack is the one for her but she sometimes acts contrary to that knowledge.  In some cases it's how she responds to their passion.  Other than that, her perseverance when it comes to making Jack open his home and his heart to her is admirable.

Jack, on the other hand, was a bit too wishy-washy for me.  He had his own moment of knowing in his soul that Elizabeth is the one for him forevermore but then he goes on that little trip to the bar.  It's a good thing he's an honest and sappy drunk because otherwise he would have put himself in a situation I'd be hard-pressed to excuse or forgive.  When you fall in love with a strong woman you have to trust her.  Trust that she can handle the truth, the bad news, the hell you've hid.  Lies of omission hurt just as much as lies of commission.  I found his lack of trust and belief in Elizabeth the most disappointing.  Well, that and that bar trip.

The amount of forgiveness is staggering.  While I felt it was given a little too easily, I admire their strength of character.  I'm very glad that it wasn't a "forgive and forget" situation, though, and that the guilty parties were made to make amends no matter the reason for the crime in the first place.

Overall this was a moving story, one with a lot of chemistry and tender feels.  It was also a story of honesty and redemption.  Once again, Golden Falls is a place of humbling, resolution, and hope.  It's also home to fierce women and the men they choose to share their lives with.

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