Auburn Reed fell in love at age fifteen to a young boy with a terminal illness and it reshaped her life. Fast forward five years and we find her in Dallas needing to earn more money for a lawyer (we’ve yet to learn why). She’s standing in front of a building with the windows covered in messages under the word CONFESS. Each of those messages are confessions made by passers by from which the owner, an artist, creates interpretive paintings. Above all those messages is a “Help Wanted” sign, certainly a sign from heaven given her dilemma. The owner, Owen Gentry, confirms it when he refuses to take no and immediately puts her to work.
This is only my second book by the author and despite other reviewers’ claims that her other books are better, I really enjoyed this one. The concept of the confessions was clever and original, hooking me immediately. I liked Owen & Auburn’s dynamics and their natural ease of conversation. They fit each other so very well and I was drawn to their burgeoning relationship. We were given a tease about a secret he was keeping about her that was always in the back of my mind. It added a tantalizing bit of subtle mystery. There are other major conflicts and obstacles interfering with their relationship and my only disappointment was how Auburn chose to handle them. I had to keep reminding myself of her age as it slipped very close to the YA romance zone. But, there was too much more going on for me to dwell there.
I loved the dual narration, most definitely Sebastian York. Both made this a good reading experience and I’ll have to explore the author’s backlist if they’re much better than this one!
Blue Mood Café 