Review: Samantha Towle's "Wethering the Storm."

@samtowlewrites
5 Hearts Review: Samantha Towle's "Wethering the Storm." 

Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/1778HJo

Amazon.com:  http://amzn.to/16mtYPT

Synopsis: 

Music journalist Tru Bennett has done the impossible: capture the heart of rock-star bad boy Jake Wethers. Now they’re busy planning a wedding and navigating their new life together in the US. Of course Tru misses London and her best friend, Simone, but living happily ever after with Jake in LA is going to be great…right?

Wrong. Even the bright California sun can’t whitewash the dark side of celebrity coupledom. Greedy music execs, merciless paparazzi, and Jake’s wild past are lurking around every corner. Making matters worse, Jake announces he doesn't want kids, which just may be a deal breaker. 

Tru loves Jake more than anything. But when a devastating crisis threatens to destroy everything they've fought for, the couple must face the hard truth: What if, this time, love is not enough?

Review: Surj 

Samantha Towle's "The Mighty Storm" was my first introduction to bad boy rock stars and Jake Wethers.... Well he just stole my heart. He wasn't a saint and unfortunately fucked up on more than one occasion. Tru Bennett however, was his soul mate and they belonged together so when he finally got his girl and they found their HEA, I almost pee'd myself with happiness. 

I had mixed emotions when it came to the sequel though. I was thrilled to be getting more of the main man himself but there was a little nervousness that settled at the pit of my stomach too. I knew "Wethering the Storm" wouldn't be all hearts and flowers and I knew their road to happiness would continue to be a rocky one. So when this book landed on my kindle home page, it stayed there for a couple of weeks. There was a little bit of fear but also, I knew that when I read the last line on the last page, my affair with Jake Wethers would be over and I wasn't quite ready for that. Well, I couldn't leave it there forever, so I finally grew a pair and decided the time had come. I shut myself away from the world and began to read. 

Right from the outset, I could see that Tru and Jake's relationship still had that spark I'd observed in book #1. They just couldn't get enough of each other and Jake, well he was still all alpha when it came to the bedroom... well actually he was outside of the bedroom too:

I love it when he talks to me like this. Dirty and Domineering. It's incredibly hot. 

3% in and I was ready for cold shower number one!!! lol. Jake Wethers just wanted to be in Tru Bennett whenever and where ever he could and it was ....  Hot? Scorching? Sizzling? None of those words fit. I don't think there's a word to describe it. There were so many "Fan myself" moments it was untrue but I loved it. 

I couldn't deny that these two truly loved one another. They were soul mates who were making up for years of separation and it was wonderful to read. But there was so much they didn't know about the other and as they began their journey of discovery, I started to see the cracks appear. As much as Tru was a strong, independent woman, she felt completely out of her depth and very much alone in LA. Jake's past was everywhere she went and that green eyed monster coupled with her insecurities kept rearing its ugly head: 

"You knew how I lived my life when we got together, Tru. Don't act like this is a surprise now.

 Are you ever going to be able to get past this?"

"I don't know. And if I can't, where does that leave us?"

As for Jake, temptation was around every corner. This was LA after all. My heart was teetering on the edge of a cliff on so many occasions and as each situation presented itself (a night out, an argument, drinks with the band, the women), I kept thinking, "will this be the moment he breaks?" 

Jake wasn't perfect and unfortunately, he did fuck up. And I mean he royally fucked up on a scale of unimaginably proportions:

I've so completely fucked up. She's never going to forgive me for this. Fuck. I need to go back. 

I need to talk to her. Beg her to forgive me. Tell her I'll make it work somehow. 

I was completely lost for words and I was so angry. My heart broke for Tru because this was it for her. Jake was the love of her life and his actions just left her devastated:

Pain tears through me, so fierce that my legs buckle. I fall against the wall, 

clutching my chest. I feel wide open. Broken. Devastated. 

Lucky for him because he got his own chapters in "Wethering the Storm" so he really was able to redeem himself. Bad boy Jake Wethers had a massive heart when it came to his woman and there is nothing he wouldn't do for her!!! I got to see a much softer, romantic side to this man and it was heart warming to read. (Oh and we get to hear a little bit more about another something that Jake has that's massive too!!! )

I got to see a lot more of the band in this book too. I was given an insight into Denny and Simone's relationship and Tom... well what can I say, he was still the player he'd always been .... our very own "Tom Cat" and he was just hilarious. And the tattoo!!!! I'm not saying any more than that! Samantha Towle had recently announced that Tom would be getting his own book which was great but I didn't get it. Yes he was funny but his own book? Samantha said once I'd read WTS, I would completely get it and yes, I can see it now. There are many sides to Tom and I got to see one side that made me really want to get to know this man better.

Because Tru, Simone and Jake were British, I loved the use of so many English terms:

"Cock, baby. Call it cock or dick. I'll even swing for snake. But not willy. 

Willy just sounds wrong on so many levels."

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are? You're an arrogant twat, Jake Wethers."

I just love that word "twat." Thank you so much for using it and not just once!  

Wethering the Storm was an amazing read. Samantha Towle pulled off what I can only imagine was a really difficult sequel to write. After all, Jake and Tru had already found their HEA so what else could happen? I was a complete gonna from the first chapter, so emotionally invested in this story that when people tried to interrupt my reading, I was not impressed and it showed!!!!  Yup this book definitely got me. 

 But it wasn't until 75% through the book, when the unthinkable happened and I was left shocked and in floods of tears, that I realised just how much I'd connected with these characters over the course of the two books. I was on the edge of my seat right until the end but I wouldn't change it for the world. 

Thank you so much Samantha Towle for giving us this story. A perfect ending to a perfect story. 

"There isn't anything I won't do for you Tru. Nothing I won't do to make you happy. 

What I feel for you... it's limitless. There is nothing before or after you. There is only you."

I've rated "Wethering the Storm" 5 massive "Jake the Snake" Hearts.