It takes a special ability to hold the reader in a state of awesome for the duration of a book. It is a unique talent to write with honesty and emotion and pull the thoughts and feelings out of the characters in a way that connects with the reader. Liora Blake has these unique talents. I was blown away by her debut novel, True North. She continued to wow me with True Devotion. And now, as her True series comes to a conclusion with True Divide, I am still singing her praises. Even though they can be read separately, I strongly urge you to start with True North. Each book in this well thought out series has its own depth and magic that reflects the main characters perfectly.

True Divide is Lacey’s story. We return to the small town of Crowell, Montana, where Lacey and her sister, Kate, grew up. In the prior books, we were given glimpses of Lacey and I wasn’t at all sure I liked her. She seemed a bit shallow and lost. She and Kate, whose story is told in True North, are so different! I loved Kate. A successful novelist, Kate is snarky, witty, confident, and comfortable in her own skin. Kate meets rock star Trevor while in Los Angeles to promote her book, they embark on a sizzling romance and…you really must read True North to learn all the details! But my point here is that Kate left Crowell even though she has roots and memories there she doesn’t want to throw away. However, Kate is perfectly content making her life elsewhere, coming back only to visit. Lacey, on the other hand, went away to college for one semester, hated it, returned to Crowell, and hasn’t left.

As True Divide begins, Lacey is rushing Kate to the hospital while Trevor is winging his way back to Montana from LA in a private jet. When he finally arrives and Lacey witnesses the profound intimacy between them, it hits her just how alone she truly feels.

Suddenly, Lacey’s world is turned upside down when she hears a familiar voice in the waiting room. Jake Holt. The Jake Holt who gave her eight glorious months of romance during senior year in high school. The Jake Holt who, after graduation, walked away without so much as a goodbye, breaking her heart, never to be heard from again.
Now, ten years later, Jake is standing there looking all hot and manly in his pilot’s uniform having just flown Trevor to Montana. Following on the heels of all the emotion swirling around Kate and Trevor, Lacey can’t help but confront Jake:

“What the hell took you so long?”
That question is for today, and yesterday, and every day between when he left town and now. How he might answer, who knows. How I might react? No telling.

 

Jake’s smile fades. “Sweetheart, I had things to do. Places I had to go.” He cants his head to one side a fraction. “I didn’t know anyone was waiting for me.”

I have to tell you, that intro to Jake made me think he was a jerk. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Crowell was not kind to Jake. He never really fit in and was labeled a misfit throughout high school. The day after graduation he high-tailed it out of town hoping to find better. He broke all communication with Lacey, believing she deserved more than what he had to offer. But as the years passed and Jake found his path, he regretted how he left things unfinished with her. Now, the chance to redeem himself and possibly win back the only girl he’s ever loved is thrown in his lap and he’s not going to mess it up. As luck would have it, bad weather keeps Jake in Crowell for the night. His admission to Lacey later that night wipes away ten years of anger and uncertainty.

(Jake) “You look…amazing. I swear, f***ing felt like I was in some flashback. Was the hospital PA playing emo love songs or was that shit just me? ‘Cause I kind of wanted to just grab your hand and find a dark stockroom somewhere. Which basically describes every single day of my existence during our senior year.”

 

(Lacey) Jesus. That right there, those few sentences, might effectively sum up all that I’ve ever understood to be Jake Holt. A wild mix of bold proclamations, self-deprecation, swoony flatteries, all with a thread of eager rowdiness woven in, just to hold it all together.

Jake and Lacey are meant for each other, and Ms. Blake writes the hell out of it. The pull they have toward each other is unbelievable. But what I truly enjoyed was that Jake and Lacey approach things cautiously. Jake, because he knows he screwed up. Lacey, because her broken heart still bears the scars. Besides, Jake works out of LA and even if there were jobs for him in Crowell, which there aren’t, he’d never live there again. Lacey flat out has no desire to ever leave. And she isn’t quite sure that Jake won’t walk away again when he realizes she’s serious about that.

So out of necessity, because Jake must return to LA, a courtship begins via email and sexy late night phone calls. Which, btw, is written brilliantly. The dialogue, the inner thoughts, and spoken revelations…whew. Talk about swoony. When Jake manages to fly up for quick visits because he can’t stand being away from Lacey, the sex is not only hot, it’s beautifully meaningful for them both.

I think it’s safe to say True Divide made me change my mind about Lacey. She isn’t shallow at all. Rather, she’s a small town girl who, after years managing the out-of-date Beauty Barn while feeling guilty about not striving for more is finally content with who she is. Was it fear of the unknown, fear of failure, or lack of ambition that kept her in Crowell? Maybe a bit of all three, however, what trumps them all are the memories Crowell holds for Lacey. Bittersweet, heartbreaking, beautiful, joyful memories that live in every nook and cranny of the town she belongs in. She kicks her douche bag ex, Dusty, to the curb even though on paper he may seem like a catch. Sure he was the high school quarterback all the girls wanted, but he wasn’t Jake back then and he’s not Jake now. Lacey is strong enough to realize she’d rather be alone than suffer with Dusty. Right on, Lacey!

I loved that Jake never forgot Lacey during the ten years he was off traveling the globe. That when he was handed the chance to make things right with her, he grabs it with both hands and holds on tight. He owns up to his mistakes. He truly listens to Lacey and respects her choices.
He’s also pretty damn hot with the love talk, the foreplay, and the main event.

The addition of secondary character, Ruth Ann Taylor, is genius. The elderly owner of the Beauty Barn, now in an assisted living residence, is not only Lacey’s mentor, but is considered family. The scenes between feisty Ruth Ann and Lacey are pure beauty in so many ways. Ruth Ann’s wisdom is far from small town even though she lived her life in Crowell. Ruth Ann makes this story even better.

As I sit here writing this review, going over the many passages I highlighted, it dawns on me that this is one of the best love stories I’ve read in a long time. I highly recommend Liora Blake’s True series and certainly hope she has more novels brewing.

True North, Book 1

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