5 STARS ✮ SARINA BOWEN ✮ STEADFAST

Steadfast

True North #2

by

Sarina Bowen

When this one was released Sarina Bowen was attacked for writing a romance novel with the hero being a drug addict. I didn't get why, we read about anti-heroes every day, so what was the problem here?

One reckless decision changed the life of a lot of people. When Jude wrecked his car more than three years ago he also wrecked his life and his girlfriend's and her family's. After three years in prison and a summer spent working for the Shipleys he comes back to his hometown and the place where the love of his life lives.
Sophie was left behind heartbroken when Jude went to prison. She wrote him for a while, trying to understand and find out what happened that night when he crashed his beautiful Porsche 911 into a tree. Now he is back and she knows that he is forbidden. Resisting him will be tough, especially when, anger aside, old feelings some to the surface again.

Jude's shame and feeling of not being worthy is always present and all this time, while reading this book I wanted to hug him and tell him that he is an amazing human being. His love for Sophie has never died and everything he does is with her well being in mind, so even though he had a little stupid moment I could totally relate and forgive him. You can always see what a good person he is.

"I didn’t want to live like this- full of confusion and guilt all the time, and heartbroken in a hundred ways at once."

Sophie is  an equally endearing heroine. After the first shock of seeing Jude again wears off her feelings come bubbling back. She tries hard to understand what her ex-boyfriend is going through, her support is invaluable for his recovery.

Together they have some seriously explosive chemistry. I loved how their feelings were so obvious without them having to say the words.

“Soph, I’d give you anything. But I don’t have a lot to give.”

The story is a stark reminder of how much people with an addiction struggle on a daily basis. No sober day can be taken for granted, every single one is a fight against your body. This is what Jude is facing in his story and his determination to stay clean had me in awe. He never forgets how many lives he touched by his dependence on drugs, how much chaos he wrought in the lives of the people he loved or were affected by the tragedy when he wrecked his car while being high as a kite.

 "One minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time, I kept going."

This story is also a reminder that we maybe shouldn't be so judgmental and should show those addicts leniency, kindness and compassion who really want to detox and stay sober. A single wrong decision can shape your life and we all have been there and done that.

My name is Jude Nickel, and I am an addict. Also, I'm a big fucking idiot.

Sarina Bowen's story affected me deeply. It is certainly more angsty than Bittersweet and is one of those stories that will give you something to think about for days. I loved the two main protagonists and also that I got to catch up with the Shipleys. I really adore every single one of them. There are tender moments and emotional and heartbreaking ones, moments of kindness and understanding and all of those had me invested throughout the whole book. Jude is a hero because of the way he deals with his addiction. I am so happy with this series and I really hope that Sarina Bowen will keep writing about these characters.

"In music, the silence in between the songs can be as affecting as the most powerful crescendo. This moment was just the same. I opened my eyes to find Jude watching me.
Then his hips pulsed - the opening bass line of our song. I throbbed against him - adding to our melody. He rocked. I rolled my hips. We were complete right then. There were no naysayers. There was no past and there certainly was no future.
Listening to the rhythm of Jude's increasingly ragged breaths, I gave myself over to this moment. Our song rose to a fevered pitch, and I listened hard to every note while it lasted.