Sweet Compromises*
Romance and Reticence
This book is an odd combination of romance and reticence. Skye, the heroine, is coming up on the first birthday that will not be shared with her twin. He was a nurse in the military and was accidentally fatally shot. He has tasked a friend to bring her a final note from him on their birthday with the instructions that this man is here to help her through her grief so that she can move on. Caleb is a strange hero. It takes a bit to pick apart his history but suffice to say he is very closed off emotionally. Skye appears to be all happiness, but her pain at the loss of her family makes life difficult for her. Did twin Stephen hope to heal both his friend and his sister and bring them together? Is Caleb willing and able to open up himself up to someone else? What about the new project manager at a neighboring ranch, who seems to have an interest in Skye? Part of what makes this book odd for me is that it is often touching in recounting some of their separate histories, fears, and doubts while at other times, characters discuss concepts in a way that people just don’t talk and think about them. For instance, at the very start, Caleb talks about wanting to help heal Skye. It just seemed odd to see him think like this when he barely knows her. The problem had more than the usual amount of errors with grammar, punctuation, and usage. For instance, the need for another quotation mark at the start of a new paragraph of dialogue said by the same person was not followed. The story had some interesting characters aside from the main ones, and it looks like from the epilogue that this is the start of a series.
