"A boy and girl suffer loss and 26 years of separation to have a secret change their lives forever."
Reviewed by Kay Quintin
Posted July 14, 2015
Women's Fiction | Contemporary | Romance
It's been twenty-six years and Julianna Doucette White is
about to
have the biggest heartache walk back into her life at
Copper Falls,
Texas. It's been that long since at seventeen she had a
son torn
from her arms at birth and his father deserting her. With
a
domineering mother controlling everything, Jules had the
choice
taken from her life. Her parents deceased, she now has
inherited
not only the family home but the bookshop as well, which
has never
been her interest and she is still following the dictates
of others. As
a divorcee she is dealing with her rebellious teenage
daughter
Becca.
The positively edible Noah Ryan arrives with a beautiful
young
pregnant woman on his arm, introducing her as his fiancée.
Trying
to avoid Noah is consistently difficult, and it isn't long
to see that
neither has lost that deeply seeded love for each other
that they try
to ignore. Sharing the devastating loss of their child
haunts them
each January 29th; the day of his birth. Noah's father,
Johnny
Mack Ryan, runs a café next door to the bookstore and has
held a
vendetta against Jules since his son took off. The more
entangled
their lives become the more secrets come to light of the
deception
by Jules's mother, lies even unknown by her Nana Mae.
Neither
Jules nor Noah could possibly fathom these are secrets
that will
permanently change everyone's lives forever.
This poignant tale of a young couple obsessively in love
with each
other since childhood that should last a lifetime can have
their
futures split in two in one disbelieving moment. Once I
began DON'T LET GO, I absolutely could not put it down
until I had the whole thing
read.
DON'T LET GO captured my heart with the sincere emotional
upheaval
these young lovers were forced to endure. This was
nothing short
of captivating, emotional and heartbreaking with a
fantastic finish.
DON'T LET GO is not the first I have read from Sharla
Lovelace and will absolutely
not be the last. She truly writes from the heart!
SUMMARY
Noah Ryan and Jules Doucette had spent every moment of
their
lives together, first as childhood best friends and later
as
young lovers. The two had their future all planned out—
until
one unspeakable decision tore them apart. Twenty-six years later, Jules is living her life by
someone
else’s plan. She’s running her mother’s store, living in
her
mother’s house, following her mother’s rules, and keeping
the
secrets her mother made her bury. Then Noah comes home, and any sense of order and
structure
flies out the window. Noah’s return does more than just
stir
up old memories—it also forces Jules to see her life in a
whole new way and uncover secrets even she didn’t know
were
hidden. But can the power of first love triumph over
years
of
pain and lies?
ExcerptSobs bubbled up and I turned and bolted through the door,
pushing a lady out of my way and barreling straight into
Noah’s arms.“Whoa,” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me to
stabilize us both before looking to see who he’d caught.
“Jules, what’s—” I broke free without speaking and pushed past him. “Jules, wait, what’s wrong,” he said, following me. “Leave me alone, Noah.” If I’d only had my purse with me, I would have headed
straight for my car and drove home. In lieu of that, I
yanked open the door to the bookstore and prayed he’d
stop. He didn’t, and the barrage of questions trailed behind me
all the way to the break room, the swinging door bouncing
in his wake. I whirled on him, adrenaline sending a new
wave of hot tears over the edge. “You’re not allowed back here,” I said, my voice shaking
with anger. “Deal with it,” he said, looking at me with exasperation.
“What happened over there that’s got you so upset?
Surely, Shayna didn’t—” I laughed, a bitter sound I didn’t even recognize. “Are
you kidding me? Shayna is like the nicest person on the
planet. I didn’t think it was even possible to be that
good.” A tiny look of relief passed over his face. “What,
then?” he demanded. I scoffed, remembering the horrid words and trying to
shove the burning sob down that wanted to split me in
half. She throws one kid away and never thinks of him again… It won. A noise of pain escaped my throat, and I hissed
in a breath to quell it. “Ask your father,” I spit out, turning away. I headed for the fridge, wanting to stick my head in the
freezer, but the grip on my upper arm stopped me. “I asked you,” he said roughly as he spun me around. We both inhaled sharply as we landed together and found
ourselves nearly nose to nose. I blinked tears free,
bringing Noah’s face into perfect focus. His quickened
breath felt warm on my face, and all the hard lines of
his expression dissolved when he searched my eyes. “Shit, Jules,” he said under his breath, so softly it was
nearly inaudible. One of his hands went to my face as if on autopilot, and
I shut my eyes tight as the warmth of his hand against my
cheek and hair nearly broke me. I could smell him, feel
him, and I didn’t dare open my eyes to look at him. He’d
see it. “Noah, don’t,” I whispered through broken breaths. I
reached up to pull his hand away, but then the other side
of my head was cradled as well, and all my strength
melted away. My grip on his hand stayed where it was,
and I could feel the slight tremble. Or was that me? I didn’t open my eyes until I felt his thumbs move across
my cheeks, wiping away tears, and it hit me in the chest
like a wrecking ball. He looked like someone had beaten
the crap out of him from the inside. His eyelids were
heavy, like a man who hadn’t slept in days. The turmoil
radiating off of him was palpable. That, plus the feel of his hands in my hair, the
closeness of his body, so close I could feel him breathe,
it was almost too much. His eyes went to my mouth, and
for a second it was like ropes were pulling us together.
I could nearly taste him.
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