Title: Scars
Author: G.A.Bassier
Genre: Romance
Summary:
They say love can heal all wounds…but some scars may run too deep.
Eight months ago, while in a werewolf rage, Lily escaped her cage and killed an innocent person. Every moment since then, Lily’s guilt has grown heavier and more suffocating. Just as it threatens to engulf her, she meets a kind stranger who is struggling through his own turmoil after losing his beloved wife.
Sitting in a coffee shop with Jack, Lily smiles for the first time in eight long, dark months. She and Jack love all the same things: Star Wars, banana bread, even cheesy eighties movies. In spite of her lingering guilt, Lily starts to fall for him. Jack makes it easy. He trusts her. He worries about her. He never compares her to his lost love. Jack makes Lily want to live again–and she does the same for him.
There’s just one problem:
The innocent person Lily killed was Jack’s wife.
Previously published in the shapeshifter romance anthology Transformed, this tightly told novelette (10,000 words, 40 pages) takes readers on an emotional journey through grief, friendship, heartbreak, and–above all–love.
Review:
I loved this book. I am a fan of romances with angst and this small novella with just 40 pages delivered more angst than the novels I’ve been trying to read for a month. This book may have cured the reading slump I’ve had going on for romance books for a while now.
Scars is a werewolf romance with a werewolf heroine and a human hero. The heroine has blackouts during full moons where she goes on killing rampages and ends up killing the hero’s wife. Hard to recover from that and harder to develop a friendship from that rocky beginning, let alone a love story. I was skeptical this novella could pull off a believable love story, because of constraints of length and the emotional heaviness of the topic. There are full length novels where the redemption arc feels wrong, for example. But I was wrong. The author was able to get the love story right and she was able to hit all the right beats for the story, including a third act break up that actually made sense, was angsty enough and yet, not overly done. It was tastefully done, if you will.
The hero is also a cinnamon roll, so even in the break up and make up, he is still a good person and there is no toxicity, which is how angsty books usually go. No harsh words, no excessive drama-and yet, the angst is exquisite.
The hero and the heroine fall in love slowly, after meeting at his wife’s cemetery. The heroine comes clean to him about the secrets that have been weighing her down and he, rightfully, feels betrayed and angry. The forgiveness comes slowly and steadily, and the entire story was smooth. From the moment they meet, to their falling in love, to the break up and make up-all of it smooth with no clunky bits. The pacing was steady and we can see the gradual development into a love story.
I’m still amazed this is a novella because, again, even novels get this wrong and here is a 40 page story with a complete story that hits all the right emotional notes. I’m going to be crowing about this one for a while.
Besides that, I liked her writing style. The prose was adequate for the story, the scene setting appropriate, and the characters were well written and believable. Lily is a great heroine and I actually would love to see a long form work based on this premise.
I recommend it to anyone who loves angsty romances.
Trigger warnings: Suicide attempts.
I received an ARC of this book for a honest review.
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