Reaching Rose by J.P. Grider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reaching Rose by J.P. Grider is the third book in the Hunter Hill Series, but can be read as a standalone novel. This page-turner is a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story. It is told in the alternating points of view of Rose and Ben.
Rose is on top of the world, she admittedly has everything she wants in life. She is a farm girl, a college student, and a dancer. Dance is her life and her true love. She is on summer break from school and about to realize her dream to dance on Broadway; but, three weeks away from opening night her entire world changes.
Ben is a stud. He is a star college pitcher who is about to get his call to the Major League. He only has minor surgery on his knee, but checks into a full-time rehabilitation center to make sure he stays on track with meeting his goal. He finds himself among many who are far more injured than he. His roommate, Johnny, is a quadriplegic who is full of life and does not seem to feel discouraged by anything. Then Ben sees Rose for the first time.
Rose wakes up after the horrible accident. She was hit by a truck. She has no left leg and a horrible scar down the whole left side of her body. She shuts down and doesn’t even understand why she is still living. She loses her will to do anything, even speak. She spends months in the rehab center with no improvement, then one day she feels Ben watching her. Ben approaches her, slowly but confidently. Even though she doesn’t respond to him, Ben keeps trying. She eventually opens up, though just a little, and tries to participate in rehab. She and Ben connect and realize they attend the same university and have a common friend. Ultimately this seems to be too much for Rose and one day she is gone.
Eventually they both end up outside of rehab and find their way back to one another and falling for one another. Then something changes and they find they may have more in common than they ever realized.
J.P. Grider gives the reader a very well written, gripping story. This is an emotional read and the author enables the reader to feel the emotions of the characters. This is an attention grabbing book with just the right amount of consistency and surprise. There are valuable lessons to take away from this book for anyone who feels like they have completely lost their way and trying to fight their way back to life. This is a must read. There is no violence, no sexual situations, and little to no profanity in the book. I would highly recommend this book for any reader and give it five out of five stars!
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