I was super excited to receive this book! After reading, and LOVING, Barbara’s Rock & Roll trilogy, I was so curious to see what else she had up her sleeve.

Synopsis from Goodreads
Loss brings things home. You reflect on what you had, and what you’ve lost.
What if you met the love of your life… Again?
What if he never fell out of love with you?
And you realized that you were still in love with him.
Could you push the past aside…
And focus on the future?
Relive what was good…
And learn from the bad?
What if you found a secret…
That revealed that everything about your family was a lie…
Changed your thoughts on love and commitment…
And turned all that you believe in upside down…
What if a mirror reflected what you loved…
And what you lost?

I am a sucker for second chance romances, especially when they happen years later. They seem to have tons of emotion and feelings. I love to see how one character always feels that is was the right decision and they think they’re happy with it. And then the past sneaks up on them, and knocks them on their butts.

Mitchell and Renee met as teenagers. They fell in love and got married. But when life got hard, she left. But as soon as tragedy strikes her, he is right there. And soon they are right where they were before. Love has a way of sneaking up and never leaving, even if you think it did.

I love the dual points of view. I like to hear what the male is thinking, in these relationships. They’re the ones that actually get my emotions all crazy. And they’re sometimes the funniest. For example, when he buys her a bathing suit, I was cracking up! I’d just die.

“I realized that I haven’t really lived these past few years. I only existed.”

“You left me broken, Renie”

I like seeing the past stories as to how they fell in love. I loved seeing the side of her mother, that she never knew about. It was very eye opening. Some parts I was just as shocked as Renie was.

By the time I reached the end of this book, I was completely satisfied. Barbara knows how to write a romance that will bring you to tears, break your heart, and then put the pieces back together. I laughed. I cried. I cheered. Beautiful story.

~Melpomene

Buy The Face In The Mirror

“Cause when I look to the sky something tells me
you’re here with me
And you make everything alright

And when I feel like I’m lost something tells me
you’re here with me
And I can always find you when you are here”

-Train-

Oh my word….I need a minute…..

OK, I have sat here for two hours writing and deleting and writing again. This is the 5th time a book has made me wanna just type…It was awesome. I cried. Buy it. But that won’t do it justice, will it?

This is the second book in a trilogy. The first, Rock and Roll Never Forgets, was one of the ones I couldn’t write a review that was worthy of it. But I have to give this one a go. I’ll try not to spoil the first book by telling you of this one. But you REALLY must start from the beginning. You MUST!!! I’ll be buying these in print, because some of the proceeds go to The American Cancer Society. That makes me love these even more.

When I finished Rock and Roll, I was devastated. The last 25% of the book I spent crying. I won’t spoil it, but I will say, you may need tissues. The entire love story was so romantic and tragic. The love, that was shown, was overwhelmingly beautiful. I never wanted the story to end. I wanted to know what happens next.

But I admit, I was scared to read this one. After the last, I didn’t know if it was gonna live up to the emotions I felt. So I put it off for a while. But when I finally picked it up, I knew I wasn’t gonna be disappointed. And I knew I was gonna need tissues. 🙂 Just reading the beginning, I was already crying.

Carlee always felt loved by Andy. He gave her everything she ever needed or wanted. She’s been through a lot, in her young age, but her Papa was always there. And she loved him with all her heart. When Andy surprises her with a European vacation, she never imagined that it would bring her another man to love and change their lives forever.

While eating at their hotel, she meets Matthew. I loved the way we see him for the first time and get his view of her. He was instantly smitten and so sweet to her. Offering to be her tour guide, was perfect. 🙂 It was cute to see Andy find ways to have Matthew join them in their travels.

I loved all the point of views we see. This book shows us what everyone is feeling and seeing. But not in a confusing way. They have so many people in their lives and they all have a part to play. You see Andy as he is watching his sweet girl move farther from him and closer to another man. You watch Carlee experience everything for the first time. You see Matt try to be the best man he can, for his girl.

Watching Matt’s and Carlee’s romance reminded me of the good times between Andy and Carlee’s mom, Beth. They were very slow and sweet. Innocent kisses and hugs and long phone calls. Now, I love romances with a bit of sauce in them, but not every story needs that. I think if they rushed into things, it would’ve ruined it. They way they took their time to get to know each other was perfect. And when Matt needed Carlee, she jumped to his aid. They leaned on each other through the hard times and grew closer through the good.

“I think about more than ‘now’ when I look at you…I can’t wait for every tomorrow with you…”

Music played such major character in this series. I was constantly looking up the songs to listen while I read the scenes, which undoubtedly made me cry more. I’ll never hear “Unforgettable” without thinking of Andy.

DO YOU KNOW MEL?

The camp scenes were just so touching. I won’t say much more. I don’t want to spoil that part. But if I ever have a chance to be a part of something that amazing, I’m going to jump on it.

While we’re watching Matthew and Carlee’s love story we see Andy and Carlee’s love. They love each other so much it hurts. It’s been only them, for so long, he has to learn to let go of his little girl, and it breaks his heart.

“I’m going to bed now and cry myself to sleep…Wake me in the morning. I need a few more minutes alone with you before I share you with Matthew…forever.”

“Papa, I love you.”

“Carlee Elizabeth, you just don’t know.”

*wipes eyes*

After I typed all of this out, I read the last book, Feel Like Makin’ Love, and that was the perfect ending to a wonderful series. I am so glad I went straight to it, after this one. It answered the few questions I had. But really, I just needed closure. I needed to know that everyone was OK.

There is so much more I want to say, but it would spoil it, so I’ll leave you with this.

It was awesome.

I cried.

Buy it.

~Melpomene

Rock and Roll Never Forgets (The Rock and Roll Trilogy)

When I Look to the Sky (The Rock and Roll Trilogy)

Feel Like Makin’ Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3)