Tags
Pastor Ben Langley is irresistible.
His wife died giving birth to their daughter six years ago. His tragic past doesn’t keep me from wanting to unravel him, strip away his buttoned-up goodness, and discover what kind of man lies beneath. If that makes me evil, so be it. I’m far beyond redemption anyway.
Ashleigh Kendrick is freedom personified, an unpredictable wind I want to grasp hold of.
Every Sunday she watches me preach from the front row, wearing her halter tops and tiny skirts, a dangerous temptation. Her favorite words are the four-letter variety, and her smile lights up the darkness inside me. I vowed to love one woman forever. I never realized that vow would be impossible to keep when confronted with a chance to love again.
Face the Music is an opposites attract romance with emotional ties to the past that run so thick they feel impossible to overcome.
| One of the last few books of my reading year 2019 was “Face the Music” by JB Salsbury. I was super happy and surprised to be able to read it this early. Reading and reviewing as many books in one year as I do it is often not easy to recall the plots of previous books (which is why I avoid reading unfinished series where basically your opinion on the whole plot depends on still remembering what you read months ago) – but the second I saw the plot of Face the Music I remembered how I intrigued I was when I first “met” Ben previously in that series … like more than a year ago or so …Believe me for him being not even a secondary but more a third kind of character (is there even such a thing as that?) in that previous book that truly speaks a volume. If you followed the series then you know Ben and his Background with Jesse Lee, his childhood and his tragedy. So you can already guess that you will join quite the ride with this plot and believe me the blurb tells you not even half of it. Because being the amazing author that she is JB Salsbury uses everything she can to draw the reader in and her writing style will refuse to let you go.The ingredients couldn’t be more perfect …. With his Background and Family Ben already has enough of a story to tell to fill this book but throwing the very let’s say “colorful” Ashleigh into the mix as well as his “job” – the reader will not be able to stop reading – of that I am positive. This is like the modern rock and roll version of “The Thorn Birds” – only with much more enjoyable leads, slightly different obstacles, a more intriguing plot…OK OK I admit actually it is almost nothing like “The Thorn Birds” but still I could not get that book/movie out of my mind as I hated it a lot as a child (my mother was a fan) I simply wanted Ben and Ashleigh to have a better ending than Ralph and Meggie – but with all that is in their way – let’s face it (har har pun intended) it is not looking very good …As a Pastor, Ben not only places high expectations on himself but with his tragic background it is only logical that he is all kinds of damaged when it comes to relationships. Ashleigh isn’t any better, but also she has her reasons and she has high walls around her made from slutty clothes and she hides behind foul language and some kind of “You think I am bad? Well, probably it’s worse than you think” attitude. That alone would be enough to fill the pages of this book. But don’t worry. Ms. Salsbury made sure that there is even more because it will be outside forces that set the tone of the plot and bring me back to my “Thorn Bird” thoughts. I read several books of this author in the past and while “Split” will probably remain my favorite – this series has taken a good and strong second place. And I cannot wait what this author is up to next (secretly hoping it will be something wicked with a damaged character like in “Split” or at least someone like “Jesse Lee”)
|
