Welcome to Unabridged Bookshelf's stop on the Left Blog Tour. Today I not only have a review for Left, but there are TWO tour-wide giveaways for everyone to enter. Make sure to check out all the awesome tour stops by clicking the button above for the full tour schedule.
About the Book
Title: Left
Author: T.R. Graves
Series: Still Standing #1
Publication Date: September 1, 2013
Length: 330 Pages
Your own two feet are all you have when you've been left.
A naive Baylee loves Colt, her boyfriend of four years, more than she ever thought possible. After a little snooping, she's convinced she's well on her way toward hearing an once-in-a-lifetime proposal and starring in the wedding-of-the-year event. Instead, she's blindsided by a very public breakup and the crushing news that Colt is marrying someone else… someone more befitting him and the role his father expects him to take in his law firm.
Baylee may have spent years resenting Ariana, her mother, and her suicide, an intolerable show of weakness in Baylee's opinion, but after Colt leaves her just short of the altar, Baylee sees the world through her mother's eyes. She sympathizes with Ariana's actions and realizes that some things—soul-deep aches—can irreparably damage you and make moving on nearly impossible.
At least that's how she feels until she meets Ryker. With his help, Baylee discovers there is life after Colt, and she prepares to move on by pulling herself up by the bootstraps, holding her head high, and standing on her own two feet. Unfortunately, a new jealous and hateful Colt has his own plans for her, and they are plans no one—especially Baylee—ever saw coming.
About the Author
T. R. Graves, the author of The Warrior Series and The Secrets Series and The Underwater Series, is a 2012 NaNoWriMo Winner.
She lives along the Texas coast with her husband. Together, they raise T. R.'s beta reading daughter and their football-loving son. Besides being blessed with a supportive family, she counts her career as a registered nurse in not-for-profit hospitals high on her list of fulfilling accomplishments.
Follow T.R. Graves
My Review
Left is a beautiful and tragic story that took my breath away at times. Baylee is living her dream life with the man she loves until he decides to break it off with her to marry a woman more suitable to his father’s approve. This sets in motion, events that Baylee had no idea would ever happen. These events create a story that I will continue to think about for a very long time.
First, while this story starts out gently, it quickly becomes darker. Left is a love story but it is also a story that features domestic violence as a main story point. T.R. Graves does a remarkable job of not only featuring domestic violence accurately; she also shows the darkness and truth behind the dangers of domestic violence. I think this book does a great service by showing an accurate, even if horrible instance of domestic violence.
After the disastrous breakup with Colt, Baylee is left to pick up the pieces of her life and figure out what she is going to next. Then she meets Ryker who makes her see the brighter side of life, and with his help, she really thinks she can move on. Ryker is a great love interest for Baylee, and I really like the two of them together. Baylee is also a woman who wants to stand on her own two feet without the help of other. There is something to admire in the independence Baylee is seeking.
I went into Left thinking I was getting one thing, and got something so much better. Left is a beautiful story that I think woman should really read. While domestic violence is a main plot point, it does not overshadow everything in the book. Lighthearted moments interrupt the dark story points, making a story that could have been deeply dark into something that most would enjoy. I know that I would not mind reading another in the Still Standing series.
**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review**
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