Review: Only for Us by Cristin Harber

Received from InkSlingerPR

Title: Only for Us
Series: Only #3
Author: Cristin Harber
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: 14 April 2015
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Goodreads

The third installment of the Only series. Must be read in order.

Grayson and Emma. First love. True love. And… they have a daughter. Abandonment is his curse. He left his woman, survived his team, and missed the moment most precious to a father. Until now.

“I didn’t know you were killing yourself with work. I didn’t know you’re raising our daughter. So help me God, had I known, there is no military force on earth that would’ve kept me from you.”

Love needs to heal all, or they won’t survive the collision of their separate lives. Emma must reach deep into her heart that is barely hanging on and find forgiveness. Grayson, wrecked with PTSD-filled nightmares, must prove that he’s here to stay and able to rebuild his family against all odds.

“I need to say I love you. But what I mean is I love you–in a way that defies definition and exists only in a world that you and I are in.”

Only for Us is the third installment in the Only series. All novellas will release Spring 2015.

Received from InkSlingerPR

REVIEW

Please bear in mind Only for Us is the third installment and therefore, the review may contain spoilers to the previous installments.

Emma and Grayson’s love is the kind I think all of us hope for in life. It is passionate, all-consuming, tender, caring and the type of forever love you can only find once in a lifetime ♥ Obviously they are not without their problems, trying to fight their way out from under a mountain of regrets and past hurt; however, you can never, ever question whether they truly love each other.

Only for Us is intense and highly emotional on a number of levels including relationship, family and parenthood. I absolutely adore Gray and Emma, more and more with each installment. The dual narrative allows insight into their relationship that cannot be seen from an outside perspective; their decisions and emotions all linked together in current interactions and past events.

Emma is such a wonderful role-model, mature beyond her years, even before she had to deal with being a single mother. She is responsible, independent, loving and caring. I hate that she can be judged on her choices, when her decisions were purely based on providing for her child.

Emma and Gray have a lot to overcome, their memories, both good and bad, add to their characterizations and interactions within the narrative. Emma’s family are understandably, overprotective of both Emma and Cally. It is difficult to know how I would react in this situation if it was one of my children. Time and distance has provided all concerned with a deeper level of clarity on the positive and negative aspects of their life.

I have to mention Mazie, I have a deep dislike of this character no matter how many times it is re-iterated that she is nothing more than a friend. I found her inclusion in this installment unnecessary and in fact thought it disturbed the flow of the narrative rather than aiding it.

With the cliff-hanger ending I am desperate to find out what is in store for Emma and Gray next.