Review: Finding Him (Covet #2) by Rachel Van Dyken

Print Length: 247 pages

Publisher: Skyscape (February 25, 2020)

From Goodreads.com:  Coming out of a coma was one hell of a wake-up call. While I was in the dark, my estranged twin brother, Bridge, had replaced me in the company I owned and swept up my fiancée in the takeover. With my ruthless reputation, can I blame them for falling in love? I have to look long and hard at where I’ve been and where I’m headed. Alone time? The universe has other plans.

Our family’s secluded Vermont cabin comes with a gorgeous—if at first, unwelcoming—surprise. She’s renter Keaton Westbrook, a social media superstar struggling with her own private grief. As a winter storm bears down, we’ve found something to keep us warm—an intimacy neither of us expected and both of us need.

After we say goodbye, what happens then? Keaton and I are longing to reconcile with our painful pasts. I can’t bear to do it without her. Is it too much to ask of fate to give us a second chance at life and love?

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Emotionally, this was a HARD one for me to get through. Having just lost my own husband nearly a year ago (in fact, this book is being released on the one year anniversary of his death), and being in the process of writing my own story of our journey - Finding  Him hit far too close to home for me. Keaton could have been me. 

It was easy to understand her grief, her guilt, her anger. The funny thing about being able to so closely relate to her? I was also able to be both somewhat angry with her for moving on while at the same time being angry that she was putting so much stock in what other people thought about HER life. Seriously, the way her fans were written was very over the top and hostile - freaking out when she posted a simple photo of herself and called it moving on. Sadly? Keyboard warriors and Internet trolls are very much like that. 

Complicated doesn't begin to cover this story. These are two very different people who have been broken in very different ways. Unfortunately, given the ways that they were broken, I feel like the majority of this story is very depressing, and that is not an emotion I want to feel when reading a book. I wish we could have seen more of them without the grief hanging over their heads. Sure, we get a glimpse of their future at the very end, but it wasn't nearly enough to make their romance believable. 

***SPOILER ALERT***

I was definitely not a fan of the author using pregnancy to make Keaton realize that she was "in love" with Julian after knowing him what a month at best? No, what she is is grieving, and rebounding and that means any future relationships are going to take time. Yes, I believe these two had a certain kind of chemistry between them, but I'm not convinced that they would have lasted based on what we got to see of them.

***END SPOILER***


Overall, I have no doubt that people will enjoy this novel. And maybe once my own wounds have healed more, I will come back and give this a second read and write an updated review. I would, however, read more from this author. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                  Finding Him is available from Amazon.com