Tragic by Devney Perry Series: Lark Cove #3
Published by Selfpublished on November 13, 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 360
Format: Paperback
Source: BookBonanza 19, Purchase
Kaine Reynolds wants nothing more than solitude. After an unthinkable tragedy destroys his family, he’s cut off all ties to his former life so he can battle his grief the only way he knows how.
Alone.
So when Piper Campbell knocks on his door, rambling on about being his new neighbor, he slams the door in her face.
But Kaine’s gruff demeanor doesn’t scare her. She’s set on living in Montana and starting over after a terrible divorce. And she wouldn’t mind having a fling to chase away the pain of her husband’s betrayal. Her handsome, albeit rude, neighbor is the perfect candidate.
Yet what neither of them suspect is that their no-strings affair will result in the surprise of Piper’s lifetime—and Kaine’s worst fear.
Tragic is a worthy installment in this series. It packed a lot of feels – laughter, growls, tears – they all made appearances often. Piper and Kaine were magical together and watching them fall for one another was good stuff.
We met Piper in Tattered as she’s Logan’s assistant. I knew then she was a character I wanted to get to know better. Her story was worth the wait. She’s moved to Lark Cove for a fresh start following an ugly divorce. Piper’s a fighter, though. Lark Cove is good for Piper and I enjoyed watching her blossom in the sun and fresh mountain air. Her meeting with Kaine was something. LOL These two…well, they were explosive to say the least. And it was entertaining watching them try to have a no-strings fling.
Kaine has kept to himself for all the 3 years he’s lived in Lark Cove. He came to grieve, he came to hide from the world. And he’s done a good job at playing hermit. He’s suffered, no doubt, and he’s having problems letting go of his pain and anger. When Piper moves onto his mountain, he immediately reacts gruffly. He does all he can to scare, er, push her away but Piper’s a tough cookie. She’s not afraid of the big bad wolf. 😉
These two are kindred spirits. Each of them has experienced tragedy. They’ve both been damaged in ways that have irrevocably changed them but they’re not broken beyond repair. They ease something in each other and despite not wanting to let anyone in, they can’t help themselves.
I originally gave Tragic a 4.5 Star rating because I had such an emotional response. After a day of marinading in it, I knocked it down to 4 Stars because of the too tidy resolution of Kaine’s anger management issues. That was my only real complaint because it short-changed the emotional growth in Kaine in a way, and that growth was absolutely essential for his character.
The romance and the emotion DPerry wrought from it was a powerful punch. The way Piper and Kaine came together was incendiary and indicative of the connection they felt from the beginning. It was potent and beautiful.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.
This sounds so good. I enjoyed your in depth review and the reasons for the rating. It sounds like a fun series. Best of luck to you and the challenge!