Page Princess: TRUST by Mia Fox

Title: TRUST

Series: Chasing Shadows #2

Author: Mia Fox

Publish Date: 07.20.14

Publisher: Evatopia Press

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Contemporary

Cover Art:

Photography by Cathleen Tarawhiti

Model - Melanie Bevan

Digital art by Consuelo Parra

Typography by Eden Crane

Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content

Grammar/editing: A – near perfect

Received from: Evatopia Press (in exchange for an honest review)

Tour arranged by: My Family’s Heart Book Reviews and Tours

Goodreads link: Trust

Date completed: 07.19.14

Description from the publisher:

Ella’s struggle...

After losing Nate, trusting her heart to love again seems impossible for Ella. In spite of her family’s desire that she move on with her life, it’s the last thing she wants...especially since she has a connection to Nate’s ghost.

Ethan’s resolve...

Ethan knows about grief. Not only does he counsel people suffering from loss, he’s also lost a loved one. When he meets Ella, he makes it his mission to heal her broken heart. With time, the boundary between patient and doctor blurs as Ethan finds himself falling in love. Yet he must suppress his feelings for fear of crossing a line that is based on trust.

Nate’s determination...

Being without Ella while in Afghanistan was hard. Having to say goodbye again is even worse. Although now a ghost, Nate can still make Ella happy when he visits. Their time together is precious, yet fleeting. Although being with Ella again is life’s sweetest gift, Nate is desperate to heal her troubled mind and broken heart.

An unbreakable bond...

When Ella becomes increasingly reckless and sets off on a dangerous journey into the rugged wilderness, it’s up to both Nate and Ethan to find her. One man represents her past and one her future. One will use his marine training and the other his knowledge of psychology to keep Ella safe and help her...Trust.

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I loved Nate with all my heart and the tragedy of losing him became somehow manageable when his ghost visited me. I never would have believed, if it hadn’t happened so many times. But it’s real. It’s possible for me to still be with Nate -- even if nobody else believes me.

Lily thinks I’m nuts, which is why she was so in favor of my being counseled by Ethan. If my work hadn’t insisted, I would never have agreed to it. And if I had known that being near Ethan would lead to even more heart ache, well...

At least he doesn’t make me feel as if I’m going crazy for saying that I can see Nate. He’s been through something this side of horrible as well. Maybe that’s why he’s the only one who doesn’t look at me with pity. Yeah, I could fall for him.

But in doing so, I would lose Nate. I just know it. I lose a bit of him every day and it just tears me apart to betray his memory, even when he tells me to go on with my life. The only way to figure out this mess of my life is to spend time away from both of them. So that’s just what I’m going to do. Looking out into the distance, I can see the high peaks of these mountains that encompass the National Parks Recreation Area. They extend for miles from inland valleys, up and over the passes, to the ocean shore. One could spend hours and days, weeks and months, and never have the chance to explore every inch of them. It was a perfect escape.

This is the second book in Chasing Shadows series. They do need to be read in order.

A confused Ella is torn between her memories and her desires, her past and her future, her Nate and her Ethan, a ghost and a man. She knows she loves them both, but should loyalty or life win out? Ethan has blurred the lines between patient and passion. Will healing the patient open the door for passion? Nate, only wants Ella happy and safe, even if that means that she leaves him to be with Ethan.

The good: I loved this story. Nate is an aware ghost. He and Ella each privately always knew (see BELIEVE) that their time together couldn’t last forever. He had told her that he would be there as long as she needed him…and he is. It was obvious that Ms. Fox either knows this area of CA very well, or she did a lot of excellent research. I love that Ethan is an Eagle Scout (once an Eagle, always an Eagle). I am very proud of my own Eagle!

The bad: At times, there was too much explaining and not enough showing, mental introspection describing why the character was doing whatever they were doing. The “a-ha” moment could, and probably should, be done this way, but prior to that “show, not tell” is the better writing tool.

The beautiful: In the story, her descriptions of flora, fauna, and local Indian lore added a beautiful layer of richness to a wonderful love story. I liked the flashbacks to scenes from the previous book, to give you that “remember when” moment that applies to what is happening now. Ms. Fox always has such beautiful covers on her books and this one is no exception. If you haven’t yet, you should take a moment to look.

The Chasing Shadows series: