Title: Dear Tabitha
Author: Trudy Stiles
Series: Forever Family #2
Publisher: Veronica Vixley Press
Release Date: March 28, 2014
Genre: New Adult
More Info: Goodreads
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You know me. You know who I am. What I am.

Damaged. Confused. Alone.

You feel sorry for me. You pity me.

You know what I’ve done. What I’ve given up. Who I’ve given up.

You try to understand what I’ve been through and how I can go on with my life. But you can’t possibly understand.

I’ve lost too much. Sacrificed too much. Given up everything so that I can find myself.

Well, I’m done.

I’m done walking away from everything that matters.

It’s time for me to heal.

It’s MY TURN to earn…

Redemption.
Love.
Family.

Book Trailer – Created by Becca at Bibliophile Productions

 My Review:

My urge to comfort her suddenly turns to a deep need. Desire. She was mine once, and my soul suddenly feels as if she still is. My heart pounds in my chest for this girl who was my everything.

You know those authors who come out of the gate swinging, delivering a darn near perfect debut novel, and you wonder how they can possibly ever top it? Well folks, Trudy Stiles doesn’t play around. She leaves a wave of destruction in her path through this angst filled, redemption forthcoming, heartbreaking, eye-opening second novel. Dear Tabitha is truly a book you NEED to read and one you won’t soon forget. Do you know the old saying? Every once in a while in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale? Well every once in a while, when you least expect it, an author gives you the perfect book. A story filled with so many emotions, so many twists and turns, that you are literally gasping for breath until the final page has turned.

I kiss the top of her head and squeeze her tight against me. I suddenly realize something that she’s probably not ready to hear.

            I love her.

Dear Emily was the story of two women, one very special little girl, and the bond that brought them together. Told in dual POV, we barely skimmed the surface of the life that Tabitha has led. As heartbreaking as her tale was, it’s only going to get worse. Stiles doesn’t ease you into this book; no, she hits the ground running. Page after page I turned, hoping for some relief for my poor heart, but the tension just continued. As he was absent in the first book, I longed to read about Alex. We knew the broad details of why he was absent, but not what made him tick or where he was now. The beauty of this book is that it was once again told in dual POV, but this time it was Tabitha and Alex. Let me tell you; he was well worth the wait! Actually, I am mistaken. Technically, it was told with four POV’s; Tabitha’s past and present, and Alex’s past and present. If there’s one thing you take away from this book let it be this: sometimes in order to move forward in the present, you have to reconcile your past. Though we are reliving what brought them to this moment through their eyes, I felt like it was more of a retrospective for the reader. Tabitha isn’t the same self-destructive, screw the world mentality girl that we left in Dear Emily. We see it, her friends see it, Alex sees it, but most importantly, SHE sees is. While we left a shell of a girl, we return to a beauty of a woman. Inside and out, Tabitha’s heart truly is pure. Life has beaten her down but she’s still alive and kicking.

My past and my future are behind that door.

Ah!!!!! There are just so many things that I want to say in this review, but the details have to stop at this point. Believe me when I say that there are some major things that happen, and mentioning even one of them would be a huge disservice to you. Because to truly experience this book, you have to have the jaw-dropping, heart pounding moments that I did. This is one of those books where you are going to be constantly looking around each corner, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Until the epilogue I can honestly say there wasn’t a second I read without trepidation. Delicious, heartwarming, pulse pounding trepidation. And I loved every second of it!

“I love  you. I don’t know any other way to put it, but I can’t stop loving you. I want to share these moments with you and grow with you, Tabs. Please, let’s not waste any more time.”

I will leave you with this: the emotions displayed between Alex and Tabitha, when they allowed their walls to crumble and their hearts to open, were enough to make the darkest of hearts smile. Here were two people with pasts SO dark that for all intents and purposes should have just given up on life, yet they were draw to each other, as if there were ever any other choice. As if there were ever ANY way they could NOT be together. Life isn’t always rainbows and kittens folks; I hate to break it to you. But maybe, just maybe, life hands us crap so that we can better appreciate when the good things DO come along. Because how can  you truly grasp the gravity of greatness unless you’ve see what lies on the other side?

This was a story of forgiveness, redemption, and growth. It wasn’t until I neared the end of the book that I fully understood the gravity behind the titles of the books. In Dear Emily, she is writing letters that will not only change her life, but all of those around her. She was coming to terms with her decision, as painful as it was. She was making the choice to put someone else’s needs before her own. She was growing up. In Dear Tabitha, once again, letters are being written, and once again, those letters will change lives. One little letter changed the course of her entire life and everything she thought she knew. Little letters after that gave Tabitha her life back. Words on sheets of paper allowed Tabitha to come full circle, and what the outcome of that was, well, you’ll just have to read to find out for yourself. Just know this: it wrecked me, completely and utterly wrecked me. And I’m a better person for it.

I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be. Where I’m supposed to be. Our forever starts now. 

Giveaway

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Dear Emily (Forever Family, #1)  (On sale for .99!)

Amazon US – Amazon UK – Amazon CA – Amazon AU – B&N – Kobo – iTunes – Smashwords

Two women. Carly and Tabitha. They each have suffered life-altering events that have left them both traumatically damaged.

Carly Sloan’s life was perfect until her security and innocence was torn from her. The vast repercussions from horrific events threaten to destroy her stability and her chances for a happily ever after. Kyle Finnegan comes into Carly’s life at the height of her turmoil. Can he help her find what she desires most?

Tabitha Fletcher has constantly suffered from a very young age. She has been hiding from her past, which was full of sadness, loss and abuse. She has been so brutally damaged that she has very little hope for redemption. The revolving door of men only leads her deeper into misery.

What circumstance brings these two women together and can they help each other heal? And will they each find what they need?

Redemption.
Love.
Family.

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