4 Stars!I was really unprepared for how emotional this story would be. I was also unprepared for how much varied sex would be involved...this is an odd mix of New Adult and erotica, which makes for a controversial set up, I think. It’s told from both Rowen and Logan’s points of view, in first person, present tense…so it feels like a very personal story. You’re inside their head the entire time, rather than an onlooker. It’s not often that I’ve read this POV, and I think it really struck a chord with me.Rowan’s story is heartbreaking and tragic. At ten years of age, her Mom dies in a car wreck and she is sent to live with her father. Her alcoholic, abusive father. Luckily, she meets Sarah, a popular girl from school, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship that stays strong throughout the rest of the book. Sarah’s family is a prominent family in town and they take Rowen under their wings, providing her with a refuge from her father with their open door policy and endless generosity and love. They know that Rowen is lonely and poor, but they don’t know the extent of the abuse that she has to endure.Sarah’s older brother Logan is obviously part of Rowen’s life due to his proximity, but he’s seven years older and therefore hasn’t been more than another body in the family. Until one night when Rowen’s dad goes too far and she has no one else to call. When Logan is forced to face the evidence of Rowan’s bruised and battered body, we come to realize what a good person he is.The unending loyalty and protectiveness that Logan exhibits is what kept me from feeling so squeamish about the age difference between he and Rowen. Rowen is seventeen at the beginning of the story and eighteen for the majority of it. Still, she’s a girl who’s still in High School, and that fact made me a little uncomfortable. I really wish that she could have been at least a year or two ahead in life, but that would have changed the whole dynamic of the story, so it was not to be! Logan….ah, Logan MADE this book! He’s a quiet, responsible twenty four year old man, on the cusp of graduating college and moving to Denver to start his career as a high powered lawyer at a prestigious firm. The fact that he’s not the typical college boy, partying and sleeping around, getting his wild on, is what made me okay with the issue of age. At first, Logan wants nothing more than to save this sweet, timid friend of his sister…his instinct to protect leads him to make some questionable decisions that lead to questionable situations. Of course, Rowen falls hard for him…and it’s obvious that the vulnerable young girl would fall hard for her savior. You could delve into the psychology of the situation but I tried very hard to refrain and just enjoy the story. There is nothing lascivious about Logan…he’s a genuinely good person. But when he and Rowen spend so much time together, one thing leads to another…."Seeing her hurt crumbled my resolve, and I wanted nothign more than for her to feel me-my desire for her, the pleasure I could give her, my obsession for her."And boy, can this author write foreplay! And come up with some very interesting ways to keep from having actual intercourse. I almost felt like it was overdone….I’m not sure what kind of foreplay was left to write about. Logan is adamant that he will not take Rowen’s virginity. But after all of the things that these two did together, I think Rowen was a virgin by a slight technicality only. To me, virginity is innocence, not a hymen. So while yes, the girl could still claim to be a virgin, she was most assuredly NOT innocent by any stretch of the imagination. Logan is all alpha in the bedroom. He pushes boundaries that I imagine many couples never breach, ever. I admit to feeling uncomfortable a couple more times during a few of the sexual situations that these two found themselves in. I felt like Logan was pushing for things that took it a bit too far, and Rowen never, not once said no…even when she was obviously uncomfortable with Logan’s requests. "The trust she showed in me fed my soul and my need to have her, possess her. but in the same breath, I need her to possess me, too, and she does. She gives me willingly what I need and owns me because of it."The bond that these two share, and their obvious love and devotion to each other was much more than most young people are capable of. In a lot of relationships in books with younger couples, the angst comes from a lack of maturity and lack of trust between the two. Not so with these two. They trust each other at a level that is isn’t even a question in their mind, or mine. Their problems arise from the terrible situation of Rowen’s abusive home life and the fact that they both lack years. In society’s eyes, Rowen is too young…and their relationship must be kept a secret. Not only can they not build a normal love with each other , but each has a future planned that doesn’t include living in the same half of the country as the other person. The fact that they both are responsible enough not to profess an undying love for one another shows a level of maturity that is solid. The obstacles seem insurmountable, but you I couldn’t help but root for them to find some way to be together. "My heart is overrun with joy that I had truly given up having in my life..."I loved this couple, despite the wrong-ness of their ages. In reality, Rowen was ready to be on her own, forced through circumstance to grow up too soon. Logan was a young man willing to take on the responsibility of caring for someone weaker than him who desperately needed both his protection and his discretion. THAT, my friends, is a true man!!! And therefore, I love him. I loved this story. It was riveting, it was passionate in all ways, and it was a well rounded story with a wonderful epilogue!!!
