Ari Bookzilla

4.5 stars but GR won't let me.This is entirely different from [b:Love Left Behind|16042305|Love Left Behind|S.H. Kolee|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348436759s/16042305.jpg|21819093], which I didn't like so much because the hero is a Dr Jekyll/Mr Hide personality. Not here, though. Caden is a troubled, emotionally handicapped man and his closed off personality made so much sense when you find out what he's been through. I could actually see when he started to open up and it broke my heart that he tried to fight it.Lauren is a peculiar heroine, she is also standoffish, but in a different way. Things that happened to her make her want to control every aspect of her life, including what she feels, how she reacts to everything, and it must have been so exhausting living like that. It's all en effort to not let her past define her, and I have to say that I loved her for it, even if she did go about it the wrong way.Guess what else, no insta-love. Yep, these two fall slowly in love, or at least, slower than it usually happens these days in romance.Yes, there were things that annoyed me. But I decided to get over them because the overall story was satisfying. (One tiny spoiler ahead)Caden was pretty creepy in the beginning but I warmed up to him after he opened up a bit.Lauren struck me as not-very-smart when she goes to his studio the first time, wait, I have to quote that, it's brilliant.I didn't know what I expected to find. Maybe a large bed fit for a bordello and an array of sexual props and toys? What I didn't expect to find was a large room with high ceilings that looked like a well-outfitted professional studio.Someone's been reading Fifty Shades of Grey. Yeah. He is a famous professional photographer. Sexual props and toys make much more sense than a professional studio.Or when he suddenly decides to take the decision of birth control away from her (twice) and she just goes with it. That's losing control that she wanted so much, and I'm not talking about sex. This has to do with her life, her body. At the time he was 100% that he didn't love her, he was just obsessed with her, and what if she got pregnant? How is that good for her? I just...No. This went so much against her character to me.But yeah, once things started happening between them and they fell into this easy relationship it was great to read. Even though you're not in Caden's head you can see the changes in him and that's why I liked this so much.I also liked it because Lauren was strong enough to just let go of him when he wasn't good for her anymore. I'm glad she thought more of herself and realized she does want happiness and not just an empty existence she's been living her whole life. She definitely deserved more than he was prepared to give her.For a change this was a real, believable conflict, instead of the usual "big misunderstanding" or made up issue for H/h to split.I loved Michael and Millie (*sob* that story completely caught me off guard). And Macie was a good friend to Lauren.So yeah, this definitely changes things with S.H. Kolee to me. I recommend this, it has a sexy photographer hero that deals with his troubled past to become a better man, a heroine that overcomes all her inhibitions and realizes how much she's worth, and a perfectly paced story. I'd say it's worth your time.