REVIEW: RETAKE DUET
ON THE WAY DOWN
Series: Retake Duet #1
Author: Ella Fox
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 18th, 2018
What happens when one of the most famous actors in Hollywood falls head over heels in love with a high school senior?
She was too young
Shaelyn Monroe believed larger-than-life action star Garrett Riordan was out of her league.
He was too famous
Garrett knew the mysterious girl who ignored him like it was her job was something special.
Against all the odds, Garrett and Shaelyn worked.
Everything was perfect.
Right up until the moment unthinkable happened.
ON THE WAY BACK
Series: Retake Duet #2
Author: Ella Fox
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 7, 2019
She believed she was too broken to stay.
He knew he loved her too much to ever let go.
Shaelyn was determined to set Garrett free after their lives were torn apart.
Garrett was just as determined to keep their marriage intact.
One tragedy shattered Shaelyn’s heart.
Another will break through her walls and remind her that each day is a gift.
On the way down, they spiraled apart.
On the way back, they’ll find that broken hearts still hold hope.
Whoaaaaa… What a LIFE IMPACTFUL/ALTERING story!!! You know those books that mark your life and you will never forget?! This duet is exactly that for me! Retake Duet just gave my heart the most intense of workouts. It is so much more than a romance! Garrett and Shae’s beautiful story is ALL about the journey, the healing, the passion and most of all the UNMOVING LOVE!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
I have to start by saying that I was going to separate do a review for both books, separately, but at the end, I just couldn’t do it. Their journey is so impactful for me, and for that reason, I’m expressing in this review, my feelings for the duet as a whole, because that’s what it was, the story may have been split in two parts, but I read them back to back, and my overall feelings are for their story, their path, and all the emotions took root from the first chapter in book one and didn’t even end with the last word of the Epilogue. They will stay with me FOREVER!
“He looks at you like you’re something precious he’s had on layaway for a long-ass time and he’s two payments away from taking it home.”
In his arms I discovered what the term weak at the knees meant. He tasted like happily ever after and liquid lust all rolled into one, and I never, ever wanted it to end.
Another reason for the combined review is the fact that I really don’t want to spoil anything about Garrett and Shaelyn’s story. I went in blind to read this and I am sooooooo thankful I did, the EMOTIONAL IMPACT of their journey is just unbeatable! Every moment was a surprise, every step was discovery, and every single emotion they felt, I felt it right along with them.
The need I have for you is all-consuming. I wake up thinking about you, I go to bed thinking about you, and when I’m asleep, I dream about you. When I think about my future, you’re in it.”
When you least expected love, it found you.
The very first book starts in a way that we immediately know that something happened that tore up and pushed them apart, going them to show us in a intricate and captivating way their love story from the very first moment they locked eyes. It’s a slow burn, but a deliciously realistic and close to heart way. Their blooming romance made me fall in love right along with them. So on On The Way Down, we see them fall in love, and get together, in a beautiful Holywood ‘Cinderella’ like scheme, that is very much my catnip. This fairytale though, is shaken to the core when tragedy, by the end of book one, strikes in the most heartbreaking of manners ( I SOBBED LIKE A BABY, AND I SELDOM CRY IN MY READS!), and their relationship is put to the test in every way.
I’d do whatever it took to remind her of the thing I knew to be true above all else. We belonged together.
That’s where we start on book two, On The Way Back. The title was absolutely SPOT ON! The second book truly was all about recovering and dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, and most of all HEALING! OMG… The emotional charge, the conflict, the pain, the desperation, I felt every single one of those emotions along with Shae and Garrett. My heart was literally hurting for these two, so damn much! The issues discussed are so close to everyone’s heart in one way or another, I very much doubt this duet can be read without absorving and LIVING those emotions, right along with them. That’s how brilliant and masterfully Ella Fox wove them!
Ms. Fox crafted the very definition of the PERFECT romance hero, ultimate book boyfriend and my favorite EF male character – and I thought Mateo Cruz would hold that title forever, lol – in Garrett Riordan. He is EVERYTHING I want and search in my romance novels, and then some! Perfect in every way, his undying, unshakeable love and devotion thought this struggling and desperate journey was the stuff that fairytales – and romance books – are made of. Truly perfect!
The other was my heart, and I’d never give up on her—on us. Quitting wasn’t an option. I would fight for Shaelyn until the stars fell from the sky and my bones turned to dust.
“I gave you my whole heart, Shaelyn—not just a portion of it. It’s been yours this whole time because it’s constant.
Right now, in this very moment, my heart continues to be yours. It’ll be yours in five years, and it will still be yours thirty years after that. This love is not temporary. It will not decrease in scope or go away.
And Shaelyn… Oh my heart… Even though she’s so young when they first meet, she indeed was an old soul in young body, mainly due to her sad past. She was created in such a realistic and natural way, that I couldn’t help but relate to her, I was literally cheering from her from the get go, and when the tragedy hits them, I was hurting so damn much for her. Not all was heartbreaking, and each victory I felt in my heart just as much. I really was living all the emotions trough her and that is the proof of how masterful the story telling is in this duet!
WHAT AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY! I can honestly say I will never forget this story, these two, and specially their unwavering love! The Retake Duet will go straight to my list of top all time fav, EPIC LOVE STORY, romance novels. Yep, it’s right there in my list of literary masterpieces!!! The definition of a MUST READ! NOW! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
My heart was made to beat along with yours. Until the day I die, it’ll be you. I love you so goddamn much, Shaelyn.
“Thank you for never losing faith.”
“Not even for a second,” he vowed. “This marriage is forever.”
“And always,”
ARC kindly provided by the author via Enticing Journey Promotions
for an honest review
USA Today Bestselling Author Ella Fox has learned a bunch of stuff along the way but the most important of all those things is that anything is possible when you try. In 2012 she took a big leap of faith and published her first book, Broken Hart. Since then she’s written fifteen more full-length books and several novellas– and every one is a reminder that you can live your dream as long as you work for it.
Ella’s favorite things are music, movies, traveling, The Foo Fighters and, of course, reading. This isn’t a surprise considering the fact that her mom is USA Today Bestselling Author Suzanne Halliday.
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Brynne Asher grew up in the Midwest and now lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, three children and her perfect dog. When she isn’t creating pretend people and relationships in her head, she is running her kids around and doing laundry. She enjoys cooking, decorating, shopping at outlet malls as well as online and is always seeking the best deal. A perfect day in “Brynne World” ends in front of an outdoor fire with family, friends, s’mores and a delicious cocktail.
