Review: Beauty From Surrender (#2, Beauty) by Georgia Cates

My Thoughts

Seductive, super hot and romantic.
An emotional sequel to a great series.

• Related Posts: 2013 Favorites, Review: Beauty From Pain (#1, Beauty); Spotlight: Beauty From Surrender (#2, Beauty)

Synopsis

After Laurelyn Prescott walks away from the love of her life, she returns to Nashville to pursue the only dream she has left. Determined to find a distraction from the pain of losing Jack Henry, she immerses herself in her music. But with her old life comes old acquaintances and new expectations. When Laurelyn refuses her record producer’s outrageous demands, she finds herself without a career—until an unforeseen opportunity presents itself. From there it’s a rocket ride straight to the top where Laurelyn finds the success she’s always dreamed of. Will it be enough to bring her the happiness she so deserves, or will the absence of Jack Henry leave her wanting more?

Jack Henry McLachlan never expected to fall in love with Laurelyn Prescott—but he did. After he foolishly let her slip through his fingers, he spends three months searching for her, but their reunion doesn’t come easy. The woman he finds isn’t the same one who drifted away without a goodbye. No longer an insecure girl on an Australian adventure, this Laurelyn is a successful musician with a promising career. Her dreams are becoming a reality, and Jack is terrified his American girl won’t have a place for him in her new life. With only a month to convince her otherwise, will it be enough time to make her visualize a life beyond the glitz and glamour, a life that includes him?

My Review

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up to her because I hate what me without her looks like. I’m going to win her back, and when I do, I’m never letting her go again.”

Jack McLachlan is a man on a mission. Last we saw in Beauty From Pain, Jack never expressed his feelings to Laurelyn… never told her he loved her… never asked her to stay. Laurelyn left Australia and went back to Nashville. Now Jack is miserable, but determined to find the girl he fell in love with despite not knowing her last name.

Laurelyn is crushed, she knows she can never stop loving Jack Henry, despite her thinking that he never loved her back.

“To regret meeting the man I love would be to wish him away, and I can never do that. The excruciating pain I feel in my heart is worth even the briefest time we had together.”

But Jack always gets his way and he finds Laurelyn. When he finds her however, three months later, she’s in a compromising situation and he’s not sure whether she loves him and wants him in her life.

“Believe me — I know all too well what it’s like missing you. I’ve been a mess since you left me. I thought I would lose my mind before I found you. You didn’t make it easy on me, Miss Laurelyn Paige Prescott.”

I have to tell you, although it happens relatively soon in the book, I had goose bumps in anticipation of them seeing each other again! Laurelyn and Jack have such incredible chemistry that I could hardly wait to see them together!!! Their seeing each other again made my heart race big time and I couldn’t read fast enough!!! It was epic! And our poor Jack, he’s so incredibly sorry for leaving her. He’s a new man, though, focused on expressing how he feels and proving to her that he’s in it for forever.

“It was a mistake to not tell you how I felt. It’s haunted me since the day I came home and found you gone. You’ll never know how sorry I am for letting you slip through my fingers But it won’t happen again because I’m never letting you go. Ever.”

This is the beginning of one of the major themes of the book… Jack’s evolution and personal growth. The Jack McLachlan we saw in book 1 doesn’t do relationships — he’s always in control and never vulnerable. Jack is the savvy, arrogant, in-control business man who makes arrangements with women and avoids “complicated” at all cost. In this book, he’s completely changed. He’s a man in love with one goal… to make Laurelyn his, always and forever.

“You’re everything I never knew I wanted. Every time I picture my future, it’s always your face I see… with some little people that look like us.”

This book mainly chronicles their journey to understand what a future together looks like. They both love each other, they are both incredibly attracted to each other and they both desire a future together. With Jack’s business in Australia, however, and Laurelyn’s growing fame in the States, how can they make it work? Jack makes it clear he wants Laurelyn home, with him, in Australia.

“All I hear is my head saying no and my heart saying go.”

Laurelyn doesn’t know what to do and that indecision intensifies the escalating tension between them. Ultimately, we do see a HEA in this book, but it’s not without a price.

I have to say, I absolutely LOVED Beauty From Pain. LOVED. And I loved this book too, but unlike Beauty From Pain, which I thought was perfectly done, I did truthfully have two small issues with this book. The first has to do with Jack’s change. I wondered if it went a little far. He was so against long-term relationships and a future with a wife and kids and in this book, having babies with Laurelyn is on his mind constantly. Now, I’m no fool and know a man in love… in real love… is a changed man, but to me, it felt a little too much, too quickly. That being said… I hope Laurelyn has a ton of Jack Henry’s babies! 🙂

Secondly, and it’s hard to talk about this one without giving away what happened, I didn’t like the choice that Laurelyn made for herself. You’ll see what I mean. I wanted there to be some sort of compromised happily ever after. My guess now…and I know NOTHING at all (this is totally personal guess)… is that perhaps in book 3 we’ll see her decision come into question again with some compromises reached.

Author Georgia Cates is not 100% decided on whether book 3 will be a full-length novel or a novella, but I’m guessing it’s going to re-introduce some angst, push/pull dynamics and a revisiting of Laurelyn’s situation. There are also a few story elements that I assume may come into play. But let me repeat… I loved this book, I really love the series… and good god, I love Jack  Henry McLachlan! These were just a couple things that made me pause and wonder whether they should’ve been done differently. And let me tell you that this book ratchets steaminess up multiple notches!!! It’s super hot!!! *fans self*

Definitely pick this book up, particularly if you loved Beauty From Pain as much as I did! I can’t wait to see how Jack and Laurelyn’s story concludes.

Subscribe for Updates: