A review by ohthesheenanigans
When You Close Your Eyes by Roxanne D. Howard

3.0

Rating: ★★✬☆☆ (2.5/5 Stars)
Title: When You Close Your Eyes
Author(s): Roxanne D. Howard
Character(s):
― Lark Braithwaite: Blonde, Brown Eyed
― Niall O'Hagan: 33 years old, Brunette, Green Eyed
Setting: Portland, Oregon
Tag(s): Romance, Contemporary
Content Rating: R
POV: Third Person
Smexy Level: Hot
Favorite Quote(s):
― “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
― “I believe if someone loves you, the last thing in the world they would do is hurt you.”
― “There’s a fairy-tale myth girls are spoon fed which tells them those who love you will never hurt you, but it’s ridiculous. They have to hurt you. It’s part of loving and growing. What you have to decide is if you love them enough to forgive them."
― “If you belonged to me, I’d make it my mission to ensure you felt happy and loved, every single day, for the rest of your life.”
― “Love, I won’t push you. But I have to touch you. I can’t be this close to you and not touch you.”
― “Hate is a cancer which will eat at your core, devour you whole if you let it until you’re consumed by it."
Overall Opinion:
After months and months, Lark has dreamt of a mysterious Irish lover who knows what she wants and gives her exactly what she needs. And just when she thinks he's just a pigment of her imagination, she arrives back home in Oregon for her late father's funeral to wake up and find her kissing the Irish stud. Stepping straight out of her fantasies and into her life, the powerful connection they share rocks her foundation but when she comes face to face with the demons from her past, would that prevent her from finding true love?

In regards to “When You Close Your Eyes”, it was a good read, not great which surprised me considering all the five stars reviews I have seen beforehand. It was an interesting premise that I knew it would be from the get-go after reading the blurb. It just didn't blow my mind. Generally speaking it was mediocre at best, the characters just lack the oomph to really bring the story together and the one week “I can't without you” instant love was a uh-no. Furthermore, I thought it was odd how creepy Charles gotten after confessing his infidelity to his now ex fiance probing questions which brings me to another point. The way Charles casually admitting to 'shagging” multiple women during their relationship was a huge left down. No built-up on how Lark found out about his unfaithfulness or anything. It was just wham! Bam! Can we still have sex type of confession and then for him to awkwardly stay at Lark childhood home days after was something else. Furthermore, Lark was very adamant about not giving second chances after she caught her father cheating on her mother prior to the storyline yet here she is stealing kisses with Niall and reliving some of her sexual fantasies while still being engaged to Charles. I guess the the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. To say the least I'm shocked I didn't dropped the series. Kudos to me!