A review by daisyknox
If Only in My Dreams by Carrie Aarons

5.0

All reviews posted at Tales of Love, Life, and Murder

Madison’s humiliation is palpable as she details how her husband simply stopped loving her and the hometown gossips obsessed with the failure of her high-profile marriage, but that’s nothing compared to the way she describes her relationship with Porter Kelly. He’s not just the boy who broke her heart, he’s the boy who broke her heart repeatedly after she kept giving him another chance and now that she’s back, he’s the man who still treats her like garbage. Her body is a complete traitor, yearning for him even as she tries to loathe him for his extraordinary ability to hurt her.

Porter’s life has been rough and although that doesn’t excuse his behavior, it does explain it, if only he’d admit the truth. I love the way they way they spar because he has so much to apologize for yet he continually taunts her in the hopes of driving her away. He wants distance and she wants to forget him, but there’s no way to avoid each other when he’s working for her parents.

Their history is complicated and messy and painful but they’re drawn together in a way that won’t allow them to go their separate ways. I love Madison and Porter’s story because she’s so real, she could be any of us and Porter wants to be the man she deserves, even if he’s not sure he’s capable. Madison wants to see where this could go but she’s not about to let him off the hook for his past behavior so I love that she wasn’t some swooning pushover and also that he proved himself to be a better man than he was the first time she loved him.

He’s also a talented singer/songwriter and the detailed description of his acoustic performances will give you goosebumps. I could almost hear the music and in my mind, Porter’s sexy, smoky voice sounds very much like Jason Wade from Lifehouse. His version of You Belong To Me was my wedding song and it’s the absolute best version of a fantastic song so imagine my shock about ten years after we got married when I discovered he made that song for the Shrek soundtrack because seriously, for SHREK? But I digress . . .

Their story has a lot of heart but it’s also steamy and funny and fun to read. This is a book I’ll read again in the future, it’s that good. I received an ARC from Grey’s Promotions in exchange for an honest review.