The Scars I Bare by J.L. Berg
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

 

“Someday, you’re going to realize your life didn’t end… someday, you’re going to look past those wounds and scars that ripped open your body and realize you have more to give, more to live, and more to love.”

As a first-time reader of J.L. Berg, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this author. However, I found myself extremely intrigued after reading the blurb. I must say the blurb never prepared me for the story I was about to read. The Scars I Bare is the second story in the By The Bay series but can be read as a complete standalone. I had no problem following the story without having read the first book. The story was a little challenging for me to get into initially. I was invested enough to keep reading and for that I am so grateful. This book dealt with some very dark elements but in such a way that the story remains more of a sweet and easy read. Both Dean and Cora have their own demons and while Dean is slowly drowning in his, Cora flees from hers. Both characters deal with their pasts in different ways but when they are thrown together repeatedly an instantaneous attraction flourishes. As the story progressed I found myself completely captivated by Lizzy, Cora’s six-year-old daughter. Honestly, she was my favorite part of the entire story.

The Scares I Bare is a small-town romance that absolutely will leave readers springing from one emotion to another. It’s told in duel perspectives and readers will be taken a step farther with the addition of journal-like entries from both Cora and Dean. These entries tie the past and the present together beautifully. They allow the reader to understand the characters subconscious without the entire book being a means of reliving the past. The relationship that develops between Cora and Dean is beautiful. It developed a little quicker than I believe it would have IRL but that’s what the fantasy of a romance offers to its readers. I tend to be drawn to romances where the hero is gorgeous but tormented and Dean has this down pat! On the other hand, I liked Cora but didn’t love her. Yet I did love her chemistry with Dean. I loved that together the two were able to repair the damage done in their pasts. They healed each other. Also, the relationship that Dean and Lizzy formed was what really made this book for me. Overall, I give it 3.5 stars