The main character, Skye, still grieves the loss of her father years before (these parts in the book are truly beautiful, and I think anyone who has lost a loved one can relate). Through this she meets Tai, a handsome young man with some sorrow of his own. As they learn about each others families, they fall in love and it's sweet and (mostly :) innocent, as young love is. Definitely a 'coming of age' tale as these characters grow while bonding with one another. My favorite part was being caught off guard by the ending, which I did NOT see coming. Definitely not the cookie-cutter way to end a story like this (despite there still being a happily-ever-after - thank goodness! :) and I love when a book surprises me. Overall, this was a beautiful read.
I gave the book a strong 4 stars on Amazon for the overall story and beautiful writing. Why not all 5 stars you ask? My only real critique is how quickly the "L" word arrived. My favorite part of any love story is the "falling" - the getting to know each other, watching that bond build, etc... This happened pretty quickly in this book. Now don't get me wrong, Skye, the main character, is only 18 - so it's not unbelievable by any means that these characters would've progressed so quickly - that's a often a strong characteristic of young love so it still makes sense in that regard. But I just wanted more "time" for them as that happened - more of a slow build. But of course that's just my personal preference - and at the end of the day, it's not such a bad thing for an author to leave you wanting MORE, because that simply means you already felt so much of it :)
Here is the book's synopsis:
"After the death of her father when she was twelve years old, Skye Levene finds it easier to stick to her daily routine and keep her heart firmly closed against love. Without love, there is no possibility for hurt. At least so she thinks.
However, when she falls off the edge of a cliff and is saved by the mysterious Tai, routine goes out the window and suddenly she’s feeling things she never even knew were possible. Tai, fascinating, funny and sexy as hell, has his own burdens to bear, the reason why he’s camping out in the old abandoned lighthouse on the top of the cliff.
As snow falls and winter deepens, he introduces her to new experiences; card games, hot chocolate and the magic of stargazing. Most of all, he introduces her to love.
But when his past catches up with them, Skye is left wondering whether love is worth risking your heart for after all."