Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 13th, 2013
Ever since her parents’ divorce, the only way she has been able to feel in control of her life is by purging the despair that has its grips on her and won’t let go.
Tyler Redding knows when someone needs help – he’s seen it before. This time, though, he’s not going to take no for an answer. From the moment he first sets his sights on Mackenzie, he’s unable to think of anyone else. But how can he focus on a football career when all he wants to do is date the most unassuming person he’s ever met?
As their lives become intricately entwined, it becomes more than wishful thinking when Mackenzie and Tyler find each other again as adults. With successful careers, a beachside lifestyle and each other’s love to contend with, life should be pretty damn good. But just when they think they’ve found their wonderful kind of normal, their perfect world comes crashing down.
It’s going to take a lot to keep Mackenzie from succumbing to old habits, but Tyler thinks he might just be the one to save her for good.
• Anorexic
• Death of family member
• Grief
• Sexual assault
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Phew, this book was a lot to take in. It was another heavy plotline, with one of the main characters suffering from an eating disorder. Set in Australia, Sanctuary of Mine, is about a girl who thinks she lost it all, and a boy who wants nothing more to give her the world.
The two characters in this book were rockin’. No seriously, they were! I loved, loved, loved Tyler, oh and yes, we get a dual POV! Thank god. I found it adorable how the heroine, Mackenzie, was so set on not making friends but ended up doing so. Also, the fact that Mackenzie befriended a boy with an eating problem (meaning he liked to eat too much, whereas she ate nothing) made for a compelling juxtaposition.
“I may not be able to control who loves me and who likes me. Who stays and who goes. But one thing is for certain. I can control this.”
Now on the topic of eating, I feel that the subject of eating disorders wasn’t realistic. This is because Mackenzie knew she had an eating disorder, but having an eating disorder is a mental illness, so the fact that she admitted she had a problem, but wouldn’t do anything about it seemed contradictory. Normally, the hardest part is recognizing there is a problem. Also, I found that Mackenzie was too casual and blasé about. She seriously made some comment, like, oh yeah I have an eating disorder, whatever … and so on. It was weird and didn’t mesh with how serious eating disorders are. And the fact that Tyler was so easily able to help her get over it also didn’t make sense.
But this story, I found in the end, was more about how Tyler and Mackenzie became a couple and their journey onwards, and how her eating order affected that at the beginning.
“I turn to face him and a look of adoration is written across his features.”
The relationship between the characters was awesome, and the letters that occurred halfway through were awesome! It felt like you got to know Tyler and Mackenzie more intimately because of the letters they exchanged.
The pace and plot of the novel were perfections. The ending was heartbreaking but also liberating. It was truly a testament to the couples’ strength and their will to stay together. I love books with epilogues, so the fact that Sanctuary of Mine had one was great, and it was really well done which was another bonus!
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