Book Review: If: By Randi Cooley Wilson

Synopsis

If you knew love would hurt you, would you fall?
If you knew love would leave you, would you let it go?
If you knew love could never be, would you try?

From bestselling author Randi Cooley Wilson comes a gut-wrenching love story about heartbreak, second chances, and letting go. The ifs that linger between the pages of this novel will break your heart and stay with you long after the final chapter.

Emerson Shaw thought she’d left her old life behind her, but when she returns home for her best friend’s wedding, she has no idea her past is waiting to reclaim her.

Dark and broken, Lincoln Daniels never wanted to find love. But when he met straight-laced Emerson, he fell. Hard. The only thing they seemed to have in common was an undeniable mutual attraction, but from the moment he laid eyes on her, there was something about her that called to him. Until he lost her.

Tormented by demons and consumed by dark desires, it took years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of their what ifs. Just when Emerson is finally ready to let go and stop existing in a past full of pain and regret, Lincoln returns, turning her life upside down. What begins as a tentative friendship quickly escalates, and the two soon realize that all the ifs lingering between them no longer matter.

If is a love story about two damaged people whose future depends on promises made in the past. What happens when two broken people meet, fall in love, and realize they can never be? What happens when all the what ifs no longer make sense? If you knew your heart would break, would you still fall? This book is intended for mature audiences.

Review 

*I won a copy of this book from a competition run by the author.

[Contains spoilers towards the end of the review]

The first book of 2019 done ✔️

Now that’s out of the way with… this book caught my eye because its the first contemporary romance that Randi Cooley Wilson has written. This is an author that I really wanted to give a second chance, back in 2017 I read her Revelations series (Paranormal/ fantasy romance) and I’m not gonna sugar coat it, it was pretty dire, mainly due to the main characters. So I was hoping that this being different genre might make the difference.

I thought the writing was good, it had a nice pace to it and it flowed well, the book begins in the present day when Emerson is about so Lincoln again for the first time in over a year. Then it jumps back a few years to when the first meet and we get the story of their torrid relationship and then jumps back to the present day for the last few chapters.  The romance itself was ok, I didn’t love the cheating aspect and thought it was entirely unnecessary.

Now I don’t know what it is but I didn’t really like Lincoln, he just wasn’t likable – now for me, this is a recurring theme when it comes to Randi Cooley Wilson’s male love interests, I actually loathed male love interest in the Revelation series and although Lincoln didn’t envoke that same hatred I still didn’t like him all that much. Emerson was alright I guess I don’t really have any strong feelings towards her, there was nothing really that special about her.

To finish up I’m going to talk about the ending which is something I tried to avoid when reviewing but I feel I have to for this book because this is where I feel it fell short, so please avert your eyes if you don’t want spoilers!

The resolution between the two main characters happened way too quickly for my liking. It was all forgiveness and kisses and blah blah blah – It ruined the story IMO. I think there should have been a bit more to it and it kind of felt forced so it’s for this reason that I’ve only given the books 3 star review.

My Rating: 3/5 🌟🌟🌟

About the Author 

Randi Cooley Wilson is an award-nominated, bestselling author of The Revelation Series, The Royal Protector Academy Novels, The Dark Soul Trilogy and the upcoming Knightress Series.

Randi’s books have been featured on Good Morning America, British Glamour Magazine, USA Today’s HEA Section, and in the Emmy’s Gifting Suite. Her books range in genre, and include contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance, for both young adult and new adult readers.

For more on Randi, please visit her website, www.randicooleywilson.com.