Pocketful of Sand First Edition

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS - I love a story about broken people but wow, these two have some baggage. Eden moves to Miller's Pond, Maine, obviously escaping her past, protecting her six year old daughter Emmy. They discover beautiful ex-football player Cole on the beach building an elaborate sand castle. It becomes one of those love-at-first-sight moments for all three of them. That part of the story was a little too perfect - Cole lost his daughter in a terrible accident of which he feels responsible & the guilt is eating him alive, and Emmy is around the same age & looks like his daughter? Hmmm. The town believes Cole is crazy, talking to his dead daughter, building sand castles to be close to her. Eden & Cole are extremely attracted to each other & are physical right off the bat. One of the hottest scenes ever, two fantasies rolled into one - Cole naked except for an apron, feeding Eden bacon while playing with her - holy crap!! But Cole doesn't understand that Eden is even more broken than he is & he sets off some major triggers for her. Eden has been in her own personal hell, has not shared her past with anyone, but she tells Cole what she & Emmy have lived through & a word of warning - it is heartbreaking when it involves Eden's little girl. When Cole holds her tight & absorbs some of her pain, Eden thinks "We are two broken people, finding strength in each other's remaining pieces." The way Cole treats Emmy, and the surprising way Emmy lets him into her life after all she's been through, will make you cry. She allows him to pick her up & set her on the kitchen counter so they can make pancakes - OMG, the tears! Emmy is such a fragile angel, and he's being so delicate with her!! Cole is that perfect dynamic, hot sexy dirty talker and then all sweetness with Emmy. It really sucks that when he allows his heart to overflow with love for Eden & Emmy he slowly loses his daughter's voice & he has to add some distance. And then his wife comes back into the picture, I felt so bad for Eden & Emmy! I DID NOT like having to choose the endings, I'm pretty sure I read the happy ending and after all this pain & drama the love affair is wrapped up into one little tidy bow. There is almost too much pain for my heart to handle when Emmy's life is disrupted again - "Cole and I guard her, shelter her, love her back to life." Favorite Cole quotes: "I want to see your face when you come. I want to see your beautiful legs spread and I want to watch my c*ck slide in & out of you." "Please make my life mean something again."

It was a good story and I had never read a romance with this storyline. This story kept my attention. I read it in one sitting. I really felt compassion for the hero, heroine & her child. This is not a lightweight book but did not expect it to be. It has quite a few possible triggers for readers.I am going to try to limit spoilers. They are marked as spoilers and only tell what the issuesare in this book in case it is a trigger of someone who does not want to read the book without knowingor wants to skip reading the book because it would be too upsetting.The heroine was likable and giving her circumstances I thought she was coping well.I loved how intense and passionate the hero's feelings are for the heroine. Despite his issues and not wanting to, he falls hard for her, which I loved. He is protective and possessive towards her and I feel like he woulddo anything for her.Some may find the hero not redeemable but I did. Everyone makes mistakes, just someare worse than others. It is apparent that he is still punishing himself and he feels true remorse. I did notcare for how he treated women other than heroine and maybe I am naive but I believe he willnot every treat her that way.We are told that there are two endings. I liked the HNF but preferredthat it be more of a HEA with an epilogue more in the future, like 10 or more years.There were serious issues both of them had to work out and a few things were left unresolved.An epilogue of that length would confirm that they made it as a couple.I would have been irritated if only the non HFN ending was in the book. For one, it has a cliffhanger.Also I hate they storyline that it contained. Again, trying not to spoil so forgive the vagueness.Spoilers for possible triggers are below.SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: Death of a child. Molestation & rape, PTSD,infidelity & drunk driving.