Back To You by Lauren Dane

Description: Former model Kelly Hurley has finally put the ashes of the past behind her. After a passionate but turbulent marriage to rock star Vaughan Hurley that ended in heartbreak and divorce, Kelly rebuilt her life in Portland, where she settled so their two young daughters could be close to their father. Just not so close Kelly couldn’t truly make her own way without interference from the man who shattered her heart. Now Kelly’s finally ready to move on, and she’s planning to marry another man.

But not if Vaughan has anything to say about it.

Vaughan knows he was a fool all those years ago. A young, selfish—and prideful—fool. Even as he buried himself in the fast, decadent rock star lifestyle, he could never drown out the memory of Kelly’s beauty and love. Or the sweet, searing heat whenever they touched. For years, he’s had to deal with the pain of seeing her only because of their daughters, but it was never enough. Now Vaughan must prove that he’s the only man Kelly needs, before he loses her for good. And there’s only one way to do it….

My signed copy of Back To You from when I meet Lauren Dane at RWA!

Review: This seems to be the month of reunion books. I read Thrill Me by Susan Mallery right before I read this. In Thrill Me, the hero and heroine had dated in high school. In Back To You, however, the main characters had previously been married and share two children.  I was on the fence about Kelly and Vaughan’s book. You could see it coming through the other two books in The Hurley Boys Series. I really enjoyed The Best Kind of Trouble and Broken Open but Vaughn wasn’t my favorite minor character. Back To You changed that. In the previous books, Vaughan was the typical party-boy rock star, though a deeper backstory was hinted at. It takes his ex-wife getting engaged and the threat of losing his kids to wake him up. Once he does decide he wants a relationship with Kelly, then you see Vaughan mature and act like a responsible adult.
Back To You was a satisfying way of watching two characters reunite. Kelly is wary, at first, to let Vaughan back into her life. She, for all intents and purposes, had been a single parent for the last eight years and sharing the responsibility for their daughters was difficult. In addition, Vaughan had seriously hurt her in the past and she wasn’t sure she wanted risk her heart again. Without going into spoilers, I wasn’t a fan of the cause of their divorce in the past but I do think they worked through their problems in a healthy way. That’s what I like most about this book. It shows that relationships have problems and that they don’t away overnight or with an “I love you”. Kelly had reasons to be mad at Vaughan and to expect him to prove himself. And Vaughan, once he made the decision to be a better father and partner to Kelly, worked hard to prove himself worthy of their love.

Part of me did wish this book had a little more rock-star in it. However, it would not have been keeping with the plot of Vaughan becoming more mature and the plots of the previous books moved away from the rock-star touring life. That desire is more of my rock-star romance phase than something that actually would have enhanced the book. Overall, a great series finish by Lauren Dane and I can’t wait to start her Ink and Chrome series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Published by SomewhereLostInBooks

I’m Melisa! I’m an avid reader. I love romance novels and decided, hey, why not write about what I love and hate about the genre. And my favorite books. And when I get to meet authors. And all round why romance novels are awesome. Expect a lot of fan-girling, laughter, and some tears. View all posts by SomewhereLostInBooks