Title:  Love Somebody Like You
Series:  Caribou Crossing #5
Author:  Susan Fox
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  September 29, 2015
Publisher:  Kensington Books, Zebra
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Since the death of her husband three years ago, young widow Sally Ryland has kept to herself and focused on her struggling business, Ryland Riding. Folks assume she’s still grieving, because Sally has never shared the truth about her abusive marriage, or the trust issues that remain. But when a sexy rodeo rider from her past turns up for a visit, he’s a reminder of the feisty woman she once was—and maybe still could be…

Ben Traynor was always attracted to Sally, but he didn’t move fast enough. Now what Sally needs is patience and gentleness. With an injury keeping him from his next rodeo, Ben has the perfect excuse to stick around and help with her chores—and her healing. And as Sally finds the courage to face her demons and open her heart again, she’ll have to decide if what she has with Ben is more than safety, gratitude, and short-term passion, but a forever love.

Read on for my thoughts on Love Somebody Like You.  No true spoilers, promise.

When Sally married her husband, the man she loved she had every right to expect a happily ever after ending.  Every woman does.

What she got was far different.  The rules that had to be obeyed or punishment would follow, only the rules constantly changed so there was always his punishment.  The lies told in order to keep her isolated and under his control.  The help she never got from a family that she was lead to believe had abandoned her.  The physical pain.  The mental anguish.  The emotional death of dreams and life as she knew it changed Sally from a loving, outgoing, happy woman into a skittish, frightened shell of her former self.  Her hell ended when his life was taken by natural causes, although she would have preferred if he had suffered a lot more.  But even that thought would be quickly squelched out of fear that never left her, even after his death.

Even three years after his death – he still ruled over her.  She would still follow his “rules”.  She would stay isolated and alone.  She knew better than to ever trust anyone again.  That path only lead to madness and pain.  Better to keep to herself.

When Ben returned to Caribou Crossing to heal from an injury, he looked up Sally to reconnect with an old friend, the woman who got away, and to pass on a message from her family.  What he found was a woman who had little resemblance to the feisty, outgoing woman he had loved but hadn’t shared his intentions with.  He had his suspicions and his affection for Sally to guide him as he got himself a place to stay with her as he healed in exchange for helping out around the ranch.  With Ben’s love and a whole lot of patience Sally begins to bloom once again.  But can she trust the feelings she has?  She trusted once and look where that got her.  Could she take that chance again with a different ending?

Domestic abuse is such a horrendous thing to live with and through.  Yet thousands of women, and yes, men live with their lives threatened every single day.  It’s not an easy subject to write about.  Love Somebody Like You addresses this situation in a gentle and realistic fashion.  There are no instant fixes.  The lies that have become reality live in the mind long after the abuser is removed from a life.  It’s not easy, simple or quick.  But healing can happen.

Susan Fox has given us a painful story with threads of hope woven throughout.  As time moves on those threads start to form a new pattern, a new life, a new reality where a woman heals and a man loves her through it all and beyond.

I would urge you to read Love Somebody Like You.  If you have a happy, safe relationship then count your blessings.  If this story reminds you of yourself, know that there is help and unfortunately often it will be up to you to be brave enough to reach out and find it.  But it can be done.  No one deserves to be harmed, in any manner.  That is not love.

National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224.  The website is www.thehotline.org — know that no internet connection to this website can ever be completely cleared from your computer – it might be safer to use one of the phone numbers from a safe phone.

Yes, this is a review of a fictional story.  But for many there is no fiction involved in their reality.  This is why the above information is included.

*I received an e-ARC of Love Somebody Like You from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available in paperback and for the Kindle