Romancing Riley

I love stories with strong emotional undercurrents, they're like my crack - just like broken boys. This story gave me both. Very much a character driven story about the journey of a broken man who finds not only himself, but his relationship with his family, his twin brother and a woman he finally loves. I don't think I need to state that Ben was by far my favorite character in this; but Sam, his twin, and Rachael, the woman he falls for were also very strong characters. It's nice to see a woman have such a strong role; Rachael was pretty fierce. And despite the sheltered life she'd led, she stayed true to herself regardless of what was thrown at her. I haven't seen that in many books lately. Quite refreshing. And Ben's relationship with his brother was beautifully written, a little codependent at times, but beautiful nonetheless.It's written in both POV's, but in such a way that's not annoying. I never minded the periodic switches because I became so invested in both of them that I wanted to be in their heads. I don't think it was intended for Ben to be the main character, but for me he was. And I say that because he was the character who changed the most throughout the book. He's also the one that brought out the most emotion in me as I was reading. (Whether or not it's because of my own preferences, I honestly can't say. He just did.) For some, his redemption may have come too late. For me, once he'd let Rachael in, I knew he'd get there eventually, so I wasn't worried. (If it had been different, there'd be a whole different tone to this review.) I think Rachael always knew what she wanted. She just needed to find the confidence to go after it. Ben gave her that.This was a new author for me, and while it's not terribly original or teeming with plot twists, the writing is good and solid. I will probably look into her other works and give a couple of them a try.I haven't given out many five star or would read again ratings lately, but this one did it for me. I really enjoyed it.