StacyHgg

We Collide by A.L. Jackson
Review
December 31, 2012
*****5 stars
Intense, emotional, tragic, and disturbing—but above all a Beautiful love story!♥

When We Collide by A.L. Jackson is an extremely powerful novel that will not let you will be put it down! It is a stand-alone full length novel, genre classified as Contemporary/ Romantic Suspense. This is the first full length novel written, but third published by this author. After reading this, I am sure she will have a long writing career ahead of her—she is truly talented.

When We Collide is the story of William and Maggie from small town Mississippi. It begins six years after they met, and in William’s POV. He is jaded, cynical, and exhausted by everything in his life. Having built up emotional walls around himself so he no longer feels hollow inside from the emptiness Maggie left him with six years before. His brother Blake calls him and informs him that their Aunt is dying of cancer, and asks him to come home from Los Angeles, where he has been living. He is hesitant and fearful, but was close to his Aunt and feels a sense of duty to go.
Then the POV moves to Maggie. Showing just how unhappy she currently is with the choices she has made. The POV seamlessly changes between past and present, and between William and Magee. However, we see a bit more through Williams POV than Magee’s throughout the book, and it may be because it would be a bit too graphic to read it so detailed from Magee’s. Magee has grown up being abused by her father, and is now in an abusive relationship with her husband. Nevertheless, there are a few graphic parts in this book that contains domestic violence and rape.
Magee is a shy, sweet, innocent girl that is emotionally scared from all her childhood trauma which leads her to make bad decisions based on fear.
When William returns he sees Magee again for the first time since she broke his heart. She has hidden a secret, and when William finds out he is unable to leave her to her fate with her husband. He did not fight for her hard enough six years ago, and he feels unbearable guilt. The love between them has not diminished through the years, if anything it has become stronger. But Magee’s husband is dangerous, and will not give her up without a fight.
I absolutely loved William’s character. He was truly a good man, one who would fight to the death for the woman he loved. And the way he expressed his love to her was so heartwarming. I felt their love viscerally through the pages. I became sad, angry, frightened, shocked, hopeful, and many other emotions while on the roller coaster of When We Collide.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary romance. However, I would like to strongly ***CAUTION—there are a few graphic scenes with domestic violence and rape.*** This in no way overpowers the good in the book, but I think it may not be for everyone. Nevertheless, I absolutely loved this book, and I think you will too! Happy Reading!
~StacyHgg♥