When I See You by Katherine Owen

Title: When I See You

Author: Katherine Owen

Publisher: The Writing Works Group

Publication Date: December 20, 2011

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Goodreads


My Rating:

From Goodreads:

He breaks his promise, more than once.

He makes another.

Will she believe him?

Can he keep it?

Jordan Holloway and Brock Wainwright share a past connection and devastating loss that intricately ties them to one another. But now, both must find their way to a new and different life and discover for themselves that moving on begins with letting go, making promises, and keeping them, most of all.

My Review:

 

It was a whirlwind romance. Jordan, an amazing chef, met the gorgeous Ethan Holloway when she exasperatingly confronted the man who kept sending his food back to the kitchen. Ethan swept Jordan off her feet, married her, and, before she could catch her breath, she became a mother to their first child. Almost every woman’s fantasy... well, maybe not the part where Ethan Holloway is a Navy Seal and spends the majority of his time away from his family. The brave soldier loves Jordan and their son Max more than anything in the world - a love shared only with serving his country. They have been married for 1,428 days, and, out of those 1,428 days, have only spent 297 of them together. And now he’s leaving... again.

Ethan and his best friend/snipe partner Brock Wainwright had one more tour in Afghanistan. The week before they leave, Ethan brings Brock to spend that last week with his family. He wanted Jordan to meet his best friend and Brock to meet his best girl. When Brock looked at Jordan, he saw her. Really saw her. Saw to the very depths of her soul. Saw who she was, who she wanted to be, and, most of all, the part of her that she tried to hide from everyone else in her life. So, when Jordan asked Brock for his promise to bring Ethan back home... he only hesitated for a moment before saying yes.

But it was a promise Brock shouldn’t have made, and it was a promise he wasn’t able to keep.

Jordan and heartbreak have been fast and furious friends since she was 17 years old. She was the daughter of bigger-than-life, famous, Oscar-winning parents.

“‘Can you imagine loving someone like that? Believing in them so much?

The extravagance of their love is something I will never forget.

It’s what I try to remember and what I hold on to, even now.’”

Loving parents who were slain in the most horrible, gruesome ways one can imagine - the details of which were covered up and known only by Jordan and the police. Details that Jordan has pushed down to the furthest corners of her mind, heart, and soul. Jordan has always been able to get away with the tragedy that is... well, Jordan. She can hide it from Ethan, as well as her best friend, Ashleigh. So, how is it that the arrogant, too-handsome-to-be-legal Brock Wainwright can completely undo her with one look? How does he know that she stopped believing in happily-ever-afters a long time ago? Not to mention he has the audacity to assume he knows her better than anyone else in her life. And even more frustrating... it would seem he actually does.

I love the way the author wrote Jordan. She is strong, determined, and yet... so very human. This character was extremely easy to relate to. Her heartache was my heartache, and her triumphs, my own.

“And even though I don’t believe in happily ever after,

it doesn’t stop it from hurting when it doesn’t work out.

When the people I love the most die. Not now. Not ever.”

It’s always a wonderful thing when an author gives you more characters to love than just the main characters. I adored Jordan’s best friend, Ashleigh: a seductive little vixen that all the men drool over, who responds to the word ‘commitment’ like someone hearing the F-bomb dropped in church. Yet, she is a friend who would walk through fire to be by Jordan’s side.

“She strokes my hair, tucking strands of it behind my left ear. ‘Sweetie, you can’t live like this. You have to trust that things will work out. You have to give yourself a chance at happiness.’”

Then, there is the holy-hot-and-rugged, real-life cowboy Tate... another of Ethan’s best friends and Brock’s cousin. Tate is also quite possibly the only man who may be able to tame one Ashleigh Blondell.

“‘Just so you know,’ I say in a low voice,
‘Ashleigh goes through men like a pair of pajamas.

You best stay clear.’ I gaze at him in defiance.

At first, he looks disappointed that I would say this,
but then he says, ‘Yeah, I got that.’
Thirty seconds later, his face dissolves into this wide, dazzling, white smile.

I catch my breath, awe-struck by his stunning beauty, so like his cousin’s.
‘But just so you know, I’m going to marry that girl.’”

The beginning of the story takes place in Malibu, Jordan’s paradise. So, the fact that she soon finds herself in Austin, Texas, where she actually says the word “Austin” like it’s something stuck to the bottom of her Manolo Blahniks, is priceless.

Sweet, funny little Max, Ethan and Jordan’s son, is off-the-charts adorable and manages to steal the hearts of everyone around him - including the reader’s.

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. ‘Pooh!’ he whispered. ‘Yes, Piglet?’

‘Nothing,’ said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw.

‘I just wanted to be sure of you.’”
- A.A. Milne

Oh, the things I have to say about Brock Wainwright. The pages I could fill with details about this man! He was gorgeous, yes... but he was deep and reflective, and, of course, I could never get enough of his sarcasm and the amazing banter he has with Jordan.

“‘You’re impossible,’ he says. ‘Kind of cranky.’
‘Maybe, it’s the flu.’
‘Please don’t throw up in my car,’ he says.
‘Are you begging me, Mr. Wainwright?’
‘No. But I will.’”

He has his flaws, which, if I’m being honest, made him even more appealing. He was strong, but he had the most tender moments that were so completely endearing.

“It’s ironic. This special kind of torture God plans just for me.

The woman who haunts me - this goddess in all of my dreams now - is finally next to me.”

The author wrote the alternating POV’s between Brock and Jordan flawlessly. Those can be tricky, but having the insight into both of these characters was my favorite aspect of the book. Brock’s POV made my heart flutter and my toes curl!

Katherine Owen does it again with her latest novel, When I See You. A brilliant story filled with brilliant characters. Her amazing and beautiful story-telling abilities captivate and mesmerize. I love a book that touches my heart and keeps me thinking about the characters long after I have turned the last page. When I See You is exactly that kind of book.

A huge thank you to the author for sending me my beautiful copy of When I See You in exchange for my honest review.

Ms. Owen will be stopping by the blog on Wednesday for an interview and giveaway.  She will be giving away several copies of When I See You.  Hope to see you then!