Emmaline Rose Jones has protected people her whole life; whether it was her sister from her family or her boyfriend from her life, she did all she could to keep them separate. But when the lives she’s tried to keep secret from everyone cross under some unfortunate circumstances she has no choice but to fuse her lives together and explain. But when Rose’s life gets more complicated than even she can handle she has no choice but to run and hide, seeing no way to get away from the twisted life her parents have created. She finally decides to cut all connections with her previous life and its numerous trap doors.
EXCERPT
"It wasn't that easy, Kirin."
He knew her better than anyone with the exception of Mackenzie. She was strong enough to handle just about anything so there was no way she would allow her uncle to do this without a reason. She slid her hand across the bed to him and he took it, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her until their foreheads were leaning against each other. Rose took a deep breath before looking into his eyes and starting what he assumed would clear the air of confusion.
"I had to keep Josie safe..."
"Rose--"
"Just listen. I don't pretend to understand their sick minds, but Jonathan and Shawn got off on my rebellion, I guess you could call it. I figured that out quick, and I knew if I could keep them coming at me they'd leave her alone."
"So you took the brunt of it for her?"
Rose tipped her head to look him in the eyes. "Wouldn't you? To protect Evan or Lauren, wouldn't you." He wished he could argue with her logic, but he knew she was absolutely right. If there was a chance one of his siblings could be hurt, and he had any way to stop it, he'd do it.
"But, when your Nana reported the abuse, why didn't both Jonathan and Shawn go to prison? Didn't she tell the authorities both of them were involved?"
"My mother," she answered simply, and Kirin arched an eyebrow. She chuckled, just a little. "She threw him under the bus more than the media ever could. She wasn't going to let him damage the perfect family image she had worked so hard to form. Shawn tried to turn state's evidence against Jonathan, take him down with him, so he could strike a deal with the D.A. But with the amount of money Jonathan could throw at a team of lawyers, and the control he had over media and various other connections, Shawn didn't stand a chance."
Kirin looked into her eyes as she spoke, wondering how she ended up so amazing when she had this kind of childhood. She paused long enough to catch her breath and look at him. Did she think he would judge her?
"Keep going," he said gently, touching her cheek. "I'm listening. I want to hear, but understand this, nothing will change how I feel about you. I just need to know."
'Everything about this story showed Kassandra Cooper clearly understands sometimes you have to burn a bridge in your life if it will stop you getting dragged back into your past, but can Emmaline really do that? I believe this novel has a message for us all, teens to seniors, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.....and I will be "electronically" in line for the next novel by this new young author."
'The story line grabbed me as I followed Emmaline Rose's journey. I found myself pulling for her and Kirin, and loved the depth of friendship between Rose and Mack, her BFF. Kassandra certainly seems to have amazing insight for such a young author to the ups and downs of overcoming a trauma in your life, and that each positive step Rose made also gave a possible opportunity for Jonathan to drag her back into her past... Although I am not a young adult anymore :( I completely lost myself in Rose's story. Awesome first novel..."
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