Book Review: Surrender by June Gray

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Surrender
DISARM #8
Author: June Gray
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: November 4th 2014
Review Source: Berkley Trade | Penguin

Bestselling author June Gray’s romances have been praised as “scorching hot”(MsRomantic Reads). Now, in her latest scintillating read, one woman is torn between remembering her past and committing to an unpredictable future...

Julie Keaton had everything—she had a new career in a new city and, more importantly, a bright future with fiance, Jason Sherman. That is, until the day she discovered that he had been killed in Afghanistan. In one moment, her life changed, as everything she’d hoped for died along with him.

Years later and Julie still feels the aftershocks of Jason’s death. She is no longer the same adventurous, open girl; now she wears armor around her heart in order to protect the most important thing in her life—her son.

But when Julie meets the mysterious Neal, she starts to feel the smallest flicker of hope, as what began as a fling quickly becomes something more. Neal is the first man since Jason’s death to break down her armor and make her believe again. But when she discovers the secret he’s been keeping, she has to ask herself: can she surrender to a future with Neal or will Jason’s death forever tie her to the past?

This is an Adult romance novel recommended for ages 18+ due to sexual content and mature subject matter.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to read and review June’s Disarmed series. It was a heartbreaking story. So when I started Surrender, I knew June will be breaking my heart again. To surrender is hard. To show your emotions to someone, to be honest… this is something one can have difficulty with. Julie, our main character, had a difficult time expressing her feelings toward Jason. And now it’s late. Jason’s a hero and died for his country in Afghanistan. If you’ve read Disarmed, then you may recall that Jason is Elise’s brother. Before heading to Afghanistan, Julie discovers that she is pregnant and his death hits her hard.

Years after Jason’s death, Julie is in California for Elise and Henry’s wedding. (My heart was happy to know this). Upon her morning run, she meets a gorgeous man and immediately hit it off. Let’s say Surrender was a lot steamier than Disarm! Neal slowly peels off Julie’s covers and we begin to see this fun and daring side of her.

Surrender was a steamy read compared to Disarm. I love how Neal was able to break the walls Julie built to guard herself from ever getting hurt again. He taught her man things - life is too short to regret things, to live life completely so when death comes, there is nothing left for it to take.

Once again, I found myself enjoy reading one of June Gray’s novels. I highly recommend this book, and/or Disarm, to anyone that lost someone dearly and is afraid to move on.