Friday Favorites: A Flashback – 2/17/23

I can’t believe I haven’t done a Flashback post since last year! Since it’s been a while, I’ll give you a refresher. My Friday Favorite: Flashback posts are simply me revisiting past 5-star reviews of mine. I’m working my way from back when I started posting reviews on my blog and I’m currently in July of 2017.

I’ve only read a few books by this author, but I thoroughly enjoyed them all. I’m not sure why I’ve never gone back and read more of her stories. It doesn’t look like she’s published anything new (at least not under this name) in a few years, either. This is a reminder to me to hunt down some of her books I haven’t read.

You can find my original post here from July 12, 2017. The review below is only edited for grammar, spelling, and formatting. I cannot provide content warnings as it’s been a long time since I’ve read this book, but I remember it being extremely emotional and I do know it deals heavily with grief.

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The Scars Between Us
by M.K. Schiller
Release Date:  July 17, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Publishing: Embrace
Number of pages:  384
Source: ARC from Net Galley
Contemporary Romance
Ages 16 and up
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Emma Cooper is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish to scatter her ashes with Aiden Sheffield in Linx, Texas. Just one problem. Why Texas and who the hell is Aiden Sheffield? The only clue is a faded piece of her mother’s stationary. Emma imagines Aiden is a former love of her mother’s, but when she meets the beautiful, damaged stranger, she realizes her assumptions couldn’t be more wrong. He’s hot and young. And Emma is as confused as ever.

Aiden Sheffield would rather go to hell than Linx. Who does Emma think she is disrupting his carefully built life? The last thing the Marine needs is to slice open the sealed wounds of his painful past. Yet, as he gets to know the lovely Emma, a woman who manages to smile even though she’s lost everything, he changes his mind. He will not let her go to hell alone.

But neither is prepared for the devastating evil waiting for them at the end of the road. It might just destroy them.

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Holy cow! I cannot tell you how awesome this book is.  Definitely a must-read!  This is my second book by this author. As much as I enjoyed Eight Days in the Sun, I knew I would like this one.  But let me tell you, it has by far surpassed my expectations. 

This is one of those stories in which you think you know how things are going to go, then they don’t, then they do again, then you’re making so many faces and so much noise while reading that your spouse asks you if you’re okay.  The answer I gave…NO!  Don’t worry, it’s not so intense throughout the whole book.  Well, it is but in different ways.

The push/pull Aiden and Emma have within themselves with each other is written so brilliantly.  I could feel what they were feeling.  My gut was in knots one minute and full of butterflies the next.  Ms. Schiller is a magician with words and I truly appreciate her talent.

There is really not much more that I can say without giving away a plot point.  With this book, I think it’s best if you unfold every little detail for yourself.  I didn’t want to put this one down and would have sat curled on my couch and read it straight through if I had my way.  So be ready with some tissues and time before you dig in, but definitely dig in.

5 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**