Book Review: The Bennetts Duet by Kennedy Ryan

BOOK 1: When You Are Mine

 

 SYNOPSIS:

 

Forever is a heartbeat away …

Kerris Moreton knows how to make things work. Bounced from foster home to foster home as a kid, she adapted; when opportunity arose, she thrived. Now, about to open her own business and accept a marriage proposal, Kerris is ready to build the life she’s always wanted. The only thing missing? A passionate connection with her would-be fiancé, Cam. Kerris wants to believe that sparks are overrated-until Walsh Bennett lights her up like the Fourth of July.

… but what about love?

As one of the East Coast’s most eligible bachelors, Walsh enjoys financial independence, fulfilling work with his family’s nonprofit, and plenty of female attention. But lately he’s been distracted by the one woman he can’t have. Lovely to look at and even sweeter to know, Kerris is the soul mate Walsh never thought he would find. The problem is, his best friend found her first …

BOOK 2: Loving You Always

 

SYNOPSIS:

 

Kerris Moreton should be the happiest woman in the world: She has a successful business and is about to start the family she’s always wanted. But the man of her dreams-the one whose green eyes see straight into her soul and whose gentle hands make her body hum with pleasure-is not hers.

Each secret moment with Walsh Bennett serves to remind Kerris of what she’s missing. And every stolen hour makes it harder to see her future without him. But being with Walsh would betray a sacred promise and upend her perfect life. When tragedy strikes, the razor’s edge between love and loyalty grows sharper than ever. And Kerris must decide where her heart will fall … 

MY REVIEW:

She’s a new author for me and I found out that she IS a new author. Truth be told, I didn’t expect much on the story but when I started reading it, I forgot what STOP meant. I read it while eating, walking, folding my laundry, before sleeping, and probably even in my dreams (can’t do it while bathing. water made it impossible for my phone to survive). My, I didn’t even know I possessed this amazing multi-tasking skill before reading this book. The story was new, fresh, reality-based, and unpredictable. With those qualities, the book had me flipping pages at odd hours of the day. 

The story was refreshingly different, an easy read that brings out complex emotions, real characters, real emotions, gaaah. I love this book. It’s totally out of the usual romance story, too inclined to happen in real life (which is what I totally love reading about in a book). It’s reality within fiction. It’s the kind of story that will have your heart constricting with every progress of the story, having you hoping and anticipating that you could finally release that breath you’ve held when the scene was too intense

 
There is one major thing that made me love this story: the characters are imperfect. Very human. Very “relatable”. It’s far from the typical fairytale. And that made the story different. Truth be told, I’m kind of worn-off with too-perfect heroes. You know, the prince-charming kind. Walsh is still a prince charming but he’s not a stereotyped perfect prince. That made him special for me. It kinda sends off the notion that there’s a prince charming in every man.

Kerris is a gem. Most readers would probably hate her for making a choice that led to bad consequences. But just like what Dr. Stein said in the novel, “Healthy people can own their mistakes and over time, move on.” It was not an easy process for Ker but she owned it big time. I find her to be an inspiration given that a lot of women battle with insecurity everyday. Some of us trapped in other people’s words and try to live up to them just to be called “beautiful” or “awesome”.

I love the whole psychology of the two books. I love its psychodynamics. I love reading about how each character deals with his/her own issues. And I love how Miss Kennedy had them handle those issues. This is not just a love story, it’s a book of lessons and reality. It’s an experience.

I loved the characterization so much. Most readers hate Cam, I’m sure. But he’s the one that got my interest. His background, his personality, what he’s going through, his resistance to face his pain, and his possessiveness. Most would say he’s not “hero-material”. I say he’ll be one of the best heroes I will read about. I can’t wait for his book! I think he’ll be better than Walsh.