Review: Pulse by Gail McHugh

KINDLE

Pulse (Collide #2) by Gail McHugh
Contemporary
Gail McHugh (July 9, 2013)

Rating: B+
Heat: Hot

Heroine: Emily Cooper – Broken, Healed 
Hero: Gavin Blake – Protective, Amazing

 

 

 

Synopsis:

How do you keep existing when your heart is so splintered, so completely torn to shreds, your pulse is fading?

You’re…broken. How do you move forward when every breath is nothing more than a constant ache? Living becomes an insidious reminder that you threw away the single largest part of yourself. Your…soul. No amount of distraction can pull you from the torture of losing your…life.

Now that Emily Cooper has walked away from her first love, she finds herself running toward her only love. Unraveling fast, but clinging to hope, Emily risks all she has left on the man that has consumed her every thought and dream since the day they met. Will Gavin take her back? And if so, will their reunion be a collision of two hearts destined to complete one another and rekindle a love that knew no boundaries? Or will scars from their past rip open, tearing slowly at what each of them was meant to be? Can fate, the ultimate game changer, mend the shattered road it laid out from the start?

Only time will tell…

Tick-Tock…

Review:

I can’t tell you how relieved I was to finally get my hands on Pulse after the gut-wrenching cliffhanger at the end of Collide. Not knowing what would happen with Emily and Gavin ate at me for days, weeks, and even months. Thankfully, I now have closure to this emotional love story that made me scream and growl with frustration, then cry at the end when my heart was ripped out. Miz McHugh has managed to write another beautiful, heart-wrenching, and complicated story that kept me enthralled. In this sequel, Gavin and Emily are not fighting against their feelings for one another, they’re fighting for their happiness together.

At the end of Collide, we were given an ending that left me emotionally wrecked. Emily Cooper chose the wrong man, at first. Then she realized that she made a HUGE mistake and finally found her backbone to walk away from Dillon, her fiance, who is a complete douchebag. Dillon is the master of manipulation. He mentally and physically abused Emily to the point that she was broken. She didn’t know how to walk away from him. Then she met Gavin, who built her up, showed her what she’s worth, and gave her pure, unconditional love that she realized she can’t breathe without.

After Emily rejects Gavin, he walks away with a broken heart. He needed to get away, so he heads down to Mexico to go off the grid. He doesn’t want to be found. Emily has managed to not only fuck him up mentally but she completely shattered his heart. So, when Emily finds out where he’s at, she buys a plane ticket to go beg and plead for his forgiveness. She’s not giving up without a fight. All she can hope is that she didn’t break them forever.

When Emily finally sees him for the first time, he’s a complete mess. He’s angry and hurt. Gavin doesn’t know if he can ever trust Emily again. But Gavin knew there was no way he could let her go ever again. He can’t live without her. They make amends and rekindle their love. But their love is put to the ultimate test when an unexpected circumstance arises that could either make or break them.

What a crazy, emotional rollercoaster ride this has been! In Collide, I was consumed by Emily and Gavin’s story. I hated and loved that book. I was struck speechless by the cliffhanger. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about the scene where Gavin flicks the bottle cap at Emily and walks away. I was crushed. Thank goodness Emily came to her senses and dumps Dillon. She stops feeling guilty and quit making excuses for him, especially when Dillon’s true colors reared their ugly head and the shit hits the fan. In spite of Dillon’s retaliation against Emily, it was a happy moment indeed when Emily finally walks away from Dillon and goes after Gavin. I wanted to hug and high five her. Emily has a lot of character growth since the beginning. And, because of Gavin, Emily is able to heal from being a broken woman due to all the abuse she took from Dillon. Gavin gives her what she well and truly deserves. He gives her a healthy relationship that is full of love and trust and respect.

“I’m going to break you, Emily Cooper. I’m going to break you down and slowly build you back up. Second by second, piece by piece, and memory by memory.” - Gavin

I admit to worrying Gavin wouldn’t forgive Emily when she came for him. But the man surprised me. His affection and love was not broken. He would do anything for her. Gavin is the epitome of swoon-worthy with his protective nature, sexiness, heart of gold, playful sense of humor, strength, and unconditional love. I won’t give anything away, but my pulse pounded with adrenaline and my heart fluttered with admiration during a scene with Dillon, where Gavin was willing to risk it all for Emily. He proves time and again what an incredible hero he is. He is the prince every woman fantasizes about.

“We were written for one another, and I wouldn't change one line in our romance novel. The good, the bad, the in between. It's ours. We own it.” - Gavin

I love Emily and Gavin together. They may have met under the wrong circumstances, but they were clearly meant to be together. Their chemistry is incredible. It’s passionate and intense. The sexy times are on fire. There are many, MANY scenes where they definitely show how much they crave, want, need each other. Smoking hot.

I have one teeny tiny complaint – which is why I couldn’t rate this book any higher. I wish the confessions of love between Gavin and Emily weren’t so mushy and redundant. That’s just me, though. I can see why others would swoon over it.

Pulse embodies the stuff true love is made of. Emily and Gavin’s story is a not perfect. They are not perfect. They make a lot of mistakes. But, the love they share with one another is fierce and they are willing to sacrifice anything for each other. Their journey is hard, complicated, challenging, breathtaking, and it smolders with passion. I’m so thrilled to say Emily and Gavin finally got their well-deserved happy ending.