Vanishing Dreams by Nicole Edwards

This is the second instalment in Nicole Edwards, Devil’s Bend series and it is just as punchy as the first.

Vanishing Dreams, is aptly titled and the story does exactly what it implies.

It follow the evolving situation/relationship between Dalton (Copper’s Best Friend) and Katie (the quiet, waitress from the Rusty Nail) as it dances its way through the ups and downs of life, taking no short measure when it comes to the fact that we all have dreams but dreams change when life gets in the way and for both Dalton and Katie, life has every intension of getting right up in their faces!.

Dalton and Katie have an elementary attraction to each other and while Dalton is open to a relationship, Katie has skeletons in her cupboard that mean she knows a relationship is not on the cards for her, no matter how much she wants it and how deeply she feels towards Dalton.

She knows that by keeping her distance she will protect herself from the heartbreak of him walking away when he finds out and also she hopes she can protect him from the scandal that her secrets would heap on a man in his position. It is a shame that he finds out from a third party and proves her right by walking away.

But her biggest secret of all, is one that neither of them can walk away from but she is not ready to share that with him yet.

Dalton is the uber sexy, and ultra successful country music star who fell into the music scene when an incident in his youth made him change his path. Not that he hasn’t fully embraced his career and learnt to live with the regret he feels from those days.

The story delivers a strong message in as much as it shows us that no-one is perfect and that everyone has a past but that past does not define the person they are now, it only helps to shape the path they are on, but all too often bad things happen to good people, it isn’t being knocked down that shows what you are made of, it is what you do when you stand back up again and Katie stands tall, doing exactly what she has to do to survive and to fulfil her obligations.

You have to work with the hand you are dealt and in Katie’s case the hand has been pretty much stacked against her.

I spent much of the book, just wishing that the pair of them would sit down and talk, the majority of their issues were as a result of the fact that they didn’t seem to be able to hold a meaningful conversation. I liked the fact that the story was not rushed it evolved over a period of months, many of which they were not together.

The ethos of the story appeared to be that good things come to those that wait and that in order to have happiness you have to accept each other, baggage, mistakes and all!

Deciding whether to grab the dream they are both are wishing for or  to let it go and part ways for good was never going to be an easy decision but I was delighted in the fact that it was Dalton that made the move to put them back together, all too often situations such as this we see the woman, making the first move, laying her heart on the line but the author turned the tables on the norm and showed us just how much Katie meant to Dalton as he took the bull by the horns and put himself out there for her, because he couldn’t deny how he felt about her any longer and following his decision to sell up an move to Texas, he knew that being around Katie and not being with her was nigh on impossible.

I don’t want to give away spoilers in this review but the characters close to Katie – are just perfect, her best friend is just what a girl needs.

Cooper and Tess make and appearance and in the books and it was lovely to catch up with them but it was a very clever touch by the author to include Braydon from her Alluring Indulgence series in the book, reminding us of the fact that she has a host of amazing characters in her other books that are just waiting in the wings to pop up and say hello. I also liked the intrigue that was implied when referring to Braydon, again highlighting his book in the AI series which I am sure will be amazing.