Rae of Sunshine by Micalea Smeltzer

This is a story that much like its title will fill you with more than a little ray of sunshine.

College is the perfect place to hide in plain sight, the place to try and keep your demons at arms-length, the place that the world will forget you exist.

Rae is that girl, the one that is hiding from her past, trying to get on with life, to make the most out of what she has and who she is. But her past may never be completely behind her, she may never be able to completely shake it off but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t going to try.

Staying under the radar is Rae’s primary objective and she embodies the out of sight out of mind scenario, she deliberately keeps other students at a distance but a chance encounter brings that sullen lifestyle to a screaming halt.

Cade is everything that Rae isn’t, he is the cool guy on campus, the guy that everyone wants to be friends with, in other words he is everything Rae isn’t. But is he all that he seems or can looks be deceiving?

Paying little reverence to her reluctance, Cade is completely resolute in his pursuit of this reclusive girl.

I was enthralled by Cade, he was such as strong character, someone that I could take to. His easy charm and wit were engaging and perceptive. He quickly understood that underneath her cautious exterior was a woman that he needed to know, someone that was going to be important to him.

But careful not to scare her off, he was the picture of patience and understanding. He slowly chipped away at the walls she had carefully erected around her and made sure she could see that she was more than the sum of her past, that the events that had happened, did not need to undermine who she was now and who she would and could be in the future. He loved her, even when she wasn’t able to love herself and for that I loved him.

I loved his attitude and the fact that with his encouragement she began to see that she wanted to me more like the old Rae, and she had the delicious Cade to thank for waking her soul up again.

The author handled their back story with consummate consideration and as their secrets were revealed I think they stole their way into my hearts a little more.

Rae needed Cade in order to begin to unpeel the layers and get to the core of her issues in order to begin to rebuild but little did she realise Cade needed her almost as much.

Cade’s life hadn’t been cruel so to speak but it had been unkind. He was marred by the events and the actions of others but unlike Rae he kept his pain buried. But by helping Rae he was also able to help himself.

The author gave this pair enough time to grow, she was gracious with their feelings and supportive of their emotions. She wrapped them up with enough emotion that they stole my heart.

This was a stunning journey of development, of acceptance and hope.