Calico by Callie Hart Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Published by Self Published on April 12th 2016
Genres: Abuse, Romance
Purchase links: Amazon
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Source: Social Butterfly PR
Coralie
Twelve years ago, I ran to stay alive.
Port Royal, South Carolina, was my home. I was born there. I fell in love there. And I nearly died there. I never thought I’d go back. Now, after so many years, I have to return to bury the man who made my life a living hell. Some nights, I used to cry myself to sleep, praying my father would die. Other nights were different. Other nights, there was him.
Callan Cross.
My first confidante. My first kiss. My first love. My first everything: Callan was the glue that held me together when everything else was falling apart. He was my savior. He was there for me whenever I needed him…
Until he wasn’t.
Every night, I’ve seen the love of my life in my sleep.
I just never thought I’d have to face him again.Callan
Twelve years ago, I f*#@ed up big time.
Living life through a camera lens is sometimes easier than dealing with it head on. Scratch that. It’s always easier. For over a decade, I’ve been a master of my art, taking photographs all over the world. Yet despite all of the countries I’ve visited, the amazing things I’ve seen, the beautiful women I’ve screwed, my heart has remained in pieces.
Coralie’s the only woman I’ve ever loved, will ever love. And I’m determined to show her that we’re meant to be together. Even if it means unearthing the bones of the past in the process.
A lifetime and a thousand miles have stood between us.
Now, there’s no length of time I won’t wait, no distance I won’t travel, in order to make her mine.
We received this book/audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
Caro’s Review: 5 stars
“Calico” was the story of Callan and Coralie. They grew up next to each other. They fell in love. They were happy together. They both endured a lot of heartache. They lost each other. Now, they are back together in the same town they grew up in, only to find out many truths about the reasons that separated them. Can those reasons make them opt for a second chance for their love or will they drive them further apart?
This was my first book by Callie Hart – but I will definitely check out her other books! Wow, the writing was amazing and the characters were adorable. I loved almost everything about their story, but for a few minimal issues. Like their names for example: Callan and Coralie and the book-title is Calico… All a bit too similar for me. But other than that, I can say that I loved the book. It was very emotional, sexy, sweet and shocking.
All in all, I rate “Calico” with 5 stars and can recommend it to fans of emotional romance books. Due to explicit sexual scenes 18+. Trigger warning: This book includes very detailed child abuse (physical and mental beatings), plus a quite detailed miscarriage.
Vivian’s Review: 5 flying stars!
This all new standalone dark romance was such a change of pace for avid readers of Callie Hart. Whereas we’re used to these fast paced action and adrenaline packed novels, this was a refreshing slower paced powerful love story with everlasting love at its core. It could be coined as a “second chance” story, but let me tell you…it was SO MUCH more than that! It was raw, emotional, beautiful, heart-wrenching, tear jerking (yes, I cried at like 16% and again around 85%), and most of all perfect! Callie Hart has depicted a rare timeless love story that lasts the test of time and endures trials that most relationships wouldn’t overcome. This book was about making amends, dealing with grief and overcoming pain, facing the ghosts of your past, taking back control and most importantly, rekindling a love that never died. “I couldn’t forget about you even if I tried. The seas could have frozen over. The Heavens could have come crashing down to Earth. Time could have stood still, and I would never have been able to cleanse myself of you.” –Callan. *swoon*. Both characters (Callan & Coralie- love their names BTW) can’t move beyond the past, so in order for them to do so, they had to come back to where it all began.
This novel is gripping and leaves you feeling hollow and emotionally spent at times, but in the end, Callie delivers a powerfully captivating novel from page one. I had so many emotions going through me while reading this book that I felt like a train wreck at times and over the moon at others. Callie Hart’s writing has always been all-consuming to me and CALICO was NO different! I would recommend this book to any fans of hers and anyone that hasn’t read her books before! My only warning would be is, if you have a “hard limit” of abuse, go into this novel with caution…I wouldn’t avoid it, but just be warned some of the subject matter revolves around violence and mistreatment and can be hard to swallow at times, but if I, a very pregnant woman, can make it through, so can you.
“The present and future can’t change the past,” he whispers. “But the passing of time makes the pain at our backs less severe. All we have to do is face forward and look in the light. Behind us may be dark, Bluebird, but I know it in my bones. There are great things up ahead.” –Callan.
Jenn’s Review: 4 stars
Dangerously emotional and raw story that broke my heart in ways I never saw coming. Be warned that it will break you as well.
Coralie and Callan have loved each other since forever and had big plans for their future together. But sometimes life doesn’t go our way and takes its turn on us in worst way possible. An awful event took place that broke them both into pieces beyond saving whatever was left.
Now 12 years later they are both back in their home town that neither of them can stand anymore and Callan is determined to do his best to make her forgive him for his innocent mistake that caused her to hate him that much that she left him. On the other hand Coralie is haunted by her horrible past and can’t wait to get out of that town as soon as possible but when she sees Callan all the love and desire is coming back to her. She did left him all those years ago but not for the reason he thinks. Her secret will break them all over again and he might never forgive her when he finds out what had her running for the dear life out of that town and out of his heart.
This was one of the hardest read if not THE HARDERST one ever for me. Two specific chapters had my heart breaking and brought true pain to my soul and countless tears to my eyes. I literally had to make pauses after just a few lines to be able to continue and read on.
I was expecting an emotional and heartbreaking love story but this was so much more than that. Something I never saw coming and was not prepared for, that almost caused me to drop this book but I couldn’t go on not knowing what happened next and how the story ended.
The writing was so complex and raw but still so true to the nature of this beautifully described love story between two teenagers that would give their all for each other and what they had together. At one point I asked myself how did Callie Hart managed to write this story?! 🙁
If I look past those horrible moments that still torment my soul I really liked Callan’s and Coralie’s story and how much they loved and cared for each other even if they were separate for so many years and tried their best to move on and act like they didn’t care about one another. The love, desire, lust, protectiveness they shared was almost touchable through my kindle.
In a summary I ended up liking this book and it touched me in an incredible way. If you decide to read it please take caution and consider yourself warned of it crushing you beyond imaginable ways.
CALICO BOOK TRAILER from Frankie Rose on Vimeo.
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