Author: Sarah Latchaw
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: August 26th 2014
Review Source: Omnific Publishing
Kaye Trilby and her ex-husband, world-famous author Samuel Cabral, vowed to fight for their rekindled love in rain or shine. They didn’t realize they’d be caught in a deluge so quickly.
A near-fatal skydiving accident shows Kaye how her reckless behavior affects the ones she loves. But while she knows Samuel is afraid to lose her again, she isn’t ready to give up the thrill of the wild backcountry.
Something darker is slipping into Samuel’s mind, though. The specters of his past are re-emerging. His polish is deteriorating, just as all of Hollywood braces for his blockbuster book-to-movie adaptation. When he appears on Kaye’s doorstep late one night in a rumpled tuxedo, erratic and agitated, it seems that romance with her ex might be her biggest leap yet. A string of failed relationships has pushed Samuel to the brink, the fall-out leaving him in a dark place—a place where Kaye is powerless to help him. She is reluctantly drawn back into Samuel’s glittering and backbiting world of celebrity, all the while clinging to the steadfast peaks of home.
Can Kaye risk her heart with Samuel a second time? Will they ever find their blue skies?
Dark and mysterious, Skygods continues right where Hydraulic Level Five left off. This is a story of two soulmates, Samuel and Kaye, struggling to fight for their love. Skygod is the perfect example how true love conquers all. No matter what circumstances are, if it was meant to be, love will always win.
In Hydraulic Level Five, we come to learn Samuel and Kaye. They met at young age and as they grew, their love became stronger. The perfect love story for any girl. But marring at young age sometimes is not easy. With an unexpected turn, Samuel leaves Kaye. The question is why. What went wrong? After seven years, they meet again and you know the saying, where there was fie, ashes remain. Skygods is the start of their new chapter. As many of us think, this usually means the beginning of a bright future. Not with Samuel and Kaye. With many secrets to uncover, these two love birds struggle to stay together. Kaye is discovering the truth of why their relationship was first shattered. Will their love be enough to hold the pieces?
Wow, it’s like flipping a coin. Skygods was defiantly much darker than Hydraulic Level Five. I loved the mystery of why Samuel left. It was so unexpected. And reading Kaye’s reactions was heartbreaking. Finding out the truth was hard. I just loved how she was still supportive even if Sam was starting to run. And poor Sam… I just wanted to hug him. Life has been difficult with him. I just want to see him happy.
Love is complicated but you can’t deny it, love is wonderful. Skygods is the perfect example of true love. Samuel and Kaye are meant to be and their love will win this war. (Well, I hope!)
Excerpt
The rest of the ride was chilly and silent.
The train slowly pulled into the 190th Street station. Samuel ground his teeth as we left the platform and stepped into an industrial elevator, brusquely nodding to the attendant.
But the odd discomfort melted away when the doors opened and we stepped into a world of green, green, green. The picture Samuel sent me weeks ago didn’t do the place justice. Some brilliant city planner made wondrous use of the naturally hilly terrain, and what emerged was a fairytale blend of stone arches and shady foliage. As we climbed higher into the Fort Tryon Park, I caught a glimpse of the Hudson River far below, gray and hazy.
“Are you sure this is Manhattan?”
“Oh yes, we’re on the edge of Washington Heights. Take a jaunt south down Broadway and you’ll hit the Dominican neighborhood, follow the merengue. But these bluffs…I always feel as though I’m walking through a Thoreau poem when I’m here,” Samuel murmured. “‘Give me thy most privy place, where to run my airy race…‘ The park’s still something of a secret. Or it seems that way, to me.”
My lips quirked—Samuel and his poetry. For him, musing over the Romantics was akin to breathing, it came so naturally. If I tried, I’d sound like a haughty snoot.
“So, which bench do you sleep on?”
He laughed. “None of these. My apartment building is across that grassy stretch—see the archway?—then down a set of stairs. This is a round-about way to get there, but I couldn’t wait to show you the park.”
We walked in silence. Suddenly, Samuel dragged light fingers along my spine and I jumped. His face was full of apology.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you. You asked a fair question.”
I waved him away. “It’s okay. I’m not your parent.”
“I’m trying to be more open.”
“I know.”
He rubbed the knuckle of my ring finger, squeezed it, and let it go, his face twisted in defeat. It made me sad. No, no defeat, Samuel. Look how far we’d travelled on this third road. Two months ago, I wouldn’t have even known to ask.
I watched him shuffle the package between his arms. “Speaking of being open, are you going to tell me what’s in that thing?” I nudged him with my elbow. “Did Ace bring you a bust of Ted Williams?”
“Um….no. It’s an urn.”
I cocked my head. An urn?
“It contains my mother’s ashes.”
I pivoted so quickly, my purse swung off my shoulder. “You’ve been carrying a cremation urn all afternoon? Your…y-your mother.” My hands flew to my mouth as I eyed the package that contained the earthly remains of Rachel Caulfield Cabral. “I wish I’d known. Oh Samuel, I’m so sorry.” I had no idea what to say, so only awkwardness spilled from my mouth. “We should have taken the taxi so you didn’t have to carry them—her—onto the subway. What if you’d been robbed?”
He shrugged. “Then some thief would be sorely disappointed.”
“Where did it—she—come from?”
“Ace’s relatives came across them in the family home. He called and asked if I wanted the urn. I guess no one else did.”
“That’s really heartbreaking.” Sorrow for Rachel Caulfield Cabral crept into my chest, in spite of myself. I eyed the morbid box as we descended the park stairs into the neighborhood below.
He was right—the bottom of the bluff was a different world of Art Deco and fire escapes.
“Is it legal to fly with remains?”
“I don’t know. Ace took his family’s private plane. Here’s my place.” He stopped in front of an eight-story façade with awnings. I noticed he refused to refer to the Caulfields as his own family. I knew he’d never cared about them, but his omission was so deliberate, it was almost passive aggressive.
As he collected his held mail from the doorman, I took in the lobby. Cracked tile floors, mint walls—nothing like the gentrified East Village brownstones. According to Samuel, Inwood suited him perfectly, unlike the “bohemian” neighborhoods south of Fourteenth Street. I jokingly called him a snob. Yet another dichotomy of Samuel Caulfield Cabral, formerly of Lyons. He turned up his nose at pretention, but kept his own secrets and failings guarded beneath a veneer of flawlessness.
“So, what are you going to do with the urn?” I hedged.
He sighed. “No clue. I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”
Yes, Samuel’s head needed a serious feng shui but, like he said, he was trying. Open him carefully… I fingered the laminated poem in my purse.
There was nothing more I could do for Samuel right now and, frankly, he didn’t want me to. I wrapped my arms around his middle and murmured a last “I’m so sorry about your mother.” Then I promptly collapsed into the first bed I was steered toward, where sleep came to collect.
Sarah received her BA from Wartburg College in public relations and media, and entered the workforce, ready to climb the ladder. However, when researching MBA applications evoked feelings of dread, with the loving support of her husband, she pursued a career in creative writing and was awarded her MA from Iowa State University.
These days, Sarah wakes every morning thrilled to cuddle her small children, show them the world, then capture that world and shape it into stories on paper. She is not thrilled when she wakes to her cats smothering her face. She and her family reside in Des Moines, Iowa—one of the best places to live and work.
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Great review, Leydy! I love their relationship and can't wait to read more about Samuel and Kaye. Tortured heroes are my favorite. :-)
ReplyDeleteA dark and mysteries read is always awesome!
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