Where Life Takes You (Life #1)
by Claudia Y Burgoa
Published by: Self-published on Jul 31, 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Excerpt
The shiny doors opened to our floor, and I spotted his tall, well-built figure at once. He leaned against the door frame. His gray eyes smiled at me. His damp hair meant he hadn’t arrived long ago, and he wore a pair of worn-out jeans and a black t-shirt—his lazy day uniform. In another world, I would’ve pulled on a pair of sweats and joined him for the rest of the week. “Hi, Dan.” Smiling at the sight, i walked into his open arms. The soapy fresh smell, combined with his musky natural scent, welcomed me. “You came back early.” He nodded, and kissed the top of my head.
Dan pushed the front door open, and we walked into his penthouse. I took my heels off and left them inside the foyer closet, next to his fancy loafers. He linked our fingers together and pulled me to the kitchen, where a few Chinese cartons sat on the counter. He’d ordered my favorite—shrimp with cashew nuts. Dan snagged Mongolian beef for himself and a cold bottle of water for me from the sub-Zero.
I loved his kitchen. We spent hours here, talking about every- thing, and nothing—never a dull moment with us. Life was better, easier, when we shared our time and hid inside our little bubble. For him, it was being away from work, and the press, and everyone who wanted a piece of Daniel E. Brightmore—or his money. For me… the bubble was tranquility, safety. Reality stayed far away from us.
Dan talked business. The Belgium purchase, which helped with the European expansion of the Brightmore Empire’s food division. Before he continued the conversation, he stood up, walked towards the fridge, and pulled out a box. “For my princess.” He handed me a box full of Belgium chocolates. I stood up and jumped into his arms.
“I adore you.” I kissed his cheek before he placed me back into the floor.
“I know.” He answered cockily. Then, while we continued eating our dinner, Dan talked about Brightmore Limited and the merges he planned.
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My thoughts
Where Life Takes You is about Rebecca, a woman who has what seems to be a great life: good job, nice home, and a wonderful friend in Dan, aka "Mr. Big", who always has her back. Believe me, Rebecca needs someone to have her back especially now that her past has resurfaced and Rebecca must confront, her mother, the woman who gave her life, but never love, is now dying. The revelations about Rebecca's childhood are slow to emerge, almost as if it is the writer expressing the pain in the remembrance.
Dan, while a steadfast and loyal friend, who also makes living life easy, is very possessive of Rebecca. Clearly, in order to heal from her past trauma she must also learn to stand on her own two feet. Perhaps, Dan's strength, means, business acumen, and loyalty, including his tendency to be over protective, was what attached Rebecca to him in the first place. It is only reasonable that someone who never felt wanted, needed, or loved would run full stop to someone who offers those needs in abundance, but clearly the time has come for Rebecca to find the survivor within herself and walk this path of life alone.
I truly enjoyed Where Life Takes You and selected this novel to review because it was outside of my literary genre comfort zone and it seemed to address similar hurdles and challenges that I have faced and continue to face in my life's journey. I enjoyed the story and felt Claudia Burgoa did an excellent great job of slowly revealing disturbing details in her narrative. In the sense that I felt it was more out of compassion to survivors of childhood abuse than any literary ploy and I applaud her for that.
Without a doubt, Where Life Takes You is an emotional roller-coaster of a read. Rebecca begins as a weak flat character that grows into one of incredible depth. Additionally, the relationship of Rebecca and Dan, while so crucial to her life up to this point is now at a crossroads in many ways. Rebecca must learn to be her own person, to find her inner strength and to not depend so heavily on Dan for emotional support; to make matters even more complicated, much like life, Dan has begun to fill more than friendship for Rebecca. The resolution to many issues are left unresolved by the end of the novel, but never fear a second is already in the works.
About the author
Claudia lives in Colorado with her family and three dogs. Two beagles who believe they are human and a bichon who thinks she’s a beagle. While managing life, she works as a CFO at a small IT Company.
She’s a dreamer who enjoys music, laughter and a good story.
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