Review: Rise by Dylan Allen
Rise by Dylan Allen Published by Dylan Allen Writes on February 15th 2017
Pages: 263
Format: eBook
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As a girl, I saw my father destroy the family he claimed to love. I watched my mother waste her life dreaming of a man who left her without a second glance. As a woman, I don't dream, I work. I don't fall in love, I focus. I would never let anything as frivolous as love distract me. Until I meet Simon. A gorgeous, brilliant young architect with dark eyes, a sweet smile, and a dirty, dirty mouth. He sets me on fire, and suddenly all I can do is dream...of his hands, his lips, his body. Of a heart good enough and a love strong enough to make me believe in happily ever after. But Simon has secrets that are even deeper than mine. Will our pasts destroy everything we've worked for? Or will we find the courage to rise to the challenge and fight for the love we share?
I was just complaining on Twitter last week that I was in a bit of a reading funk. I was not happy with any of my recent reads. Either I was mad at the editing or the pace and I just couldn’t seem to pick a good book that worked.
Rather than throw another temper tantrum, I decided to scroll one more time through my TBR pile and came across Rise by Dylan Allen. I believe I downloaded after seeing a recommendation from one of my faves, Kennedy Ryan.
This was the perfect balm to my reading woes and I am now a happy girl.
You know what I love in my romance novels? Angst.
Well if you’ve been a fan of this blog for a bit then you probably already know that, right?
Well, let me reiterate: I LOVE a good angsty romance novel. And trust me when I tell you, Rise definitely has it in spades.
Set in London, we are introduced to Adelaide aka Addie and Simon. Addie has seemingly left her father’s transgressions behind and is settled in England working at a prestigious law firm. Simon is a genius architect with just as many secrets as Addie. He’s focused on doing right by his family even when it means putting himself last. He has misplaced guilt and she has stuffed her real dreams and feelings so far down she isn’t sure if she can find them.
“Your dreams aren’t anywhere but inside of you, waiting for you to quit blocking them with your anger.”
They both have pasts they’d rather forget and emotions begging to be let out of their cage. These two aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they find something in their shared imperfection that readers will find beautiful.
Addie and Simon have their fair share of demons. The beginning of this relationship is anything but perfect. It’s not sweet or carefully finessed, there are a lot of starts and stops and lack of information on both parts. These two are shrouded in secrets and responsibilities that weigh heavy on them. Rise has drama from its prologue but its not overdone. It was the perfect combination of intrigue, pain and a wonderful passion-filled romance. Because if it’s one thing these two had it was definitely the passion.
Rise touches on many subjects; class, racism, and bigotry in the workplace. It explores the danger of keeping secrets and running away from your past instead of facing it head on, and the importance of allowing yourself the happiness you deserve.
“Dreams aren’t made of fairy tales and romance, they are made of hard work and grit.”
I may have been late to the party but I am here and I am paying attention. Excuse me while I go read the second installment in this series. I’ll be back.
Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.
You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.
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