{Romance Novella Review} Brave by Zoe Dawson

{Romance Novella Review} Brave by Zoe Dawson

In the season of hope, in the season of giving…

How far would you go for your friend?

Alissa Thompson has been the good girl her whole life. Her uninterested parents don’t understand her hopes and dreams. But this Christmas when her steadfast childhood friend Charlie needs her more than ever, she can’t back down. Crossing the line means being braver than she has ever been in her life. It means changing and growing and taking a stand.

Dakota Gray was brave in the face of debilitating fear. But he lost himself in that blood soaked day and has shunned everything he once knew. Now shattered and broken, he hides out in isolation, his wounds beyond healing. His heart closed, his emotions buried, he’s a man on the edge of self-destructing. Little does he know that courage would be found in another searching for the strength to be brave.

Now snowbound in the Colorado Rockies one week before Christmas, Alissa thought this was about her journey and her friend, about setting him free. But from the moment she meets Dakota, she learns about what real bravery is all about. What real love is all about. But is the season enough, her courage enough, her love enough to heal this hero’s brave heart and in the end set herself free? (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} ebook, 119 pages. Published November 1st 2013 by Blue Moon Creative. Source: Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Zoe Dawson and Blue Moon Creative.

{Rating} 4/5 -- I really liked it!

{Review}

"Sweat rolled down my back and off my arms." (page 1, line 1)

Brave is a surprisingly heavy read and packs quite a punch in only 119 pages. Alissa and Dakota have been through a lot, things Dawson hints about but you have to keep reading to find out exactly what haunts them.

Brave is told from both Alissa and Dakota's points of view - I'm a big fan of dual POVs - we see Alissa on a quest for her best friend and Dakota who is hiding out in the mountains and comes to Alissa's rescue. They are both suffering, both weighed down with guilt and grief, and together they begin to find a way to move on.

"I made it so you wouldn't feel hopeless. I know what that feels like, and it's the worst feeling on earth. I didn't want you to feel that way, ever." (location 1034)

I liked how Dawson showed the different kinds of brave, emotionally and physically, and how sometimes you are being brave just getting through the day.

"I told you I'm no hero, Alissa. I'm just a man...just a man."
"I know you are a man. You are so, so...brave."
"Brave? Do you really think so?"
"Yes, and you taught me how to be brave." (location 1155)

I did think the end was kind of rushed, a lot of big things happened (and yea for therapy! That's another kind of brave, seeking help), but I was happy to see everything tied up, to see how far both Alissa and Dakota have come.