The Story of Us: A heart-wrenching story that will make you believe in true love

Tara Sivec

Jun 2017 · Sold by Forever

About this ebook

From the USA Today bestselling author of Fisher's Light comes a "heartbreaking and hopeful" (AL Jackson) standalone romance about first love and second chances.

How much can a man take before he breaks?
1,843 days. That's how long I survived in that hellhole. They tried to break me, but I resisted. And I owe it all to the memory of warm summer nights, the scent of peaches, and the one woman who loved me more than I ever deserved to be loved. Now, I'll do anything to get back to her.

Only Shelby Eubanks isn't the girl I left behind all those years ago. She's someone else, a stranger. My Shelby-my little green-eyed firecracker-would never give up her dreams, would never disappear into her mother's ambitions. But I won't give up on her. On us. I may be broken, and scarred, and not the man I used to be, but I will do whatever it takes to remind her of the story of us.

Ratings and reviews

***5 ‘Only You, Always You’ Stars*** From the first page I was hooked and good lord did those feels start ramping up and didn't stop until I read the last word (actually the little teaser at the end still has them going but that's a story for another time). Eli and Shelby took me on an emotional roller coaster of a ride, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I loved every moment! Eli and Shelby took me on a roller coaster ride. I hurt for them. I liked them. The frustrated the hell out of me and made me want to reach out and smack some sense into them. I wanted to commit acts of violence against those that hurt them. And I wanted to hug them and tell them that things would get better little by little each day. And I admired the hell out of them for their tenacity and strength even when I felt it was a bit misdirected. In the end though, I adore the people they were always meant to be. Their journey was filled with emotional landmines and every time I landed on one it brought out a different emotional response while showing me just why Eli and Shelby were destined to be together. I loved the method used to show us who they were to each other before they were split apart and how it brought them back together in the end. I’ve read a good portion of Ms. Sivec’s RomCom’s, and still remember the Bronie’s fondly, but this is the first non-RomCom romance I’ve dived into and loved it! We get a well balanced mix of heart, humor, angst and heat. The characters, both the main and secondary, were so well written that I felt as if I could reach out and touch them. The twists and turns were well thought out and executed and when each was brought to light they all made perfect sense. This really was a great read and one I recommend to anyone who loves a well written second chance romance. And as for that ‘tease’/excerpt of Ms. Sivec’s next book at the end? Let me tell you that I’m already making grabby hands at it! ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

The Story of Us is a love conquers all, second chance romance read. The leads have been through years of torture. There's lots of manipulation from forces outside of their relationship and also some plain ole crappy luck. Although, they have been around the people equivalent of poisonous snakes, both have good hearts. Both are dealing with physical and mental scars and keeping secrets, and they will do anything to protect each other. Eli and Shelby miss the relationship they once had, but they have to get everything out into the open to salvage what they have. This book is an emotional rollercoaster with some unexpected twists.

How can I put into words how this book made me feel? The raw emotion I experienced reading Eli and Shelby's story was heartbreaking. Ms. Sivec gutted me from page 11 until the last page. How was Eli able to survive all that he endured? How was Shelby able to continue to live without him? The Story of Us was amazing! Ms. Sivec's ability to make the reader climb into the book and feel every emotion that the characters experience is a prime example of excellent writing. Honestly, my review of this book is 10 stars! This is a must have! Thank you Ms. Sivec for giving us another powerful, wonderful story!

About the author

Tara Sivec is a USA Today bestselling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when they all three of them become adults and move out.

After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted as Best Author in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards for 2014.

In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she'll do and naps she'll take when she ever gets spare time.