Thursday, August 25, 2016

Review: Signs of Attraction ~ Laura Brown

Signs of Attraction
Laura Brown
Contemporary Romance
Avon Impulse/June 14, 2016

Do you know what hearing loss sounds like? I do.

All my life I've tried to be like you. I've failed.

So I keep it hidden.

But on the day my world crashed down around me, Reed was there.

He showed me just how loud and vibrant silence can be, even when I struggled to understand.

He's unlike anyone I've ever known. His soulful eyes and strong hands pulled me in before I knew what was happening. 

And as I saw those hands sign, felt them sparking on me, I knew: imperfect could be perfect. 

Reed makes me feel things I've never felt. It's exciting... and terrifying. 

Because he sees me like no one else has, and I'm afraid of what he'll find if he looks too closely.

I'm so utterly happy for whatever fate lead me to this book! It's a romance about two people who are able to communicate through different means than those of us who can hear well. I wasn't sure what to expect but as I always do, I was hoping for a good story. I wasn't disappointed!

The heroine, Carli, is hearing disabled. She can hear some but also has some hearing loss as well as horrible headaches. She has always tried to hide her hearing loss, never asking or expecting special treatment. This can make things difficult as Carli is a college student so the noise in classrooms can make learning a challenge. I found it interesting to see how Carli compensates for her hearing loss in the college environment. Over the years she has developed coping mechanisms and you can't help but feel for her and what she's had to endure. So it is a wonderful moment when Reed comes into her life. He opens up a new world for her.

Reed is not a college student. In fact, he is a teacher and he is such a perfect fit for Carli.  He has the patience of a teacher but he's still a guy who notices Carli's beauty and makes her realize she is worth the attention he shows her. Reed is also deaf. While this fact plays a vital role Reed doesn't let his deafness define him. Reed is a hero who shows us that his deafness doesn't make him any less a man. In fact, I think it made him more of a hero for how he doesn't let it hold him back from doing what he loves and loving Carli.

The romance was sometimes sweet, often hot both physical and emotional. There are tough situations both Reed and Carli have not only come through but are still dealing with. The author does well in depicting how Reed and Carli, as well as their families, deal with the emotionally trying situations. The look into their lives and how hearing loss affected not only Carli and Reed but the people around them is emotional and gives a reader who is unfamiliar with this a good idea of what it is like to not hear this world that can be so loud at times.

Rating: A

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