J.A. Little - Angel of Redemption

Seasoned social worker Kayla Brooks has dealt with her fair share of difficult situations, but nothing could have prepared her for the likes of Dean Wyatt, head of Wyatt House Group Home for Boys. When a case unexpectedly brings Kayla to his door in the middle of the night, sparks fly. With a piercing gaze and heavily inked skin, Dean looks like a walking wet dream.
Until he turns out to be an asshole.
Dean Wyatt has always kept those around him at arm’s length. Secrets lurk beneath his tattoos—a traumatic past known to very few.
Forced to work together in order to help two vulnerable boys, Kayla slowly penetrates Dean’s tough exterior. Along the way the two discover something they've each been missing—but only time will tell if they can overcome the painful past that’s kept anyone from bringing true happiness into Dean’s world.

Comment: One more book I can't remember why ended up in my TBR. I probably read something positive about it somewhere...

(I actually tried to keep a list where I'd add the title and reason why I was adding it to my TBR but after 4 or 5 books, I confess I got too lazy to keep track...)

In this book we meet social worker Kayla Brooks, a dedicated professional, especially since her childhood and youth weren't her best time, considering all her poor choices. She feels she can understand the kids in her charge and tries her best to help them. When the story begins she is placing brothers Logan and Matty at a boys' home but unlike the usual rep most places like this have, the Wyatt House is actually run by caring people. As the lives of the boys are more and more part of the routines of the house, Kayla also becomes friends with people there and her attraction to Dean Wyatt seems reciprocated. But life is rarely about simple or easy things and their pasts and their present have plenty of issues and even obstacles, but is there any chance everyone can really grab happiness?

This is, if I saw correctly, the only book published by the author. It's also a mammoth book with my ebook edition having almost 800 pages and while there are certainly things which are repetitive, I still managed to go through it full speed, especially since I chose to read it during my days off, which helped.

I would classify this as a sort of modern day saga, and Kayla and Dean are the main characters but we also follow others and their lives, although always through the perspective of the main couple. I can't say if the author has experience with social work or if she did research exclusively for writing this book but there are plenty of elements which add veracity to the things we often consider when "social work", "foster care" and "being in the system" come to mind. The story is clearly a drama, but I've found it to be bearable, it isn't written in a way to bring one down, even including some fun scenes among the seriousness of most situations.

Kayla and Dean are the main characters but we also see interactions with the boys at the Wyatt house, Kayla and Dean's family and a few others. The setting is Minneapolis and it's pretty much closed around this core of people, which can make things seem a little claustrophobic but everyone is interesting somehow and even characters who might not seem they would matter much, end up having some kind of importance. If there is one element I wish had been better is how the pace would be less evident. I say this because the plot would go from situation being presented to situation being dealt with, then something else and repeat the process and so on. I mean, some plot situations felt very much planned as opposed to something that had to happen that way.

There is some expected content with his type of story, most characters have sad stories or went through complicated things but thankfully most are able to cope or have friends/others who help and I liked how even Kayla, who had a wilder past, is now invested in allowing others to have better opportunities. Dean also has a bad youth, with being in prison for instance, but their combined pasts and who they are now make for captivating characters who, despite everything, never seemed boring to me. It's true some situations develop in a rather cliched way, others slightly better but even though some things were very predictable, I still liked spending time with these characters.

Kayla and Dean are the main characters, their romance starts well I think, but I must say it can be quite bothersome how so much of any romance novel looks to be so heavily set on presenting characters' thoughts and these aren't always nice (both Kayla and Dean think too much about sexual encounters and each other's physical attributes in moments where the scene would not need that vibe), which added to first person or third person narration focused on the main couple, makes me think of them as very selfish and silly adults sometimes.

As the plot progresses, slowly, many things happen that allow us to understand the characters' personalities and motivation but for such a big book, I must say I'd expect a bit more showing than telling in certain situations. I also would prefer to have less sex scenes, they weren't always that necessary nor fundamental to add layers to the characters' evolution, so I've skipped a few. Closer to the end, some drama scenes were added to create conflict and to make characters go a certain way or make certain decisions... again, i'd prefer something different in this regard.

All in all, this was enjoyable, I did like reading it even though some details could have been edited or changed to better suit the type of story. I don't know if I'll re-read it (it's very big) but I will without a doubt think of it fondly.

Grade: 8/10