Under the Influence by L.B. Simmons

Under the Influence by L.B. Simmons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review



"Do you think I don't know how it feels to be abandoned, to be betrayed by those who are suppose to love you? To care for you? To continually wonder what you did to deserve the life you were born into as you remain locked in your past by ever present question- why me?"

There are not enough words to describe how much I loved Under the Influence by L.B.Simmons. From the opening pages to the very end, this book captured my undivided attention on it's heartbreaking, riveting tale of loss, separation and heartache. This book was so emotionally raw that every heartfelt emotions from sadness, love, anger, loss, and regret was literally pouring off each page. Words will be just words until you bring them to LIFE. And that's what Ms. Simmons did with Under the Influence. She didn't just deliver an ordinary tale of first love but she poured her heart and soul into this book and as a reader she captured the very essence of love, loss, sadness, hurt and heart with the story of Dalton and Spencer.

"Her eyes are full of determination and with absolute ferocity, her belief in me douses the constant inferno which burns within my chest as the pieces begin to combine. Anger no longer suffocates me. Fear no longer stifles me. Pain no longer asphyxiates me."



In life, we all make choices. Some good. Some bad. Some regretful. But these choices are our own regardless if we want to change them. They happen for a reason. They make us into the individuals who we are today. These choices can defines us or they can be a lesson to be learned. So when a wrong choice is made, can the monster and darkness that consumes within us be freed? Freed from the anger? Disappointment? Heartache? Can love truly heal and shine light in our darkest hour? Is love enough to save us?

"Do you still think you can help me? Save me from a life in which there is absolutely no way out, other than death?"



Under the Influence is not an ordinary tale of finding love. It is a story where love transcends and douses us with pure passion and fuel to keep hope alive. Hope that love will save us and mend the broken pieces in our shattered hearts.

"I put all that I am into this kiss, wordlessly expressing my everlasting gratitude as she heals me. Once it's mended and whole, I willingly give her the only gift I have to offer in return. My heart."

Dalton and Spencer are two best friends who found love, comfort, and happiness within each other. Both have a story to tell filled with heartache, love, and hurt. But Dalton is the one who has a story that will emotionally grip and gut our hearts. As a child, he grew up feeling unloved and abused by the people who should of loved him. His parents didn't show him the love and affection a child needs and should be provided for but instead showed him pain, darkness, and hurt. So when Dalton meets Spencer, he finally found the person to give him solace, peace, and light. She was his saving grace from the darkness and brokenness. She was the missing piece to mend the fractured pieces of his heart. Her love alone was his saving grace.

"My heart fills with pure elation as my mind resolutely affirms those words and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm glad to be alive. Because in her, I find purpose. I want to be for her. I want to exist just so I can experience her. I want to live, to feel, to laugh, and to love with her."



But when Dalton gets mixed up with the wrong group of bad people, he finds out that hard way that once you let darkness in, it will consume and tear you apart. So when a death rocks his world, Dalton's life is shattered. Anger consumes him. Hurt and pain eats him alive. Regret haunts him. Filled with vengeance and anger, he makes a choice that will alter his life and path with Spencer. A choice that will drown you with raw emotions. It is often said that when you truly love someone, you have to let them go and if they come back to you, it is meant to be. So will Spencer be willing to forgive Dalton after several years passed by? Or are the pieces of her broken heart too shattered to be pieced back together? Is their love enough to save them once again?

"I want to inhale him. To taste him on my tongue. To feel him course through my bloodstream. To consume every bit of his essence. Only then do i think my craving for him would be satisfied."



I just have to say this once more...I loved this book. This book was a gem of a read. I was literally consumed and under the influence with Ms. Simmons' writing and story-telling. The writing in this book is simply breathtakingly raw and beautiful. Ms. Simmons is truly a gifted writer whose literary prose and words captured our hearts. She bathed us not only in a love story but a story of hope, second chance, and meant to be love. So if you are looking for a book that will make you FEEL then I highly recommend you to read this book.

"I will always belong to you. Regardless of what you've done, what you do, or what you will do, I will forever be yours....."



L.B. Simmons

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