REVIEW: Surrender to Me by Kelly Elliott

In Surrender to Me (Boggy Creek Valley #4) by Kelly Elliott, Boggy Creek cop Hunter Turner thought he and his high school sweetheart Arabella “Bella” Adams had the rest of their lives together to get married, have a family, and spend countless days and nights enjoying each other. But everything changed in their final year of college. Bella breaking up with Hunter turned him inside out and made him question everything they’d ever had. And over the next decade, no matter how hard he’s tried to move on, he’s still too much in love with Bella to let the idea of their happy future go. If only Hunter could get her to explain what caused her to leave college and break up with him, they might be able to move past it.

“Whatever it is you’re scared to tell me, please…just tell me. I don’t want to waste another moment of this life without you by my side, Bella.”

Hunter should be careful what he asks for, though, because the truth is more painful than he imagined. And it hurts him soul deep that he wasn’t there for Bella when her world was ripped apart. Finding the person responsible is the first step to helping Hunter cope with the rage and grief. But for Bella, learning to again trust the kind, wonderful man Hunter has always been seems to be key in letting go of her trauma. The more she opens herself up to his love and the idea of a future together, the more she believes she might actually–finally–be able to heal after all.

‘It had taken me way too long to realize the one thing I needed to heal was Hunter’s love…as well as his touch.’

Surrender to Me is the long-awaited story of high school sweethearts Arabella and Hunter. It was everything I had hoped for and more because, in my humble opinion, no one writes a reunion romance with as much depth of emotion as Kelly Elliott does.

‘He was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel…one I might finally be emerging from.’

Trigger warning: View Spoiler »Sexual assault/rape (in detail). « Hide Spoiler

You’re going to want an entire box of tissues for this one because oh my goodness, the emotions Kelly Elliott pulled out of me with Arabella and Hunter’s second chance romance. I would highly recommend reading the entire series in order, but to at least read the previous book (She’s the One) to see how their decade-long estrangement slowly came to an end. If you start off with Surrender to Me, I think you’ll feel like Hunter and Bella’s relationship went from zero to a hundred in no time flat. Which definitely wasn’t the case.

The subject matter when it comes to Bella’s past is going to be really tough for some readers. I knew what had happened to her in college, but getting the details was absolutely heart-wrenching. Honestly, it was Hunter’s reaction that made me sob. Profusely. But I think Elliott handled it all carefully, with as much tenderness and compassion as a writer can given Bella and Hunter’s situation.

I won’t get into details about the plot, but suffice to say it was a long road for Hunter and Bella to overcome the past. With their friends and family–and Hunter’s K9 partner Jack!–supporting them the whole way, though, this was a tender, hopeful story that showed the strength of the bond that never dissipated between Bella and Hunter. The time they lost together was one of the toughest parts for them to deal with but it didn’t interfere (much) with the way they blazed forward into their sweet new beginning. Their passionate romance was a prime example why I keep coming back for more of Kelly Elliott’s emotionally-charged books.

QOTD: Will you read a romance where one of the characters has a traumatic past affecting them present day (knowing there will eventually be a HEA) or do you avoid such storylines?

Book Info:

Publication: Published January 25th 2022 | Pub: K. Elliott Enterprises, INC | Boggy Creek Valley #4

Arabella Adams was the one woman I would have laid my life down for, no matter the circumstance, because that’s what you would do for your soulmate. But when she broke up with me our senior year of college—for no reason or explanation at all—my world as I knew it fell completely apart. My heart was instantly ripped from my chest…and it was a pain I felt in my very soul, and one I never truly recovered from.

Now, here I am, ten years later, and I’ve finally learned the real reason Bella pushed me away. So, I must prove to her that anything that happened in her past—our past—doesn’t change the way I feel about her. After all, soulmates never stop loving each other, and even a decade later, I will make her see that I will protect her until the day I die.

Because you see, we promised one another we wouldn’t keep secrets, wouldn’t hide parts of ourselves that the other wouldn’t understand. Except, well, I lied. Because the moment I find the person who took Bella from me all those years ago, I’m going to make him pay for every lost moment of the past ten years, and nothing—not even the fact I’m a cop—will stop me from inflicting the same level of pain on him that Arabella and me endured all this time.

Note to readers: Arabella endures trauma no woman should have to suffer. Respectfully, the author invites you to emotionally and mentally prepare before experiencing this book on your own terms, should you choose to do so.

Surrender to Me is book four in the Boggy Creek Valley series and can be read as a stand alone. For a better reading experience, I suggest reading them in order.
1. The Butterfly Effect
2. Playing with Words
3. She’s the One
4. Surrender to Me
5. Hearts in Motion
6. Looking for You