Jacqueline's Reads: Dear Agony: A Novel by Georgia Cates

I traded homelessness on the streets of New Orleans for a luxurious bed covered by the finest linens.

I traded dumpster diving for dinner in the finest restaurants.

Dear Agony,

You've been my shadow, following me through childhood—filling my days and nights with terror and uncertainty. You cleverly disguised yourself as some form of pain or suffering as I grew into a young woman. We were unwavering companions … until I severed our ties.

I traded myself to a stranger—Bastien Pascal.

I have a good life within my platonic and mutually beneficial companionship with Bash.

He’s my friend. My mentor. My roommate.

Until everything changes.

I’m not supposed to get goosebumps when his hand brushes my skin.

I’m not supposed to be eager for his soothing touch following one of my nightmares.

I’m not supposed to think about what might happen if I reached out to him in the darkness.

Falling in love with him? Preposterous . . . unavoidable.

Agony, why are you back with a vengeance to rob me of this life I’ve come to love so dearly?

I’m finally happy. Don’t ruin this for me.

Always yours,

Rose

In this epic love story, Dear Agony forges a connection between an unlikely pair—a beautiful rose entwined in barbed wire and a shipwreck sinking into the darkest depths of the ocean. This agonizing romantic novel poses some gut-wrenching questions: What does a woman do when the man she loves is planning his own demise? And how far will she go to give him something to live for?

5 The FEELS STARS!!!!

I love Georgia Cates and I loved Dear Agony. I love the cover, I love the summary, I love the characters and I love the story. Dear Agony is a melt-your-heart kind of read. It will leave you feeling swoony and breathless. I read this book in one sitting. I couldn’t put the book down! I was sucked in from the first page. There was NEVER a dull moment. I just could.not.stop.reading. Gah, it was addictive. I really needed this book.

Dear Agony had all the things I look for in a romantic read, with a damsel, a caring and strong Hero and heart-warming plot.

Rose has a hard life. She’s homeless and doesn’t know where she will get her next meal. Everything changes when she meets a woman that offers her a job. She will groom Rose to be a paid companion. When I first realized the plot of the book it gave me the sort of feeling this was like a sugar daddy / sugar baby story line. In essence it is, but to me, this story was a bit classier. The whole ideal of a companion relationship is that it’s a platonic relationship and I PROMISE you, it adds a very nice tension to the story.

Bastien (Bash), has it all, the looks, the success and the charm. What he doesn’t have is time. He’s at a point in his life where he doesn’t want mindless sexual relations with women anymore. He’s seeking something deeper, more meaningful, but just enough where he won’t get his heart broken. Basically, a best friend, but with a woman. I know, some of you are going to scratch your head at this, but I’m telling you, it makes sense and it fits the story perfectly.

I love Bash. At times he frustrated me, but it only (and like I said before) added to the story and angst. Bash pays for Rose’s time. The thing I love most about this book is that the author really builds up the relationship between the couple. I got a lot of character development. I love the tension between Bash and Rose. I love how sweet Rose is and I love Bash’s caring personality by wanting to give her everything.

Of course, not everything can be perfect and as the story progresses, it gets more dramatic and it got better and better.

I enjoyed Dear Agony from start to finish. I felt like I was on a roller coaster of emotions. At times the book was sugary sweet, but I’ll you what, I LOVED THAT!!!!

I highly recommend.

An ARC was provided

AMAZON

Georgia resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff, and their two beautiful daughters. She spent fourteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author and hasn’t looked back yet.

When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. When she’s being domestic, she’s listening to her iPod and visualizing scenes for her current work in progress. Every story coming from her always has a song to inspire it.

Representation: All questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of my books, inquiries regarding foreign translation and film rights should be directed to Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich.