Juniper Limits (The Juniper Series, #2) - Lora Richardson

Synopsis:

Celia has spent her life waiting for the next crisis. When the tension at home begins to ease, she wonders if she’ll finally be able to relax. Her father has stopped drinking, her cousin Fay has moved back to Juniper, and it seems like Paul might really care about her. But trust is an uphill battle for Celia, fighting against doubt the whole way.

Paul has been drawn to Celia for as long as he can remember, and she is finally giving him a chance to show her how he feels. But when Celia can’t stop worrying everything will fall apart, and when things in Paul’s own life take a turn for the worse, can they learn to rely on each other?

Review:

Having read and reviewed Lora's work which is the first book of The Junpier Series called The Edge Of Junpier and fell in love I was more than happy and honoured to read Junpier Limits. This time we follow Paul and Celia throughout the book, watching their friendship strengthen and blossom.

I was so happy to be back in Juniper and seeing who felt like old friends, this story takes place so close to where The Edge Of Junpier ended and it all fitted so well. Celia's father Tedd is staying sober after being within the hold of alcohol for so long which we got to see in the previous book. it was ice to finally have faith in Tedd and wish he would follow the sobriety all the way through. At the end of the previous book we find out that after leaving Junpier, Fay is moving back and the trio she left behind are excited for her to return. All the while Paul is trying hard to show Celia how much he cares for her and he means it all but Celia doubts him all the way having struggled with trust for a long time.

It's beautiful to watch them both blossom with each other, I knew in the previous book that Paul cared and he was being true. Paul is a breath of fresh air. He isn't a bad boy, just a funny and cheery guy who is persistent in his pursuit of the only girl he's set on getting, but much like Celia his life isn't perfect and my heart really goes out to him, he's caring and sympathetic and yet he's strong and way beyond his years.

What struck me (yet again) about Juniper Limits is how realistic it feels. The dialogue and humor shared between Celia and Paul was so true and relalistic. When it came to how Celia dealt with the stress at home, her reactions felt so believable. Between the sadly true to life situations Celia and Paul were dealing with, Celia's reluctance to trust not only Paul but anyone, and Paul's conflicted feelings about his mother, there was a feeling of authenticity that ran throughout the book. Richardson perfectly captured Celia's tough outer shell, her constant worry, her fear to hope for better, and the shred of hope she allowed herself to feel anyway.

I don't think I can score any lower than 5/5 here, Lora has blown me away again and it was incredible to be able to see their faces and Juniper once again. I went through so many emotions whilst reading this book, all of them with the characters and that just shows you how great Lora writes. It was sad to have to leave them behind when I closed the eBook but I hope ill be seeing them again sometime.