Kari & Levi by Cee BowermanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Third Time’s A Charm
I’d probably give this book 3.75 ⭐️ if I could.
This book is this fourth in the Rojo, TX series. This series is connected to others written by this author set in the same place with lots of cross over characters. You don’t *technically* need to read the other books before this one, but you’ll find it a lot less confusing if you do.
TRIGGER WARNING: This book deals with people with mental health issues including OCD, panic attacks, PTSD, anxiety and depression. There is also the aftermath of surviving domestic abuse, though not the specific details of what occurred to create the problems. If these subject matters cause you to experience emotional difficulty, you may want to stay clear of this book.
Kari has been in Cee Bowerman’s books since the beginning. Before she was introduced she was in an abusive relationship and got out, but not before she was scarred both physically and mentally. After her escape, she decided to make a safe haven for other women like her, who needed a safe place to make a fresh start. She’s spent most of her life looking after other people at the expense of her own health.
Levi has also been around in a supporting role from quite early on in Cee Bowerman’s books. After college, he went into the army and broke Kari’s 18-year-old heart. They had been dating several months when he had to go away and though he asked her to go with him she felt she couldn’t leave her family, so he went alone and their relationship ended.
After being in the army Levi became a police officer in a different city until he was kidnapped and tortured. After that, he was unable to work in the force and left to set up a gym with his family. Since he’s been back in Rojo, he’s wanted to see Kari but felt his mental health wasn’t good enough to try starting up a relationship again, especially as he knew what she’d been through whilst he’d been gone. Then when Kari moved into her old family home they discovered they were neighbours.
The beginning of this book is quite muddled and a lot of information is thrown at the reader in order to help make the rest of the book comprehendible. There are a lot of scenes from past books and flashbacks in a short period of time which was quite overwhelming as I tried to place all the reminders in the right order. I didn’t particular enjoy wading through that initial section of the book, but once past it I found the book to be of the usual high standard of this author.
This story is a journey of two very damaged people who truly love each other but don’t know how to love themselves. They are both on the same road to happiness, but they are at different stages in the journey. At first glance, Kari seems to be happy and fulfilled and it’s only because Levi lives next door and sees her all the time does he come to suspect that she’s never really dealt with her problems. Levi has a support dog who helps him with his PTSD and he is on medication and seeks counselling because he knows he’s not healthy yet. Kari however denies there is a problem. It takes a lot of work for both of them to get healthy and a lot of heartache is exposed along the way.
It’s really nice to get a HEA for Kari who has been such an important character throughout all of the books set in Rojo. She does so much for others that it’s nice to see her rewarded for that work. It’s also good to read a book about how people can appear fine on the outside but inside are screaming in pain. If you’ve never suffered from mental health issues this is a good reminder that just because your friends and family look OK, they might not be. It’s a good reminder to people who do suffer from mental health issues that you need to do the work to get better, and you need to keep doing the work to stay that way. It’s a very good example of why you need help when you spiral out of control and that it doesn’t mean you are weak or ‘broken’ to ask for it.
There’s a lot love in this book and a lot of hard work. At times it was painful to read, but it was worth it to get to the HEA that these characters deserved.
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