Complicated, emotional and thought provoking Smoke Signals is another superb offering from author Catherine Gayle. ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures
Description:
Desperation changes a person. Leads them to do things they never would have dreamed.
Thanks to his mother, Ray “Razor” Chambers knows what desperation can lead a person to do. But as a defenseman for the Tulsa Thunderbirds, those days are long in the past for both of them. His best buddy is about to get hitched in Vegas when a woman whose eyes are filled with an all-too-familiar haunted look approaches Razor. She makes him a proposition, and he knows he’s witnessing yet another act borne of desperation.
Viktoriya Dubrovskaya knows all about desperation, too. She came to America to study ballet and escape a fate no one should have to bear. She can never go home again. She’s broke and broken, not to mention in survival mode. Viktoriya turned to the only help offered, but in the end it stripped her of everything she was and all she wanted. Now she’s out of time, money, and options…until she sees Razor.
There’s no chance he’ll take her up on what she’s offering, but he suggests a counter-proposal—one involving a ring, a green card, and the chance to reclaim her body. It’s an opportunity she can’t pass up, but for Viktoriya and Razor, learning to live together as husband and wife is as foreign as interpreting Smoke Signals. And where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.
CONTENT WARNING: contains graphic and potentially disturbing description of abuse, both physical and sexual.
Review copy provided for an honest review
Sometimes authors really surprise me and author Catherine Gayle has done just that in her latest 
release, Smoke Signals. She took a man who I always thought of as a bit selfish, all too willing to lead others astray and always out for a good time and turned him into a man I admire almost as much as I do his best friend,Jamie Babcock. Never in all of the books in her Portland Storm series or in the Tulsa Thunderbirds series did I ever think of Ray “Razor” Chambers on the same level as his best friend, but he proves time and time again that outward appearances are sometimes very deceiving. A hero with a heart of gold, a heroine with too many secrets and a love story born out of desperation, but became so much more made Smoke Signals impossible to put down.
I’ll be honest and say I was sort of ambivalent about Razor’s book because I always saw him as the guy that tried to get Jamie “Babs” Babcock to go off the rails and he kind of pissed me off. I honestly didn’t think the man understood love, devotion, and commitment but his story proved me wrong on so many levels. I was surprised to find a man who loved his mother fiercely, one who was a champion for women in need and one who will go to the ends of the earth to protect and help those he cares about. I was completely enthralled with his history and everything he did in this book and the one complaint I have about it was I kind of wanted to know if Jamie knew all along that underneath Razor’s exterior there was this awesome guy underneath and that is why they have always been such good friends.
I wasn’t sure what to think when Viktoriya (Tori) Dubrovskaya approached and propositioned Razor and I was completely surprised by his handling of the situation. Tori’s life story is not a pretty one and in fact at times it was a bit hard to read, but I also couldn’t help but admire her putting on the brave front that she did considering everything she’d been through. At times during this story I got frustrated with her, but I also had to remind myself that never in my life have I been in her situation and thus I have no frame of reference to even begin to know how I would think or react. I enjoyed watching her blossom with Razor’s help and with the friendship she formed with Tallie (Bury the Hatchet) who impressed me so much with her no holds barred acceptance.
I appreciated so much about this book. I loved that even though these two didn’t know each other and were married almost immediately that Razor did not take advantage of that situation; his heart was in the right place from the start. His absolute acceptance of Tori and the fact that he refused to hide their relationship despite her past was very telling of the man he is. Tori had ever reason not to trust him or anyone and even though it took her time to trust him completely she allowed herself to feel safe with him after a short time despite how hard it was for her to do so. Tori’s problems both mentally and physically were dealt with respectfully and in a manner that was realistic. I loved watching Tori gain confidence through her friendships and her dancing. Their relationship built over time and as the feelings grew for both Razor and Tori it was interesting seeing their reactions as they realized how much the other person had become a part of their lives.
While there was some hockey in this book, it really was on the backburner. We did however get two weddings; one planned and one not, a new baby, a brawl on the ice and some interesting new friendships formed. I must mention that I love Razor’s Mom almost as much as I love him and seeing a very different side of his Russian teammate Dima was extremely enlightening and very entertaining.
A marriage of convenience is never easy and while Razor and Tori had many problems to deal with including possible deportation, intimacy issues as well as issues with the team’s owners and some of the players and wives in the league, but these two never really lost sight of what was important…each other. Complicated, emotional and thought provoking Smoke Signals is another superb offering from author Catherine Gayle.
Thanks Slick