This is the first book of C A Popovich that I have read, and to be honest it was a pleasure to read.

Its a very sweet romance between Brittany and Erika, ex-friends from school days who have to move past the bad history between them.

I absolutely loved that the author gives background details of Mackinac Island, which makes me want to visit.

Lovely story, lovely romance and would recommended

Amy Jensen aka Erika James, is a 38 year old model having difficulty letting go and moving on because modeling is her identity. Brittany Yardin, lacking confidence since an unfortunate childhood accident. I enjoyed the story premise. I also enjoyed the beautiful description of Mackinac Island. It took me back to when I was there with family on vacation. Erika and Brittany are different yet to some extent have the same needs. Acceptance and love is what comes to mind. My heart went out to Brittany as she struggles to deal with the aftermath of the accident adn how she is seen and not seen. Her parents sound loving and supportive as well as her friends. Erika's parents, on the other hand are presented as pushy and controlling. This is a read about finding self, finding love, and overcoming outside expectations.

The book by C.A. Popovich is about Brittany and Erika who meet again by chance after many years. Brittany works in a hotel where Erika, a successful but aging model (38), has a shooting.
The two of them are connected by a past marked by shame and guilt, which has to be overcome.
The story is written fluently, but the dialogues sometimes seem a bit constructed.
The everyday life of the characters is partly described in great detail, so that the speed of the story is rather slow.
Something that personally bothered me a bit while reading is that the basic conflict of the story is often repeated in the characters' world of thoughts or dialogues.

I received a copy from netgalley in exchange for a an honest review.

* I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's the first time I read something from this author and even though I was hesitant (there were some bad reviews about her previous books), I decided to give it a try because I found the summary intriguing.
The writing was decent but there was something missing from this book. I have to agree with other reviewers who mentioned being bored.

Brittany lives on a small island her whole life. She was burnt badly by accident when she was a student and the bullying that followed made her struggling with anxiety and other issues especially when she has to interact with other people.

Erica is a 38 years old model who's now losing jobs due to her age and she struggles to reconcile with her new reality. She was Brittany’s friend back before she became one of her high school mean girls. She’s on the island for a photo shoot when she meets with Brittany after so many years that they don't see each other.

The problem of this book is that there no interesting main plot. They are attracted to each other since the first moment they meet, Brittany forgives Erica like instantly and the most interesting thing that happens is that Erica is undecided about whether she has to do a nude shoot in order to keep the interest in her career alive. This thing gets literally discussed every other page and the repetition of all this is tiring. The writing was not bad but I think the author needed something more in order to keep out interest alive till the end.

I liked the plot, which has potential in terms of meeting your childhood nemesis and how to move on from an engrossing and self identifying career, but sadly the writing style is just too pedestrian to develop the storylines needed for this plot. Instead of exploring these dynamic themes the book sort of plods along and is fairly repetitive, so much so that I gradually lost interest in it all. The forgiveness part in particular was far too quick and somewhat trite. Also, cheesecake, hazelnut cake, lots of fudge and all the rest of the food consumed by a model?! A model who is thinking of doing a nude photo shoot? Surely it’s kale, spinach and a tiny bit of grilled protein (I think that’s what models eat, personally I’m all for the cheesecake and fudge). And was this book sponsored by Victoria’s Secret underwear? They get a lot of mentions.

This book has a good storyline and I love the fact that it was placed on Mackinac island. Brittany, one of the leads, has a physical scar on her face left from an accident when she was a child which led her to be brutally bullied while in school especially by Amy. Amy was her friend and she continues to have feelings for her even though she hasn’t seen her for 20 years. Her emotions for Amy we’re varied from anger at her bullying her and a longing because she loves her. Brittany works on the island driving a horse drawn wagon and one day she picks up passengers at the ferry and realizes one of them is Amy Only she isn’t Amy anymore she’s Erika a world famous model. What Brittany doesn’t know is that Erika has long held feelings of regret for the way she treated Brittany . Now she feels this is a chance she has to apologize for what she did during high school. As the two of them begin to speak and open themselves up to one another it becomes clear that they are both broken women. Brittany has hidden herself away from other people because of her facial scars and Erika has lived in a bubble Being a supermodel and not living in the real world because she was sheltered from it. Can these two broken people really develop a relationship that is both loving, forgiving, and lasting?

I gave this book a four star rating because it had a lot of repetition that was needless and actually some of the repetition really became boring after a while I wish the book was better edited.

When Brittany was 12 years old, a pot of boiling scarred the right side of her face. After being in the burn unit for months, Brittany wanted nothing more than to return to school and resume her normal activities with her best friend, Amy. However, Amy struggled with her self worth and wanted to be accepted by her popular peers who thought bullying people was a fun thing to do. She joined them as they found their next target…Brittany. She was shunned, bullied, tormented, and called a freak. Brittany’s took these torments to heart and her self esteem plummeted. She forever became self conscious of her scars and shied away from people. Amy became Erika James, a supermodel, who always embraced her beauty and the spotlight…but at the same time always regretted the way she treated Brittany. When Erika travelled to Mackinac Island to do a fashion shoot, she discovered Brittany worked there and would be chauffeuring her around the island. Both women took this opportunity to move from past hurts and regrets from twenty-three years ago to a present day friendship.

I think the author did a good job in relating the title to the characters’ renewed sense of self worth and self acceptance …through love’s eyes. As their relationship slowly developed throughout the story, this acceptance also allowed Brittany to experience love for the first time with the only person she had ever kissed. It was also through love’s eyes that Erika finally accepted the fact that life can go on after her modeling career ends.

I also enjoyed the descriptive setting and the interesting tidbits about Mackinac Island interspersed throughout the story.

It did take me some time to get into this story because I was initially confused with how the accident occurred and with the characters’ ages. It wasn’t until the halfway mark that more details were written about this timeframe. This then gave me a better understanding of those important events. But I wish this part was written sooner.

Overall, this was a good read and perfect for those who enjoy slow burn romances.
3.5 stars
ARC given for an honest review.

I thought this was a sweet book. I appreciated that the main characters took ownership of their past mistakes instead of being defensive to add more angst to the storyline. I think the story was a great commentary on how the grass isn't greener on the other side and just because you have it all doesn't mean you're fulfilled or happy. This book is a romance so the pacing is a little slower than a thriller, but it's definitely not dull or boring. The environments she writes about sound lovely. I would happily read this again. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, it’s a fun and easy read, but it was a bit repetitive.

Brittany lives on a small island and doesn’t want any contact with people after a childhood accident has left her physically and mentally scarred for life. She gets assigned a special task where she has to drive around Erika, aka Amy, her long lost childhood friend/ crush. Erika is now a super model on the verge of aging out. Britt knows who she is and doubts if Erika recognises her, at first she doesn’t but after a couple of meetings Erika knows. Will Erika’s apology be enough for Britt, or is there more that need to be done?

Once they rekindle their bond there is this repetitive element that returns; carriage ride, photo shoot, dinner, kiss, leave. This happens many times, so much so you could almost skip the pages because the only difference what they had for dinner or where they were. And then they proceed do one of the most lesbian things, which just happens out of the blue and way too soon.

In my opinion their are many unresolved feelings and issues that are mentioned but never explored, I’d much rather would have read some of that instead of the repetitive evenings. Given this it shouldn’t be too great but I still enjoyed it as an easy and fun read.

I liked the overall premise of Through Love's Eyes. Brittany endured constant bullying in High school after 1/2 of her face was disfigured in an accident. One of the girls that bullied her was once her friend Amy. Years later she is now living on this small island in Michigan and is quiet reserved and shies away from people. She is still dealing with PTSD from the bullying back in HS. In comes the beautiful Erica James who has made her living off of her looks. Has come to the island and the hotel Brittany works at to model for a new magazine. Initially Ericka who is actually Amy doesn't recognize Brittany. It doesn't take long for her to realize who Brittany is and she knows she has to explain why she treated her so terribly back in HS.

I liked the fact that this story was about someone who is considered to be beautiful falling in love with someone who is not considered to be beautiful. From the very being Ericka was attracted to Brittany. I found that really wonderful. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I also liked that after Ericka apologized and explained the two were able to take there time to get to the point of sex. I think that was really important. Now comes the difficult part. I found this book to be to repetitive. Ericka said the same things over and over again. It really make the book drag and then became boring. I think there are a few too many chapters in this one and if the repetitive stuff is removed along with the time spent trying to figure out things it would have been better. I found myself skimming some because of this.

I really wanted to rate this one higher but because of the repetition I have to rate this one 3.5.

Brittany had an accident in high school that left her face scared, but it wad the emotional scars that hurt the most. Even after the two shared a kiss, Amy, now Erika Jenkins a top model, made fun of her in high school after the accident. Now Erika has arrived on Mackinac island for a photoshoot and Brittany is tasked with driving her and her crew around. The teenage attraction remains and burns even hotter than when they were kids, but will Brittany be able to get past how much Erika hurt in in the past and will Erika's career take her and Brittany on separate paths once again?

This was my first book by Popovich and I'm sure it wont be my last. It was a really sweet story overall. I liked both characters, they were interesting and strong and beautiful. I really loved all the descriptions of the island, the history, and the sights - I felt like we got the most incredible tour through Brittany and Erika's eyes. There were parts of the book that kept me from loving the book, while I did like it a lot. Erika's internal thoughts got a little repetitive - talking about the Naturalé magazine and then her future plans came out of nowhere so it would have been more interesting to hear that earlier. There were other moments that made me go "wait what" and took me out of the story - like Erika saying something disparaging about millennials when she is a millennial, or when on several occasions Erika and Brittany magical show up at the same place at the same time for a date without talking about when they would meet. Tiny things that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story, but kept me from getting totally lost in the story and the characters. I definitely want to go back and read about Kelly and Josie from Love Came Calling now, they make a cameo appearance in this book.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second Popovitch book. And while I liked it more than the last one I read, I still struggled. Another reviewer mentioned being bored, and I have to agree, not much happens, and what does happen, happens again and again.

Main premise is that Brittany lives on a small island, she was burnt years before as a young child and is now more or less hiding away. Erica (Amy) is a 40 year old model struggling to find work. She was also Britanny’s BFF back before she became a high school mean girl and bully. She’s on the island doing a photo shoot and meets up with Brittany. Even though she was a mean bitch, Brittany gets past this really easily, mainly because Erica is hot. Luckily Erica is also attracted to Brittany and so they get together.

The main subplot is that Erica may need to do a nude shoot because she’s ‘almost washed-up’. Though this is pretty much a nothing plot, it gets discussed ad nauseam. Really that’s all, that happens, there’s no major drama, although there is a bit of angst inserted at the usual almost end spot, as is standard in most lesfic. There’s nothing terrible about this, but there’s nothing overly engaging about it either. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Brittany life change when she had a tragic accident that left her with physical scars but it was the teasing emotional scars by the mean girls and her bestfriend Amy that left a deeper mark on her.

Erika aka Amy has been groomed to be a model since a young age and she been doing it for 20 years that when she realize she aging out she tries everything to keep on being a model because it's something she loves and it's all she ever done.

Brittany and Erika reunite when Erika has a shoot on the small island where Brittany works. At first Erika doesn't remember her but when spending a little time together she recognize her and this is Erika chance to apologize for what she did.

As they spend time together Erika is afraid she won't get work as model anymore and she also afraid of what her parents think. Brittany never been in a relationship and she doesn't want what they have to end.

This is a cute slow romance. I really enjoy it.

Writing a book is very tough, and I've never done it. So when I'm not the biggest fan of a book, it's hard for me to review it but here it goes....

I found this book boring. Not much happened in terms of plot. Barely any obstacles, just them playing house and Erika constantly talking about the nude shoot that she doesn't want to do but may have to...and that got annoying after awhile.

I also prefer books with more dialogue. There were paragraphs that described conversations but I'd rather read them directly. There also weren't a lot of side characters that I cared about, so it leant itself to being very bland.

I was also left feeling confused about a few things. Like where did they grow up together? How far away? And if Brit could remember Erika so quickly, why didn't Erika recognize Brit? Did she look that different? And how bad was the scar?? Brit talked about it like she was hideous but Erika made it seem like it was nothing. I couldn't picture it.

Overall, not my favorite read. Hopefully others enjoyed it more than myself.

Through Love’s Eyes is a slow, sweet burn romance that respects the innocence of Brittany’s inexperience, but burns passion between them nonetheless. The atonement that Erika so desperately desires nearly overshadows her sudden attraction to Brit, and neither of them expects the chemistry that leaps off the pages between them. If you can hang on through the meandering of their cautious but deliberate romance you will be rewarded with a dazzling finish. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Love Will Set You Free
Brittany suffered facial burns as a preteen that would leave her forever scarred. When she was finally able to go back to school, things had changed and her BFF and shared her first kiss, was now part of the mean girls who tormented her. Now she lives a quiet life with few friends, avoiding people as much as possible. The hurtful taunts of the past never really leaving her ashamed and self-conscious. Amy, now turned Erica was Brittany’s best friend and kissing partner in school. She is now a world famous model who is on Brittany’s island home for a photo shoot. She has never fully forgiven herself for her mean girl ways. Now the two are in the same place, can old hurts be forgiven and what is with all these feelings they bring out in each other???

This was a good book. It was full of tender loving budding romance, wonderful scenery, good dialogue and horses!! I liked the story a whole lot. There were some things that bothered me about this book. I felt like they went to work, ate dinner really early and went to bed soon after, to sleep, far too often. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me but I went with it. Also, Erika was so unwilling to consider the changes she needed to make and I just wanted to slap some sense into her and tell her to get real, but I did kind of understand where she was coming from but she really dwelt on it a lot! However, eventually she did come around. The worst part for me was there was no TASTE in the sexy bits…if you know what I mean… I loved watching Brittany grow and change for the better. She became free after so many years being held hostage by her fear. All in all the book was good but not quite up to Ms Popovich’s usual standards but it was a sweet love story…