Antonia Bernardin

Prove me Wrong by Rebekah Bertram was the 38th book I read this year, this book was sent to me by Twisted Tales PR and marketing as an ARC but the book is now officially out and available for you to read too!

We’re going to be doing things a little different to my usual reviews, I’m going to give you my usual rambling summary and then the official blurb!

Plot summary attempt

After escaping domestic abuse, Mia is moving to the small town her Grandmother lives in for a fresh start. Still dealing with the after-affects from the abuse three years later, Mia doesn’t really feel that safe around men and still suffers from regular panic attacks. That is why it’s odd that she feels so drawn to the single dad next door, plus the instant connection she feels with his daughter. As a single Dad without any family to help, who works both as a mechanic and as a sub racing driver, Noah decides to trust the feelings he has about the girl next door and ask if she’ll help nanny his daughter a few days a week and on the weekends he’s called away to drive. Deciding this was a good way to start to break-down some of the walls she has put up, Mia agrees.

The instant connection between her and Noah keeps growing but they both carry baggage from their pasts’ and Noah understands Mia’s mental health struggles more than she realises. He senses there’s something holding her back, something that he respects by never confining her space, never crossing the line, never pushing her too far, which only makes Mia feel more afraid. Can she trust her feelings this time? Can she ever trust any man again?

The official blurb

After escaping a traumatic relationship that still haunts her, Mia Baxter has sworn off love all together when it comes to men. Shy, anxious and trying to deal with her internal upheaval, she agrees to move to the small town of Barrenridge to escape her old life in Sydney. 

Noah Sterling is busy being a full time mechanic, fill-in driver for V8 Supercars Australia, while also raising his sixteen-month-old daughter, Jade. When Jump Start Childcare informs Noah that they’re having to cut down on day due to funds, Noah is forced into finding someone to babysit Jade twice a week. 

After Mia and Noah meet as neighbours, Noah sees through her standoffish demeanour to the repairing girl inside. Despite her hesitant behaviour and painful past, Noah wants to make her feel comfortable and accepted in this new town while dealing with his own troubling past.

But can Mia overcome her trauma and learn to open up to Noah? Will he be able to show her that love is worth falling for, and prove her wrong?

Content Warning: Sexual assault depicted in prologue. Talk of premature birth, death by car accident, panic attacks, and anxiety.

My thoughts

I liked this story, it’s heartwarming, it carries this feeling of finding home and peace at last. The MC’s have a pretty instant connection but it’s their past that keeps the story slow burn, the yearning in it is fantastic. He falls pretty quickly but it takes Mia longer to trust her feelings and the way he decides very early to just wait her out is so romantic in a slow, patient kind of way. This isn’t sparks flying as a romance, it’s a more grown up, gentler kind of love.

I did find the third act miscommunication kind of frustrating, Noah has a complicated relationship with his parents and when they appear to interfere in his life, Mia bolts but I think there was other ways that could have been achieved without that whole narrative. She was ready to bolt no matter what because things got too real and doing it this way over ridiculous things said by his parents and not simply stopping to have a conversation – after all the focus on communication throughout – felt like it did the character’s a disservice, but I guess it did give a neat way to wrap up some of Noah’s baggage.

One part that I felt was handled really well was Mia’s journey, the way she learns to trust her instincts, to trust Noah, to start to try and feel safe again felt very authentic. There was no sudden ‘breakthrough’, just small incremental changes and she was by no means ‘cured’ by the end. Although what Mia went through was more extreme than anything I myself have experienced, the moments where she catches herself wondering at kind treatment, only to realise it’s basic human decency, or, to feel such panic over him giving gifts and clearly being smitten so early, causing her to question whether this is love bombing or the real thing – felt a lot like the journey I had to take when I met my current partner. It was either very well researched or based on experiences the author had.

This romance isn’t my usual kind of thing, as it was very kid/ family focused but it still had plenty of those kick-your-feet-and-giggle moments. My only gripe really would be that the author could have trusted her reader a little more, we didn’t need so many repetitions of ‘because of… him’ or ‘after what happened…’ in the narration when the FMC was scared or anxious etc, as we are shown a fairly intense abuse scene right at the start, we know why she’s having the reaction she is, it didn’t need to be repeated constantly.

It looks like this book is the start of a series and I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to continue to read it!

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