Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Cookie Therapy is a romance novel written by Karla Brandenburg. Young paramedic Matt Billings is constantly worried that he has turned into his no-good, cheating father. Having cheated on his fiancée, Matthew had become a father almost two years ago. Although he regretted losing both of the women in his life, he couldn’t love his infant son, Trey, any more if he tried, but worries that he will destroy Trey’s life if he sues for sole custody. Determined never again to fall victim to his desires, Matt swears off women, throwing himself into his work until Elizabeth Lambert mysteriously arrives in town. Haunted by night terrors and flashbacks, Elizabeth is determined to keep to herself, only using men to briefly take her mind off what had happened that day. After treating an injury and seeing Elizabeth’s bullet wound, Matt researches her past, only to find out that she had been a school teacher - the victim of a mass-shooting – and had watched as her students had been gunned down in front of her. But her biggest secret of that day is one that she is determined to take to her grave. With both Matt and Elizabeth having such low self-esteem, they are taken by surprise when they start falling for each other. With a secret as big as the one Elizabeth carries, only fate will determine what the future holds in store for them both.

Bravo! Karla Brandenburg’s book is filled with highly sensitive topics, yet is well-written and presented in such a way that I shed many tears. Several different characters, each with completely different personas and backgrounds, interact in such a way that strong emotions are shaken hard (but not stirred). Elizabeth’s constant denial that she needs help, and her insistence that she can deal with the trauma of what had happened that day on her own, is something that many people with PTSD go through. Some disconnect completely from reality when an anxiety attack is triggered. I liked that Matt was concerned enough for this stranger that he chose to look deeper for answers, in order to try to help Elizabeth onto the road to recovery. Even with his own problems and self-doubts, Matt had enough compassion to see Elizabeth through her darkest of days, opening up the possibility that there might be a light at the end of both of their dark tunnels. I enjoy stories that are complex, and Cookie Therapy is one of the most tightly interwoven, suspenseful and powerful reads I have ever come across. I recommend it to those over the age of 15 years who like bumpy roads, twists and turns wrapped up in a delicately balanced romance-drama.