Tag: Contemporary Romance (Page 54 of 97)

BOOK REVIEW – On the Fence by Kasie West

February 27, 2016 / Jen / 10 Comments

On the Fence by Kasie West
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door.

With three older brothers, Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, has always been more comfortable calling the shots on a basketball court than flirting with the opposite sex. So when her police officer dad demands she get a summer job to pay for the latest in a long line of speeding tickets, she's more than a little surprised to find herself working at a chichi boutique and going out with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game. Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with her neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden, sitting back-to-back against the fence that separates them. Braden may know her better than anyone. But there's a secret Charlie's keeping that even he hasn't figured out—she's fallen for him. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Review:

On the Fence made me want to spin circles while laughing and smiling. Seriously. This book was beyond adorable. I had a permanent smile on my face, and I closed that last page feeling incredibly happy! If you’re in need of a super cute book, that also has some deeper moments, then definitely pick this one up!

“A girl who plays disc golf?” Jerom said. “That’s hot.” Gage curled his lip. “I don’t know. A girl who plays disc golf? She’s probably a dog. Some aggressive, burly thing.”
The guys laughed, not seeming to realize I was standing right there . . . playing disc golf. Maybe that’s how they saw me. Maybe that’s how most guys saw me.

Charlie is a 16 year old tomboy, and it took me a few chapters to warm up to her. I was somewhat of a tomboy when I was younger, and I spent my weekends shooting guns, racing four-wheelers, playing baseball and climbing trees with my 5 male cousins and brother. But when I hit 12/13 I realized that I also loved shopping, fingernail polish and obsessing over my latest Hollywood crush ha. So it took me a little while to find a connection to a more intense tomboy. But once I did, this book became everything I was looking for!

“What did you mean by that, anyway?”
“By what?”
“That you don’t know my type of girls?”
“I hang out with athletes.”
“And?”
I paused, a little surprised. Was he saying he would date my teammates if I set him up? It had been a while since Braden had a girlfriend, but I was pretty sure his last one knew more about nail patterns than defensive patterns. “And . . . I guess I don’t know your type.”
He chuckled. “I find that hard to believe.”

Charlie is surrounded by males! Her dad, three older brothers, and neighbor, Braden, are her world. Well sports are too. She spends her days playing sports games with them along with wrestling, goofing around, watching tv, and just hanging out. Charlie easily fits in and is one of the guys. But after getting a speeding ticket, her dad forces her to get a job. Where she ends up working, starts to make her world split in two. Because at work she is surrounded by clothes, makeup, girl friends outside of sports, and even a potential boyfriend. Charlie feels as though she has no clue how to mesh the person she is at work to the person she is with the family she loves. And I loved watching her try and figure it all out.

“He trusts you. You’re like our brother.”
“But you’re their sister.”
“And yours.”
“You’re not my sister, Charlie. And they know that. They are very protective of you. More than you could possibly know.”

My favorite part of this book was Charlie interacting with Braden. He is her neighbor that she has known forever, and one of her older brother’s best friends. After starting her new job, she realizes that she has some feelings for him. And the electricity that you felt springing from her chest when he would talk a little too close or touch her had me squeeling! But their friendship become even deeper when they started to meet by the fence that separated their two houses and talk in the middle of the night. Charlie is trying to escape her nightmares and Braden is escaping his drunk father. Their talks were friendship, hope, desire and they reached a level of deepness that hadn’t ever existed before between them. And each of those talks helped to create a flutter in my heart. I adored their time alone, and I kept wishing for that version of them to be brought into the daytime. But all truths eventually make their way out, and watching theirs progress was so much fun!

He grabbed hold of my arms, preventing me from falling. Something he would’ve never done pre–fence chat. He would’ve let me fall on my butt and then I would’ve tried to sweep his legs out from beneath him. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments and then he quickly released me. As if realizing he’d breached some unwritten rule, he grabbed my arm, bent down, and threw me over his shoulder.
Walking to the couch, he unceremoniously plopped me down on my back. “There. If you’re going to fall on your butt,” he said, his eyes twinkling as he said the word, “choose a better place.”

So yeah, I fell for this book! And I can definitely say that I have become a huge fan of Kasie West! She has the ability to create males that are to die for, heroines that pull you into their emotional webs and a story that is completely heartwarming. I definitely recommend reading this book. Especially if you are in need of some smiles in your life!

PS I have to say that one of my favorite scenes was the nerf game. You’re definitely going to want to read that part! *giggles while fanning face*

BOOK REVIEW: All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmack

February 26, 2016 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

All Broke Down (Rusk University #2)
by Cora Carmack
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In this second book in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack s New Adult, Texas-set Rusk University series, which began with All Lined Up, a young woman discovers that you can't only fight for what you believe in... sometimes you have to fight for what you love.

Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she's probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He's in for a different kind of fighting. And though he's arrogant and infuriating, she can't help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it's trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He's met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn't think he's broken, and he definitely doesn't need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.

I drop my head against the steering wheel and groan. So much for keeping things simple. “You are in so much trouble, Dylan Brenner.”
And trouble’s name is Silas Moore.

Oh em gee…This is a literal OMG. I started another book that made my eyes burn on the SECOND PAGE and thought shit, what will I read now?? So, on Friday at 10 pm (what…I have a life-I DO!), when my book didn’t work, I went to another that my lovely lovely Jennfier had bought me…and from page one on…I WAS A GONER.

“Are you hurt?” I ask.
A flash of a smile has a field of goose bumps sprouting along my arms. “You worried about me, Pickle?”
I throw my head back and groan.
“I’m going to kill him.”

One word, Y’all…one word: SILAS. I just…I can’t even. This book just popped out at me one day and I couldn’t help but mark it as TBR. I mean…football. But I never thought I’d actually read it, ya know?? I thought it was a filler that would sit there for years and eventually I would delete it on one of my epic TBR sweeps (just did one recently, Hallelujah!). But no, for some reason, on a late Friday night when I needed a pick me up, fate led me to this hidden gem…and I couldn’t be a happier little Silas fangirl. XD

And…fuck.
Just fuck.
I could probably live the rest of my life only using that word and it would sum things up fine.

So, here’s the deal, I’m guna level with you all-I have written a LOT of fangirl reviews lately. A LOT. A LOT A LOT. And I am tired, lol. I HATE when this happens right when I read a wonderful book that was not only well-written and sexy, but surprisingly heartfelt and addicting without being trashy. I had so much to say while I was reading-I mean, from the first chapter I was out of breath from all the butterflies attempting to escape through my throat. There is just something so sweet about a boy that has always had it rough, who is fighting for something he thinks is so out of his reach, and finding the girl of his dreams while trying to achieve greatness. And, better yet, thinking he doesn’t deserve the girl who lights up his whole life.

His lips are still at my ear, and he lowers his volume so that Matt won’t hear. “I promise not to get you dirty. Unless you ask real nice.”
I don’t even…I can’t…Oh my God.

Oh! And a little tidbit for those who hate this kind of thing (It personally has never bothered me): No slut shaming. Well….I didn’t think there was. Maybe I’m wrong? Anyway-My point in all this-I’ve written a lot of reviews for a lot of books in the last three weeks (the majority of them 5’s), and I am officially worn out on writing them lol. So, if this review falls short, in the end, it is not for a lack of perfection in this novel. No, the reason for shorting my poor, tortured Silas is because this bitch be tired. I am just…ugh. So tired.

His eyes really are far too pretty for a guy like him. Dudes who look dangerous should just be dangerous. Period. The end. They should not be dangerous and beautiful all at the same time. It leaves the universe out of balance, and it makes me do stupid things like stare.

I think the most charming thing about this story…is it’s writing. I mean, I don’t judge that harshly on books, really, but I certainly can appreciate a well-written and humorous story. The reason this is so wonderful, to me, is that the book didn’t merely rely on sex and witty banter and a smoldering hot male who only has eyes for our girl (He is a former manwhore-a plot I know most people might be tired of, but that I NEVER grow tired of, tee-hee). There was a lot of that-the sexy looks, the ‘I’m falling for you but I’ll take what I can get’, the broken and torturedness-but it wasn’t the only thing. And that, in NA, is amazing.

I will never be able to turn this girl down. Whatever she wants from me, it’s hers. No matter what she asks for, I’ll find a way to give it to her. She may not be mine, but somewhere along the way, I ended up hers.

The heart and soul of this story, though, is how much Silas wanted to make something of himself, to break the barrier of being just a brat who grew up in non-homes and trailers. He met Dylan in the oddest of circumstances…one might say they were immediately ‘handcuffed’ together

(LMAO I AM SO NOT CLEVER BUT BAHAHA). And from that moment on, he was intrigued by her. Tied to her. Into her. And, most importantly, protective of her.

His tongue peeks out to worry at his swollen, busted lip, and I feel a wave of heat curl up my spine.
Totally inappropriate. Totally psychotic because he is way out of my league. Or I’m way out of his league, I don’t know. Either way, someone is out of someone’s league.

GAWD his protectiveness just got me. I ADORED HIM. He could get violent, an offense that almost loses his place on the team, but he never got where I think people reading this would get a bad vibe from him. He thinks with his fists first, especially when it comes to his girl, but never in a, hmm, psycho way. And, despite what I implied…no insta-love. Just no. Stop it. Stop thinking that. STOP IT! But boy oh boy…I was pleased with their first….encounter.

I want to make her come so hard that for the rest of her life, she remembers me anytime someone touches her. I’m going to leave my mark on her perfect body, beneath the skin where she’ll never get me out.
I want to ruin her for anyone else.
And I’m pretty damn good at ruining things.

Dylan was also a character I really enjoyed. She knew what she wanted. She was goal oriented and into helping others who cannot help or speak for themselves. She never blew Silas off because he didn’t grow up like her, and she never felt above him…but this was also a part of the story in ways they need to overcome-Just to be clear. I can’t say she was as good as Silas, but *Scoffs* who is, am I right? However, she was a great heroine and she didn’t make me cringe, roll my eyes, or anger me in a way that endangered my enjoyment of the story. I loved her in a lot of ways, and she was always there for my beautiful broken football player.

Except I’m starting to think that the idea of “belonging” anywhere is false. We go through our whole lives thinking that we belong in one place and not in another. We think certain ideas and actions have to be relegated to the tiny little boxes we place them in. What if we just react instead? What if we take whatever the world gives us and instead of focusing on what it isn’t, we enjoy what it is?

So, you know, my fingers are ITCHING to type more about Silas and his jealousy and his fierce protectiveness and possessive tendencies and his loyalty and his loving nature and his longing to be good enough for her and…oopsy poopsy. My bad….

But I think this said enough. And hell, if I need to add more tomorrow, I will. I mean, I get to add my quotes next and EEEEPSSSS that is my favorite part. Who wants to be too tired to enjoy re-reading my favorite Silas moments?? Not I. But, I digress-I just recently went on a deleting massacre of my TBR, and Cora’s other popular series, Losing it, was deleted because I knew I’d never read it and it had been on there since, like, 2012. But, you know…I think I might be re-evaluating that decision. Hmmm….is that a pig in the sky?? Because that has NEVER happened before. What? I can admit when I’m wrong.

*********

I will never be able to turn this girl down. Whatever she wants from me, it’s hers. No matter what she asks for, I’ll find a way to give it to her. She may not be mine, but somewhere along the way, I ended up hers.

Ahhh!!! I am beyond excited I decided to give this one a try. Started another book, didn’t get any feels, picked this one up….and ALLL THE FEELSSSSS!!! Silas stole my heart from page one-SO unexpected!

RTC!!

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BOOK REVIEW – We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

February 16, 2016 / Anna

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
There are a few things Henry Denton knows, and a few things he doesn’t.

Henry knows that his mom is struggling to keep the family together, and coping by chain-smoking cigarettes. He knows that his older brother is a college dropout with a pregnant girlfriend. He knows that he is slowly losing his grandmother to Alzheimer’s. And he knows that his boyfriend committed suicide last year.

What Henry doesn’t know is why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the aliens have offered him the opportunity to avert the impending disaster by pressing a big red button.

But they have. And they’ve only given him 144 days to make up his mind.

The question is whether Henry thinks the world is worth saving. That is, until he meets Diego Vega, an artist with a secret past who forces Henry to question his beliefs, his place in the universe, and whether any of it really matters. But before Henry can save the world, he’s got to figure out how to save himself, and the aliens haven’t given him a button for that.

This is, my friends – without any doubt – the most unexpected and remarkable book I’ve read this year (and the year before, if I’m being honest), soothing and yet poignant at the same time. I feel as if I should wait and write a better review because let’s face it, my midnight thoughts hardly come close to what this book deserves but I can’t. I’m ecstatic and barely thinking straight as huge is its impact on me, and honestly? I need to vent.

As far as 5 stars ratings are concerned, mines are often of two kinds : the flashy, mind-blowing, usually crazy ones (what? I love my evil cutters), and the quietly unforgettable others. We Are the Ants is part of the latter : I can’t, for the life of me, think about something I didn’t like in this strange and beautiful story.

Closing this novel, I feel like a walking-talking-contradiction : speechless, and yet so many words are fighting fiercely into my mind for the honor of – perhaps – convincing you to give it the chance I strongly think it deserves.

► Must I mention the splendid characterization that gives life to these flawed, multi-layered and endearing human beings, whose relationships are pictured in such honest and real way? Speaking of which, do you know why I think that Shaun David Hutchinson shows so much talent when creating his characters? Because albeit begrudgingly, I can’t hate any member of Henry’s family – they’re messed-up sometimes, but oh, how they ring true! Their struggles, their reluctances, their mistakes – none of them can hide the profound love they feel for each others, even if they don’t always know how to show that yes, they do care. Also, Diego. Gah. I won’t say much and let you discover this hopeful wonder of a boy by yourself but trust me, he won’t let you indifferent.

► Can I gush about the fact that everything is beautifully crafted, every event way more complicated than it first appears? Forget the blurb and your – well-deserved – doubts : although Henry’s journey is freaking weird, it works wonderfully.

► Should I talk about the heartbreaking yet so realistic confusion between what the characters believe about themselves and the reality? How the fog they’re walking in can be both their end and their relief? How Henry’s narration, hovering between lucidity and delusion, never loses its hilarious and off-beat spikes, especially when he describes the world we’re living in? Gosh, I’m still recovering from the SnowFlake Page. So fucking true.

☞ I could go on and on and on for hours, it wouldn’t do it more justice than this little sentence can : We Are the Ants is brilliant, and like nothing I read before. Oh, who am I kidding? It just entered my all-times favorites. Highly recommended.

PS. I may never get over the giant cockroaches. Bloody HELL.

BOOK REVIEW: The Year We Fell Apart

February 6, 2016 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In the tradition of Sarah Dessen, this powerful debut novel is a compelling portrait of a young girl coping with her mother’s cancer as she figures out how to learn from—and fix—her past.

Few things come as naturally to Harper as epic mistakes. In the past year she was kicked off the swim team, earned a reputation as Carson High’s easiest hook-up, and officially became the black sheep of her family. But her worst mistake was destroying her relationship with her best friend, Declan.

Now, after two semesters of silence, Declan is home from boarding school for the summer. Everything about him is different—he’s taller, stronger…more handsome. Harper has changed, too, especially in the wake of her mom’s cancer diagnosis.

While Declan wants nothing to do with Harper, he’s still Declan, her Declan, and the only person she wants to talk to about what’s really going on. But he’s also the one person she’s lost the right to seek comfort from.

As their mutual friends and shared histories draw them together again, Harper and Declan must decide which parts of their past are still salvageable, and which parts they’ll have to let go of once and for all.

In this honest and affecting tale of friendship and first love, Emily Martin brings to vivid life the trials and struggles of high school and the ability to learn from past mistakes over the course of one steamy North Carolina summer.

*No rating*

“I know what you’re probably thinking after tonight. But it’s not…I mean, people say things that aren’t…”

The rest dissolves on my tongue. Declan’s fingers graze my collarbone and grasp the chain of my necklace. He pulls it out from underneath my shirt and slides it down to the infinity pendant at the bottom before letting it go.
“I know who you are.”

Yeah yeah I know……I read this book a week or more ago. Well, I just now feel like reviewing it and I don’t feel like skipping it because I have some truly amazing gifs that fit this book and review perfectly. I don’t plan on saying much and I don’t want to ramble on; However, I have to say something….otherwise I would feel rather incomplete. And I HATE feeling incomplete. I’ve had to pass up way too many reviews due to time restraints and overlaps when reading too many books…and I don’t plan on continuing that trend more than I have to.

I drive home in silence. When I turn onto my street, I pull over and crank the radio up loud. I reach for the spare towel I keep in the backseat, roll it into a ball, and cover my mouth.
Scream until my voice goes hoarse.

This book. Hm. Well, I did really enjoy it-Honestly. But there was just so much that could have been done and handled differently that would have made this a definite five star-EASILY. As it was, too much grated and got under my skin for it to be more positive than negative. But then you flip the coin, and there was just
so much good that had my heart soaring, my feels going haywire, and my smile exploding. And that is exactly why I’m not rating this book-Good or bad.

First ten years of friendship. The kind of friendship that means knowing everything there is to know about each other. Where every one of our scars is, and how we got them. The pitch of his laugh when he’s had a lot of sugar, or exactly what kind of coffee I need after a bad day. Friends who could spend twelve straight hours doing absolutely nothing and still want it to last twelve more. Who listen, even when the other is wrong; even when they’re not making sense. Friends who could be mad at the whole universe, but never got angry with each other for long. Who love each other unconditionally.

Even now, after having a week to think about what suits this book rating wise, I still can’t pin point my exact thoughts down to a rating and find any inflection one way or another. I guess that just goes to prove my point: I can reach into the recesses of my mind all I want, but it’s an equal amount of both positive and unhappy thoughts that resurface. And when I begin to rate it a 5, a 4, a 3, a 3.5, literally nothing feels right.

Then, six months of everything. A spring of skipped heartbeats every time he called me his girlfriend, then a summer of learning what being part of someone really meant. Six months of discovering the sound his heart makes with my head against his chest, and the taste of his tongue after he eats something salty. Or how his breath catches when I kiss his throat, and the way it tickles when he traces my collarbone. Two seasons of feeling more connected to a person than I ever thought possible.

And, in a weird way, that makes me extremely sad. I picked up this book and expected something spectacular. I wanted extreme gushing and unforgettable moments. I longed for passionate moments and flares of extreme emotion-either in hate or love, it didn’t matter. But what I got was a constant string of ups that were quickly followed by downs (mostly by our main character who had issues understanding the consequences of her actions).

Two polls pull me in opposite directions. There’s this girl I’ve been lately, the things I’ve done. And there’s the person I want to be. The girl Declan used to love. And right now I’m neither. I’m stuck, floating between the broken ends.

Harper was….a realistic girl. I’ll say that there were many, many moments where I could agree that I totally understood where she was coming from and might have even mimicked these actions at one point in my life (not the stupid make outs with a loser-REPEATEDLY-or the need to drink to drown my emotions). I, too, had-and still have-bouts where miscommunication was the only form of communication. It reeked havoc on my relationship with my parents and even with my now husband. So many simple little words, sentences, and even texts could have saved me a lot of heartache and prevented a lot of fights. Hey, I’m still trying to get the hang of it, honestly. But the absolute disregard for the obvious and the easy was just too much for me after a certain point (on Harper’s part)-and that point was about 50%.

“I know enough.” He wipes his hand across his mouth. “So what, you’re going to drive him home and then….”
I don’t know what he wants to hear, or whether I’m actually supposed to fill in the blank. I’m not even sure what he’s mad about anymore. But before I can get an answer out, Declan scowls again.
“Whatever. Do what you want. I just don’t like the way he looks at you.”
“Oh, okay, and how’s that?”
His eyes sink down to my necklace and he steps off the sidewalk. “Like you’re replaceable.”

And then Declan. Ah God, he wasn’t without his flaws, that’s for sure. He, too, had moments where the cluelessness could have been taken down a notch. Though..his was purposeful and with reason…So does that make it right or better? A little, if I’m being honest. For one, he didn’t do the whole running off to another girl shit. He loved Harper, it was clear, and never swayed from that. Even when he first got back, you could tell that he had never lost any love or feelings for her, despite whatever had went down. For two, he tried, repeatedly, to make things right. For three…who gives a fuck?? He was clearly more mature, clear-headed, and sure of what he wanted and chose to take higher roads, even after she INCESSANTLY added DANGEROUS speed bumps. Like, fuck sakes, MUST you run off to your asshole friend and smoke and drink every little time something goes wrong? He’s WATCHING OUT FOR YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR HEALTH, YOU LITTLE TWATWAFFLE! Oh yeah, and he’ll love you FOREVER. GAHD!

I nodded, but didn’t say anything until he gently tucked a curl behind my ear. “What am I to you?”
He recoiled from my question. “What are you? Harper, you’re everything.”

So..clearly the anger is still there. And clearly, even as I often sympathized with Harper, she also grated on my every nerve at a certain point. Neither were perfect, but I think it’s more than obvious Declan is the reason this book is so difficult to rate. His loyalty, his friendship, his kindness. Not to mention their mutual friends, both old and new, who were always there for them. Cory (O), Gwen (N), Mackenzie (N).

Declan takes a long breath, avoiding eye contact with me until he pulls himself together. We’re still sprawled out on the ground, and he props himself up on one elbow. He gestures to me.
“That’s the smile.”
I start giggling again. “What?”
His expression softens. He scratches above his eyebrow and shakes his head, suddenly looking almost bashful. “I’ve been waiting all summer to see that smile.”

A story of love lost and found again, given a second chance through mutual forgiveness, mistakes, hopes, and unrelenting belief in the love that was shared and of what could be. More than once I couldn’t breathe and had uncontrollable giggles that couldn’t be stifled. The butterflies from old flash backs, crushed feelings Declan’s face revealed, and new moments filled with curiosity and fumbling emotions that cease to let old feelings die weren’t in short supply. I can’t say I will rec this to anyone, nor can I put my Chelsea stamp of approval-Not enough impressed me to ask friends to give it a try. However, neither will I dismiss it and forget all about it-There was too much that I liked and multiple quotes I’ll never forget. I’m sorry to say that, even though I wrote a review, I am no help-Everyone is on their own. Sorry.

We can’t go back. The only way to change our past is by adding to it.

Final thoughts I forgot to put in (but still want to mention) but am too lazy to go add in somewhere:

-The problem that caused it all wasn’t what I wanted or expected it to be. It wasn’t bad…it was just kind of anti-climactic.
-The loose ends-there were quite a few… but isn’t that like life??
-The way some things were addressed but then never touched again
–Writing was AMAZING

********

I have too many mixed emotions and a convoluted mess of thoughts. Extreme feels, lots of heartache.
Review MAYBE Monday
. Hopefully I’ll be able to decipher my emotions by then. ♥

Declan-5 stars
Harper-3 stars
Supporting friends and cast-5 stars
Her loser friends/Sadie-2 stars
Harper’s decision making skills-1 star

See?? No fucking clue…because…Declan. SO many passionate scenes with him and his deep-rooted love that are hard to forget that make my heart and mind do crazy things. Yikes. In troublleeeee.

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BOOK REVIEW: Split by Swati Avasthi

January 29, 2016 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

Split by Swati Avasthi
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A riveting portrait of life after abuse from an award-winning novelist.

Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret.

He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret.

At least so far.

Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back. Award-winning novelist Swati Avasthi has created a riveting and remarkably nuanced portrait of what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split—how do you begin to live again? Readers won’t be able to put this intense page-turner down.

I wonder if I’m a broken kid. Was Christian ever broken? My mother would say, No, too strong, and would sneak a satisfied smile at her folded hands.

What about me, Mom? I would ask.
And the smile would leave her.
She would be right.

Once again I find myself bursting with so many emotions that I can barely contain them…yet at a loss on how I can explain how wonderful, deep, and thought-provoking this book is without tarnishing it’s beautiful simplicity. It’s not often a book speaks to you on such a fast-paced, addicting level, yet keeps a slow, steady pace that manages to portray the overall message without becoming boring. This book wasn’t explosions and romantic rendezvous’ and extreme acts of heroism-It was so much more than that.

Sometimes I wonder why words can’t actually make us bleed.

It was heartbreaking struggle and broken relationships. It was wishful dreaming and regrets of mistakes from the past. It was aching for forgiveness and finding who you are, fighting to be better than you appear to be, even when you can feel the darkness creeping in through the edges of your peripheral vision. This book fought to show what it means to walk away even when it’s hardest…the story not often told: After. What. Happens. After? This was Jace’s story.

In Chicago, I knew everything. I could look at the sky and know how warmly to dress; I knew where every street led, and where every fight would end. I could look at my father and know when to keep my mouth shut, when to piss him off so I could take the hits for my mother, and when only his wife-punching bag would do. I understood when a fight was coming, how fast It was going, where it was going, everything. Fights have a rhythm; they do. I swear it. And they don’t end up like that. Not where I’m from.

I guess I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked this story up. The blurb was clear that our dear Jace was abused, but I didn’t really know just what the story would be about. I mean, yeah-He’s abused by his father, as was his whole family. Years ago, when Jace was 10 or 11 (I forget which), his brother finally had enough of it; Enough of seeing his mother beaten to a bloody pulp; Enough of standing in the line of fire so his mother could avoid another crippling fight; Enough of almost dying. Jace, at the time, was a child-he still idolized his father even though he saw things that made him cringe and retreat to hide frequently. He didn’t understand the magnitude of what was happening and what it meant for his family…even as they were fracturing into pieces right before his eyes.

Fightology Lesson #8: Relax when hits are coming because it hurts less.

When Christian, his brother, left, he thought that Jace would be fine-After all, he was his father’s favorite. But the one thing he didn’t take into account was just how much his brother loved, adored, and looked up to him. He didn’t look past the last rib-breaking blow to see that he was his little brother’s role model….And that when he left, Jace would just step into his place.

Right hook. Let him explain away a shiner. Like I’ve had to. Soccer, I’ve said, Fight, I’ve said, Hockey, basketball, croquet.

Fast forward a few years later: At sixteen, Jace did the one thing that neither his brother nor his mother had ever thought to do: He fought back. Thus leading to the start of the story when Jace shows up on his estranged brother’s doorstep bloody, beaten, wired on Mountain Dew from a 19 hour drive, and barely able to stand on his own two feet. What?? I didn’t say he won, he just tried.

My stomach is starting to flutter because I know what I want to do, and I have stage fright. Fist into his face. Another in his gut. After all, I’ve had a day. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Hit something, hit someone. The moment our fists make contact, we feel better, right, Dad? Let it out. Punish her so she won’t do it again. Right, Dad? Isn’t that the way?

This story, you guys, was just so special to me. It didn’t need loud storytelling or colorful sex scenes to touch my heart. It seemed, from page one, I was a slave to it’s meaningful message and heartfelt words. I can’t even begin to explain the intense feels and capture of each waking thought that this story provoked. Each scene where Jace and his brother would open up a little more to one another-past the pain, the hurt, the secrets-becoming closer through simple acts and small gestures, my heart would squeeze and seize up, forcing me to choke out silent tears for how hard their lives were and how they were slowly, but surely, finding each other again.

It’s weird when someone gets you, understands what you would never say, not even to yourself. It’s so weird that it makes my throat tighten up again. When I speak, my voice comes out small.

For once…I wasn’t rooting for the romance (though there was a very small one that made my heart shine with happiness at each and every turn) to take precedent: I wanted Jace to find his inner strength and peace, his freedom of body and soul and, more than even that, I longed for his loneliness to cease as he and his brother worked to make themselves whole again-One puzzle piece at a time.

“You’re the incentive.”

The writing was so simplistic, yet poetic (at least, to me), out-of-this-world amazing, and spoke to me on so many levels. I can’t always explain why certain styles of writing speak to me, but sometimes it’s just a matter of: Because. And sometimes, that just has to be enough. Each chapter, layered with vivid, imaginative, and candid storytelling, ensnared me in ways I can’t even begin to express. It’s a story not often told, at least not correctly, and I think it’s an important book for people to read. I am on a huge realistic fiction kick, of that I am certain everyone is aware, but none have spoken to me on such a deep emotional level like this one did. Perhaps it was the story itself, or maybe the family bonds that are tested with each dwindling email from his mother, or it might just be the broken down, tortured young man that only wants to begin a new life with his brother…either way, this is my first REAL absolute favorite this year and it somehow feels, I don’t know…it makes me feel as light as air. I’m not sure why-perhaps I am just enlightened…or maybe I just read a truly exceptional story that blew my expectations out of the water.

We all screw up. We all wish we were stronger than we are, and not one of us will get through this life without regret.

Jace’s story isn’t a happy one, but he is on the road to recovery. He doesn’t always do what’s right and he isn’t what you would call ‘morally sound.’ He holds a secret that not only defines him, but weighs so heavily on his heart that he’s like a walking, talking, ticking time bomb.

Fightology Lesson #5: Anger comes in all forms: a slow burn; relentless, constant flames; or a hot flash, popping here and there. It can lie in wait, and you think you’ve forgiven, you think you’ve doused it with trust, but give it a sudden burst of oxygen and-backdraft.

Pinned down and held back by his secretive past, he feels he can’t truly move on with his life, date the girl he’s falling for, and altogether become who he wants and strives to be. Grasping on and desperately holding to the abysmal hope that his mother will finally break away and join he and Christian (And Mirriam, Christian’s girlfriend whom I ADORED but ran out of time to talk about-their relationship (she and Jace’s) tore me to shreds…I can’t even) in their new private life, miles and miles away from the abusive man they know as their father.

Isn’t it too convenient just to forgive yourself, let yourself off the hook?

Not everyone’s story is a HEA, and I think that’s the harshest reality this book brings to light. We don’t all get to live in a fairy tale and wake up with the perfect man in the perfect life with the perfect family. Everyone has flaws; Some minute, others destructive and abusive and depraved. But that’s the point: Don’t let who you used to be define who you are. Pave your own path and make your own way. Never look back. Never blame others for your mistakes. But most importantly: Family is everything. Don’t let past hurts and mistakes obliterate what could be the most valuable and endearing moments in your life. Jace’s story, whether a happy ending or not (I can’t say, you have to read it to find out), is over: Yet, there are so many untold stories being written as we speak-Decisions being made, excuses spewing left and right, and women (even some men) and children fighting for their lives…Take the time to hear them.

Second chances. Who deserves one of those, anyway?

****************************

Without a doubt one of my favorite realistic fictions…ever. A strong, poignant, and dark voice, this book tells the story of a boy left behind to fend for himself and his mother as they were beaten to within an inch of their life by his father. This is the story of when he finally says enough is enough. It’s not sugar-coated or contrived, but beautifully written and told in a way that makes it impossible to put this masterpiece down….I still am having trouble NOT thinking about it.

I am beyond excited to try and express how much I adored Jace’s journey of finding himself and reconnecting with the brother that left it all behind. Jesus, I am tearing up just sitting here typing this.

SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS FUCKING STORY. AMAZING-from beginning to end.

Review to come-Most definitely. ♥

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