Review: Warms your heart and makes you smile...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 27, 2013
Sometimes you unexpectedly find a gem. This book is one.From the very beginning the story draws you in and the characters come to life, playing like a movie in your head. They make you love them or hate them. Sometimes both at the same time.Jared for example - for the first third of the book I was hating him with a fierce and deep passion. He was a gigantic douche and on more than one occasion I felt compelled to kick him in the nuts so hard that he would choke on them. But that changed throughout the story and I started to like him more and more. At the end I was swept of my feet and swooning like a maniac.Jennifer on the other hand, I liked from the start. She was such a likeable character. A good-natured, loving, caring and friendly woman, without being naive or a push-over. Although there were some decisions she made in her life that weren't the smartest, she was a realistic and sweet character. A fighter, she is still going strong despite the cards that life dealt her. I enjoyed how this book portrayed an adult woman, single-mother and someone working a blue-collar job in a factory, tackling day to day issues like money, health-insurance, fear of unemployment. It was very real. Something that was easy to understand and to experience along Jennifer during the course of the story.The supporting characters were a joy and well-written without redirecting the attention from Jennifer and Jared. But they were allowed to shine and show their personality. Some of them won my heart over in an instant, like Mandy or Cynthia. Other, mainly Snyder and Adam, made me so angry I was actually growling.The story had many up and downs, some detours and some unexpected twists up to the end. And even though I was sure, there would be a happy ending, I had no idea how happy it would be.Despite the lack of real smuttiness, this book was perfect.5 brilliant, surprising stars.