Review: Another NA novel by Raine that I simply adore!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 27, 2013
Raine Thomas has yet again impressed me with her Contemporary Romance writing abilities. Sierra and Evan’s story was a story filled with a little bit of darkness, a little bit of healing, and a little bit of love and compassion.Evan was a difficult character to really grasp at the begging. Since the story is told through dual points of view, I would see the way he treated Sierra through her eyes which wasn’t always all that great and then switch over to Evan’s point of view and witness the reasons behind his actions which didn’t necessary excuse his actions but at least give me some insight into the real Evan. Despite the gruff, distant attitude he has at the beginning of Meant For Her, the more time Evan spends with Sierra, the more we are able to see how much pain he carries around with him. Right along with Sierra, I took the simple joys of every little piece of progress that Evan made; haring a piece of his past, hanging out with his friends, smiling every now and then.Sierra is the definition of a carefree, easygoing, free spirit. Everything about this character was truly good. She was passionate about everything she cared about from her photography, to her family, to her friends, and to even complete strangers. I just appreciated how easy of a character she was to love. As Evan’s neighbor and also being the niece of his professional baseball team’s manager, Sierra decides she is just the person to break down Evan’s walls and get to the root of his pain and despair. And considering this character has enough love and caring within her to put the rest of us to shame, she is the perfect option.Reading about Evan by himself was enjoyable but not without struggles. Reading about Sierra by herself was inspiring and touching. But reading about the two of them together was a completely different story. I LOVED the connection these two had. Sierra knew Evan harbored deep pain before she ever even spoke to him. On the flip side, Evan has been lost for a long time but even more so during the past year but Sierra changes something for him. It is because of her he can finally begin to heal, learn to trust and care for others, and even open up about himself. I also love that this relationship was not without struggles. Sierra pushes Evan too far, Evan pushes Sierra away. Evan allows Sierra to get too close and then he closes off out of fear. But despite all of the problems that their relationship faced, there was enough romance, compassion, and natural chemistry between these two to make it all worth the read.On top of all this other greatness that Raine has going on in the story, she also went and added in two of my favorite characters from her previous NA contemporary book, For Everly. That’s right people, Cole and Everly are in this book. And I don’t mean in a “Oh we passed a cute couple on a street” way but “Oh Cole is friends with Evan and Everly is friends with Sierra” way. I just adored the fact that even though their book is over, their story wasn’t. I can’t share much more about their parts in the story in fear that I’ll spoil it for you but I will let you know that it made my heart oh so happy.I could go all day talking about all the things I love about this book but what you really know is that Raine makes it oh so easy to read her books. Her characters are ones I love, the struggles they go through are ones that hurt my heart, but in the end, the changes they make and the struggles that they overcome make it worth it!And now, because Raine and I are allll about music over here, she’s put together an Ah-Mazing book playlist for all you awesome book lovers! Take a listen below and read all about how the specific songs play a part in the book!