Review: The ending I never knew I needed...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
Since when did novellas become so emotional and heartbreaking? Lost Without You was a beautiful addition to the Lost series. It can be read as a standalone; but, personally, I would read it after Lost for You and Lost In Distraction. That’s what I did, and although I have no doubts that this story would be amazing enough without reading the other two books in the series, I feel like it hit my heart a lot harder reading it with the knowledge of what happens in the first two books. I’m going to try my best to think of LWY as a standalone in order to prevent spoilers.“So color me stupid that I would be the one left speechless the day I met Brenna Bertorelil, the one woman who didn’t want anything to do with me. The same woman who would capture my heart and make me truly believe in the notion of soul mates.”Before there was Brax and Ellie, there was Shay and Brenna… We meet Shay in LFY and LID as Brax’s best friend. They’re both in the security business, which is how they both meet the loves of their lives. LWY mostly takes place before the Brax meets Ellie, with some overlaps of course. I was cracking up from the moment Brenna meets Shay. It was love at first sight. They just didn’t know it yet.“She’s hot, and feisty, exactly what I like in a woman. Couldn’t Victor have an ugly f***ing daughter? Of course not–she has to be gorgeous and tight in all the right places, and f*** me if that body isn’t designed to bring a man to his knees.”Their chemistry from the moment they met was explosive. I was instantly in love with the two of them and their relationship. At first, they aggravate each other. Shay thinks that she’s the spoiled princess brat of his mafia boss, and Brenna thinks he’s a cocky idiot. A few moments in the car quickly changes that. After a heart-to-heart, they realize that they were wrong about each other and Shay asks Brenna to go out with him and give him a chance to prove he’s worthy of her *sigh*.“There were a few boyfriends during my time at Cornell, but nothing serious, and none of them set my heart racing like Shay does. He’s cocky, and on the sexy side of arrogant, but the man he’s shown himself to be during the short time we’ve had together has done nothing to turn me off.”Everything kinda goes quickly from there. I desperately tried to slow down and savor each moment, but I was too captivated by Shay and Brenna. With a novella, the author has to choose which moments to elaborate on and which moments to skim over. BJ Harvey surprised me which moments she chose to highlight, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it. There were some bumps along the road, like Brenna’s dad not approving of their relationship. And since he’s Shay’s boss and also a killer he tries to keep them apart, but, of course, that doesn’t happen according to his plans.“With Brenna, I’m finding that I want her with an intensity that takes even my breath away. Two weeks and I can’t wait to talk to her, see her, touch her.”I loved how once they gave their relationship a chance, they quickly accepted that they were meant to be. This book was the epitome of “once you know, you know”. I was dying over how cute they were together. Their banter made me chuckle, the moments they realized they were falling more and more for each other made me swoon, and the way they opened up to each other so fully and so quickly made my heart melt. I never wanted it to end.“We loved each other. We said it only a month after we met, but it was like it always has been between us—a well-tuned machine that has been working to perfection its whole life.”Shay is way more perfect than I expected him to be from LFY and LID. I didn’t realize he had a past and secrets that he kept inside. He treats Brenna like a princess, even though she doesn’t act like one. Every time he calls her “cupcake” it made me grin ear to ear. Brenna was so feisty, strong, and stubborn. She cracked me up and always kept Shay on his toes. Together they were more than perfect. They brought out the best in each other, changed each other, made each other deliriously happy, and fit together in more ways than one.“As I told Victor and Brax, it doesn’t matter if I’ve only known her six months. It could be six minutes, six weeks, six months, or six years—she is it for me, and she has told me I’m it for her.”The ending gutted me. Have you ever sobbed without any tears coming out? That was me (I don’t cry). The entire time. I knew how it would end. But, Lost Without You is an emotional overload. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to end their story. It was beautiful, poignant, and way more than I could have dreamed. I think I say this every time I read a BJ Harvey book, but her books get better and better each time. I’m in love. This novella is definitely one of my favorites. For those who have read LFY and LID and don’t think you want to read this. You better read it. Or I’ll find you.“If I die young...if for some reason I die before you, I’ll wait for you, Shay McCarron. I’ll wait until your dying day, until you take your last breath on this earth, and then I’ll be there to hold your hand as we guide each other toward the light. Two lost souls who found each other in life, finding each other again in death, I promise you.”