Review: Who is the real villain?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2013
Pregnancy is a joyous time as brand-new parents anticipate their upcoming little one.  What will s/he look like?  What will s/he like to eat?  What will his/her hobbies be? What/Who/Where.......but what if that pregnancy is in jeopardy and those who may be able to save its little life are embroiled in an emotional spaghetti that would make the writers of "Passions" sit up and take notice?LONG STORY SHORT"Dangit, Faith!"  When I'm mentally hollering at the author of a book when I finish it because I didn't get enough, that is a good thing!  Meant for Me jumps right in where Take Me Now left off, albeit after it seems a few weeks/couple months have passed.  This is a wonderfully accessible and well-written book that reads quickly, and the gut-wrenching drama will have you pulling for the main characters in a way that is well-informed as we see the situation from every angle (viewpoints of good and bad guys included).  The emotional roller-coaster continues as we journey with Ivy and Eric down the next few steps of their path...as expectant parents who have a lot of some baggage with which to contend.  I still want to hug everyone in this story line.  Well, almost everyone.(Oh, and by the way - this is a book solely for those aged 18+.  Sorry, young ones - too much steam.)Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 on a 1-5 rating scale.LONG STORYThe GoodFaith, Faith, Faith...what am I going to do with you?  A cliffhanger of that magnitude?  Seriously?  :PThere, now that my frustration with the author has been vented, I can get to the book (in reality, I'm quite fond of the author, just frustrated with where the story left off...imagine your favorite television show ending a season on one of the biggest cliffhangers EVER.  Yeah.)=)Let's see, Meant for Me picks up right where the prequel (Take Me Now) left off, soon after Ivy and Eric have learned that their *ahem* physical relations have caused the beginning of a new entity.  Yep, they are pregnant (sorry dudes, I'm totally of the "if the woman is prego, the couple is prego" mindset).  We rejoin them a couple of months after learning the joyous news.  Ivy and Eric are living together in his little cabin.  Will is getting Ivy's help writing his big screenplay.  Lauren is out of all of their lives for a good long time....or is she?  duh duh duh *cue dramatic music*Just like in the last book, I can't delve too much into the plot without giving away significant points that you should read the book to find out (beware, though, that this is an 18+ book!).  Suffice to say there is drama drama drama.  This drama, however, threatens Ivy's very life in a way that puts Eric through flashbacks and seriously threatens the stability of their relationship....something Lauren delights about, I'm sure.  Oh boy, there I go again just about to ruin the plot.Anyways, this book is still set in small-town America where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows the color of your new dress before you even get back to the house (can you tell I grew up in a tiny town?).  It has a small-town feel: ostensibly super simple and easy to understand, until you actually get to know the people and truly figure out just how everything and everyone works.  Drama + complication begets more drama + complication begets more drama + complication.....Sullivan truly set the stage for these characters in the first book, so she didn't have to spend a whole lot of time here setting up the scene.  She did, however, go into the past of certain figures a bit more than in the last book.  Writing in a style that takes up multiple viewpoints (each chapter is told from a different person's point of view), Sullivan here has crafted a piece that truly allows readers to get a glimpse of the background, inner thoughts, and motivations of characters in a unique, matter-of-fact way.  We get a sense of what is motivating Lauren, Will, Ben (oh wait, you may not have met him yet...) and a deeper sense of what is behind Eric and Ivy's actions/thoughts/words.  I love this!  As someone who is forever trying to get people to look at where another person may be coming from, I absolutely love that Sullivan has here written in a way that does just that.  Yayz!Everything in this work is just so real.  I could actually see a scenario like this playing out in my hometown (and I've an idea who would be whom....) or among those in my friend group.  Miscommunications lead to undue frustrations, which leads to certain people manipulating those miscommunications for their own self-serving interests.  Assumptions are made, feelings are hurt, and we are caught in a web of interactions that tugs on our own heartstrings as we pick out who we feel is villain and hero.Let me just say this as well - Ivy at one point nearly loses her baby due to a medical condition that is very similar to one that almost caused me to lose my baby as well.  While the ending for Ivy and her baby is unclear (c'mon Sullivan....that next book should come out very soon.....that cliffhanger is going to drive me insane!!), my baby boy survived the condition.  The child of one of my friends did not.  I drew near to Ivy on a very personal, emotional level in this book since I'm a mother who as "been there, seen that, heard those "options" and hated them too".  Okay, probably TMI, but there you go.This book is very well-written, accessible (it's not terribly "deep" in a philosophical way, but in an emotional way - while it is fiction that I enjoy, it is not something that my philosophically minded husband would be able to get into), a fast read, and one that will leave you craving more.  Seriously - I'm considering sending Sullivan an email every week until the next book is released.  I need to know what happens!The Bugly (bad/ugly)I'm happy to report that one of the buglies that I noted for the first book (Eric and Ivy sounding too much like each other in their respective chapters) is resolved here.  In this book, each author has his/her own unique voice.  I'd like them to be a tad more distinct, but they are distinct.  Awesome!Also, motives for specific characters are made much more clear in this work, which resolves my other bugly.That all being said, my major bugly with this book revolves around the absolute fourteen-teen mile high cliffhanger which closes the work.  It ends...but it doesn't.  Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know this is to keep people reading, and it for sure worked for me!  You can bet I'm gonna stalk the release date of the next book.  Seriously people, I need to know what happens!!So I guess I don't really have a bugly.....this feels weird.(see more at my blog: onlygodwritestrees dot blogspot dot com