Review: Jessica Sorensen seriously kills me with these books... but I love them.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2014
The titles that Jessica Sorensen comes up with, particularly with her New Adult books, are so simple and straightforward, yet so effective. Case in point, The Destiny of Violet & Luke, which is the first novel in a spin-off series featuring characters first introduced in Sorensen’s Coincidence series. The title is fitting not just because the two protagonists are so similar personality-wise, but because fate keeps throwing them together when each is most in need of the other. This book is filled with moments of angst and heartache, happiness and desire, building to a shocking, though not entirely unexpected twist that had me muttering a string of colorful profanities.While I enjoyed getting to Luke and, to a lesser extent, Violet, as Callie and Kayden’s roommates, I was thrilled for them to get their own story opposite each other. Outwardly, they appear to be completely different, yet it is revealed that they share a number of similarities, including their respective battles with their inner demons. Despite his manwhore-ish tendencies, I have always been a fan of Luke, whose intimidating faade is a front to keep anyone from getting too close. It might have taken me a bit longer to warm up to Violet, but I was sympathetic to her back story, which explained the motivation behind her extreme and questionable actions throughout the book.The Destiny of Violet & Luke is one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve ever read, which is saying something, because Jessica Sorensen seems to have found a niche in penning lost and hopeless characters. Violet and Luke have both been exposed to unimaginable horrors since childhood, which forced them to grow up long before nature intended. It’s often taxing reading about characters whose emotions are so raw and intense because I couldn’t help but feel their pain. Going into the book, I knew it wouldn’t be a light, happy read, but I wasn’t expecting the depth of my emotional and physical reaction to their feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.What I've learned from a number of Jessica Sorensen’s books is that the story will likely end on some type of a cliffhanger, although considering how some of her books have ended, I was admittedly relieved by the finale of The Destiny of Violet & Luke. There’s still much to be resolved, but I’m looking forward to reading the next chapter in their story. Along the way, I've become so emotionally invested in these characters that I would gladly follow the narrative until its very end, because the optimist in me is hoping for a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.