Review: Amazing Read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2013
Provocative story of childhood romance, second chances, forgiveness, unconditional love and everlasting friendship.When Maddy went home to attend her brother's wedding, she was dreading it. As the story starts to unfold, I get to know why. For the past two years, something from her past kept haunting her that she wished never to set her foot again on her hometown. She’s struggling to bury her past and coming over to that one place and seeing again the person who has left her heartbroken and devastated would just re-open up her wounds. But she just couldn’t say no to her brother, Jack, the only person she’s left with.Maddy grew up in an unstable home and a neglectful mother and it’s with the Basso’s family where she found acceptance and love which her own family couldn’t give her. With Jack away for college, she was left alone to mend for herself. Along with the help of her friends (Ian, Mackenna, Bryan, Trent & Gabe) that she was able to overcome every hurdles that life throws at her. But choosing between the guy she’s been dreaming to be with since her childhood and the guy whom she least expected to fall in love with, left her more vulnerable and confused. To top it all, they’re not just regular guys. They’re the Basso Brothers – Trent & Gabe, the town’s most-sought after bachelors. Maddy has to make a choice. Who could it be? Is it Trent? The famous soccer ball player who has been her childhood sweetheart and best friend, the guy who’s been stringing her all along on their on-off relationship, who keeps on hurting her again and again yet she remained at his side. Or, is it Gabe? Responsible, selfless and enigmatic are just some of his positive qualities. The guy who’s been secretly in love with Madgirl for God knows when, yet willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of her younger brother. Her decision could break a friendship, brotherhood and family. Either way, she has to make that decision no matter what the consequences are.Love Me Back is a powerful and emotional story about Maddy as she struggles to have a perfectly balanced life and her quest for love and happiness despite everything she has gone through. This story will let you experience life through the eyes of Maddy and will leave you in a myriad emotions. It will make you laugh, cry, swoon, sigh, sad, angry, mourn, hope and believe. This will make you fall in love with love and believe that there’s still hope after loss. As the story swings from past to present, you’ll fully understand the concept and characters of the story. For several times, I paused from reading. Why? Because I got so frustrated over Maddy’s indecisiveness. She kept on torturing herself and Gabe many times. Why can’t she just realize that Trent is not the one for her? That he just ends up hurting her more and more. That he’ll always be self-centered as always. Oh, sue me! Trent is the villain here and I’d never picture him as the good guy. Several times I want to scream at him. Then, there’s Gabe. My heart broke for him a lot times. He’s always at the hurting end. Though I don’t agree with some of his actions and decisions with all the “you’re my brother’s girl” crap, I still like him. I’m really glad that Maddy grew a backbone before the story ended. I have witnessed her transformation, on how she grew up more mature and went ahead with what she really wanted all along.I loved the story. It started slow for me but as I read further, I found myself so immersed with the story and its characters. A great read as I may say. It has a perfect balance of angst, romance and steam with unforgettable characters. Love Gabe so much, he’s definitely a book boyfriend material.Highly recommended.