Review: Did not disappoint!  Looking forward to the next installment
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 18, 2013
The first few lines of the synopsis of told me everything I needed to know about this book. If I was looking for hearts and flowers I was looking in the wrong place. Well maybe at least until Carter!WOW! What a great book! I really enjoyed the story. It was full of angst, heartache, self-discovery and yes, love.What Emerald has dealt with is more than anyone should have to endure at a young age. But when drinking, getting stoned, using people and your body to get what you want is what you are taught is “normal” you know no different and have no desire to change.I felt Emerald’s isolation and her pain. She was left with no warning. Completely alone and abandoned by her best friend/mom “Leah Belle”. She didn’t know any other way to cope but to dive inside a bottle and try to drown her pain. But what she didn’t know was at the bottom of that bottle was her “chance.”Up-routed and forced to live with her grandparents attend AA meetings was probably the best thing that could of happened to her. I enjoyed watching the gradual changes that overtook Emerald’s demeanor and personality. She was starting to come out of her shell and change and didn’t even realize it. She had a little help from Carter too.Carter….hmmmm! I got the feeling that there was more to Carter than just good looks and southern charm. I was more than happy to see that I was right. I love the fact the he asked “how” and not “why”. It gave him just that much more credibility with me.The book travels many of emotions and there were a few times I got teary eyed but Mariah Cole definitely got me at the end. Although I applauded Emerald’s desire to stand on her own two feet it had my heart crashing into a million pieces and had the tears flowing. But all good things come to an end right?I will definitely be awaiting the second installment in this series and looking forward to more works from this author.