Review: 4.5 Beautiful Stars for this lovely novella
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 16, 2014
This was simply a fabulous look into the backstory that made Lost in Us one of my favorite debut reads of the past year. I'm a big fan of prequels. I love delving more into the hows and whys of what makes a favorite character get to where they are in the story. Layla Hagen does not disappoint in this as she allows us to see in greater detail the angst of how James and Serena came to be where they were upon meeting that night over those yummy tequila shots (I still shake my head at cinnamon and orange slices, but James does know best!).James and Serena are definitely a favorite couple for me since reading Lost in Us. They were each dealing with pasts that left them broken in different ways and Layla allows us a bigger glimpse into the details we learned LIU. Seeing in more detail for way James was basically living his early college years not caring about anything and basically being oblivious to everything. Then to see the realization when he's run thru his trust fund and his dad tells him he's totally on his own, and then how he begins to create his own way - well it was impressive to say the least but sad because his life was still not meaningful. For Serena her story was about survival and making things better for her parents while hiding from her grief and self-imposed guilt over her sister's death. I have to say that I'm glad Jess grew up and became more encouraging as a friend, because there were a couple of times when I just wasn't happy with her! On the flip side of this she was spot on in her initial assessment of Michael. I'm glad we got both the early days of their relationship and also near the end; his becoming her ex-boyfriend was a blessing because I think he was the biggest douche and Serena was better off without him!I loved how Layla weaved the story to show where they each were at various points, sometimes at the same time but for much of the novella their stories are separate until their first encounter. It was interesting to me to see that first encounter mostly from James' perspective especially since it seemed it was most impactful for him. It's amazing how one or two moments can change the course of everything, and the way this story unfolds whether you read the novella first or after the full story - well you won't be disappointed in those moments.