Review: 4.5 stars for this intense, but sensational love story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2014
Cuba and Dovey have an intense, magnetic and hypnotic pull towards each other. There is no denying the power they have over each other and the feelings they feel. The draw and the intensity of their emotions, they are one in a million….there hasn’t been anything like it and there most likely never will be. They both know this. They both feel this. He has to try REALLY hard for her to let him in though….he is a smoooooth talker too!!“Get to know me, Dovey. Let’s hang out. I promise I won’t bite unless you want me to.” ~CubaAfter much deliberation and serious badgering on Cuba’s side (he can badger me!!! hands raised….pick me! pick me!!), she finally decides to allow Cuba in. Their relationship is magical….one of fairytales. She really was rescued by her prince….he wanted to take care of her and love her and be her everything. But Dovey’s heart gets broken…..she is, of course, from the wrong side of town. The under privileged girl, the scholarship girl….the one you “slum” with if you hang out with her. There are appearances to keep up….or feelings to hide from. So why would Cuba give her the time of day? Oh wait….he doesn’t anymore. He got what he wanted….he was done. He was moving on….over and over, and over again. Filling his time with meaningless sex with anyone that wanted it….this was his answer to rid his mind, heart and soul of her.We take a journey back to high school for this one….this book was very relatable on many different levels. I felt transported back…..and I got to look at the inner workings of a private school with the kids that sit at the top of the totem pole, but I also got to see what it felt like to be slinking by just to get through the daily grind so that you could lose yourself in your one love. Dovey’s one love was also her escape….dance was anything and everything she needed to survive. Certainly not some guy….and especially not the one that would jump her and dump her. Again….she had goals and she was going to accomplish them.After seeing their relationship flourish and thrive, and then epically fail and fall to pieces, we got to see some battling emotions from both sides. Getting deeper into Cuba’s head….we got to see his remorse for what happened to their relationship, with his own justification as to why it can’t be. We saw him fight with his emotions and placate himself with other girls. We watched him literally self-destruct right before our eyes…..and he was drowning. He needed help but wasn’t going to get it.We saw Dovey try to understand and grasp the given excuses that Cuba gives her, when they don’t match up with his actions and his words. How do you go from loving so fiercely, to hating and avoiding someone that held your heart….your light? It was a hard realization to stomach, and poor Dovey had a hard time with this.When we try to find the reasons that we don’t allow our heart to flourish, we do more harm than good. Following your heart may not be easy, but the end result is a lot easier to stomach if you just go with the flow.“I can’t f**cking breathe without her.”Between Cuba’s problems and Dovey’s life, the roller coaster ride that is their relationship is full of some very understandable, but very sad, ups and downs. Cuba and Dovey need to listen with their heart, and not their heads….stop fighting what you know is the truth and quit being so STUBBORN.I loved this story…it spoke to me on many different levels. It showed strength and toughness, but nurturing and sincerity. I loved being able to see more of Sebastian in the story, and we also got to see Nora and Leo from someone else’s POV. Quick snapshots, but we got to visit with some of our other favorite characters. Sebastian played a very vital role in this book, along with Spider. The characters in this story were very well groomed and delivered.  The storyline was well written.There are some very dark times for both Cuba and Dovey, and it added some serious depth to the story. It was relatable, but very dark.  4.5 stars for this intense, but sensational love story.