Review: Great prequel novella! I really loved getting to meet James and Serena, and this was the perfect way to introduce them!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 14, 2014
Review for Ramblings From This Chick. ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.comLost is a prequel novella to Lost in Us by Layla Hagen. I decided to read this before reading Lost in Us, but it can be read before or after. I was sucked right into the story with this one, and as soon as I finished I couldn't wait to read Lost in Us. I really liked getting to meet James and Serena and getting some of their back-stories. I also really loved that we got both of the POVs. This novella did a great job of setting up the reader for Lost in Us.After losing her sister, Serena leaves England to live with her mother's best friend's family in California. She begins to move on from the past, but she still suffers from guilt. She has panic attacks and won't put herself out there. Her goal is to get into Stanford and make a better life for herself and her family. James is also suffering. After his girlfriend is killed in a car accident following a fight that they had before graduation, he is wracked with guilt and proceeds to self-destruct. He burns through his trust fund and is cut off by his father. Forced to stand on his own two feet for the first time in his life, he is unable to continue on the path he has been on. He turns to booze, fast cars and racing and women. He has never wanted anything more until he sees Serena.I liked James. I loved his honesty right off and thought that even though he was really screwed up he was never anything but completely open about it. He was definitely damaged, but you could tell that once he knew he had hit rock bottom, it was really the driving force that he needed to change. He was able to really put everything behind him and use it as motivation. He was still suffering from guilt and wasn't looking for commitment, but he knew that eventually he wanted more. I found him interesting right off and couldn't wait to get to know him better. I liked Serena. She was vulnerable and she had a lot of guilt, but she was determined to do something with her life. She worked hard and did what she had to do. I liked getting to know some of her past and seeing what made her who she was. I was invested in her character from the start, and I found her extremely real and likable. I can't wait to see where things go with these two.I think that this was a great way to introduce us to the characters and set up the first book in this series. I liked both James and Serena and I also found the secondary characters likable as well. I can't wait to see more of James and Serena and see their journey through their guilt and pain. I will admit that while I loved the dual POVs, I did find the back and forth in time shifts to get a bit confusing. I kept having to try and think back to where we had just been and where we were now. It was a bit tough to keep straight at times since not only is there a shift in time, but also in the ages of the two main characters. It was hard to see how things lined up at times. I am really looking forward to reading Lost in Us though, and hopefully things will be more clear as far as the timeline goes. I recommend reading this story to those that have read Lost in Us or want to read Lost in Us. If you are looking for a complete story, that is not what you will get with this one. However it does a good job of introducing us to these characters and I believe will be a great addition to those reading this series.**Complimentary Copy provided by Xpresso Book Tours**