Review: 2.5 Somewhat Disappointed Stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 15, 2014
I have had Reaching Out For You and Holding Onto You by S. Moose on my to-be-read list for quite some time so with the release of Next to Forever I was excited to finally get started on the series.  Unfortunately Reaching Out For You fell a little flat for me.  What I found was that while it certainly had tons of potential there was just something that kept me from truly connecting with both the characters and their story.I am without a doubt an emotional reader and there is nothing I enjoy more than to really feel and experience the story along with the characters but that was missing in this book leaving a giant void of feeling that was hard to get around.  There was plenty of depth plot wise with a few twists and turns that were enjoyable but there were also countless times when we were told more than shown what Sophia was feeling creating a lack of emotional depth and a feeling of things being very one note and dull.Adam I liked as a character although I feel like I should have, and possibly could have, loved him if there was more of a connection.  Connor and Erin were great.  They were both wonderful sources of strength and support while also providing a fun, light atmosphere when they are around.Sophia was hard to wrap my head around.  There were many times were she seemed like two different people.  The past Sophia seemed to be fun loving, bold and self-assured whereas the Sophia in the story was extremely meek and scared always blaming herself for everything that happens in her life and really just hoping for the best instead of doing what she can to make something good happen for herself.  I understand how some of that could definitely be a product of her relationship with Kyle but then even further down the road with Adam she is very insecure and unsure of herself most of the time but then there are a few rare occurrences when she becomes assertive and confident but not in a learning and growing way more in a back and forth, not really being true to the character way. Not only this, but her actions leave a little to be desired.  I can’t quite comprehend why it is so hard for her to turn her back on Kyle yet any time something happens with Adam she seems willing to walk away at the drop of a hat.The characters also seemed extremely immature for their age and stage of life.  We are talking about 21 year old college seniors and even working professionals and for the majority of the book it seemed more like the characters were 17 year old high school seniors.  Sophia also keeps bringing up an incident where she saved Adam.  First of all this seems very childish for her to hold this over his head repeatedly and secondly this incident is never delved into and the significance is lost when it is never brought to light.All in all, I enjoyed the storyline.  I enjoyed the turbulence that Kyle embodied in the story and I definitely thought there was great potential to the story.  In the end though, I was left with an overall feeling of detachment where not even the highest highs or the lowest lows could reach me.