Review: Thought Provoking
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 25, 2013
To say that Jacqueline Carter has had a hard life would be an understatement.  Date-raped on her 16th birthday by her then popular jock boyfriend sets off a chain of bad choices, which include drinking, drugs, sex, and abuse. After the incident on her 16th birthday Jac set up walls around her heart, sealing off her emotions as best she could, not wanting to get hurt again.  Seth Thomas is a hottie who Jac has a soft spot for.  He appeared in her life once, and now several years later, he is here once again, at a time in her life when tragedy strikes and catches her off guard.  She lets the walls down, almost fearful that she has found happiness, feeling almost like she doesn't deserve it, and her worst fears always seem to have this terrible habit of coming true.  Enter into her life Damon Blackwell.  If there was ever a sexy bad boy, Damon Blackwell fits the bill.  He has a dark side though.  One which Jac soon becomes up close and personal with.  Caught on a never-ending emotional roller coaster, Jac finds herself in repeating cycle of destruction.Despite all Jac has gone though, and though I really want to love her, I didn't.  I felt sorry for her and I got really angry at her and the choices she made, and can't imagine some of the things she went through, but I didn't love her.  One of the grounding factors in her life was her friend Shelley, who tried her best to help her.  I really did like Shelley's character, but unfortunately, no matter how Shelley tries to help Jac, ultimately it is Jac who must choose for herself the road she is going to take.  Seth pops in and out of her life on multiple occasions.  I really liked him a lot in the beginning, but he had his own demons to deal with.  Unfortunately, we never did really find out what those were or why he chose the path he took, and even though he winds up being her knight in shining armor more than once, I couldn't bring myself to like him again.  In fact, I found myself very angry with him, almost blaming him as much for things as I did Jac and her poor decisions.  Nevertheless, I was hoping for the best for them.  Then there is Damon Blackwell, I hated him, which is exactly what the author intended, and Lori Clark did a very good job in developing his character as such.Different Roads is not one of those fairy tale books where everything magically works itself out by any means.  It is real, raw, and emotional.  I didn't like the ending, but for some reason, it didn't catch me off guard as much as I thought it would have.  The reason I didn't like it is because I am a fan of those HEA's where everything magically works out.  Different Roads is not that, nor is it meant to be.  Despite the fact that I didn't like it, the ending was inevitable and fit the circumstances in the story well.  Is it one of those books I am going to gush over and say I really loved?  No.  Is it a book that is well written and portrays an excellent message with real life situations and events that will leave you emotionally wrought and stay on your mind long after you turn the final page?  Absolutely.