Review: Hall imbues her characters with such lifelike qualities and issues that they literally could walk among us, and probably do.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2013
In a story that is vastly different from previous reads from her,  Marie Hall brings us a contemporary, New Adult story that is romantic, heart wrenching, difficult and fully geared to readers who are over 18.In each of the stories that I have read from Marie, she imbues her characters with such lifelike qualities and issues that they literally could walk among us, and probably do.  This is a twist, in which she deals with some very serious elements for her characters, and yet each is presented with care: allowing the reader to slowly digest the information and start to develop empathy for the characters before the secrets are uncovered.Both Lili and Ryan are likable characters: Lili is far more sympathetic and easy to relate to.  Often I was relying on her innate sense that there was something and someone worth knowing in Ryan to not want to skip over his sections of the story.  I'm glad that her belief in Ryan kept me reading, his backstory and the secrets he held deep within are just waiting to burst out and bring forward a resolution.  This story demanded that I read through to the end, even the darker elements were treated with detail and care, with character voices and reactions being realistic and even refreshing to read for those who may have been in similar situations.This is the start of a series of "moments" in time for characters - although I do hope that we return to Lili and Ryan's story, the conclusion was satisfactory and did tie up any hopeful questions I would have had for their ongoing relationship.  Certainly a book for adults, the story is emotional and difficult to read at times, but situations are real, gritty and possibly relevant to many readers today.I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review as part of the Indie Authors Rock promotion at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.