Review: I fell hard for Ella & Quinn!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2014
I'm so in love with Christina Lee's group of young adults in this fantastic Between Breaths series. It all started with All of You. I fell hard for Avery & Bennett, and it was no different for Ella & Quinn. I got some seriously good use of my ereader's highlighting and bookmarking features. Christina masterfully interweaves wonderful moments of romantic tension and delicious humor while still giving ample weight to the very important suicide death/survivor’s guilt recovery process plotline. I was thoroughly emotionally invested in their journey.One quote from the author's acknowledgements at the end really resonated with me: "The thing we all share regardless of our race, gender, or socio-economic status is the need to be loved and to belong. Kindness goes a long way in helping someone keep their dignity. It might actually be a lifeline."******Disclaimer: I’m not sure how to review their story without spoilers, so please don’t read further if you prefer to be surprised.********Quinn, a catcher on his college baseball team and a car aficionado, is a tormented soul. His parents are oblivious to his pain and guilt over his part in his best friend, Bastian’s tragic young death. Quinn’s coping mechanism is to live Bastian’s life instead of his own. He has a low key presence at his fraternity and avoids messing around with the frat brats (aka female groupies) that do anything to please the frat brothers. He’s seen Ella around the frat house over the last 6 months or so, but he doesn’t know much about her. That soon changes.Ella, a psych major and volunteer at a hotline, dates Joel who happens to be one of Quinn’s frat brothers. Like Quinn, Ella has lost a loved one and wants to use her past experience to help others. She and Joel have been drifting apart for months, but she can’t quite motivate herself to break up with him. Joel used to coach her brother Chris in soccer. He is her last link to him so she stubbornly ignores Joel’s suspiciously flirtatious manner until that’s no longer possible.Ella gets a call on the hotline one night from Daniel who is really on the edge, possibly suicidal. He hangs up before they can really connect. Fortunately, he eventually calls back and Ella is determined to save him as she couldn’t do for her brother. Daniel (aka Quinn) knows her now as Gabby (short for Gabriella) and she becomes his lifeline. Over the course of several emotional calls, Gabby succeeds in getting Daniel to open up about his feelings and work through his guilt in a healthier manner.Meanwhile, Joel’s outrageous behavior finally embarrasses Ella and pisses off Quinn. The two of them have several charged moments at the frat house. Consequently, Ella soon realizes that she needs to confront Joel and end their farce of a relationship.Avery’s post-breakup advice to Ella is to “live in the gray for a while” and have some fun. Quinn is the obvious guy to indulge in fun with, but she isn’t so sure. And neither is Quinn. Ella’s experience with Joel has left her wary of her own instincts about men while Quinn believes himself to be unworthy of being with someone like her or of being loved by her.I really enjoyed watching these two navigate the after effects of tragedy and grow as individuals while discovering someone to love in each other.