Review: Great read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 27, 2014
**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review**In the spirit of honesty... let me say that I find that putting two people who have obvious codependency issues together... well, it doesn't end pretty.  While we'd love to believe that they would be able to help one another through their struggle to maintain sobriety from whatever their addiction, it just doesn't work out that way most of the time.  But, with that being said, this is a story... it's made up... it's two people who found shape within the authors mind and this is the story that she envisioned for them.  And it works!Elle hits rock bottom.  Now, maybe I missed a huge chunk of something along the way, but I never got why she started her downward spiral in the first place.  I know that sometimes kids start drinking just because all their friends are doing it... but she seemed like she was harboring some deep, dark secret that made her pick up a drink in the first place.  The fact that it wasn't explained doesn't detract from the story... just my own two cents thrown in there :)  So she hits rock bottom and gets sent to rehab.  It's not where she wants to be and at first she's a complete brat (ok, so I had another word thrown in there, but decided to go with the high road).  She doesn't want to talk about it... she doesn't want to relive her tragedy... she doesn't want to be there... period!Hart is well known in rehab.  He's been in and out several times and every time he leaves they hope they won't be seeing him again.  Not because he's a horrible person, but because they want him to succeed in staying sober.  Hart has a sad back story and you can almost understand why he chose to go down the path he chose to travel.  Of course he's an adult and he knows right from wrong... but alcoholics are addicts and once you go down that road, it's a bumpy ride.Elle's family... yea, I didn't care for them so much.  They sort of just had this "get over it" mentality.  And dealing with any addiction and dealing with the tragedy she is coming to terms with... well, you don't just "get over" something like that.  I think her mom and her brother needed to be in counseling as well to help them learn to help her.  But that's just an aside here.  And her boyfriend... yea, he's a prick... a major douchebag who doesn't want to begin to understand what's going on inside her head... he just wants her to "get over it"... and have sex with him.Elle and Hart run into one another on the "outside"... in a bar (because that's where her boyfriend wanted to go... so instead of seeing that this might possibly be a problem for a recovering alcoholic... he wants his way.... yea, he's a real winner!!).  And the fun begins from there.  Hart is determined to help Elle.  His major character flaw... he wants to save everyone but himself.  Perhaps he doesn't think he's worth saving.  Elle comes to believe that maybe he is worth saving and for once someone needs to fight for him.There did come a point where I put down the book and walked away.  I said to myself "If this ends this way I am going to be so mad" (because really what can you do when a book doesn't end the way you want it to?  I guess you could go all stalker crazy, but what does that accomplish??).  Now, in order to find out whether I had to give serious thought to going all stalker or if I was satisfied... I guess you gotta read it!  LOLAll in all I enjoyed this book.  It was a quick read, there is some great dialogue and some really good character development.