Review: enjoyed
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2013
Reviewed by Guest Reviewer/Jennifer & posted at Under the Covers Book BlogThe subject matter of this book is not an easy one to write, I give that much to the author. You gotta tread carefully, giving the necessary care to the character's condition. I think in this case the author did right by the heroine but unfortunately failed to cue us in. ~ Under the CoversBeing probably one of the last ones to hear about the New Adult genre, I say this book was just okay. The low rating isn't because the book was bad but rather it felt like it wasn't yet completed.The story is told from first person by our heroine who had to deal with some devastating experience. We come into the story after the initial crisis following this experience, but before the full recovery. This gives us time to both discover in bits what exactly happened to her, and to see step by step how and with who she gets over things. Even though I can't say I'm a big fan of first person narration, I have to admit this helps get into a character's head, especially in a plot such as this where psychology is the big chunk of the story.The subject matter of this book is not an easy one to write, I give that much to the author. You gotta tread carefully, giving the necessary care to the character's condition. I think in this case the author did right by the heroine but unfortunately failed to cue us in. Even though for the whole of the book I was inside the heroine's head, I was unable to make a connection to her and I think that's where the book fails. As the most important person in this story, Tabitha makes not much of an impression on me, even though I try hard to sympathize with her concerning her past. And not only Tabitha herself, but also the rest of the characters feel as if they might or might not have existed and it wouldn't matter for me. Her father, who help pick up the pieces together right after her incident is hardly there to make me feel for him. The new best friend Tabitha makes is also supposed to be a big help for her in getting over things but again, her existence is like a shadow. And Noah, the hero of the story, the one who's the biggest support, the biggest step in her recovery, fails to be that big. It felt like everyone had the right amount of potential, and they came so close to make the story reach its climax, and yet, there seems to be no climax in the end.Another problem I had with this book was the unanswered questions. Sure, we do get why she's the way she is, what happened to her and how it affected not just her but everyone around as well, especially her family. But we never get any more detail than the overalls. I felt as if I was an outsider, and it frustrated me not to get any more information concerning the heroine herself and her relationships with those around her, or the hero, who seemed like his story was a bit more than we're told.It was things like these, the little details that were neglected yet if told, they would've made a difference, and the fact that I couldn't connect with any of the characters, that made me rate this book this low. The story had potential, it's a real life problem that I'd be happy to read the heroine get over and move on with her life, but somehow it ended up being short of that potential. I would've preferred to read a hundred more pages if it meant I'd get the full of the story and a chance to click with the characters.*Review Copy provided by author