Review: A MUST READ! This is not another run of the mill romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2013
Diving into Inseparable by Missy Johnson was a leap of faith. I've read a lot of Romance novels recently and the "automatic book judger" in me was worried it was going to be just another superficial college love story. You know the ones. Girl meets boy (boy who happens to be ridiculously rich or into BDSM and facing personal demons), Girl falls in love cue drama, boy saves girl or vice versa and then wham bam tie it together with a happy ending. Although Inseparable does have a happy ending (and I'm thankful) it doesn't follow any of the standards. Missy Johnson threw them out the window and created an amazing story, its foundation stemming from tragedy before blossoming into more. Inseparable captured my attention and drew me in until the wee hours of morning when pre-dawn rears her ugly head. Nothing anyone could say would convince me to put down Lily and Danes story.Lily is my favorite blonde ever. Missy Johnson worked magic with Lily as her female lead. I was so glad she wasn't a perfect girl. She had issues, she was starting college late, she was quirky and awkward. All those qualities and then some made her believable. I loved her personality and how well Missy wrote her in regards to losing her twin. She paid a great respect to those of us that have lost a sibling and my heart ached for her after every dream with Abby as if it was my own twin. Lily had moments of humiliation, grace, confidence and self-doubt. Each adding to her credentials and pulling her off the page a bit more and into my heart, seriously, once I read that she put on Metallica to go to sleep...it was over. I already knew I loved her and just how awesome she was. That sentence just made it official and a fangirl moment. I'm sure I squealed. Overall she was genuine and relatable, becoming a better main character with each turn of the page.The entire cast was such a joy to read. Kella had my heart when she was introduced with her "matter of fact" attitude and blunt approach. Then Gem who sits next to Lily in class was sweet and had me crossing my fingers in hopes that she turned out to be a good friend and not a later plot twist. Both supporting characters held their own and added their own sparks throughout the book.Now I loved Dane and his mysterious nature. For starters, he got some brownie points for not spending the entire book denying his feelings. He was everything Lily needed to flourish and she was his key to finding himself and his way home (along with some answers were a long time coming). Their dialogue exchange was witty and dynamic. Missy set up some really great scenes that held precious moments between the two and their journey down the darkened path together. Between Dane and Lily there was never a dull moment. Their relationship was another nice change for me because Lily didn't make Dane jump through a million hoops or have him on some extreme pedestal. She liked him, was able to admit it and oh, another plus was that she didn't constantly think of how she wasn't good enough. I loved how it was simple but sometimes less is more. Their relationship fit into the plot wonderfully and was realistic. I like my Romance novels to have some realism in there (I mean I'm not reading Fantasy) and Missy Johnson balanced everything beautifully.There were epic plot twists everywhere! Inseparable kept me on my toes the whole way through. Even if I wasn't already attached to the emotional aspects of the plot by the third chapter, the secrets each character has would definitely keep me reading. That's why I stayed up all night reading it and as much as I'd love to gush about them I try not to fill my reviews with too many spoilers. You may think you even have it figured out after reading the blurb but I promise you, you don't. With every puzzle piece Missy Johnson reveals on Lily and Dane's path, she creates another missing piece. She ties everything together smoothly and with precision.I liked how some secrets worked themselves out throughout the book and the questions you find yourself asking are also answered before the story ends. The deeper meaning is never lost underneath what's going on with the characters and they have to work every step of the way to cope with their losses. They cleared their own paths and the moments of truth...the one's where the characters have to face themselves in order to move forward could have been a bit longer in my opinion. But I wouldn't necessarily call that a fault because it could have simply been my desire for the story not to end. And I found that when they were on their trip, I lost track of time but it didn't hinder the storyline at all (I could quite possibly be the only one that notices these things).