Review: Funny Characters, Great Story, This is what I WANT in New Adult
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 20, 2013
Today I am sharing with you the first honest to God New Adult Romance that I can get behind and say that if you don't read this book/series you will miss out on an incredibly witty, romantic, steamy love story that puts most other romances in this category to shame. Candace is always sending me emails saying "I think you'll like this one" as she gets me and my tastes. She is never wrong. She sent me this one and I said no because October has been the month from hell. But then I read an excerpt somewhere and I was hooked. So I asked to join the tour, because sometimes, you just know a book is meant for you. The Art of Letting Go was meant for me. I hope you love it as much as I do!Lilah is such a fun character! She is funny, unaware of her finer qualities, very aware of her faults and seems to know quite a bit about Taylor Swift songs. She has just quit her job at the bank making gobs of money to become a student at the University and she finds herself living with teenagers at the age of 25. She believes she might have made a mistake until she meets Ben, the lead singer of the band playing at the "Fresher's Ball." After having broken some of her "rules" Lilah thinks:"My life could be lived to a Taylor Swift album right now. If my life was ever made into a movie that is all there would be: Taylor Swift belting away in the background a song for every day that I sit here on my bed....She would croon about all sorts of teenage love and angst." (loc.1196)Lilah keeps a journal so we can read about her escapades and feelings. She's stubborn. She is noble. But she also gets in her own way. She tries to do the right thing but it's really hard to say if she is doing the right thing. She definitely shows character growth, especially at the very end. She has proven that she can act like a grown up in some ways.  She is laugh out loud hysterically funny. And April 14, because she writes in a journal and it is a journal entry, made me cry. I hope that Lilah has grown up enough to follow that question mark!Ben, oh Ben! Who doesn't love a man who cooks for you, loves your "squidgy bits", fireman carries you home after you've had too much to drink, and sings "Hey there Delilah" to you since that is your name?" Ben gets Lilah. He loves her soul deep never caring about running down her face, night after makeup or that she can't cook. He doesn't care that at 25 she's still not a grown up. Ben love Lilah, all the ugly parts and the beautiful parts and the inbetween parts. And he doesn't cheat on her, or ever give up on her. He does this one thing, this one grand gesture, it is so amazing and any man that would do that for me, he would have my heart for as long as he wanted. It has nothing to do with singing to  her, which he does. Nothing to do with romantic dates, which he does well. It is the most caring thing I have ever seen a man do. He's also funny and dishes it right back to Lilah. They are a perfect match.Lilah makes great friends with Meredith in her dorm and she becomes friends again with her twin brother whom she has shared a flat with for years but has never really liked. These two characters serves as sounding boards for her and support when she needs it. She even has parents to whom she isn't speaking for most of the book as her father has disowned her for leaving the job at the bank he got her and going to Uni.So why do you ask am I so besotted with this book? First Lilah, she's someone that I understand. She isn't sure of herself. She's not stick thin and beautiful and just doesn't know it. That is not her. Also she isn't a genius. No, if she's going to pass Uni, she's going to have to do a lot better than she's done this year. She's spent most of the year stalking, ogling, and obsessing over Ben. And then there was the drinking. I don't think you have it all figured out at 25. But I love that she followed her instincts to leave a job she hated and tried something new. And it led her to something amazing-Ben and new friends. And I love that she didn't knuckle under to pressure to go back to the job she hated when her father threatened to take the flat away that she and Tristan shared.I loved her sense of humor, her honesty at least with herself and her compassion.Yes, there was sex. Lots and lots, but it happens off the page, never described and it isn't needed for the story to work. That's why it's good. There is a real story here, not just sex with some words written around it. There are parents involved, both Lilah's and Ben's. The main characters are not broken individuals. No, they are pretty much everyday people who might have some insecurities, but nothing like what I think most NA has in it. There are no tragic pasts. The drama is pretty low key. What more can you ask for? It is truly a compelling novel and I need the next book in the series right now! The ending leaves you with a small, smidge of hope. But one book was not enough of Lilah and Ben so I am glad there will be more!Thanks to the author for a copy of the novel for review purposes!