Review: Great book with believable characters!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 16, 2014
ARC received by the author in exchange for an honest reviewI want to start this review by saying that I fully believe that "Fully Automatic" can be read as a standalone novel even though it is the fourth book in Jade C. Jamison's Bullet Series. And if you, like me, is new to the series, you will most definitely want to read all the other books, because this author's writing is absolutely amazing!The story is told from the sole viewpoint of Brad, the rock and true foundation of the band, "Fully Automatic". He is not what I would call the "typical rock star" we see in many books these days. Yes, they are all driven, focused and willing to do just about anything to make their dreams of becoming a rock star a reality. But what makes Brad stand out is the fact that we get to really see how much of a businessman he is and how he, practically from day one, becomes the manager of the band. His skills at befriending other band members, to really network and learn as much as he can about the world he wants to be a part of, are very admirable, and you really feel that he wants this more than anything."He wanted to be heard; he wanted people to love his music." (Brad)Besides the fact that Brad is a very ambitious man, he is actually also very sweet, sensitive and with a heart that, once it set its sights on Valerie (Val), never sees another woman in the same light. He loses his heart completely. So this is, in some ways, also a bit of an atypical story, in my opinion: usually, it is the girl pining away for the wrong guy, but here, the roles are reversed, and my own heart was aching for Brad while reading his story.This does not mean, however, that Brad simply bides his time waiting for Val to wake up and really see him. No, we are shown how hard he works at forgetting his deep feelings for her, and he really tries his best at letting them go. Unrequited love is probably one of the worst feelings we can experience, and it is no different for Brad. You have to admire him, though, for trying his best."...he had to let her go. He wasn't going to be able to find his own happiness if he continued mourning the fact that he'd never had her enough to consider her lost to him." (Brad)This is also a story that really shows the reader how the dynamics of a rock band work, and how even the truest of friendships can be difficult to maintain when it seems that it is mostly one-sided. We get to experience how Brad battles with Ethan's demons, his faithless behavior towards Val, and especially Ethan's inability to stay clean. I can only imagine how hard it must be seeing your oldest friend sink deeper and deeper into a pattern of self-destruction, and I honestly feel that Miss Jamison shows us Brad's struggles in a way that seems real: unless a person truly wants to break free of addiction, it will never happen, however much you want it to.It did take me a little while to get fully invested in the story, but I think that has mostly to do with the fact that I am not used to reading a book written in the third person; and after having read about 5 chapters, I could not put the book down because the writing captivated me so much, and I actually felt a bit sad when I reached the last page.Now, although I really connected with Brad, I cannot say exactly the same thing about Val, but I am inclined to believe that that is just because I have not read "Bullet" yet so I am reserving my judgment here. Like I said in the beginning of my review, I will definitely read the whole series now and any book this author writes in the future.