Review: A great New Adult story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2013
“There was always the calm side and always the choppy side, kind of like my life.”–GabbyGabby Sullivan learned the hard way at a young age that she needed to protect her heart by controlling situations. First, she lost her mom to cancer and barely a moment later her brother leaves, not bothering to say ‘hi’ for ten years. Coupled with a broken heart–literally–and bad boyfriends, at twenty-two, she’s ready to comfortably forget everything and focus on her career–in a job she doesn’t want. When Jason rolls into her life, questioning her focus, Gabby has to face facts that some things really are beyond control…“I’m beginning to wonder how long a person can lie to themselves before they realize they’ve made some pretty huge mistakes.”–GabbyThis was a great New Adult story focusing on twenty-two year-old Gabby as she enters the workforce in her father’s company. Since her brother left, she became the logical heir to her father’s company, and she went along with the plan. It was interesting watching her come to realize that like so many kids, she chose the path her parent set for her without figuring out what she herself really wants to do. This is highlighted even more with the fact that her best friend is trying hard to go after her dreams for law school, while Gabby struggles to have passion for her job.She also has to deal with the return of her brother (who had left after being a father figure to her when their own father was off building and devoting his time and energy to his company). When her brother Aaron left her, it caused her to have extreme abandonment issues, which was an interesting twist that it was her brother leaving instead of a parent leading to the abandonment issue. All she wants to know is why, and I felt so bad for her when it turns out that so many were keeping the truth from her. When she does find out why, I really liked how she handled it.“Maybe if we see each other at our worst, it will make our best look even better.”–GabbyI was torn about the romance story line since I liked how Jason pulled Gabby out of her comfort zone and didn’t give up in his pursuit of her, but I couldn’t see why they were so into each other given their pasts. I loved the fact that their relationship helped heal past wounds, but it didn’t seem to fit their character (particularly Jason’s) in that they would have pursued the relationship in the first place. I’m glad they did though since they were really supportive of each other. I also didn’t like one of the major conflicts towards the end. In fact, once the author set up some clues, I hoped she wouldn’t go down that path because it was too much of an unbelievable and unlikely coincidence, and I was bummed to see that she had. The romance at that point was really wonderful, and it wasn’t necessary except to add a bit of drama. I would like to point out that the sex scenes were mostly fade to black and more about the emotional aspects, so the heat level is around low to medium.The story ends on a bit of cliffhanger with one of the secondary characters, so I’d love to know what happens next! I’m guessing that Aaron and Brandy (Gabby’s best friend) will play a larger role in the next book, which is great since I actually liked Brandy a little bit more than Gabby (Gabby’s interesting, but I liked Brandy’s passion for her future law career and unwavering loyalty to Gabby). Despite leaving Gabby, I really liked Aaron’s character and would love to get to know him more. Overall, if you enjoy New Adult romances with some non-romantic story lines, check this one out! This is a 4 out of 5 for me!(Originally posted on my blog; I received a review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)