Review: Interesting Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2014
**A complimentary copy given by author/publisher via Netgalley**~~ 4 "Life Changing" Stars ~~This was my first book by Julie Cross and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.  I was attracted to this book after reading the blurb, and I am happy to say that this was quite unexpected (Totally in a good way).  I enjoyed this book a lot….The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating was because I thought it dragged a little too much for my liking…at least the first half of the book did.  I will say that the second half of the book is what saved this story for me.  Once we get to around the 54% mark…the book totally changed for me.  I will say this book was different from the NA books I have been reading lately…and that is very refreshing.  I enjoyed Julie's writing style and I thought the story was interesting enough that it kept me interested throughout the whole book.  I just wish we would've gotten a little more of the love story in the first half of the book.  I will say that the fun medical facts that start each chapter were AWESOME!!!  I learned some interesting things from those blurbs.What I loved about this story was the Characters that Julie Cross created.  I thought Marshall was all kinds of swoony and I thought Isabel (Izzy) was interesting (I can't expand on that because you have to read this book to understand her "quirks")  What I truly liked about these characters, was the fact that they weren't like the normal College Aged characters we see in most NA books.  We meet Isabel as an 18 year old Medical intern….she is a child prodigy.  What we do learn right from the beginning is that Izzy lacks the emotional connection Dr.'s have with their patients and this leads to her not getting a residency at John's Hopkins (Her dream Hospital)  What we get from here is a story of a girl's journey to becoming a better person and learning how to fit in and be "normal".  In doing this Izzy decided to go back to college and experience college like an 18 yr old would do.  Things don't go very smoothly for Izzy, at least not until she meets Marshall.  I loved these 2 together.  They truly compliment each other.  We find out during the story that Marshall is fighting demons of his own.  This is where the storyline was different for me.  Julie Cross covered a subject I haven't seen in books before and I learned quite a bit about it.  You'll just have to read the book to know what I am talking about.  I honestly believe that Marshall and Izzy saved each other…they met and came into each others lives when they both needed someone.We did meet other characters throughout this story but this story truly does focus on Marshall and Izzy.  The side characters lending a supporting hand when needed in the story.  I did love Marshall's family….they had me laughing quite a bit.I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for that NA love story that is not the like "normal" NA storyline.  This book had me smiling throughout most of it but it also tugged at my heart when need be.