Review: Everything I Imagined
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 26, 2013
"Music gave life beauty. Music spoke the language of the human spirit for all to hear and understand."Do you know what happens when your two favorite authors collaborate on a new book? Let me just tell you that the anticipation is like nothing I've ever experienced before. I went from thinking how amazing it would be if Andrea Randall and Charles Sheehan-Miles ever wrote a book together to jumping up and down like a teeny bopper fangirl when it was announced that the two pieces of work they kept teasing us with were, in fact, from the same work in progress. Score one for all the Andrea/CSM fans!"A perfect accompaniment."I fell in love with Andrea's writing from her first book, TEN DAYS OF PERFECT and have continuslly been blown away. She has a way with words like no author I've ever read before; the descriptions and imagery suck you in and leave you feeling everything the characters are. And Charles I've been a fan of since JUST REMEMBER TO BREATHE but it was THE LAST HOUR that really solidified the love/hate relationship I have for him. He doesn't skimp on the heart wrenching emotional pulls; it's like he was given this gift to evict every single emotion from you as possible. So together I knew it would be something magical; something only the two of them could pull off successfully. And they did. Beautifully."It was beautiful. Exquisite. And sometimes it broke our hearts."I still don't even really know where to begin. There really just aren't words to describe this book (maybe I can jump into Andrea's head and pull out some of that imagery). I'll be honest though, that despite everything I knew this book would be, I was somewhat nervous when I started. What if I didn't like it? I know, stupid question, right? But I'm serious. I had an ARC, had announced to both authors and their groups that I was starting it and Andrea told me I could PM her while reading it. No pressure, right? Well, if you're a fan of both or either or are looking for something that will make you feel and leave you with a book hangover for days, then NOCTURNE it is my friends. It was Brilliant (yes, with a capital B) and I never should have worried."Music is communication. It's emotion. It's passion and love and hate and expression."The book spans a good 8-10 year time period as we meet and get to know Savannah, an extremely gifted and talented flutist, and Gregory, an extremely gifted and talented cellist. I don't want to give too much of a synopsis because I don't want to give the story away, but as you can imagine the story line showcases their relationship. But unlike all those other "romance" themed books out there, NOCTURNE shows you the real life, beautiful AND messy parts of love. It's not always easy, it's not always pretty, but sometimes it can be worth it."He didn't get it. No one did. We were different. This was different."Let me just jump to everything I loved about this book. There won't even be a "what I didn't like" section because, really, I LOVED IT ALL. It was slow going in the beginning for me (amping up those fears of `what if i don't like it') but then it was like, BOOM! And I couldn't put it down. I was emotionally involved and invested at that point. I was doing my best to slow down, take my time, and savor every feeling. Every moment. Every pain and every smile. And now I'm stuck with a major book hangover, something that I haven't had in MONTHS!"Musicians can be quite...passionate, you know."What was so great besides that the storyline was so completely different - it settles around classical music, a flutist and cellist, a conservatory, symphonies, you get the picture - was that it was one of those books where you start reading and you're literally in the story with the characters. All of a sudden you hear a noise or someone shouting, "MOM!" and you realize that real life is happening all around you, you aren't another character in the book watching it all unfold. But that's what it feels like. I was so emotionally invested in NOCTURNE. I felt every tear Savannah shed, every ounce of anger that Gregory felt, the fist-pumping joy when things finally happened the way I wanted them to and the heart-wrenching sadness that left me breathless when things went waaaaay differently than I wanted them to"As the melody passed back and forth between us, sometimes alternating, sometimes in unison, our eyes repeatedly met, and each time I felt raw, as if he were stroking the bow across my soul instead of the strings of his cello."And the characters, I loved! Even Gregory who made me want to reach inside my iPad and choke him sometimes was perfect (perfectly messy). And Savannah made me laugh so much; she has such a strong sense of confidence that I found invigorating. These were my favorite quotes from the book that give you a little insight to the characters:She smiled and shook her head. "You amaze and appall me at the same time." I found myself grinning. "In that, Savannah, the feeling is completely mutual."Against my will, I found my own mouth curving up into a smile. That made her eyes widen. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile. Does that hurt?" (Savannah says this to Gregory)With an eye roll, Savannah replied, "I'm not going to get this crap all over my ten thousand dollar flue, thanks, though."His eyes were nervous, as if he were saying in his head 'she's more scared of you than you are of her'But Savannah and Gregory make decisions that will make or break this book for some people. I can see the arguments starting, people putting the book down and possibly deciding to stop reading after a certain point. But even though it's fiction, it's still real life. Andrea told me many times, love is messy. And sometimes we do things that from the outside we are so easily and willingly ready to judge, but in the heat of such passion that Savannah and Gregory have, you can't always say you know what you would do. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I was shocked and a little appalled but I GET it. I understand it. I know where they're coming from. I felt it and I was still rooting for them after the decision was made. So, please, please, please keep reading. From the bottom of my heart, it's worth it."I ran through every scenario possible to allow me to stand up to my words to her. To stand up to anything. Because I meant it - I would do anything. Because she was becoming my everything."If you want a book filled with passion, desire, angst, love, and emotion, NOCTURNE is the book for you! An emotional roller coaster, you won't be disappointed. 5 amazing, beautiful, perfect, well-rounded stars. I truly and sincerely hope that Andrea and Charles take the opportunity to write again together in the near future."We can go anywhere we want, Savannah. Anywhere. Just...let it be together."I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.