Review: Gorgeously heartwarming!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 29, 2014
There’s some books that you like, but you’re constantly looking down at the percentage mark to see whether it has gotten any closer to 100%, and then there’s books where you are so engrossed in the story, so invested in the characters, and so unable to put the book down long enough to eat, that you get to the words ‘The End’ and think “Wow! What an incredible book.”Silver Heart is one of those books that just blew me away. The combination of flawed yet beautiful characters attempting to make up for past mistakes, a great setting which you feel as though you yourself are in as you read, and a fantastic writing style which was easy to read yet still conveyed all of the necessary emotion and humor associated with this genre, was just perfection.I adored Dylan’s character and really sympathised with her family situation and her fear of saying no to her parents wishes, even if it means she will spend the rest of her life doing something that she doesn’t love. Her holiday of a week in a ski resort with her best friend and brother, is on shaky grounnds before they even arrive with her mother calling her to exact promises and to basically tell her where she will be working the next term.I loved Dylan’s best friend Maddie. She is the friend that everyone wishes they had. She was amazingly supportive of Dylan without pushing her too far about making her own way in the world. In some ways the two were complete opposites and I really admired the rapport the author had between the two despite their differences.Our first introduction to Sawyer was full on sigh worthy. I loved  him from the word go, and felt so invested in his relationship with Dylan, or as he calls her ‘Silver’ *cue the swooning*. I’m a sucker for a good ‘best-friends-turned-lovers’ storyline, and this one is up their with the best as we see their turmoil over their painful pasts which led them to losing years together due to outside pressures.The storyline was paced perfectly with the romance plot simmering beautifully throughout, with some gorgeously written flashback scenes where we see Sawyer and Dylan as children together. But when their romance came to the boil, oh boy was it hot!! I loved the strength they gave each other to do the things they wanted to, like Dylan telling Sawyer not to let anything get in the way of his snow-boarding career, even her, whilst Sawyer gently encourages her to do what she loves, namely photography, and stand up to her parents.I laughed so much at Preston’s storyline, and despite thinking I’d hate him for getting in the way of Dylan and Sawyer’s romance, I actually declared him one of my favourite characters in this book. Both him and Dylan were in a relationship purely on the basis of keeping their parents off their backs, and the fact that he proposed to Silver, stating that it would keep their parents happy, despite his romantic interests laying elsewhere, I honestly shook my head fondly when his whole story came out, and I really wanted the best for him, knowing that announcing this to his parents was going to be a painful process. Bless him! (You’ll see what I mean.)This was a gorgeous, fun, romantic and thought-provoking read, reminding us to make time for the things that we love, and live life for ourselves.5 Stars!