Review: I heart this book to the eleventy billionth power!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2013
Andrea Randall has done it again and knocked another one out of the park. Not only sailing over the fence, but in a dramatic grand slam, four runs scoring to win the game fashion. Saying that I loved this book just isn’t adequately describing the true level of adoration that I have for this story.First of all, the November Blue series is one of my all time favorites. The juicy plot, the relatable characters, and her seamless writing style are all enough to make you continue to pick up your kindle over and over again. You live in this story. You feel like you know these fictional people, and you miss them when you aren’t engrossed in their world.We met Regan in the last book, Reckless Abandon and I was ecstatic for him to get a book of his own. In Sweet Forty-Two, he travels to California to play with Bo and Ember in their band so we still get to get our fix with them. But the story centers on Regan as he struggles to navigate through the grief of losing Rachel. As he is in the throes of trying to cope and finding his footing in his new life, he meets Georgia. She is a feisty, take-no-crap, spit fire who you instantly like. At least I did, being that I am a sucker for strong female roles. You gradually and with perfect flow and timing discover that as you get to know her history, her faade of having an impenetrable exterior is simply just duct taped armor, barely hanging on. She has an extremely difficult real-world plight and is fighting minute to minute to keep it all together.Regan and Georgia resist each other but eventually find a unique balance and form a friendship that is beautiful and oh so fun to read. The issues that they are both dealing with: Regan grieving for his love that he lost right in front of his eyes, and Georgia dealing with her mother’s mental illness and the fear of genetically following in her footsteps, will make you connect, laugh, and certainly cry. Man, oh man, did I cry! My heart ached for the both of them in the form of actual pain felt while reading. Every step of their journey, every choice that each of them made, was believable and relatable. The way in which they both were able to help each other and fall hard in the mean time was magical. They. Are. MADE for each other!My very favorite thing about this novel was Andrea Randall’s brilliant use of Alice In Wonderland as an underlying theme. The riddles, the constant references that paralleled the plot line so perfectly, the scenery of the bakery, even the fact that her mother would call Georgia, Alice… it was nothing short of brilliant. I enjoyed every minute of the rabbit hole.One more comment, the title and cover of this book are the most beautiful, perfectly perfect title and cover that I have ever seen. I was so confused about the title as well as the cover art until the last few chapters of the book when Randall reveals it to us like a pie in the face. A delicious gluten-free pie. Just amazing!The talent that Andrea Randall possesses is absolute genius. I will continue to read and recommend every word that the woman allows me to have the privilege of reading.