Review: 4.5 by Jenn @backoffmybooks
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2013
This book should come with a warning, so I think I will give you one before we start:Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart, be prepared for angst and as such you might want chocolate, a box of tissues, a protective case for your kindle, and someone to hold your hand or at least talk with during this roller coaster ride of a story.This is the story of Tally and Linc, star crossed lovers drawn to each other from the start.  Once found, choices they make pull them apart and so starts the long journey to find their way in life without each other though everything inside them wants the other.I had so many WTF! and OMG! moments that I lost count.  Not to mention how many times I wanted to slap or strangle a character or several of them.  Then of course there was the need to put my kindle down and walk away least I do some damage to my beloved device.  I was lucky though, Mo over at Fifty5cent Book Blog held my hand through this angst filled journey and had she not I might have skipped to the end just to lessen my anxiety.Ms. Owen does not send you on a short walk in this book but a long journey that has so many twists and turns that you can't help but wonder what direction you are going in.  I lived in a state of anxiety as each turn seemed to unleash a new torrent of pain.This book is not a made up fairy tale with lots of hot sex and laughter but a story of life and how the unavoidable, coupled with choices we make, shape our futures.  Somethings are out of our control, and sometimes the little lies we make in life to save ourselves or someone else from pain only cause more.I loved Tally's character and my heart broke for her so many times along the way.  She is driven and independent with issues of trust that shape her decisions in life.  She is a rising star in the ballet world, having dedicated herself to the art of dance for most her life.  She has never done relationships and prefers things unattached, but something about Linc unsettles her and makes her wonder if she is capable of more.Linc, like Tally, is a rising star but in the world of Baseball.  At the age of 22 he is looking at being a top draft pick and seeing his star soar.  Baseball is all he has known since tragedy hit when he was 15 and his focus is a way to please his father and what he believes he needs as well.  However, the girl from that night has shaken him to the core and makes him want more.These two together were like dynamite and so much happened in such a little bit of time.  Your heart will break at their story over and over and over again.  Then when you think no more can happen, Ms. Owen's will make your heart break again.Then there was the supporting characters of Marla, Charlie, Rob & Nika.  I loved some, loathed others and the story would not be as strong as it is without their presence.I haven't been this emotionally charged by a book since LEFT DROWNING by Jessica Park and TRUE LOVE STORY by Willow Aster.  I felt like my emotions got slapped around, stomped on and then left to crawl around crippled. This book is definitely made for lovers of angst.I think what held me back from rating higher is because so much happened between these two, and my poor heart was aching over it.  I literally sat here and went back and forth between 4.5 and 4.75 I don't know how many times.  This is a wonderful story but damn!  How much heartache can one person take?! (By this of course I mean myself, lol).  I promise you wont be disappointed in reading this story.