Review: Great way to end the series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 26, 2013
REVIEW BY KATIEI thought that LOST WITHOUT YOU was a great way to conclude the Reality TV trilogy. It's set on a Survivor-based show where teams need to survive in the woods and compete in challenges for rewards and to escape elimination.Our heroine, Zoe Oliver, has been a secondary character in the first two installments of the series, yet I feel like this whole trilogy was setup for her. I went through the full gamut of emotions regarding Zoe. She's not everyone's favorite person, but she gets redeemed a little bit in Book 2, and we begin to see that there may be some depth to her.Everyone assumes Zoe is perfect. She looks perfect, from her clothes to her hair and makeup. She exudes confidence and usually gets what she wants. But we learn throughout LOST WITHOUT YOU that she has some serious skeletons in her closet. She keeps everyone at arm's length so no one will find out about her past.Chip has been the producer of all three reality shows, so we've known him from the beginning of the series as well. Apparently he's had a crush on Zoe since he first laid eyes on her. He asks her to be a part of the third reality show, but instead of being a contestant, he chooses Zoe to be the host. Phew! No one wants to see her survive in the wilderness! He conveniently gets around his own rule of contestants and crew not engaging with each other - making Zoe part of the crew opens the door for him. Chip definitely makes his move, more than once, and gets very mixed signals from Zoe.Zoe wants Chip as much as he wants her, and she does have her moments of weakness, but she somehow manages to push him away time after time. That got a little old for me. How many chances will she get with this great guy?The transformation of Zoe was incredible, though. Heather Thurmeier did a great job in turning a hated character into an understood and even beloved character. There are some interesting secondary characters in Lost Without You as well. Alex and Rick, two contestants on opposing teams, give us some interesting scenes and twists and turns in the plot.This is definitely the most secretive of all of the installments. We aren't sure what happened in Zoe's past and why she has these huge trust issues. We find out early on that Zoe was in a car accident when she was young and has some scars on her face that she doesn't like others to see. But can that be it?! No, it isn't. You'll have to read the book to find out the rest! :)The series was wrapped up really nicely in LOST WITHOUT YOU. It ended by bringing all of the heroes and heroines back together, which was really fun to read! The installments are so incorporated into each other while remaining stand-alone books! Amazing!BOTTOM LINE:This was my favorite book of the series! It was the most realistic to me as far as a relationship that isn't perfect and doesn't start in the ideal way. They have real issues to work through and I liked that. If you like romance, reality TV, and an author with a few tricks up her sleeve, you should be reading this series!RATING: B+Note: I received a review copy of this title courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.