Review: An excellent, emotionally driven story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2013
Alex is not coping very well. Although happy that his cousin is mostly free of the demons that haunted him, Alex has lost his purpose in life. For years, his number one priority had been to take care of Ryan, but now that Ryan has Liliana to be there for him he doesn't know what to do with himself. He has been on a downward spiral and he knows sooner or later something has got to give. Then one evening he stumbles into a tattoo parlor where he meets Zoe Stone.Zoe knows about Alex and his reputation with the ladies. Although she had a crush on him in high school, she is NOT going there again. But Alex continues to make her feel things she wants desperately to forget. She knows that he will break her heart, but try as she might she can't stay away. It's the look he gets when he thinks no one's watching that draws her in, but it is his struggles and his determination to overcome them that does her in.Once again, Marie Hall delivers an amazing story of letting go to start anew.This time around we get Alex's story and experience his turmoil with what happened to Ryan and his and his father's role in all of it. We also get to see him interact with is family and the array of emotions each encounter brings to the surface. Alex wasn't only conflicted, he was suffering with year's worth of guilt over the event that took place so long ago. Like Ryan, he hides behind a faade that slowly but surely begins to crumble, leaving him shattered. His only salvation is meeting Zoe and wanting to be a man worthy of her company. He knows he needs to move forward, he just doesn't know how. I admired his determination, but wanted to smack him a time or two just so he could snap out it and get with the program. Pffft!Zoe was awesome. I enjoyed her sense of humor and her attempts to make a puddle of goo out of Alex. I enjoyed her Zoe 'persona' and felt for the insecure girl that lay beneath it. She was strong, but so fragile too that she endeared herself to me immediately. I could clearly see how much she felt for Alex and how much she wanted to give in to him. But I could also understand why she kept him at bay. So, I had no desire to smack her. Truly, I didn't. ;)I enjoyed Zoe and Alex's playful and flirtatious banter, but mostly I loved it when they were honest with each other and made themselves vulnerable. It truly allowed me see a different side of them and helped me to connect to them more and cheer them on.To say that their chemistry jumped off the page would be putting it mildly. From their first encounter you could see the sparks flying and just that first kiss? Incredibly hot.I appreciated the way Marie Hall developed their connection as the story progressed. It was subtle, but each moment strengthened it and made it more believable to me. Each emotional interaction or sarcastic comment brought them closer so that when they got to the deeper and more poignant moments it made finally getting together that much more meaningful.I was glad to see Ryan and Liliana as a couple in this story. Ryan had made a lot of progress and when the time came to confront his past the author didn't make it too over-the-top or overtly dramatic. I felt that the main issues were dealt with and that both Alex and Ryan had the closure they needed to move on in their healing.Right Now is the second book in the Moments series and although the author does give enough of a backstory for a reader to follow along, I just don't believe that it will have the same impact on the reader without having read Moments. Especially since most of Alex's problems stem from Ryan's past.I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of an honest opinion.