Review: WANTED TO GIVE A BETTER RATING
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2012
Hope is hopeless and homeless.  She lives on the street and refuses to use her actual name, Hope.  She goes by her father's name, Jona.  Although we discover later that she possesses a GED, she reads on an elementary school level and has not been able to secure employment.  She relies strictly on street smarts, which usually gets her through life.  When she finds James in a dumpster with a bullet wound to the scalp, her better nature gets the best of her and she tries to help him.  When his family finds him, their two very different worlds collide.When I began reading this, I was hooked.  Hope/Jona being homeless and  relying on her street smarts really appealed to me.  The beginning romance between Hope/Jona was sweet and although I knew they couldn't possibly just live happily ever after in that situation, I wanted to believe.  And then his family found them and everything went to hell in a handbasket.  At first, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book.  I was actually enjoying disliking his family.  But after awhile, it began to be silly.  And with the introduction of "The Heart Family", I mean, really?  This sounded like a bad soap opera or something.  I'm sorry, but at this point, I had to force myself to keep reading only for the sake of Hope/Jona.  The plot became too contrived and complicated and this disappointed me because I had so enjoyed the novel at the beginning.  On a 1 to 5 star rating, I have to deduct 2 stars from the original 5 that I intended to give, leaving a sad 3.  Sorry.*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Innovative Online Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Innovative Online Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*