Review: Love from MustReadBooksOrDie
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2013
I reviewed this at MustReadBooksOrDie with my friend Shelley!Shel: 16 years after their hearts were broken Nicki and Adam still can't seem to shake the feelings they have for each other. Nicki is in an important, high powered press position for a new President and Adam has finagled his way into the White House press corps...seemingly to cross paths with Nicki. Their first few meetings are uncomfortable and tense with all of the unspoken things that need to be said. As they (and we) learn about what they've been up to over the last decade and a half, what we really see is that they have some unresolved issues....and that's about all I will say about the plot because I really don't want to spoil anything.Court: It would be wayyyyy too easy to spoil this one, yes? But I will say, in the beginning I was very very very very very apprehensive and unsure if the time that has went by was too much. 15 years later....which is kind of why I had this wtf moment after I finished the first book! But I will say, and let you down easy now instead of the bottom of this review...it worked. Somehow, someway...it worked!Shel: The writing is convincing--I don't think Mary Whitney wanted us to always like Nicki and her choices and, honestly, I didn't. There were times when I wanted to call her out for her half truths and for trying to convince herself of things that she really didn't think or feel. Nicki frustrated me with her constant attempts at 'spinning' things to fit her narrative. Truthfully though, I think she frustrated me because her reactions were so real. I think many people convince themselves of things just as Nicki did because the facing the truth is often hard to do. In the truth department, Adam fared better. Don't get me wrong, he also made choices that I found questionable, but he seemed more apt to confront the tough stuff head on. Both of them provided some cringeworthy moments and I knew why they were doing what they were doing...and I wanted them to resolve their issues...I just didn't always like the way they handled it.Court: I had an inward groan at the ideas I had for how this plot was going to pan out...at first. And yes, we called Nicki all sorts of colorful names, and wanted to throttle her this way to Sunday. But like you said, it helps the story that the writing is fantastic, because you still want to know what on earth is going to happen to these people! I had many moments of insecurity...but I came around!Shel: I could see why someone would see my dislike for some of the characters's choices and assume that I didn't like the book but that would be a false assumption. I really enjoyed it; I like when I have reactions to a book or a character and I surely had strong feelings about Nicki and Adam. This book was easy to read and by the time I got to the end I felt that the writer's goal had been accomplished. I hear that there will be a 3rd book from Adam's point of view...I'll be interested in seeing if she moves the story forward or revisits the plot from these last two books.Court: And this review people are why we practically share the same brain. We like the same things in our books, pretty much 99% of the time...and the paragraph above totally proves it. I totally ended up loving this book. Mary made her characters make adult decisions, with real life consequences...and nobody got away unscathed or easily. It was real, in what I would think a real relationship going through tribulations might be...if I knew anything at all about that these days, since I've been with my guy since...well forever! So it was fun, there are some fun moments, some sad ones...and many characters lessons learned. Bravo.Shel: If you read and enjoyed the first novel, you should definitely pick this one up. Court: Yes, most definitely MUST read the first book, well...first!Shelley: 4 StarsCourtney: 4 Stars