Review: A YA/NA Book that Reads Like An Adult. Anyone and Everyone Will Love This one!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2013
4.5 Intense, Passionate, Angsty Stars!The Review:It started with a kiss and a need to protect.Fifteen year old Hannah McIntyre’s family has money which has caused a fair amount of problems with her social life, creating enemies out of would-be friends who are envious of her fortune. She’s picked on by the other girls and completely ignored by the boys. She only has one real friend in the entire school and has never had a boyfriend. But she’s admired the infamous Josh Turner, who also happens to be her neighbor, from afar for years but knows she, with her plain looks and naive history is not even a blip on his radar. With his roguish good looks, his suggestive reputation and the fact every girl in school wants him, he’s completely out of her league.That is until he walks right up to her, calling her “babe” and kisses her stupid in front of all the girls who are picking on her. Possibly hallucinating, it takes her a moment to realize its all real and Josh freaking Turner has just had his lips on her lips.Eighteen year old Josh Turner didn't mean for the kiss to be real. He saw someone getting picked on because of him and wanted to turn the tides of her humiliation. He doesn’t recognize her at first having never really paid her any attention, knowing the McIntyre princess was off limits. But once he got a small taste of her, despite it being completely outside the realm of possibility and despite her youth and innocence, he knew one taste would NEVER be enough.But he was a Turner. She was a McIntyre. Their worlds were never supposed to come together.This is what Josh thinks when he sees the beautiful Hannah standing all alone. He recognizes the differences between them immediately, as if they were written in gold. And he tries to keep his distance knowing its for the best, that she’s better off without him, without his father's reputation and the terrible situation his father has put her family in. He’s tried to distance himself from his past but knows its always there and he will never be good enough. But the more he gets to know her, the stronger the choking, stomach knotting fear of never tasting her again becomes... or worse, the fear that someone else will swoop in, take her and he’ll lose her forever. Against his better judgement, against knowing she could do a thousand times better, he has to have her.She has to be his!That one kiss sends both Josh and Hannah into a spinning tale of forbidden love, beautiful innocence, honorable pride and redemption.Characters...Josh Turner is an alpha male in the making? Heck no! The alpha male is HERE! He is a powerful force of nature that completely dominates and commands. His young character is written better than some adult alphas characters I’ve read and I'm telling you right now, he’s hot, he’s yummy and you can’t help but swoon at his feet. He commands, you stand to attention. He walks into a room, you instantly take notice. Its amazing how well this character is written. Anyone who loves a powerful male, will leave this book wishing for more Josh Turner’s in the fictional world... and in the real world!Hannah was a beautiful girl and her innocence was sweet. She was never full of herself nor was she overbearing. I loved everything about her. She was committed to making things work and she never judged Josh or anyone for that matter, even when they were less than friendly with her. She was a terrific heroine and I really enjoyed watching her grow and mature into a beautiful young woman.I also really enjoyed all the side stories and sub characters that were going on during Josh and Hannah’s romance. Every character had something going on leaving no dull moments, no breaks in the story, always moving the plot forward and keeping me glued to my chair and entertained.Thoughts...How young is too young to be in love? Is there a certain age when love becomes real? Can you truly fall in love when you're a young teen? Can you really meet your soulmate, know yourself so well and be able to map out your future at such a young age?Josh and Hannah would argue that you most definitely can. After reading this story, if I didn’t already believe some people could, I would now.The whole book was one intense build up. Every innocent smile, every heated look, every passionate touch, every possessive kiss, every heartfelt conversation, every exciting action, every awe-inspiring reaction. They were all written with such depth, such desire, such longing that you get completely lost in every chapter.Wish List...There was only one things that could have made this a better read and that was the big climax with the anti hero. The whole first part of the book was building up to this big showdown, but when it actually happened, it felt rushed and skipped over. It felt more like a recount of events instead of a play by play as it was happening with the characters and i just wanted “more” from the pool room scene. I wanted more emotion and more internal thoughts from both POV’s.The Wrap Up:Josh and Hannah ends with a wonderful epilogue and a charming HEA. Beautifully crafted, poignantly written with intense and wonderful characters, this book is an absolute must read for young and adult. A young adult that reads like an adult book that will keep everyone who reads it enthralled. I can’t wait for book two in the Redwood Falls series which will be Katie and Zach’s story!