Review: Going Under by S. Walden

Going Under

S. Walden
Publication date: March 14th 2013 by Penny Press
Rating: ★★★★★

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Brooke Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School: stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past. Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.

Brooke, wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep their sex club a secret.

(This is a New Adult fiction book with mature themes. It contains graphic sex and language and a description of sexual violence.)

Before I begin, trigger warning: sexual assault. This book contains scenes of sexual assault against women told from the point of view of the victims and it might be a trigger for some readers. If you still decide to read Going Under, proceed with caution.

Brooke is trying to come to terms with her best friend, Beth, committing suicide, feeling like her actions towards her when she was alive were part of the reason that lead her to take her own life. When her mother moves away she's presented with the opportunity to go live with her dad and attend Beth's high school, finding out that the empty school halls hold more secrets connected to her friend's death and what happened to her beforehand than she first thought.

But the deeper Brooke digs, the worse things get.

She finds out about that the swim team's "Fantasy Slut League" is as sickening as it sounds, and that some of the boys participating on it are willing to go to any lengths to get what they want and score more points for themselves.

And that can only mean that what happened to Beth also happened to other girls.

Since Beth is not there to forgive her for her mistakes, Brooke is determined to make those who made her best friend suffer pay and punish herself all in one go. And maybe, just maybe, after she gets what she thinks she deserves for not being a good friend, she'll finally stop feeling guilty about the part she played in her Beth's suicide.

I don't need to tell you that what happens in Going Under is horrid and much more common than anyone thinks. Parts of the story will make you feel sick while other will give you such a strong sense of hope and pride for how some of the character's deal with the trauma they went through.

That was one of the most amazing aspects of the book for me, actually. That the author made sure to include different reactions and responses to being sexual assaulted, showing that everyone deals with these types of situations differently. And also that some people choose not to report the crime for being afraid of what people will think of them.

Brooke was... I found her to be incredibly brave, but also incredibly stupid. She made some really poor decision throughout the story that, at the same time made her real, made her really hard to like. She was an amazingly written character, though, as were all of the people mentioned in the books. I got lost in this story, in these character's lives and what they went through, and I felt for each and everyone of them.

Going Under was a fabulous book about having something taken from you but still having the strength to speak up for yourself. It's about finding love, forgiveness, and the willing to live after tragedy strikes. It will torn your heart apart, put it back together, and make sure you never forget or regret reading about Brooke and Beth's story.

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

This book is part of my 2013 Young Adult Contemporary Challenge.

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Dare You To
Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #2
Publication date: May 28th 2013 by Harlequin Teen
Rating: ★★★★★

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If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Like a lot of people who have been following the series, I was so confused when I read the blurb to Dare You To and saw that this story was about Beth but not about Isaiah. From the little insight we had about Beth's life in Pushing the Limits we already knew Isaiah and her were super close, so it was really not a stretch to think this book would be about them.

Well...

It wasn't.

It was still about Beth. It was still about how the only real concept of family she has is two boys and the basement of someone's house, how dealing with an alcoholic mother who has an abusive boyfriend made her a more than a little skeptical and closed off, how she's used to people only wanting to use her and then forgetting all about her.

And then there was Ryan.

Ryan had what others thought it was the perfect life: he had money, popularity, and a bright future ahead of him. But life at home was not like everybody thought it was with Ryan's parents barely speaking to each other, his dad pressuring him into a career he doesn't know if he wants for himself, and the painful absence of his brother during family dinners.

Beth and Ryan couldn't be more opposites, but as they say: opposites attract.

What follows is Beth trying to evade Ryan's every move, believing that if she lets him get too close to her she's only going to end up hurt. It makes for a very frustrating plot device, because every time you think something's going to finally happen... Beth runs!

It's understandable, though, especially with what's going on in her life. We also learn more about her family and have the introduction of her uncle Scott, who plays a really important part in getting Beth the help she needs. Noah and Echo make an appearance, not letting us forget what we already went through to get to Beth's story.

I actually liked this book a lot more than I did Pushing the Limits. The realness of all the characters and the situations they found themselves in hooked me from the beginning, and I couldn't put the book down until I found out what happened to all of them. It was one fabulous written sequel, and I can't wait to read what comes next.

Review: One Week Girlfriend & Second Change Boyfriend by Monica Murphy

One Week Girlfriend

Monica Murphy
Series: Drew + Fable #1
Publication date: January 10th 2013 by Monica Murphy
Rating: ★★★★★

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Temporary. That one single word best describes my life these last few years. I’m working at a temporary job until I can finally break free. I’m my little brother’s temporary mother since our mom doesn’t give a crap about either of us. And I’m that temporary girl all the guys want to get with because I give it up so easily. According to the rumors, at least. 

But now I’m the temporary girlfriend of Drew Callahan, college football legend and all around golden guy. He’s beautiful, sweet—and he’s hiding way more secrets than I am. He’s brought me into this fake life where everyone seems to hate me. And everyone seems to want something from him. The only thing he seems to want though is… 

Me. 

I don’t know what to believe anymore. All I know is, I think Drew needs me. And I want to be there for him. 

Forever.

When college football star Drew Callahan asks Fable to be his temporary girlfriend, Fable thinks this is some kind of a joke. That or that he listened to all the rumors going around that she gives it up easily and he wants something. What she doesn't expect is to be offered money to spend an entire week with him up at his dad's house with him and his stepmother.

A lot of money.

The kind of sum that would mean she wouldn't have to worry about paying rent or bills or making sure her little brother is okay, at least for a while.

So Fable agrees.

She figures that whatever reason Drew has for wanting her to tag along couldn't be worse than her own problems at home. If she can put up with her mother never being around and having to take care of her brother by herself, then whatever it is Drew is hiding from will be a piece of cake for her to deal with.

Fable couldn't be more wrong.

And not only Drew's secret is much darker than she thought, she also has to come to terms with her new-found feelings for him. Because as messed up as their lives are, Drew needs her. And she might need him right back.

One Week Girlfriend is a roller coaster of a book.

The entire pretend relationship aspect of it is one of my favorite things in fiction, and it was wonderfully written in the book. It was so much fun reading about Fable and Drew testing the waters and trying to make their fake relationship real, and ending up creating something between them.

It's not really hard to figure out what Drew's hiding, but to read it all as Fable puts the pieces of the story together and reading about Drew's reactions to certain situations had me hooked. As a reader, I could really see how Drew was struggling with everything around him, and I personally think that the way the author dealt with the kind of trauma he went through was really good. It was believable and it felt real, and it was one of the reasons why I liked this book so much.

Fable was lovely.

There was not a moment in the story where I wanted her to stop or do something different or just go away. I don't necessarily agreed with some of her choices throughout the story, but I could still relate to her and what she was going through and understand where she was coming from. And her relationship with her brother always brought a smile to my face.

Even with its darker edges, One Week Girlfriend was an amazing book and I'm really glad I picked up it.

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Second Chance Boyfriend
Monica Murphy
Series: Drew + Fable #2
Publication date: April 6th 2013 by Monica Murphy
Rating: ★★★★☆

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Lost. That one single word best describes my life at this very moment. I lost the last games of the season and both my team and my coach blame me. I lost the last two months because I drowned in my own despair like a complete loser. And I lost the only girl who ever mattered because I was afraid being with me would destroy her.

But now I realize how truly lost I am without her. She has become my story…and even though she acts like she’s moved on, I know she still thinks about me just as much as I think about her. She’s beautiful, sweet—and so damn vulnerable, all I want to do is help her. Be there for her.

Love her…

If only I could convince Fable to give me a second chance. Then I wouldn’t feel so lost anymore, and neither would she. We could be found together.

Forever.

Second Chance Boyfriend  picks up about two months after One Week Girlfriend ends, and it deals with the fallout of Drew leaving.

No need to say everything is a mess and everyone is miserable, with Fable trying to move on with her life and support her brother and Drew trying to come to terms with what happened to him and finding a way to help himself.

But it's not until Fable gets a new job working at a restaurant and Drew bumps into her while at a party at the same place that things start looking up.

Fable is a little hesitant to give Drew the time of day after the way he left her, but she can't deny her feelings for him and how much she misses him. All the while Drew realizes how stupid he was to walk away in the first place and tries his best to make it up to her and show her that now he's there for her, for whatever she needs.

So I have to say that, much like Fable and Drew's relationship, this book is kind of a mess. But, in my opinion, it all works out for the best and it was a very entertaining read.

We get Fable and Drew embarking on a new relationship after everything that happened to them. Both are still dealing with the aftermath of Drew living and Fable learning about his secret, all the while trying to figure out how they work as a couple. Seeing as they only had that little time together before everything turned upside down.

But what we don't see much throughout the book is Fable and Drew being a couple, doing silly couple things, learning how to be together and what works for them as a couple. What we have instead is a lot of drama and life throwing things their way for them to deal with.

I felt like there were some aspects of the plot that could have been explored to a greater extent, and the fact that they weren't left me feeling like something was missing in the story. Or maybe I'm just so used to having the other shoe drop when things seem to be okay that when they don't I get the feeling like something's not quite alright.

Despite all of that it was still a really good book, although not as good as the first one, with a satisfactory ending to Fable and Drew's story. And maybe all of the answers I think I'm missing will be answered on Three Broken Promises, where we'll learn everything about Colin and Jen's relationship.

Review: Fallen Crest High by Tijan

Fallen Crest High
Tijan
Series: Fallen Crest High #1
Publication date: October 31st 2012
Rating: ★★★★★

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Mason and Logan Kade are two brothers who did their own thing. They were rich and expected to attend her school, Fallen Crest Academy. They chose public school and now Samantha has to live with them. The problem is that she doesn't care at all: about them, about her friends, about her cheating boyfriend, or even about her parent's divorce. But maybe that's a good thing. Maybe change is a good thing.

This is probably one of the most underrated books I've read in a while.

The summary absolutely does not do justice to how freaking amazing Fallen Crest High is. I have to say I wasn't expecting much when I saw it on my Amazon recommendation list, but I was still intrigued enough to buy it and give it a chance. And oh. My. God.

Fallen Crest High is edgy, dark, and so messed up that you won't even know which side is up when you're done. It'll hook you from beginning until end, and it'll leave you wanting to know more about the lives of the Kade brothers and Samantha.

Logan and Mason live like they're the kings of their own world, which I guess it kind of makes sense. They are gorgeous, rich, the stars to their public school's football team, and they can get any girl they want. But they're also known by their bad temper, the fights they get into, and their general attitude as complete and utter jerks.

Sam meets them after her mother cheats on her father and moves them in with Logan and Mason's dad. But just because they're no step-siblings and live under the same roof, it doesn't mean they acknowledge each other, that is until one of the brothers takes an interest in Sam after seeing how utterly detached from her life and everything that happens in it she is.

What comes after is a story filled with fist fights, casual sex, lots of drinking, even more cheating, and one of the most dysfunctional family dynamics you'll ever have the pleasure of reading about. Every single character in this book is messed up in some way, and they do equal messed up things. The adults are actually more screwed up than all of the teenagers put together, if I'm being honest.

Fallen Crest High was just so freaking good that when I was done all I wanted was to have more of it. Forever. The author did such a wonderful job in developing the characters and their individual stories that when it all came together in the plot just made me want to roll around on the floor and sigh in contentment. It became, hands down, one of my favorite books ever.

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Fallen Crest High has a sequel coming, and its name is...

Fallen Crest Public.

You can read the first four chapters of the story right here.

Review: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril
Wendy Higgins
Series: The Sweet Trilogy #2
Publication date: April 30th
Rating: ★★★★★

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Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things. 

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

MY FAVORITE TRILOGY IS BACK! *jumps up and down*

I've been waiting so long for this that when I actually got my copy I might have cried a little bit. I was really nervous to read this because I thought Sweet Evil was just so freaking good and I didn't want to be disappointed in case this one didn't live up to it.

But guess what?

Sweet Peril is even better.

The book starts out with a prologue that gives us a little more background to the relationship the Dukes have with the Nephilims, and it kind of also gives us a really big scare. My first thought when I read it was that things were going to happen and they were going to hurt.

So after you start preparing yourself for the worst, the story picks up months after the ending of book 1 with Anna being completely different from the girl we read about on Sweet Evil. She's heartbroken and she's doing her best not to draw attention to herself, which means she's working. She's partying and drinking and leading people down to the rough road of self-destruction.

When she thinks things are finally settling down - as much as they can, anyway, when you're the daughter of a fallen angel and a Neph -, things take a really interesting turn. Suddenly, Anna finds herself traveling to foreign countries with Kopano and looking for allies to help her fulfill a prophecy that will have the entire world of angels, demons, and Nephs in chaos.

I cannot find the words to tell you how great this sequel was. It kept me hooked from the beginning until the very end, and it surprised me with all of its twists and turns along the way. The love triangle between Kai, Anna, and Kope was handled perfectly and made it for a believable plot aspect of the story. Anna and Kai's relationship or lack thereof and how it developed from him going away and then to what happens at the very end was also very well executed, and I'm just so happy with everything about it.

Wendy Higgins deserves all the cookies for giving us such an amazing story and characters to love, and I'll just sit here and quietly cry on my copies of Sweet Evil and Sweet Peril until the last installment comes out.

Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

This book is part of my 2013 Young Adult Contemporary Challenge.

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Golden
Jessi Kirby
Publication date: May 14th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads - Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

Tell me, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Parker Frost doesn't quite know how to answer that question. She's lived her entire life following the carefully thought out plan her mother has for her: study hard, get good grades, get into Stanford, study some more.

It's when she's doing her TA job and helping her English teacher with a school project that she finds something that's going to change her life forever, something that's going to make her question everything she thought she wanted in life and for herself.

A moment was all it took to change everything.

We don't get just Parker's story while we're reading Golden. It's kind of a two-for-one type of deal: we read about Parker and how she struggles with taking charge of her life, and then we get little snippets of Julianna and Shane's relationship and the mysterious Orion who changed everything.

Jessi Kirby does a great job with combining those two aspects together, what happened with what's happening now and then trying to figure out what happens next. It was really satisfying to me as a reader to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together just as Parker did, and seeing how her figuring out what went by all those years ago made her start changing things in her own life.

Taking a chance can be worth a lot more than you know.

It's taking a chance that puts Parker in this mess, and it's taking a lot of other chances along the way that help her learn the kind of person that she is and the kind of person she strives to be. That's what I loved most about the book. Parker finding herself and going after what she believes in, getting back up on her feet after she fails and trying again.

Golden turned out to be just as great as I thought it would, and it's not really a surprise it made its way to my list of favorites books ever. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes an amazing story with a rich plot and well-developed characters. You won't regret it.

[...] sometimes life gives us those rare moments where we do see a chance as it's happening. And in those moments, we have a choice. And sometimes we have to take a risk. And it's scary. It makes us vulnerable. But I know now that it's worth it.

Review: This Girl by Colleen Hoover

This Girl
Colleen Hoover
Series: Slammed #3
Publication date: April 30th 2013 by Atria Books
Rating: ★★★★★

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Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.

I was really nervous about reading this, to be honest, because from the blurb it just sounded like I was going to get the same story as Slammed, only told differently. I didn't want the repetition of it, reading about the same situations all over again when I already knew how things were going to go. And that's where Colleen's brilliancy came to play and proved me so butterflying wrong.

This Girl gives us Will and Lake reminiscing about their relationship right from where Point of Retreat left off, and it's written in a way that makes it all so much more than a simple retelling of the books. We get new information and little snippets of things we didn't know were going on during the story, all the while reading about Lake's reactions to all of it and about Will's perspective of situations and their relationship.

And just like the two previous books, this one will make you feel all the things.

Right from the beginning, it just gives you this sense of nostalgia as you read about Will and Lake's journey, with the added bonus of knowing things will be okay, and then with the best epilogue and slam poetry piece you've ever dreamed of.

It was such a sweet and amazing read that it left me a little bit heart broken at the end, because it meant leaving these incredible characters behind. Colleen Hoover owns every little tiny piece of my soul, and this book just shows me how much she deserves it.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder
Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publication date: January 3rd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Rating: 5 stars

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Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

ALL THE AWARDS!!

All of them.

Seriously, who thought a book about Robot Cinderella would be so good?

This is probably the best fairy tale retelling I have ever read. Ever. And I'm extremely angry at myself for not having read this before now, because this is brilliant.

Cinder is a cyborg who works as a mechanic to support her (evil) stepmother and two stepsisters. It's while she's at her booth in the market place one day that she meets the Prince, Kai, who comes looking for her due to her amazing skills at mechanics and asks her to fix his droid. As if meeting the Prince wasn't enough excitement for a day, one of the bakers there shows signs of having letumosis, a plague that has been terrorizing the world.

It's no surprise that after all of that happens, Cinder's life turns upside down.

One of Cinder's stepsisters, the one she actually loves, catches the plague while helping her scavenge the junkyard. Prince Kai shows some interest in her, but he has no idea she's a cyborg. And Cinder, after her stepmother lives up to everyone's expectations of being evil, finds out that her past is even more mysterious and tragic than she first thought.

I'm still a little bit in awe of how freaking amazing Cinder is. Even thought the story is a new take on Cinderella and you can probably figure out most of the key plot points, it is, hands down, one of the most original and amazingly written books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. In just a few chapters I could already tell it would turn out to be one of my favorite books, and I'm hoping the second installment of the series, Scarlet, will be just as good, if not better, than Cinder.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
Publication date: January 2nd 2012 by Poppy/Litte Brown
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads - Amazon

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

I... I don't even know?

Because this book is perfect?

And I loved it?

And I read it all in about three hours because I couldn't possibly set it down?

Hadley and Oliver meet at the airport after Hadley misses her flight for her dad's wedding. Oliver is British, handsome, and happens to be on the same flight as her to London. He's also pretty good at distracting her from her claustrophobia, making her laugh, and stealing whiskey from distracted flight attendants.

The entire story goes by during a period of 24 hours where Hadley spends the entire plane ride talking to Oliver, gets to where she's supposed to be, meets her new stepmother for the first time, and tries to mend her relationship with her father. The way the plot flows is absolutely amazing, involving you with what Hadley is going through and keeping you wondering if she'll ever see Oliver again.

It's a sweet story about family coming together and the statistical probability of love at first sight, which turns out to be great for everyone!

Review: Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

Sins & Needles
Karina Halle
Series: The Artists Trilogy #1
Publication date: January 25th 2013 by Metal Blonde Books
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads - Amazon

Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents' latest scam. Now she’s much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie’s counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she’s not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie’s plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn’t dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it’s one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road.

I don't even know where to start.

Ellie is a grifter, just like her parents, and after one of her scams goes bad and she's short on money she decides to start her live over and go back to the only place she could call home - her Uncle Jim's house. There will be no more tricks. No more stealing money from people. No more grifting. She's done.

And then she meets one of her old high school friends - her only friend back then, really -, Camden. She's taken aback by how much he changed from the weird freaky kid he was back then to an incredibly attractive young man covered in tattoos, and owner of a successful tattoo parlor in town. Ellie can't pass the opportunity to make easy money, and Camden might just be what she needs to get her life together and get the hell out of that town. So she starts plotting, hoping to use Camden's trust in her to get to his money.

Only things not go as planned when Camden finds out about her plans to scam him and turns the tables on her in on hell of a plot twist. We find out he's not as sweet as we think he is, and he definitely doesn't forget things easily. Especially not Ellie.

This story comes together perfectly, keeping you on edge and guessing the entire time. It was such a refreshing read, with a whole lot different plot from what we're used to finding out there in Contemporary Romance books. The characters interacted and reacted in the most amazing ways to each other, and it all ended with a cliffhanger that left me wanting to punch something!

Review: The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
Jessica Sorensen
Series: The Coincidence #1
Publication date: December 13th 2012
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads - Amazon

There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.

 The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden was nothing short of amazing.

It was the kind of book that as soon as I began reading it I couldn't put it down. I think I read it all in about a morning, and then spent the rest of the day feeling kind of dazes and sad that the story was over.

Both Callie and Kayden had been through terrible things when they were younger, and this is a story about how they both learn to deal with the trauma with the help from their friends and each other. The way the different points of view flow and come together are great, and we get all the information we need from both sides without feeling like we're missing something important or like something got lost in the way.

My absolute favorite thing about it was The List, created by Callie's best friend Seth. That because of it Callie learned how to deal with what she went through and how it forced her to push her boundaries, make new memories, and learn how to trust people again. And how, because of that, Kayden figured out that he was strong enough to stand up for himself.

It gave me all the warm feelings reading about their relationship and how they helped each other get better - how they saved each other from the darkness in their lives. It was just a really really really good book, and I'm sad that it's over.