- Publisher: Elisabeth Staab
- Publication date: 5/5/2015
- Pages: 280
A GIRL TRYING TO LEAVE HER PAST BEHIND
I was a normal teenager who loved music and dancing, until the day I was attacked in my favorite record store. A few years later when my mom succumbed to depression and took her own life, I couldn’t stay in my hometown with all the memories and the curious stares. I decided to get in my car and just go – except my car decided it was done going outside a tiny place called Evergreen Grove. That’s where I found Jake. Or I guess Jake found me.
A GUY WHO CAN’T LET HIS GO
For the last eight years, all I can think about is the day I ended another man’s life. Then I manage to save Cassie’s, and I feel like maybe I’ve got some kind of second chance. To do what I couldn’t before, or maybe even for something bigger. Something like love. If only I could feel like I deserve her...
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Review
Right from the start of this book you are thrown into the mix of all this despair and almost drama. Cassie is a girl on the brink of a breakdown (or maybe in the middle of one?), and Jake is hiding from a past that is breaking him on the inside. Sounds like a great book right? For once, yes, this book actually lives up to expectations. The writing style fit perfectly with this book. The author was really able to put all the right amount of angst and drama into the book that it definitely didn't overwhelm me or take away from the characters and their story. I really loved the alternating perspectives on this because of the look into both character's reasoning. It was entertaining to see them slowly falling for each other but then talking themselves out of it. It just really gave good insight into their actions.
Cassie was such a character. Throughout the book she really placed a lot of doubt on herself and just switched her tune so much! At some points she would blow Blake off, then she would be sweet and flirty toward him. And the reason for this was the fact that she was sometimes self-conscious, and then sometimes she was confident and sure of herself. She presented herself to others as sometimes weak or placid, but internally, she was so strong. She really went through a lot that was hinted at in parts of the book, and she dealt with those things throughout the book. She definitely didn't take crap from nobody.
"Honestly. I'm not out here in the middle of the road trying to die. I just... needed to remember what it was like. Staring that possibility in the face."
Jake was a really strong character. In the beginning, he had certain expectations both for himself and Cassie. He kind of thought of her as just another girl infatuated with him, but he doesn't act on it(for a change). I thought it was interesting because as a reader I know he is falling for her, but Jake himself denies it as long as he can. It was really easy to get caught up in him and his interactions with Cassie. They really did compliment each other so much, and I liked how it wasn't easy for them to just be together. They put work into it and did their best to make it work.
This book would have only moderately good without the support system around Cassie and Jake. Characters such as Delia(Cassie's boss) and AJ(Cassie's best friend) really helped make the book into what it was. I really enjoyed the characters as they supported and added some extra elements to the story.
Overall this book was really good. The characters were perfectly created to match the situation and make it mash well together.
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Author Info
Elisabeth Staab digs coffee, saucy stories, and sexy things that go bump in the night. Once, she ate dinner in a jail and liked it. She lives in the Washington DC area with her incredible family and does her best to juggle life while ignoring the laundry.
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