The Upside of Letting Go

***DISCLAIMER**** I am having trouble with the formatting on blogspot for some reason. Once I figure it out, I'll edit this, but I wanted to get my review out while it's fresh in my mind The Upside of Letting Go By: Nacole Stayton E-book 183 pages Published April 19,2013 Summary via Goodreads.com Haley Martin is no stranger to loss. One tragic event takes her entire family, leaving lingering nightmares to torment her at every turn. She decides the only way to let go of those nightmares is to literally move away from all that is familiar. Boarding a Greyhound bus, she leaves behind her past filled with heartbreak and misery, in hopes of starting a new life. By accident she meets Kyler King, a beautiful young man with a tragic past as well. He has no interest in settling down with anyone. With a reputation as being emotionally unattainable, he uses this façade to hide the burdens he bears every day. As Kyler and Haley’s physical attraction becomes deeper, the secrets they have kept hidden threaten to surface. An unannounced visitor causes their pasts to collide with their present. Will their secrets prove to be too big of an obstacle, hindering their happily ever after, or will letting go be the key that locks their bond forever? My Review: (spoilers included) This book had so much potential. It had a great story line, it had raw emotion, it had highs and lows, and the chemistry between the main characters was wonderful. With that said, it didn't feel well written to me. It was very choppy. I loved the story line between Haley and Kyler. However, I felt the beginning was really rushed. Haley steps off the bus as a sullen and angry person looking to make a change and that change happens within 5 minutes when she meets her college roommate, Lucy. There are just so many loose ends. The day that she meets and becomes best friends with Lucy, they walk to a frat house where Lucy gets into it with some chick and the chick's friend starts a fight with Haley, but then we never hear what happens. its just pushed under the rug. I would liked to have seen more character development and build up rather than a short story that jumps from here to there. The reflective parts, where Haley is telling us what happened with her family were great! It gave me so much more insight to Haley and what her former life had been like. I understood the need for the book drifting from one season into the next, but here would be a great opportunity for development. What did they do while winter turned to spring? Sure it made for a quick read but with the context of this story and all the tragedy in it, I wanted more. More description. More of them! Lucy seemed to really drift out of the story after awhile. and then all of a sudden she's back in at the end and is pregnant. Well did she marry Kevin? Are they shackin' up? She went from being one of the spot light characters to barely mentioned. The same with Kevin. He wasn't even really in it after Haley and Kyler got together. Some of it just seemed way over the top. Haley was in the hospital. Looking into a mirror and upset so she takes her I.V. stand and throws it into a mirror. Ok. Um, what about her arm that has needles in it from said I.V? Or, when Jude has his accident and Haley, who is an LPN, rushes to the ER only to be grabbed by a co-worker and she, Haley, uses a crash cart on another patient. I didn't realize LPNs had such ability. We are then left in the air to know what happened to Jude. it's not until the very end that its reveled he had a motorcycle accident. I did like a lot about this book. I loved how Kyler went from bad boy womanizer to only having eyes for Haley. I loved their relationship when they'd have things figured out. I loved the story line all together. I just wish that things made more sense and that the writing had more flow to it. One final note. When an author uses the word ANYWAYS that just drives me nuts. You're an author. That's not a word! This book was 3.5 out of 5 stars for me.

Walking Disaster by Jamie Mcguire

Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2)
By: Jamie McGuire
Paperback, 433 pages
Published on April 2 2013 by Atria Books

Summary from Goodreads.com: "Can you love someone too much? Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder. In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees. Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes." My Review:

I was hesitant to read this book. I'd read the first book, Beautiful Disaster, and loved it. Did I want to chance ruining that by reading the male's perspective? Eventually, I did. I'm very happy that I did.

I will usually check reviews on books, and one for this book jumped out at me. Someone gave it 1 star, starting it was the first book just recycled..... That fueled my fire to read it.

I do recommend reading the first book prior because there are some parts of Abby and Travis's story that get glossed over in this book.

I felt like the beginning was a bit shaky. Between both books I never understood the cardigan and pearls reference cause it only came up once. Abby trying to cover up her past... It didn't really come across that way to me. Travis of your typical bad boy with a good natured side. He is easily someone from my own past. He's lost, jumping from girl to girl, drinking and fighting. His temper really would have turned me off instantly but it's almost part of his charm.

Abby is strong willed, stubborn and has some anger of her own. As many times as these 2 break up and make up by the end it can drive you crazy, as the reader. I find myself saying, can you guys just get it together???? In both books!

I won't give it away, but this is really a great book. And so back to the recycled review.... Yes a lot of it is recycled, but coming from a different perspective. It just shows you that 2 people can go through three same exact situation and have different experiences. Personally, I do like getting the other POV. It adds depth to a story. In this case you really get to understand that Travis has walls built up and it helps to understand the first story a little better.

This was a 4 out of 5 star read for me. Keep them coming, Jamie! I love your work.

On Deck....

This week's read is Walking Disaster by Jaime McGuire. I can't wait to write about this one!

One Tiny Lie by K.A.Tucker

One Tiny Lie (Ten Tiny Breaths #2)
By: K.A. Tucker
Ebook, 336 pages
Published on June 11 2013 by Atria Books

Summary from Goodreads.com "Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action. Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton? As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows" My Review:

This book was easily 5 stars for me. For a few weeks, I'd been in a reading slump. I came across this, remembering how much I loved the first book in this series called Ten Tiny Breaths. I read it in 2 days because it was so engaging.

In this book we meet Livie who is on her way to start college at Princeton. Having lost her parents 7 years before, she's worked very hard to get into this school as she feels it will make her parents most proud and she will be living out her father's dreams for her.

When she gets there, though, its not at all what she thought. Getting drunk for the first time, and finding herself socializing more than planned, not getting the grades that have always come easily to her are just a few of her problems.

During her first week she meets Ashton. The bad boy who looks so good. They have instant chemistry, but she knows he's not for her and she really doesn't like him. She starts dating his best friend and roommate, Conner. However, Ashton is always in the back of her mind. And the front of her mind. Basically she's thinking about him constantly, but knows Conner is the better choice for her. He's his looking, a dedicated student.... That's where it ends.....

Ashton seems to have his own dark history that she can't figure out. He's handsome and funny and doesn't seem to take life seriously. Or does he?

She starts to question everything she's ever planned for her life. She's starting to wonder who she's living for? Her dreams or old dreams that she made as a kid before her parents died.

I highly suggest you read this book. There are so many emotions I experienced while reading this. As with her first book in this series, she has a way of pulling you in and being a fly on the wall of the story, or has you feeling like you are one of the characters.

5 out of 5 stars!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog. Since I read so much, I thought I'd start leaving more in depth reviews here, vs the small ones I leave on goodreads.com. My favorite genres are: fiction, new adult, romance, children and youth, now that my son and I read together a lot, and I also love mystery and thriller books.