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Review – Before I Fall – Jessica Scott

21 May

before I fallBefore I Fall
Author: Jessica Scott
Series: #1 in the Falling series
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Description:
Stay focused. Get a job. Save her father’s life.

Beth Lamont knows far too much about the harsh realities of life her gilded classmates have only read about in class. She’ll do whatever it takes to take care of her father, even if that means tutoring a guy like Noah – a guy who represents everything she hates about the war, soldiers and what the Army has done to her family.

Noah Warren doesn’t know how to be a student. All he knows is war. But he’s going to college now to fulfill a promise and he doesn’t break his promises. Except he doesn’t count on his tutor being drop dead gorgeous and distracting as hell. One look at Beth threatens to unravel the careful lies Noah has constructed around him.

A simple arrangement turns into something neither of them can deny. And a war that neither of them can forget could destroy them both.

Review:
I’ve been a fan of Jessica Scott’s for over a year now because I love the realism that she manages to inject into all her books. As I warn people when I recommend her stuff, don’t expect a military romance that is full of bunnies and rainbows – you will be disappointed – they are gut-wrenching and realistic, and you will often find yourself going through an emotional roller-coaster (and that is what I love about her stuff). But at the same time, I’m firmly in the skeptical camp about the New Adult (NA) sub-genre of books – mostly because for me, they are a time period that I want to forget (I mean, what woman REALLY wants to be reminded of herself in those years between high school and college). So I will admit that when I saw Jessica was branching off into NA and trying something, I wasn’t sure if I would pick up Before I Fall or not – but when it was offered as a review copy via NetGalley – it just seemed like fate.

In Before I Fall, you meet Beth and Noah – Beth a struggling college student, acting as a primary care-taker of her father (an injured military veteran) and Noah, a former Army soldier, now pursuing a college degree. From the get-go, I was pull into the trials and tribulations of Beth and her struggles. I will admit that compared to her other books, Before I Fall, was much more in your face (as the reader) for highlighting issues with the VA medical system. I mean, you hear from veterans and in the media how much it is broken, but Jessica was able to elevate the level of horror I felt to mind-boggling. As a former Navy member, I just don’t get it and I guess I should thank my lucky stars every day, that I haven’t been forced to use their services yet.

Its always hard for me to peg what exactly I love about Jessica’s writing – its not only the realism that she brings to her books, but also the emotions. So many books nowadays just leave me feeling empty because I don’t experience the emotional connection – but I do with her books (and often will read it in a single sitting, or very soon after). Before I Fall did have a high level of angst, mostly inter-personal with Beth and her father; and Noah and his PTSD, and less on the Beth/Noah front – that I appreciated – although there were a few places, where I just wanted to reach out and shake her because I expected her to know better based on her experiences. But that being said, Jessica Scott delivered another solid read and I’m intrigued enough to want to pick up the second one in this series (as well as read her other new series). Before I Fall got 4 stars for me, but as a warning – make sure you have a box of tissues nearby while reading – you may need them.

 
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Posted by on May 21, 2015 in Book Review

 

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Review – For Everly – Raine Thomas

17 Jul

for everlyFor Everly
Author: Raine Thomas

Review Copy Provided By Author via Sisterhood of the Traveling Book (Goodreads)

Description:
Determined to overcome a dark and tragic past, college student Everly Wallace is only months away from earning her degree in physical therapy. She’s consumed with school, caring for her ailing grandfather, and figuring out how to pay the next bill. The last thing she wants is a relationship, but it just might be the one thing she needs.

Major League pitcher Cole Parker hasn’t fought for anything in his life. He went from a privileged upbringing to a multimillion dollar All-Star career. But when his pitching shoulder starts to give him trouble at only twenty-four years old, he faces the possibility of his injury becoming public knowledge and costing him everything.

In a desperate bid to save his career, Cole decides to hire someone to treat his injury, someone who will keep things off the record and out of the media. He finds the perfect solution in Everly. As mysterious as she is beautiful, she provides an enticing distraction from his pain. Soon, physical therapy is the last thing on his mind.

When an act of betrayal brings the truths they both fear to light, Cole will have to fight for the first time in his life…not just for his career, but for Everly’s love.

Review:
I’m going to be brutally honest up front, I tend to struggle with books that are labeled “New Adult,” because most of the time they are just ehhh – to down-right horrible…IMHO it is a reason for an author to take a book that would normally be marked as YA, add some sex and some angst to it and market it to a different sub-set of people (or maybe the same, since lots of YA readers also read adult and also read this New Adult)…but yeah, I struggle with it being defined as a genre (which is really isn’t…adult (in terms of reading level isn’t a genre); YA isn’t a genre and neither, in my mind is New Adult…) – but that is a story for another day.

I gave For Everly 2.5 stars overall, which to me means it was ok, not really good and definitely not great – I finished it. My main issue with the book was with Everly herself. I just struggled with her as a character – she seemed too perfect – major trauma in her life (don’t worry, I won’t say what it is), graduated high school early, worked her way through college and now at the tender age of 22/23 is finishing up her PhD in Physical Therapy (which by the way is a DPT or DPhysio, not a PhD)…right there, that was almost a stopping point for me…see, I am a PhD student – it might not be in physical therapy – but I had a hard time seeing someone her age in a program and that far advanced – most 22 year olds are just finishing college (assuming that they start at 18). And the programs themselves are typically 3-4 years on top of that, which would put her even being generous and assuming no break in education in the 24-27 year range (factoring in early graduation from college, and 3 years in a program) – I know this might be nit-picky, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Almost as much as her agreeing to practice her therapies off the books and unlicensed…which was the main point behind the story…I guess in order for the story to work, this had to be done, but the ethical side of me is screaming no no no…heck, as a PhD student, I am not even allowed to mention that in a resume because people may be confused and think I have my degree already and yet she is practicing without a license)…

And then there is Cole…the baseball player – I mean, what’s not to love…and yes, I get that being injured and in the year your contract is supposed to expire would suck – but why would you risk your career on someone not qualified to treat you…asking the question – What if something had happened and he could no longer play because he used an unqualified therapist…and a very slight gripe – I really hate it when authors use REAL teams in their stories – because anyone that is a fan of said team (or even if they are not) can easily call BS…I would prefer for authors to make up their own teams – use a known location, but imaginary team please)

However, for my griping, the writing style wasn’t bad and the mystery was paletable – I kind of wondered the who done it and figured it out a chapter or so before the reveal – but the whole family situation/angst thing was a bit overdone for my liking (and yet another sign of the stereotypical New Adult storyline). I wish I had liked it more because I do think that the author has potential with her writing style – this book just didn’t do it for me…

 
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Posted by on July 17, 2013 in Book Review

 

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Review – Sanctum – Sarah Fine

26 Mar

sanctumSanctum
Author: Sarah Fine
Series: #1 in the Guards of the Shadowlands series

Description:
“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.

Review:
Its times like this, that I am thankful for recommendations from friends on Goodreads – because I can say for certain that I would never have found this book, let alone read it, without their recommendation. I am still conflicted over my final star-rating, but it has the potential to be one of my first 5-star reads for the year (and yes, I know its already 3 months into the year…) At first I was skeptical how the theme of youth suicide would be handled, especially when mixed with a fantasy type world – but I felt that the author managed to walk the fine line pretty well. It wasn’t until I looked at her biography and realized that she was a child psychologist that I realized why she did it so well – it (youth suicide) is obviously a topic that she is passionate about and has done research about/likely worked with children who have been affected by it.

It did raise a lot of thought-provoking ideas – most religions, if not all, have a form of heaven – but how many of them address whether people who commit suicide end up there – are they buried on un-consecrated ground (like the Catholic church) or what happened? And is there anyway for them to move from where they end up to heaven for real. I know that I had never really considered any of it until reading Sanctum – which to me is a sign of a great book.

However, about 2/3 of the way through, it did start to hit a bit on the teenage angst that was fustrating – I think the book would have automatically been a 5 star without that, and from how it ended, I have to admit that I am a bit concerned about where book 2 in the series is going to go…hopefully it will stay clear of the total teen angst/love triangle that seems to be so prevalent in a vast majority of YA books recently…Right now, I think I am going to give it 4.5, but rounding down to 4 on the Goodreads scale.

 
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Posted by on March 26, 2013 in Book Review

 

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