More Than Enough (More series #5) by Jay McLean - ARC Review

Blurb:

There’s no emotion greater than fear.
No ache greater than grief.
No sound greater than silence.
***
I’m grateful he showed up on my doorstep,
pissed off and angry at the world.
If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.
And I don’t just mean here on this journey with him.
I mean here, in this world.
*
I wonder what events in all our lives—hers included—are The Turning Points? The points where we all determine that the fear of our pasts and the uncertainty of our futures are greater than our need for happiness.
Here.
Now.
While time and everything around us stands unmoving… who’s to say we can’t have it all?
***
We wanted it all.
We wanted it with each other.
We thrived on the chaos we created.
And ignored the Mayhem that ensued.
Because falling in love was easy.
But sometimes, love isn’t enough.

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: November 2015.

Sometimes a book comes along at exactly at the right time, it unapologetically knocks you on your arse, it takes you on a journey that at times leaves you gasping for breath, your heart strumming through your chest, it makes you question everything you thought you knew and leaves you perfectly sated and yet desperate for more. To say More Than Enough blew me away would be an understatement, this book unequivocally stripped me bare, it's message one of quiet simplicity, McLean asks the reader to check their preconceived notions at the door, instead begging them to join her characters for their journey, she tells the story that Dylan needed to tell, I was enraptured from the opening page, my mind captivated instantly. 

Dylan has always been the ninja of the More crew, #TeamSilence a long running joke, the quiet man who has always stood back from the spotlight, the man who had no inclination to stand out, the man who was so adamant that he wanted his life to count for something that he enlisted to serve his country, picking up and leaving regardless of what he was leaving behind.

"But it is relevant. Because is and was is the difference between time standing still, and time moving forward"

There is a heroism to Dylan, his need to serve and protect, to provide shelter to those in the eye of their own storm, where Dylan was always comfortable to be a player in a larger ensemble More Than Enough is his chance to not only tell his story but to shine.

"There’s no emotion greater than fear. No ache greater than grief. No sound greater than silence."

There's a line in both the story and the blurb, about the sound of silence... and anyone who has ever battled depression, anxiety or PTSD will say with absolute certainty that there is no noise louder, no sound more haunting than silence, with its double entendre of quieting a raging mind, and yet allowing the voices in ones mind to run rampart. While More Than Enough touches on depression and it's far reaching effects, it's also a valiant story of survival, about love, and forgiveness. Depression affects over 20% of all people here in Australia, and as someone who is not ashamed to admit to suffering from it I've often struggled to describe what it feels like, but McLean writes so eloquently that she was able to put those feelings into words, when she writes

"The never-ending thoughts tormenting your mind, bringing you to your knees and kicking you while your down"

I felt every ounce of helplessness there, every bit of pain, of longing for the world to swallow them whole, these moments of heart breaking clarity, were juxtaposed with moments of swoon worthy romance, where the characters are just young and in love and trying to find a way to just be, when they aren't fighting their own battles to find themselves or their way to each other.

"Because....I plan on loving you like he did"

If it seems like I'm being deliberately evasive when it comes to the heroine in this story and focusing my review on Dylan I am. While the More gang features heavily here, More Than Enough is very much about Dylan's journey and his journey to becoming the man he always wanted to be. McLean never shies away from heart wrenching emotion, never approaches the story with kid gloves, and yet never exploits the characters pain for the sake of eliciting an emotional response from the reader. There's this beautiful message here that reminds the reader that emotions and feeling is okay, that admitting you need help doesn't make you weak. That sometimes you need to allow yourself to fall apart so you can rebuild yourself stronger and more aware. McLean writes strong heroines, hero's that aren't afraid to show emotion, she writes about friends who become family, and the craziest kind of mayhem that ensues when you open yourself up to chances and in turn life.

"All emotions are valid, Dylan. Regardless of whether you think it's right or wrong to feel them, they exist because they're real."

 

The beauty of story telling takes place when the author takes the reader on the journey that the character wants to go on, it's not always the journey the reader wants to take. More Than Enough is breathtaking for so many reasons, but most of all, it's sheer beauty, it's unrelenting power comes from the fact that this is the story Dylan needed to tell.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1RCKljn

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1MCPT99

Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1PfjDiZ

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1MgseMC

More Than This: http://amzn.to/1MBnUH5
More Than Her: http://amzn.to/1MBo0hE
More Than Him: http://amzn.to/1MBo3Ku
More Than Forever: http://amzn.to/1SqXzR2

 

 

 

About Jay McLean:

 

 

 

Jay McLean is the author of the More Series, including More Than This, More Than Her, More Than Him and More Than Forever. She also has two standalones coming soon titled Where The Road Takes Me, and Combative.

Jay is an avid reader, writer, and most of all, procrastinator. When she's not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her two little boys, or devouring some tacky reality TV show.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her smile, make her hurt, and make her feel.
You can follow Jay on Instagram and twitter @jaymcleanauthor. You can also find her on her blog at www.jaymcleanauthor.com where you can subscribe to her newsletter and get teasers and updates first hand, her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jaymcleanauthor or her fan group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mores..., or you can contact Jay directly at jay@jaymcleanauthor.com