It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Blurb:

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters, It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

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Kristine's Review:

Reviewed: August 2016.

When an author sets out to write a new book, I imagine it's often with the intention of challenging readers to throw their preconceived notions of right and wrong, of black and white out the window and embrace the story they wish to tell. In my experience not every author however is able to do that, it's instead those golden nuggets of wisdom and beauty that you stumble across that irrevocably change you, force you to reassess everything you thought you knew, thought you believed and ball it up and throw it out the window, because life isn't black and white, it's not even grey, it's a whole spectrum of magnificent vibrant hues that have the ability to turn our world technicolor.

"You saved my life, Lily. And you weren't even trying."

I could wax lyrical about every moment that tore my heart asunder, I could scream from the rooftops every moment that left me utterly breathless, I could tell you how I wrestled with my notions of right and wrong, but really all I can tell you is that It Ends With Us is so much more than I ever anticipated. It's more than women's fiction, more than contemporary romance, it's intensely personal, incredibly honest and hauntingly beautiful. It's more than just a story about Lily and Ryle, it's not just a story about the sins of the past or the dreams for the future. It's as much a life lesson as it is one woman's journey from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, it's a story about life and love, of growing up, of holding on, of letting go, of living purely and simply.

"There is so much more good in him than bad, and I'll do whatever I can to convince him of that until he can see it, too."

There comes a moment with those rare gems when you finish a book and have no idea what to do with yourself... realising the only thing left is to go back to the beginning and start it again. I beg you pick up this book the way I did, without reading too much about it, without reading the blurb, and promise me that if you're an acknowledgement first kind of reader, forgo it just this once, go in blind with an open heart and mind, allow Hoover to take you on the journey she intended, because I promise you, your life will be richer for it. It Ends With Us is thought provoking, raw, honest and hauntingly eloquent from the very first line until the very last page, it's sheer staggering beauty comes from the tidal wave of emotion it evokes, from the unity you feel with Lily in every moment where you find yourself questioning where she ends and you begin. The best type of book leaves you wanting more, but not needing more, as I turned the last page that is exactly how Hoover's story left me feeling, my advice to you dear reader is Buy it. Read it. Most importantly EXPERIENCE this book!

"In the future...if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again...fall in love with me."

About Colleen Hoover:

I write because I need to.
I review because I want to.
I pay taxes because I have to.


Founder of www.thebookwormbox.com

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One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Blurb:

From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick and a "Best Book of the Summer" by Glamour and USA Today—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

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Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Sdmk5y
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iBooks: https://itun.es/au/7mNW-.l

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: June 2016.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is often lauded for writing pieces that make the reader approach a subject from another angle, One True Loves is certainly no different. The concept at face value seems common enough, in book world I know I've read plenty of stories where a widow/widower is given a second chance at love and happiness after grieving the passing of their spouse, in fact books that deal with grief sensitively and with honor are often the ones I remember clearly long after I turn the last page, but Jenkins Reid uses this well versed plotline and flips it on it's head.

Emma first see's Jesse in high school, after pining away for him for the requisite time as is expected in teenage girl years she accepts that she may never be the object of his affection. One night everything changes, after years of doing exactly what is expected by everyone around them, Emma and Jesse find their soul mate in the other, the person who makes them reassess their lives, makes them dream for something bigger than the world they currently inhabit, corny yes, but they complete each other in a way they never dreamt possible. After school they blow the pop stand that is small town life and set out on an adventure of sightseeing a world they never dreamt existed, they grew up together in all the ways that were important, they created a life together, planned a future together, stood in front of one another and declared their undying love for each other, they swore they would forsake all others, that their bond was in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I've stood there on that alter, I've declared my love for someone, I know inherently the weight those vows hold. It's the beginning of your happily ever after, well it's supposed to be , tragically on the eve of Emma and Jesse's first wedding anniversary, whilst on a work trip, Jesse's flight goes down and he's gone, just like that, in the blink of an eye, Emma's world stops... it just STOPS... their plans for wedding anniversary celebrations - cancelled, their plans for travel and the future - gone, children and family and all the memories you imagine you will have, the years of joy and happiness you expect in your future...POOF...gone. It's a bitter pill to swallow, from having everything in the palm of your hand, to an emptiness so strong that you feel you may never be whole.

One True Loves stole my breath from the very first page, you see the story bared too many similarities to a couple I met while on my honeymoon, allow me a moment to digress, my husband and I married on 20th February 2011, while honeymooning in Fiji, we met a couple, also newlyweds, as we chatted over cocktails in the pool bar we discovered that we shared mutual friends, that M&M as I'll refer to them, actually got married the day before us, in a church not 30 minutes away, friends who attended our wedding, also attended theirs the night before, we laughed about what a small world it was, we shared our stories with each other, I learnt that M&M were high school sweethearts, their wedding was truly the beginning of their happily ever after, they radiated love for one another, they doted on one another, their love was tangible, and yet not in that nauseating sweetie, baby, hunny kind of way. We spend half of our honeymoon together, went out for meals, relaxed in a tropical oasis and just enjoyed getting to know each other, we made plans to catch up back home, we saw each other briefly over the coming year, but never had that dinner like we planned.  Unexpectedly in February 2012 M passed away, a week shy of their first anniversary, we were heartbroken for them, unable to reconcile what had taken place, unable to comprehend what M must be feeling, the pain the anguish, the devastation, we stood at his funeral and we wept with her, we wept for him, we wept for not only the loss of life, but for loss of dreams, we grieved the loss of the future they had planned. Earlier this year M walked down the aisle for the second time and married the second love of her life, for someone who once believed in one true love, life taught her that there's room in her heart for more than just one soul mate. Their story was one that floated through my mind while reading One True Loves, because while M like Emma has met two men that she loves unconditionally, and experienced that not all love is meant to last forever, for Emma she has the chance with her first love again. Years after Jesse is declared deceased, when Emma has grieved the loss of her first husband, when she moved on and forged a new life for herself, when she found love again, and once again found herself engaged to be married to Sam, she receives a phone call that will cause her world to stop once again, only this time Jesse isn't gone, this tine he's back, her husband is alive, and he's coming home for her. We're only supposed to have one true love right, that's the way fairy tales go... but when your past and your present collide, who will hold your future?

"I am who I am because I loved you once."

I want to tell you about every moment that made my heart soar, from those delicious first moments of young love with Emma and Jesse embarked on what would become a love of a life time, I want to tell you all the ways that this book broke my heart, in those moments where grief and pain bubbled to the surface, when we felt every emotion Emma felt as she tried to navigate life in the early days after Jesse's passing, I want to tell you about the real, raw anguish as Sam felt as he had to let Emma go to decide who she wanted as her future, the sense of unjustness that Jesse felt as he struggled to reconcile where the missing years had gone and the impact his disappearance had on Emma's life as well. I want to tell you how I was so enamoured by this story that I read it cover to cover twice because I wasn't ready to say goodbye, because I wanted to revel in Jenkins Reid's words just a little longer, how I felt that Emma and Jesse and Sam deserved more than me just putting down their story and moving on with my life, that I felt someone had to celebrate this incredible journey. I want to tell you how I kept my husband updated throughout the story because despite being an ardent non reader, he could tell by my reaction to this book that it was something special. I want to tell you my favourite quotes and how they are scored on my heart, but I also want you to read this book without knowing any more than is mentioned in the blurb. Over a year ago, a trusted friend described TJR as an author of life lessons, an author who pushes you to think outside the square, who begs you to leave your preconceived notions of right and wrong at the door and trust her to take you on a journey, and after losing myself in this story I unequivocally agree. One True Loves is without a doubt a PLATINUM read for me. Raw, unapologetic and poignant, a must read for ANY book lover.

About Taylor Jenkins Reid:

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author and essayist from Acton, Massachusetts. Her first novel, Forever, Interrupted, was named one of the "11 Debuts We Love" by Kirkus Reviews. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Rabbit. You can follow her on Twitter @tjenkinsreid.
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Leap by M.R. Joseph - Review

Blurb:

What if you had no idea your “future” lived beside you your whole life? What if that person was also your best friend? What would you do when you finally realized it?

MacIntyre “Mack” Cooper and Corrine “Rinny” Blanchard have known each other since birth. Living next door to one another on the South Shore of Long Island, and their parents being best friends, meant growing up together was unavoidable. Their bond made them inseparable.

What Corrine didn’t expect was the attraction she began to feel towards her best friend as the two grew older.

As Corrine’s feelings evolve over time and tragedies transpire, she must put her feelings for Mack aside and continue to be just his best friend- unconditionally- when he needs her the most.

However, what happens when the person you love most in the world is taken away without warning just when you need them the most? Would you give up hope or would your love keep hope- and him alive?

No one knew Rinny like Mack did. No one ever would. Mack’s advice to her was when life takes a turn, and your faith is tested and your dreams seem out of reach, sometimes you just have to take the leap.

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Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1VWCmnd
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1VZXrMW
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1Y0pFoD
iBooks: https://itun.es/us/I89bcb.l
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1SyhOP0
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01ETKD3YQ

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: April 2016.

I've been a fan of M.R. Joseph's work for quite a while now, her Sandy Cove series a favourite of mine, for Leap I went in blind, I had read the blurb quickly months ago when the cover had been revealed but that was as much as I knew,  I just wanted to experience the story without any preconceived notions of what it would be about, I wanted to get lost and drown in Joseph's words, despite knowing very little I expected a love story, instead what I experienced was a life story.

Rinny and Mack became best friends in utero, when their parents moved in next door to each other. Over the years that followed they were each others best friend, confidante, from childhood, to adolescence, to high school and college, they were always right there in front of each other sharing every funny, scary, embarrassing, honest truth with each other, there was nothing they couldn't say to one another, no instance in their young lives where they wouldn't support each other, for years they were each others person until one day they weren't anymore, and therein lies the beauty of this story, the transcendence of childhood memories to adulthood, and everything in between, this story is one that had me utterly mesmerised, entirely enraptured with discovering every nuance of these characters, riding the highs and the lows, living the journey the author sought to create.

"I took a leap."

"What does leaping have to do with it?" 

"It means taking a chance. When you aren't sure of something and you actually do it. You have to find out for yourself what it's like. You take the leap. That's what I did. I leaped." 

I want to tell you how I felt when ....... happened, I want to tell you how positively giddy I was when ..... said ......., I want to tell you how my heart ached, how my soul cried when .........., but I can't because I can't take discovering those moments away from you, because as much as I want to sit here and tell you every glorious moment, every second of heartache, every inch of pure, unbridled joy I can't, because I want you to experience Leap the same way I did, a little blind and eager just to lose yourself in the words. For fans of the authors work, they will find a new depth here, a story far less traditional contemporary romance, while Leap does deal with first loves, real loves, true loves, part coming of age, part women's fiction, Joseph didn't rely on sex to drive this story forward, instead focusing on the incredible life Rinny leads to utterly captivate and enchant this reader. Days later and Leap is still on my mind, I feel listless and adrift, and I find myself picking it back up to spend just a few more minutes with these characters that held my heart, characters who reminded me about having faith, about hope, about taking a leap.

About M.R. Joseph:

 

I'm a book nerd turned writer who loves the 'Happily Ever After' mixed with a bit of suspense, drama, and the occasional cliffhanger! My love of books has brought me on my writing journey. I began writing my first book in July 2012 and since that time I have created 2 series. The first series 'The Reunion Series' debuted in November 2012 and two books followed. My new series 'The Shore Series" debuted in March 2014 and claimed Amazon Best Selling status shortly after the release of the first book.

 

 

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