Suffer Love

by Ashley Herring Blake

Sam Bennett falls for Hadley St. Clair before he knows her last name. When Sam finds out she is that St. Clair, daughter of the man who destroyed Sam's family, he has a choice: follow his heart or tell the truth about the scandal that links their families. Funny and passionate, Suffer Love is a story about first love, family dysfunction, and the fickle hand of fate. AGES: 14 and up AUTHOR: Ashley Herring Blake used to write songs and now she writes books, including Suffer Love. She reads them a lot too and has been known to stare wistfully at her bookshelves. She lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and two sons.

• ISBN13: 9780544936898
• Publish Date: 4 April 2017 (first published 3 May 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 20 December 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

So, confession: this is a hard review for me to write, because I just have so many contrasting opinions. Firstly, I kinda just wanted to strangle Hadley sometimes, because why didn't she talk to her parents? I mean, I get it, what her dad did was wrong and changed the fabric of their relationship, but it was like Hadley just checked out of her relationship with both her parents which was especially unfair to her dad, who was still trying, but not her mom who had also completely checked out. A lot of parents in YA novels are absent, but Hadley's parents are still there in person, and I just kinda felt like she needed to maybe get ahold of herself? Put on her big girl panties and just start to deal with stuff, instead of using any excuse she had to ignore life.

Sam, on the other hand, I loved, his voice spoke to me way more than Hadley's, since he was way less hostile. Although again: OPEN YOUR DAMN MOUTH BOY. I feel like a lot of the plot could have been resolved better if he had just put on HIS big girl panties. But mostly I loved him, I just think that before he let things with Hadley go too far, he should have had the courtesy to be like, "Oh, hey, by the way... There's this thing I've been meaning to tell you..." Because the whole entire "thing" wasn't some big secret (except to Hadley), the book could have dealt with the strands more thoroughly if it had indeed come out sooner, which is what I would have liked to have seen!

Maybe I didn't love this book as much as I thought I did? Hmmm.... One thing I really did like about the book? Livvy. And Ajay. And Kat. Livvy was a darling. We need a story for Livvy, please, Ashley. And Kat and Ajay are their own story waiting to happen. WE NEED SPIN-OFFS DAMN IT. Especially any kind of spin-off that includes a tea-cup pig. PLEASE.

So, those are my thoughts. They're not very clear or concise, but that is how this book made me feel. And it did make me feel, it just wasn't happy feels. It was angsty, very, very angsty feels. Obviously the word "Suffer" in the title should probably have been a clue, because there is a lot of suffering, so be warned for a lot of angst and suffering if you read this book. It's glaringly obvious throughout the book that things won't end well, they can't, it's physically frigging impossible, though I will tell you the ending was all very anti-climactic. What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? I can't tell you, because I don't know, and reading the book won't tell you, either, sadly.

So, yeah, this was a frustrating read for me. I thought I was liking it, but reviews don't lie, and I just feel like I wanted more? IDK.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
3.5*

While I was writing this review, I felt like I'd read this book ages ago, but that wasn't really accurate. I'd only read it a couple weeks ago, but I needed to skim through it to remind myself of a few things. And then I remembered that yes, I did enjoy this book. But apparently, it didn't leave a lasting impression, which is okay, because not all books have to.

The fact that family was a huge theme in this book was great. Even though the families were not in the best places ever, you knew that there was love there, in some form, and that everyone was trying to heal from the aftermath of this affair. Of course, Hadley and Sam finding each other in the midst of this is not great timing (or very plausible, but whatever, stranger things have happened I guess). But the ups and downs of the family lives are really quite realistic, so I found that to be quite well done.
I also loved that there was a big focus on friendship- both on Hadley and Sam's ends. A lot of times either the guy will have friends or the girl will, or they'll not get along, but in this case they just each had pleasant, loyal friends who were positive influences in their lives. More of that, please and thank you!

The negative? Aside from being not very memorable after the fact, I kind of was a little weirded out by how much Hadley and Sam dwelled on the affair- and I don't mean because it was their parents (that is weird and should probably be talked about) but just the fact that their parents cheated in general. I don't know because I haven't lived through this situation, so I am certain I could be wrong here, but I don't know that I would have, as a teen, been so... "involved" in this particular infidelity. And to be honest, it kind of bothered me that the parents did involve the kids so much. Like Dr. Phil says, "you shouldn't involve kids in adult problems". Just saying.

Bottom Line: It was a sweet book, definitely had some emotional moments, and I definitely enjoyed it while reading it.

**Copy provided by publisher for review

[whisperingchapters]

This 4.5 latte review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


Hadley had a very close and happy family until one day it all fell apart thanks to all the slips of paper that someone left on her front door, uncovering her father's affair. It's been a year and her family is still very much separated. This caused Hadley to not believe in love so she goes through various guys. When Sam arrives at school and is stuck with Hadley to do a project, he doesn't know who she is until much later and the guilt sets in. He has a secret that could ruin his friendship with Hadley.

The old Hadley believed in romance and lasting love.

BEAUTIFUL!! This was such a beautiful and heart-wrenching novel! I think I inhaled this story because of how fast I read it. This story delved into betrayal, family, love, and forgiveness, which the author executed wonderfully. Each topic had depth and I felt everything to my very core. The most important one has to be family. When Hadley found out about the affair, her relationship with her father broke into pieces. Hadley was so hurt and betrayed that she didn't want anything to do with her dad. My heart broke for both Hadley and her father because for Hadley, you could notice how she really wanted her dad but the wound was still fresh for her and it was very hard to forgive. I felt so bad for her dad because he was trying to fix his relationship with Hadley and it was tough seeing how Hadley would shut him down various times.

Hadley and Sam's relationship was so cute and bitter-sweet. Sam was struggling with hiding the truth to Hadley that it was tearing him up inside. But when these two were together, I would be so giddy to read more from them. They were just so perfect for each other. In their relationship, trust was put to the test and once again, it was tough and my heart was broken for them.

I'm freaking swaying on my feet here and it's not because she's standing close enough that I can see the flecks of amber in her dark eyes or even that I'm tired of keeping secrets. It's because I want her closer.

This story is told in dual POV (Hadley and Sam), which made it easier to connect with the characters because you can read how each one is feeling. I also love how the characters are flawed and real. It was so much easier to connect with them. This story had a beautiful and eloquent prose. It had so many brilliant quotes!

I guess the world really does end with a whimper. A whole lot of quiet, a million things left unsaid until it's too late to say them.

Overall, this was a marvelous, heart-breaking and captivating novel on learning to forgive.

I received an eARC for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.This 4.5 latte review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.