The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (Coincidence, #2)

by Jessica Sorensen

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is finally out. Worse, he's facing charges for battery. The only way to clear his name is for Callie to speak up - something he'll never ask her to do. Instead, he'll do whatever he must to protect her, even if it means letting go of the only girl he's ever loved.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But that means admitting her own painful secrets aloud. The thought of breaking her silence terrifies her - but not as much as the thought of losing Kayden forever. Can she convince him they can make a fresh start together - or is she already too late?

Lose yourself in the New York Times bestselling sensation that is enchanting readers everywhere - discover an addictive story filled with unforgettable characters, intense passion and heart-stopping romance.

• ISBN10: 1405529253
• ISBN13: 9781405529259
• Publish Date: 6 August 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

My world has been consumed with anything written by [a:Jessica Sorensen|4601855|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1388093087p2/4601855.jpg] lately, specifically her Nova and Coincidence series. I cannot seem to get enough of them and I keep falling hard for each and every book that I devour. They are hard to read, messy, complicated, and filled with incredible emotionally intense stories and brilliant characters that shine on the pages. They have this way of consuming my life and filling my heart with so many emotions that it's crazy and yet, when it's over I still want more. I reach for the next book in the series that I'm currently devouring and I just sink into it, like it's an old long lost friend that I haven't seen in years.

"Hello, you! You're brilliant, let's have a read."

[a:Jessica Sorensen|4601855|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1388093087p2/4601855.jpg] has managed to rip my tattered heart into shreds once again with this novel. Callie and Kayden are even more broken almost beyond repair and yet the two of them manage to dig down to the deepest parts of who they are and pull out what small amount of strength and courage they have left to pull themselves through. The way these two connect with one another is undeniably beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Both are riddled with weakness that that threatens to ruin them in so many viscous ways, that it hurts to read about it. This book is their second chance, their redemption and hope for the love and the happiness they've been deprived of for way too long.

After finishing [b:The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden|16113791|The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #1)|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353550763s/16113791.jpg|21930423], I was absolutely devastated and needed to read the next book in the series as quickly as I could get my hands on it. An absolute gorgeous and compelling story, it kept me transfixed to the pages and unable to stop reading until I had finished it straight through. Callie and Kayden have literally been through sheer hell and back and Redemption definitely did a wonderful job in focusing on letting go, being honest, and having the courage to tell the truth when telling the truth could possibly destroy everything you are and everything that you have left to hold onto for dear life. The darkness within these pages are almost emotionally crippling at times, but it is worth it in the end if you make it through. The pain and mental anguish that torments Kayden nearly knocked the breath out of me, I wanted to hug him because the pain and releasing it in such a way that it would leave him scarred physically for the rest of his life was such an enormously intense and difficult part of the story for me.

I could understand and sympathize with him, in all of the ways and times that he tried to push Callie away in order to protect her from the shit storm that his life had become. Even though it wasn't his choice to make for Callie, I enjoyed seeing how she fought with everything in her being to show him that she wouldn't just let him give up and push her away, that she would always be there with him and he could tell her anything. She's such a strong and brave woman, with so much pain of her own that she has to deal with. I was incredibly proud of her for having the courage to finally tell her parents what had happened to her all those years ago, when she was twelve years old on her birthday. I was beginning to wonder when that was going to happen or if it ever was and frankly, I was starting to get tired of the way her mother treated her as if she was betraying the family as well.

If she would have just stopped and really looked at her daughter, maybe even asked the question all those years ago, then maybe Callie wouldn't have gotten to the level of being so messed up and tormented in the first place. Her daughter was terrified and destroyed, withering away and crawling deep inside herself and she just let it happen without questioning why. This is the part of the story that I have the hardest time dealing with, because I just can't seem to fathom the idea of watching someone that close to you spiraling out of control like that and not acknowledging it or even questioning it. Instead, she hammered away at her, made Callie feel even more isolated and afraid to speak up.

The best thing about the Coincidence series for me, is how beautifully the character growth is for all of the characters in the novel. With each book, they become stronger, happier even if it's hard won, healthier, and courageous in their journey of letting go and embracing their lives as they are. If you're looking for a book that's going to make you feel so many intense emotions on overload, then this is the one that you want to pick up. It's beautifully messed up in all of the most complicated, messy, and fractured ways that broken characters can be.

I personally enjoyed The Redemption of Callie and Kayden more then I enjoyed The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden , and this is probably due to the fact that the feeling of Deja-Vu that I associated with the previous book disappeared. This book starts where the previous book with the cruel ending stopped and has a more serious and darker tone to it as issues such as abuse and self-infliction are pushed to the surface.

In the previous book, Kayden was the stronger person, but in this book we see the extent of his pain, hurt, suffering and the scars that don't only exist on the outside, but on the inside too. I loved the relationship that Callie and Kayden shared. You can see not only through their actions, but also through their words that they love and care for one another. Callie has developed as a character and we see her growth in this book as she becomes a fighter who is not only able to support herself, but she is able to provide Kayden with a shoulder to lean on. I enjoyed watching her stand up for the things that she felt and boy, does that girl not back down!

Seth and Luke are the coolest best friends ever. They know when to push, when to back down and they are always there to provide support and love to the main characters. We also see a kind-of hinted about introduction to Violet and Luke's story which is something that I can't wait to read about.

This story is all about Redemption, in the past, the present and the future. As much as I enjoyed this book and felt all the feeling and emotions that made this book a good read, there was something that was lacking or this book just didn't WOW me the same way that great book would and for that reason I am giving The Redemption of Callie and Kayden a four-star rating.

[Leah]

Last year I read the first books in two of Jessica Sorensen’s new adult series – The Secret of Ella and Micha and The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden and I thoroughly enjoyed both books. They were great. The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden ended so abruptly though that I couldn’t wait to read The Redemption of Callie and Kayden. But it’s actually taken me a little while to get around to reading it. Mostly because I just have so many review books to read, but also because I was super disappointed in The Forever of Ella and Micha. And, unfortuntely, despite being super excited to finally get stuck into ‘Redemption’, I was yet again disappointed.

After the shocking ending of The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, and after everything Callie and Kayden have been through, and go through together, I really expected ‘Redemption’ to be more than it was. Instead, Callie and Kayden are apart for a good portion of the novel, with Kayden doing his best to try and let Callie go, even though it’s blindingly obvious Callie is never going to accept that (and rightly so). When you think of everything they’ve been through, the fact they found each other was the hope they both needed to be able to not let their pasts beat them, and while I understand that what happened to Kayden undoubtedly was AWFUL and horrific, and probably made him question a lot of things, I’d have preferred if he had just let Callie in.

I wanted to love this book so much, and it just didn’t happen. I found myself more interested in Luke and Seth than I was in Kayden and Callie because their relationship just wasn’t going where I wanted it to, and I just wanted more… It was the same with Ella and Micha, and I just don’t know where it all went wrong. Maybe if I’d read the books consecutively instead of leaving such a large gap, as I did. So what I am going to do, is I am going to dive into Luke and Violet/Lila and Ethan as soon as, because those are both two stories I’ve been dying to read, with some very interesting characters. Sorensen is a fantastic writer – the two original stories of Callie/Kayden and Ella/Micha were fantastic, I just don’t know where it all went wrong with their sequels. Maybe it’s me, as judging by the Amazon reviews, they’ve both got some fantastic reviews and are massive hits. Who knows?

[Rowena]

I was really looking forward to reading this book because the ending to the first book left me wanting more. I wanted to know what happened with Kayden, what was going to happen and while a lot happens in this book, I didn’t really get any answers. Kayden and Callie are both completely broken characters that are trying to get themselves straightened out but it’s a long road. And their long road was really frustrating for me to read through because I kept wanting Callie to open her mouth and make her family understand why she needed to stay with Kayden. I wanted her to tell them the truth about Caleb and stick up for Kayden. I mean, yeah I know that it’s a hard thing to talk about but they needed to know and the longer she went without being honest with her family, the more I wanted to punch a wall.

I enjoyed reading this book but as the book was coming to an end, I kept wondering if they were going to resolve things and while it looks like they’re making their way toward that, I didn’t feel it got the resolve that I was looking and hoping for. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done and since I’m sure there’s going to be another book, I’m not all that mad but I am disappointed that we didn’t get it in here. In my heart of hearts, I was hoping for their issues to be resolved in this book and not dragged out and then I was hoping we’d get Luke’s story because I’ve gotta say that I’m mighty curious about Luke. I want to know more about him, his back story and I want him to find the happiness that isn’t quite in his grasp yet.

Overall, this book fed the craving that I had for these characters but it didn’t give me the satisfaction of knowing that everything worked itself out but there’s hope. There’s a whole lot of hope that Callie and Kayden will figure their stuff out and be okay. And I’m okay with that. I’ll definitely read the next book because I’ve come to love these characters and I want to know how it all ends. Sorensen does a great job of packing this book with enough emotion and angst to keep the reader interested. You’ll come to love these characters just as much as I did, I’m sure of it. You won’t be able to stop yourself. These are wonderfully complex characters with emotion journeys to go through and readers will be sucked in. I know it.

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2013/09/the-redemption-of-callie-kayden.html
The Redemption Of Callie And Kayden picks up where the first book in the series left off, with Kayden's physically abusive father trying to destroy Kayden. His secret is finally out, and Callie now knows that he self mutilates to ease his pain. The two are irrevocably broken, but their Redemption does have a happy ending, but first they must battle their demons... Alone.

The Coincidence series isn't for the faint of heart, as the characters experience both physical, mental and sexual abuse. It's raw and confronting, but sadly realistic. Jessica Sorensen is brilliant in creating lovable, yet realistic characters that readers can relate to. I would love to read Luke's story and fingers crossed that Jessica will tell his tale.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Even though I didn't get off to the best start with this series, the cliffhanger ending of the first book did have me curious about The Redemption of Callie and Kayden. Unfortunately, I think I could have done without it. I feel like their story could have been finished in a single book, especially since both of them are so repetitive. A lot could have been cut out and then combined. Everything felt so dragged out and unnecessary. I appreciate that the author went deep into both Callie and Kayden's issues, but she also added in way too much filler to stretch it into two books. This book deals a lot more with both of them finally coming to terms with what has happened to them, letting go, and moving on with their lives as individuals and as a couple. I did feel a bit more of an emotional connection to this one, but there was still more that I didn't like than of what I did.

The Redemption of Callie and Kayden picks up with Kayden in the hospital, not being allowed any visitors as he's deemed unstable and a danger to himself. His self-mutilation really comes to light in this sequel, but I'm a little upset that we didn't more of him healing from this. We only get him snapping rubberbands, but nothing else. The focus is really on his father's abuse and how it's affecting how he forms relationships, particularly romantic ones where emotions run high. Kayden spends a lot of the book self-loathing and saying that Callie deserves better and that she should stay away from him for her own good, and yet he makes out with her EVERY chance he gets. He also pulls the "let's just be friends" card constantly, meanwhile having lots of sex with her. His back and forth was very annoying.

In addition to Kayden's flip-flopping, the story became very repetitive since several scenes are told twice. Once from Callie's POV, then again from Kayden's. They're not verbatim, but they're essentially the same, and it threw me off every single time a scene was repeated. I ended up skimming the beginning of chapters to avoid the unwanted deja vu. I love multiple POVs, but I hate it when authors feel the need to repeat the ending scene of one character at the beginning of the next character's. It doesn't add anything other than extra words and frustration.

I'm not sure why the author felt the need to split Callie and Kayden's story into two books. Too much of The Redemption of Callie and Kayden felt like filler material. The repetitiveness of the first book returns and multiplies in this one, so I ended up skimming a lot. I thought I would like this one more since Callie had already made progress, so I wouldn't be annoyed with her sections like I was in The Coincidence, and I was partially right. Now Kayden was the problem, since he couldn't make up his mind about anything. I'm quite disappointed, since I've loved the other books I read by this author. I'll definitely still read her books, since I know she can write a great story. Callie and Kayden's relationship just didn't connect with me, but I'm hopeful about Luke and Violet.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Romance Schmomance]

I just finished it and yeah ... review to come!

[Cocktails and Books]

Emotional read, but there were one too many loose ends for me. Loved the growth of Callie and how she helped Kayden pull himself out of the pits of despair. Now to wait for Luke's story.