Saving Quinton (Breaking Nova, #2)

by Jessica Sorensen

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Nova Reed can't forget him -- Quinton Carter, the boy with the honey-brown eyes who made her realise she deserved more than an empty life. His pain was so similar to her own. But Nova has been coming to terms with her past and healing, while Quinton is out there somewhere, sinking deeper. She's determined to find him and help him . . . before it's too late.

Nova has haunted his dreams for nearly a year, but Quinton never thought a sweet, kind person like her would care enough about someone like him. To Quinton, a dark, dangerous life is exactly what he deserves. And Nova has no place in it. But Nova has followed him, and now he must do whatever it takes to keep her away, to maintain his self-imposed punishment for the unforgivable things he's done. But there's one flaw in his plan: Nova isn't going anywhere . . .

Discover the latest intense, passionate and page-turning novel from number one New York Times bestselling sensation Jessica Sorensen.

• ISBN10: 1455582735
• ISBN13: 9781455582730
• Publish Date: 3 February 2015 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

I fell in love with the Nova series, the minute that I started reading and ended up devouring the complete series like I was starving for air and left for dead. It is truly THAT GOOD, people!

[b:Saving Quinton|18210225|Saving Quinton (Nova, #2)|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388852598s/18210225.jpg|25631383], is the sequel to [b:Breaking Nova|17672770|Breaking Nova (Nova, #1)|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1376496716s/17672770.jpg|24672201], and it follows Quinton Carter as he continues to spiral out of control and becomes deeper embroiled within the dark, seedy, drug trafficking underbelly of Las Vegas. Beautifully written, it is a harsh and gritty look at the how and what low self-worth and the allure of drugs to numb the pain can cause someone to come undone and almost lose themselves forever. Quinton has this way of breaking my heart into a million little ugly pieces and then puzzling them back together in some of the most uniquely painful and endearing ways possible. Completely wrecked with the grief and pain over the lives that he accidentally took and letting the guilt eat away at him until he's barely a shadow of the person he was before the accident claimed the lives of two people he cared about, he free falls deeper and deeper into the world of drugs in an attempt to snuff out the pain, run from what he isn't ready to face, and to eventually kill himself one way or another as a way of paying his own messed up complicated penance for those lives lost.

Quinton's life is filled with so much heartache and personal tragedy, that the only decent thing in his life is the little ray of light that Nova brings to him. He's so convinced that he doesn't deserve her or anything good in his life, that he almost lets the darkness overtake him and dampen the best thing that could have possibly happened to him. Nova believes in him, will put her own depression and sadness in danger of overtaking her once again, just to help save him. This is the one thing that she is hell bent on doing, because she knows that there is so much more to Quinton than drugs and if she can pull herself out of the world that she almost got caught up in, then she can pull him out as well. Even though the lengths that she went to in order to help him, the danger that she readily placed herself in for Quinton, was messed up on many levels and nearly got herself hurt or could have possibly gotten herself killed - her tenacity and strength at finally succeeding in making him fully aware that he is worth it is what mattered the most in the end.

[b:Saving Quinton|18210225|Saving Quinton (Nova, #2)|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388852598s/18210225.jpg|25631383], is an incredibly emotionally intense and moving novel that will leave you breathless, and aching for more. It's not the most pretty story, in fact, it's dark, gritty, and pretty damn ugly most of the time but it's definitely worth it in the end. It will absolutely break your heart and then stick it back together with duct tape and twine, only to leave jagged and frayed edges behind. Not everything in life is easy and no one is exempt from the pain of harsh realities, life altering situations, and devastating losses. [a:Jessica Sorensen|4601855|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1388093087p2/4601855.jpg], definitely knows how to pen a novel and a story so emotionally wrecking that it will stay with you long after you've finished reading it. Her characters are real, they are messy and complicated, and their lives aren't always filled with sunshine and easily happy-ever-afters. This, in my opinion, is the best thing about them.

The ability to write such a poignant, realistic outlook on what the world of drugs and complicated romance between two people who are just as scarred as the other, doesn't always come easy. The fact that [a:Jessica Sorensen|4601855|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1388093087p2/4601855.jpg] could do it and pull it off so well with this series, is completely amazing! More than anything, I love how even in the darkness there is the flicker of hope always there, a spark that ignites the flame and rises so high that it almost bursts off the pages. These are the stories - the books - and the characters that I want to read about. Their self-worth wrung inside out, their hearts shattered almost beyond repair, yet the two of them fall together hard and finally collapse in each other's lives with arms wide open. I will read this story every single damn time.

If you're looking for something with tumultuous emotion, intense feels, and a gritty look at complicated romance then this is the series that you'll want to pick up. I would definitely recommend this highly! [a:Jessica Sorensen|4601855|Jessica Sorensen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1388093087p2/4601855.jpg] is an author that is forever on my auto-buy list.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

I liked Saving Quinton a bit more than Breaking Nova. The story starts out right away with Nova preparing for Summer break again with her roommate Lea. Instead of going home, they head off to Vegas to find Quinton and get him help. Nova has made a lot of progress since the first book, both with her grief and her using drugs to deal with that grief. However, when she finds Quinton, she is not prepared for how far gone he is. He believes he's beyond saving, and she doesn't feel strong enough to save him.

While I did like Saving Quinton a lot, I was annoyed with Nova at times. I was happy to see her happy and dealing with her grief in a healthy way, but she was a bit too naive and optimistic about Quinton's situation. She believes that because she beat drugs, he can, too. Well, that's a great outlook except that she was smoking weed. Quinton is a meth addict! Marijuana... Methamphetamine... Marijuana.... Methamphetamine... not the same! Simply talking to him, and keeping him busy, isn't going to keep him from getting another hit! That's not how it works! I applaud her for trying, but she cannot compare her summer of weed with his year of meth.

However, there are involved parents and supportive friends in Saving Quinton! Nova's mom doesn't simply let her take off to Vegas to track down her druggie, kind of ex-boyfriend. She tells her that if things turn for the worst, she wants to hear from Lea, not Nova. Nova's mom also gets into contact with Quinton's father, and she was an important player in getting him the help he actually needed. Lea was also great in that she did call Nova's mom when things got bad. Nova may not have been happy about it at the time, but she knows her friend did the right thing. I loved this!

Drugs are scary and Saving Quinton shows us life from the outside and the inside. Quinton is so messed up and his life has completely spiraled out of control. If you can even call what he's doing life. I still didn't feel an emotional connection to Nova, but I am enjoying her story so far.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.