Finding It (Losing It, #3)

by Cora Carmack

Kelsey Summers is looking for love in all the wrong places...

Spending a few months travelling around Europe - with no parents, no responsibilities and a no limit credit card - Kelsey's having the time of her life.

But when she completely embarrasses herself in front of the hottest guy she's ever seen, she soon realises there's more to life than the next party.

What she doesn't realise is that although she's on a journey to find herself, she will end up finding The One...

• ISBN10: 0062273280
• ISBN13: 9780062273284
• Publish Date: 15 October 2013 (first published 10 October 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Finding It was predictable and frustrating, but not in good ways. I was excited to get Kelsey's story because she seemed like such a fun, confident character in the first book. However, it becomes very clear from the beginning that she's very troubled and is running away from her problems. Kelsey has taken off to Europe for a gap year of sorts. She says she wants to gain new experiences to become a better actress, but she's just boozing around and sleeping around to avoid her problems. Then she meets Hunt, and things start to feel different.

I figured out the twist in Finding It as soon as Kelsey met Hunt. He says vague, suspicious things and I immediately knew why he was there. Of course, Kelsey is too self absorbed and horny to realize that something is weird about how he always seemed to be where she is. And how he won't leave her alone and then makes plans to travel around with her. Um, red flag?! She does find out later, and they fight about it, and she makes him beg and grovel before throwing herself back into his arms. And then nothing. They just fight, separate, and get back together.

Actually, Hunt stalks her for the last quarter or so of Finding It. Kelsey ignores him at first, but he's persistent, which to me isn't endearing. It's creepy. I was actually starting to like Kelsey at this point, because she rightfully dropped him, confronted her parents, and was getting her life together. But apparently stalking is sexy and stalkers are totally irresistible. That's where the story ends. There's no resolution to anything. Kelsey was dealing with huge issues and they just magically disappear when she decides to forgive Hunt. Right.

Clearly, Finding It was not the story for me. Kelsey was unlikable for the majority of the time. Hunt is just kind of there, and I felt no connection between them despite Kelsey constantly telling us that there's a connection between them. Kelsey's very real issues are swept under the rug in favor of her romance drama. And the ending is super sudden, so I felt like the story went nowhere.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[readingwithwrin]

After liking the first two books I was excited about this one. sadly it just didn't work for me. Full review coming soon.

[jnikkir]

Probably more like 3.5 stars. I liked this one, but not as much as Faking It (which was my favorite of the series).

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Aspects:

• Kelsey Summers has finished college and is losing herself traveling through Europe and it’s all funded by Daddy. From the start, we know she has issues. She came off as spoiled and shallow, but then Carmack peeled back her layers revealing the damage. As she did, I began to understand her, and like watching her emerge and grow into a confident woman.

• Jackson Hunt is yummy,! He is ex-military and sees his former self in Kelsey. Despite his secrets and the air of mystery surrounding him and his past, I connected with and liked him. In the beginning, we are unsure of his motives, and to some he might appear like a stalker. Carmack reveals things that help us understand and admire him.

• Europe! Hello I loved all the little cities, the hidden beaches, the bars.

• Carmack touches on some dark subjects and she captured the emotions one would expect for the most part. (I will touch on one in Decaffeinated aspects)

• We see growth in the characters both independently and as a couple. The romance developed slowly out of friendship and attaction. It wasn’t all sexual and when it was…the pages curled. Carmack can write the most romantic and tender moments with or without the heat, and I enjoyed connecting and feeling the character’s emotions.

• I loved that Carmack allowed Kelsey to find herself, to pull back and grow rather than diving in head first.

• Despite the darker tones in Finding It, there was humor and snark that had me laughing aloud.

Decaffeinated Aspects:

• Kelsey is slipped a roofie and thankfully Hunt is there and gets her back to her hostel safely. The whole thing was kind of dismissed by Kelsey, and maybe it was her unstable mind but it upsets me. I mean I have girls, why didn’t they report it?

• While I understand that Hunt was mysterious and had a secret, I wanted to know more about him, from his thoughts to his feelings. I really would have liked a dual pov here.

• Kelsey’s parents were asshats. While I am glad Kelsey was given sound advice and told them how she felt, how they failed..I still think she needed help. I realize this is fiction, but would have liked the other characters to at least suggest she talk to someone. (her best friend, Hunt, parents)

While these characters didn’t completely wow me, I enjoyed Finding It and moments were powerful and moving. The tale was well paced, and I enjoyed the settings.

[Rowena]

This was another good book by Cora Carmack. She writes the kind of books that I adore. This book did make me raise my eyebrows and sigh in disbelief at times but in the end, I was glad that I read it. I mean, the heroine is drugged while in the presence of the hero and she doesn't think to be wary around him. She doesn't remember what happened but he does and she still says okay to traveling around with him. That sounds like all kinds of wrong for me but it ended up being okay. It was nice traveling vicariously through Kelsey and Hunt's trip from place to place. This book had Carmack's signature pull for me and I'm glad that I read it.

[Cocktails and Books]

3.5 stars

[Leah]

I really, really, really love Cora Carmack’s books. Since I read Losing It earlier this year, I’ve just devoured everything she’s released. I adored Losing It, Faking It, Keeping Her so as soon as I spotted Finding It up for review I nearly squealed. I was so excited for Kelsey’s story, and let me tell you it’s a much more serious story than the ones that have come before it. So much so, that it actually surprised me. Kelsey was such a different character to the one I imagined, and of all three of Carmack’s heroines so far, she’s the one who shocked me. Inititally I wasn’t sure she was my type of character, she’s sorta brash, she’s kind of a hot mess, and she seems to be the polar opposite of Bliss. But, I actually came to love Kelsey. She’s probably my favourite of Max, Bliss and her, and I didn’t think I’d be saying that when I started the book.

As I said, Finding It seems to be much more serious than Losing It and Faking It. Yes, the same principles apply in all three books that all three girls are dealing with something most girls will come across, but Kelsey’s issues, Kelsey as a whole is someone you hope no one would ever have to deal with because it is right up there on a scale of horrific things to happen to you. You can tell from the off something has happened to her at some point and as we meet her, it made me a little bit sad, to see her in Hungary all by herself, befriending random Hungarian people with only one thing in their minds, so it was like a massive relief when in swept Hunt, though lemme tell you, Hunt was no walk in the park! He totally had me hooked from the word go, but he’s as much a hot mess (it would seem) as Kelsey and his dark and broody ways were rather irresistible!

I liked that despite the really awful issues facing both characters, that they both clicked so quickly, that Hunt took up the role of guardian, of protector, who right from the word go wasn’t going to let anything happen to Kelsey. I loved the whim of which he suggested they have a week together to travel around Europe (Prague, Germany, Italy) and after that they could do what they pleased. It suited them both to the ground, really; two people running from things they didn’t expect, and trying their hardest to make their life to be something they want it to be and the tension between the two was palpable. Carmack is a phenomenally talented writer, someone who just seems to get better with every book and she knows how to write romantic tension like no other author, which makes it so exciting to read her books because it’s been so long since a relationship in a book has given me that warm gooey feeling in my stomach and Carmack does it every time without fail.

I loved Finding It. I loved hopping around the European countries with Kelsey and Hunt, countries I’d love to one day visit; I loved the tension between Kelsey and Hunt it was palpable and I think they’re probably my favourite couple of Carmack’s couples because they faced so much and came out the other end. Hunt’s spirit, and the way he looked after Kelsey just filled me with joy so much. If only there were real-life Hunt’s, because I’d certainly get one for myself!! Carmack just makes me love her even more with every book she writes. She’s become a must-buy author and I will be collecting my paperback copies of Faking It and Finding It to join my Losing It paperback because she’s that good an author that I need finished copies for my shelves. This is her best yet, and I may have said that last time I read the book but that’s the point, she just gets better and better, and I can’t wait to see what’s next from her!

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

1.5 Stars

The first thing you should know about Finding It is that it's nothing like Losing It or Faking It. I thought Losing It and Faking It were great for a few reasons: the characters felt real, the scenes were hilariously awkward, and the relationships with slow-building. Finding It has none of those things.

Kelsey is not a likable character. She uses alcohol and sex to solve every single one of her problems, and I never feel like that changes—not even at the end of the book. Every move she makes is in an effort to sexually seduce Jackson and get him to have sex with her. This made it really hard for me to connect with Kelsey. I never sympathized with her or even liked her that much. She always seemed like such a shallow character. And she always talked about how she was "Done with [her] dad controlling [her] life", but she had no problem running around Europe on his money. *rolls eyes*

"God, I love when people love me."
Kelsey

My killer stilettos kept my legs in decent shape.
Kelsey

And Kelsey couldn't even go a few days without sex without complaining. I get that she was a party girl, but geeze. I don't think I was prepared to handle all her crap. I think I thought that she'd get better or she wouldn't really be that bad, but she was.

..my body aching from neglect. After a few nights, I couldn't take it anymore.
Kelsey

In general, the whole story felt quick, fleeting, and shallow. I never truly got invested in the story or characters. Kelsey and Jackson's relationship was insta-love from the very beginning. She saw him, drooled over his abs, and wanted to get in his pants. He saw her, thought she was sexy, but tried to hold back and wanted a relationship. But immediately that attraction was there, and that's all it ever felt like—physical attraction. They rarely talked or got to know each other... they just went bungee jumping and drooled over each other.

"Well, Jackson Hunt. Stop being a pansy, and just take my clothes off.
Kelsey

And talk about making it easy to seduce Hunt. If I couldn't do it in Italy, someone should take away my vagina because I didn't deserve it.
Kelsey

Also there were a few small things that bugged me.. Like the fact that Kelsey was able to get a work visa in Europe SO easily—in less than a month. What the hell??? You can't just waltz into Europe and get a work visa, believe me... I'd know.

Finding It had none of the elements that I loved in Cora Carmack's other two books. In Losing It and Faking It I LOVED laughing at the hilarious, awkward scenes. Well Finding It isn't funny or awkward. That's just not part of the book at all, which surprised me since it was so prominent in the other two books. And similarly, I loved the romances in Losing It and Faking It. In both cases, they were super slow burning, passionate, and just great romances to read about. But in Finding It it felt so shallow. I never felt like I knew or cared about the characters (or their relationship) at all. It felt like pure attraction and pure sex, but not a real relationship. Kelsey and Jackson didn't even know each other.. I didn't even know them. And as a result, I just couldn't get into their relationship at all.

Finding It is more a book about "I have super intense problems and I'm damaged and z0mg I need a man to fix me." But even with that in mind, I don't feel like Kelsey properly deals with her problems. At the beginning, her main problem is that she runs away from her problems, and I feel like she's still doing that at the end. It kind of gave the whole story a "What's the point?" feeling.

So, ultimately, I'm really disappointed in Finding It. I thought this book would be a slam dunk since I loved the other two books.. but Finding It was nothing like the rest of the series. The book was supposed to be all about a great romance, but it didn't even have that. It was too insta-lovey and too focused on physical attraction rather than real feelings and emotional connection.