Reviewed by liz089 on
REVIEW.
So this is a standalone book from Stacey Kade, who we all know (hopefully for you guys) from The Ghost and the Goth and Paperdoll Project series. I really like both series and when I found out she was going to release this book soon, I needed to read it as soon as possible.
So mission accomplished ! And yes, I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit heavier than the last couple of books I’ve read, but that was what pulled me in to begin with.
So the story is about Amanda, who was kidnapped for 2 years by some psycho/sicko. They got her out of his house, but in the 2 years that followed she still lives there in her mind most of the time. Yes she is trying to get over it, but it is something that had such a big impact on her, that she is still letting it control her life.
And she is done with that. She wants to try and start something that at least resembles some sort of normal life. So enter Chase Henry, a sexy actor who is recovering from his alcohol addiction and has made so many mistakes, that he has trouble getting work again. He peaked, and fell.
To give his career a boost, he and his publisher decide to get in touch with Amanda, and use her for the publicity. But of course.. they fall in love..
Okay, okay it is not the most original story, both have their issues and fall for each other even though they did not expect it, of course there is something between them that comes out, they leave each other and in the end, forgive each other and live happily ever after.
We all know this recipe, and it is not surprising in the least, but it is more about what else you put into the mix to make it more, make it better.
And I do think she did mix it up enough to make it more interesting, to make it better.
I mean, all issues are bad, but most of them we have already seen and read about a lot. The girl whose parents drank and abused her, the guy whose druggie mother left him and ended up in the system, the girl who got in an car crash and was the only one to survive, the one with parents who have way to many expectations, who lost a family member, who’s been cheated and has trust issues. Of course is all of it horrible and wrong, but we’ve been there, done that already so many times.
For me, this one is different, I don’t think I’ve ever read about a girl being abducted. How nobody died, and she should be happy she survived, but it not that easy. She has PTSD because of this, and we see how even the most simple things can trigger a bad memory. It was a very interesting subject to read about, thank you Madame Kade.
What I also really liked was the part of the family that got intertwined into the story. It was not just her and Chase, but it was also interesting to see how her family was coping. Everybody deals differently and have been dealing with her return. It does not just influence her, but them as well.
The whole part with the stalker though did seem kind of weird to me, like it was just thrown in haphazardly and I did not really thinks this was needed.
Bu what I do have to highlight, is that I COMPLETELY LOVED THE FEMALE MAIN CHARACTER. I really dislike people acting like victims, people who keep into the role of a victim and expect everybody to take care of them. Amanda was nothing like that, she was strong and a real survivor. She took chances and did not let others make decisions for her. I loved how grown-up she was. No childish behaviour or petty jealousies. When she had an issue, or something she wanted to talk about, she did. She told Chase what was on her mind the whole time and I loved her for that. Very refreshing.
Chase on the other hand was a bit generic. Boy has issues, does not think himself good enough blablabla. Again. I’ve seen this kind of character so many times, and even though he is a great protector and very sexy… It is not very original, and I could have copy/paste him from a number of other books I’ve read recently.
On the emotional part, I don’t know if it is me or not.. but I did not feel a lot during this story. Yes I was invested in the story, but I had not heart-clenching moments that made me cry. And it might sound weird.. But I’m kind of in the mood for that, I want that. But well, more luck next time. I heard Me Before You is a guaranteed cry fest, who knows, maybe I’ll start on that one soon.
FINAL THOUGHTS.
So overall I really liked this story. It was not overly long like some other Contemporary Romance/New Adult books I’ve recently read. I loved Amanda and her backstory a lot and it made for some new material I haven’t read about yet. But some things were a bit generic and it did not make my heart beat faster. Still, I really liked this one and I do think you should make some time for it. So, for me, 3.5/4 Freyja’s seems fair... I'm having doubts between those, so lets round it up to 4.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 9 June, 2016: Finished reading
- 9 June, 2016: Reviewed