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

by Jessica Sorensen

[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.