I know. Everyone has been waiting for this book with Isaiah’s story, me included. There was a lot of hype around this book from the bloggers, flinging out 5’s like candy. Of course this just made me want to be even more critical. This has been a challenging review to write. I had to re-read before I could even begin to put my thoughts together.
This series has always been about family to me, with Katie McGarry pairing the family of foster kids with the seemingly have-it-all ‘normal’ families that underneath are incredibly dysfunctional in some very serious ways. It’s always been somehow easy and natural for these young adults to pair up, in spite of their socio-economic differences.
In Crash Into You, Isaiah meets Rachel, a car-loving, slightly rebellious and very naive seventeen-year old with secrets of her own. Her family is fairly messed up too, with a mother that’s still grieving for a lost child, a father who will do anything to appease the mother, and brothers that are frankly just awful to Rachel under the guise of protecting her. Oh, and she has a health problem she’s hiding from everyone, although her twin brother is catching onto her.
Rachel and Isaiah get into a bit of trouble with the local gangster, Eric, and their initial attraction turns into a real relationship as they navigate the dangerous situation they find themselves in. There were some really sweet moments between these two, including their first kiss and a scene at Lover’s Leap that epitomizes what young, first love is all about.
Much of the hype surrounding this book came from wanting to know more about Isaiah and we do get his story. Even though the scenes with his mom are emotionally charged, the brief scenes where he finally opens up to his case worker are a window into his fears, and these packed a powerful punch for me. These were the moments that I look for in this series, and I wasn’t disappointed.
I was disappointed that Isaiah’s partying seemed to have been a big fabrication, and that seemed odd since a lot was made of his smoking in previous books. It seemed a little too convenient to write away his drug use in that way. It sounds odd to say that this bothered me, but it did. Another disappointment was Rachel never taking on her brothers for what they did to her. She left them off the hook much too easy.
But in spite of these little things that itched me, this was still a good read for me, and a perfect wrap-up of the three main characters from this series.
I absolutely loved the scenes where the gang was all together, and Beth Risk remains my all time forever favorite character in this series. I loved the scenes between her and Isaiah as they resolve the tensions in their relationship. The scenes where everyone was together, even though the circumstances were less than ideal were some of the favorite parts of the book for me. I love how this ‘family’ of teenagers come together to help each other. Makes me feel hopeful for the future.
Honorable mentions go to Logan and Abby for providing great supporting characters.
Crash Into You did a nice job of telling Isaiah’s story in the same style as the previous two books in the series and with the same emotional impact. Recommended.
There's a lot I liked about this story. I've always felt that Barbara Elsborg does a very good job with M/M relationships in her books. They feel very authentic to me, so when I saw this release,I wanted to give it a read. Very hot cover, too.
In this story, Tyler is a college student paying off his loans by selling his body to other men at Saturday night "parties" set up by a man named Prescott. Tyler doesn't really like what he's doing, but he likes the money. When Tyler encourages the new boy, Jeremy, to stay away and not live this lifestyle, he buys himself a heap of trouble from Prescott, who then retaliates with demands that mess with Tyler's college music recital and his life in general.
Haris is a wealthy man who happens to be at the recital and overhears what's going on. He's intrigued and on a hunch, he follows Tyler. Good thing he does, because Tyler is in some trouble. When Haris saves him, so begins their relationship.
Haris makes a deal with Tyler to live with him, but he also has problems of his own that impact how he reacts in his life. His secrets aren't revealed until the end of the story, so its tempting to judge him as just a rich and selfish man who only knows how to buy his way into and out of relationships.
But the reader does get some of the innermost thoughts of both men. I thought this was a great way to show how these men felt about each other, but they end up acting in a different way. I liked having that glimpse into their fears and desires and watching how each interaction brought them closer to sharing what was really in their hearts. It did take a long time for that to happen, but it seemed very believable considering what these characters have been through.Some of my favorite scenes were those that had Tyler trying to break Haris from his tight shell of control.
There's a nice little mystery plot threaded through this that I really enjoyed. I appreciated the twists and turns in the story and that there were multiple villains to choose from. Kept me guessing all the way until the end.
This is a very rich story, with many twists and turns and interesting reveals of the background of both of these men. Honestly, Tyler and Haris's backstory broke my heart and I was rooting for them to overcome their history so they could find happiness together.
I read this book in less than a day. The story held my interest in a way that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to Tyler and Haris. Even though a good part of the story was dark, I liked the complexity and diversity of it.
I think it's challenging to write sex scenes dealing with prostitution without sensationalizing sex-for-hire and Barbara Elsborg does a great job with this. I really liked the contrast between the prostitution sex and the love scenes between Tyler and Haris. That was very well done.
So great main characters, even though Haris was bit frustrating with his jumping to conclusions. I liked that his trying to use his money to buy everyone was a subject that was dealt with thanks to the fabulous and funny butler Wilson. I loved his contributions to the plot, his sense of humor and his common sense were a relief to the darkness of this story.
So overall, a good read for me. If you like M/M stories with realism, you might like this one.
I loved this read. It has all the characteristics of a 5 star read for me: I stayed up all night reading it and it ended with me feeling that I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
This is not a story that will appeal to everyone. It deals realistically with some very difficult subjects: suicide, accidental death, hard-core drug use, and depression. If these topics are triggers for you, you may want to pass.
This is the story of Nova. She’s a mess, still grieving after losing her boyfriend and best friend. And there’s Quinton, dealing with same emotions under slightly different circumstances. There’s a lot of pain here. When they meet, neither one knows that they are fighting frighteningly similar demons. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen when so much pain came together. How could these two damaged souls be good for each other?
But they are drawn to each other, and over the summer, their shared experiences may change the course of their lives. Yes, I’m being deliberately vague because this book is a journey and I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you.
There is a lot of drug use in this, but in my opinion it wasn’t glorified.I loved the gritty real feel of this book. It was a realistic depiction of how kids get involved with drugs, and what it takes to get away. I thought this aspect of the book was very well done without preaching about it.
The emotional content in this book is huge. If you like a story that takes you deep into the heart and mind of the characters and like a darker story, this may be for you. The emotions dripped from the pages, but yet I did not find this maudlin. I think that’s pretty darn good writing, because there is so much sad in this.
So for me, this book had a lot of what I look for in a read. It was fast paced, had some interesting multi-dimensional characters, had supporting characters that weren’t just placeholders, and it left me wanting more when I got to the end. I liked the dark realism of this read. Jessica Sorensen isn’t afraid to give the reader a heaping dose of it in this.
I also loved how Nova moves forward as the book comes to a close. It was a very hopeful ending.
I can’t wait to find out what happens to Quinton. Will he pull himself out abyss or will he fall? What will happen to Nova when she tries to help him? I will definitely be making a note of the release date for the next book in this series.
Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Two very disappointed stars for this book. Maybe it was a case of mismatched expectation and reality. The first book in this series, Try Me, deals with these same two characters, Melanie and Gabe "Force" Banner. I was really looking forward to their "second date" but this book was just a train-wreck to me. I could understand Nikki's fascination with Jacob after the weekend she spent with him, and could even understand her wanting to accompany Melanie on her weekend with Gabe. But Melanie explicitly asks her not to come, which she ignores, then proceeds to get into situations that have potential for great harm not only to Nikki, but to her friends. That's not really friendship, is it?I liked that Melanie was concerned about her friend, but she was also an enabler. Nikki needs more help than Melanie can provide. I don't know, but the friendship between Mel and Nikki really bugged me. Nikki thought nothing of ruining the weekend of the one person who truly cares about her. And I just did not feel the spark between Gabe and Mel that burned so very bright in the first book. There was lots of talk in Try Me to get the reader pumped up for Mel's visit to Austin, and frankly it just sputtered out for me. I didn't feel the same connections between these two characters. The spark wasn't there. Their time out of bed fell flat for me, and even the erotic scenes were lacking. Where was the passion? Gabe seemed angry for a good portion of this story (not that I blame him after Nikke messes up the weekend.)I don't know if its the format or the content, but this book did not work for me, not in the way their first meeting in Try Me did at least.
Now that I can breathe again after another incredible closing scene, I've got to say this was an awesome read that I started and couldn't put down until I was at the end.The first half of the book is a bit sad and scary and I was glad that J. Armentrout didn't drag that part out, but there wasn't a lack of hope as Katy and Daemon learn more about the Daedelus project and the other aliens and their agendas. Even though Katy goes through some pretty nasty stuff, it is tempered by the fact that Daemon is with her. But the second half of the book more than makes up for the horrors of the first half with a roller coaster ride of action, action and more action and a very sweet and special interlude leading up to another unexpected final scene. I gotta say that Daemon had some incredible one liners in this one, too. There's a reason we love his snarky humor and its out in full force in Origin along with his swoony tender moments. Archer was a super secondary character and it was great to learn more about Luc. There's even an appearance by Hunter. It was also nice to get reacquainted with Dee, Dawson and Beth. Daemon and especially Katy have come a long way in this series, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all turns out in the final book, especially with how Origin ends.
A very sweet and entertaining falling in love story. Tom and Lexie couldn't be any more different. He's gruff and barely approachable while Lexie is friendly and open but somehow Lexie manages to break through his barriers. When Lexie realizes that she's going to end up in love and heartbroken, everything threatens to fall apart.This is a sexy, fun romance that won't take you long to finish. Perfect for when you want something light.