Lizardo94

I didn't like this book. Yes, I gave it 4 stars but even I can see good writing. This book was really well written and had a great story but it isn't really my cup of tea.

This book is one of those "New Adult" books that have been gaining ground recently. They've probably been around for a lot longer but now they have their very own category. Now that I've read one, I can conclusively say that "New Adult" splits the difference between YA and romance. I don't like or read YA and I think that in the future, I'll stay away from "New Adult" as well. That's just a personal preference and in no way should reflect on this book.

Callie has had a rough go of it. She was raped when she was 12 years old and has never really gotten over it. Of course, do you really EVER get over something like that? I don't think so. But she deals with it in an unhealthy way. She never tells her mother, she never gets counseling for it. She just goes into a depression and doesn't really come out of it until she moves away and starts college. I liked Callie. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around her not being comfortable telling someone about what happened to her. In this day and age, everyone has a horror story about their youth and it seems like just about everyone is in therapy of some kind! So to read about Callie dealing with this all by herself was difficult and sad. I really felt for her. But I also liked her because now that she's in college, she's making a serious effort to be different. She has a new friend, Seth, to whom she has told her secret and together, they are trying to get out of their shells and to get out in the world. Honestly, I don't know how she does it. Callie is one strong girl and she truly does want to change.

Kayden has had equally awful experiences at home. For Kayden though, it's ritual physical abuse from his drunk of a father. Again, it's hard for me to wrap my brain around the situation that these kids are in. I can't imagine being afraid to come home. But that's Kayden's life and he's used to it. He also deals with the abuse in an unhealthy way and he also doesn't seek out help. I think he mentions that he tried to tell his mom but that she's a drunk too and wasn't any help. I mean, can you imagine?? Anyways, Kayden is obviously a troubled guy but he's also trying to do the best that he can. He was always popular in school so that was no problem but he has some anger control issues that he tries very hard to deal with. I really liked him and my heart went out to him. I just wanted him to feel better and to feel happier and whenever he made a step backward, it killed me.

You'd think that Callie and Kayden would be awful for each other but at least in this book, they aren't. Kayden helps Callie open up a little bit and helps her to trust again. Callie inspires new feelings in Kayden that he doesn't really know how to deal with. I wouldn't say it was "fun" to watch them grow into this relationship with each other but I enjoyed reading about it. I was definitely rooting for these two to work through their issues and to come out whole on the other side.

This was a very good book but be warned, there is a cliffhanger at the end and the next book isn't supposed to come out until August of this year!!! Again, I don't like "New Adult" or YA books so this book wasn't for me. But it pulled me in and I found myself caring for these characters more than I wanted to! I would highly recommend this book to any adult audiences. The subject matter dealt with in this book should not be tackled by minors on their own. Its very serious and extremely real and I don't think it should be tackled by anyone underage.