SUMMARY:
When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.
West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.
They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.
When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.
REVIEW:
Wow. I was…not prepared for this. I didn’t anticipate this book being so emotional and affecting me in this way.
At first glance, this may seem like your typical good girl meets bad boy with a “you make me want to be a better man” ending. Don’t get me wrong…I like this storyline. But, this book takes you way beyond that. The layers to this story could, in and of themselves, be their own tale. Woven together, they make for an emotion-tugging, thought-provoking, highly entertaining read. I’m thinking about these characters days after finishing. I haven’t wanted to start another book.
Caroline is on a mission – she has plans, she’s on a schedule. College. Internship. Law School. Judge. No room for error. No room for her ex boyfriend to post naked and illicit pictures of her on the internet. …until it happens.
West is on a mission – get out of his trailer-park town. Make a life for himself to be able to take care of his little sister. Work 3 jobs and get into med school. Become a doctor. No room for distractions like falling in love with a girl like Caroline…until it happens.
I love that, though the attraction immediate, it took them 18 months for their first kiss. Acquaintances, to friends, to lovers…with a simmering desire all along.
West is, well, he’s imperfect. He sells drugs, he sells sex for favors, He is angry and violent. But he’s also kind, loyal, devoted, a caregiver, protective and holy cow…I could not imagine being loved by someone like West so completely at that age. He has, quite frankly, stolen my younger self’s heart and made my older self want nothing more than to take care of him and make sure he’ll be ok.
The characters start in these cliché buckets but Robin York (the NA pen name for author Ruthie Knox) takes them beyond. Caroline is not just your perfect little girl. She is fierce and learns to fight. She figures out how to maneuver and thrive despite all that’s “not fair” about life. And she learns to really love. West is not just a boy from the “wrong side of town”. He’s driven. He takes accountability for his choices. He opens his heart even when he thinks he can’t.
I did not see the ending of this book coming. I was…confused. I begged it not to happen. I was devastated.
…and then I realized it’s only book 1 of a series. THANK FUCK. And now…I’m dying and desperate to get my hands on book 2. I need to know how this plays out. I need more than anything to know that it will be ok. And really…I just need more West.
IN A NUTSHELL: NA fans will love this book. It’s reminiscent of Katie McGarry’s “Pushing the Limits” in that the writing is quality, the dialogue believable, the characters engaging. Welcome to NA…Ms York. So happy to have you!
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