Wow! I'm ashamed to admit I had this sitting on my Kindle forever because I hated the title of it. I started this yesterday and told my husband last night...."if I didn't have to work tomorrow I would keep reading this until the end". I did have to go to work but finished it today. It's going into my favorites and I absolutely LOVED it! ( )

I loved this book. Even though this story had a romance at the core of it, it was more in the manner that all of life is basically about our relationships with others. The story is told in first person POV but has more of a memoir feel than the more immediate action packed, 'inside the story' feel of popular genre fiction that we are used to nowadays. There isn't a lot of description of places and things but rather the southern feel of the town where Alix grows up is painted through the actions of the people in the story.

The story starts when Alix is 8 and Nick is 10. She tells vignettes of their lives as they grow up. At first they're friends and as they become teenagers they fall in love. The scenes that the author chooses to tell are carefully chosen to reveal important leaps or milestones in Alix and Nick's relationship or that somehow pertain to how Alix and others are going to react later. That takes up the first half of the book. They are driven apart by events and meet again 15 years later when Nick returns to town. There is a lot of anger that Alix has to work through in order to accept a relationship with Nick again.

One of the strengths of the book is that Alix tells such a clear and analytical story of her mental state throughout their lives especially what her reactions are during the time when Nick leaves her and during their reunion. She doesn't apologize for her reactions and self deceptions, just tells you what they are and what self protective instincts drove her to them. I think they are honest actions and feelings. The way the characters act and react are a human mix of love, nobility and self interest. No one is all good or all bad.

As to the actual mechanics of the book, it was well written and moved very fast. There were parts that were very sad and parts where that were sweet and charming. The love scenes were not explicit. The big misunderstanding was easy enough for the reader to figure out almost from the first page but it was also easy to see where a couple of teenagers with the personal histories that these two had, would not necessarily make the best choices and so cause themselves problems.

I highly recommend it. I think that both romance readers and readers of general fiction would like this book.
( )

One of my - these days - rare 5/5 stars.



I went into this book expecting a feel good, sweet and frilly romance book. I wasn’t prepared for all the feels that this book brought along. It’s really an intensely sad book and it’s quite a heartbreaking story. I stayed up till 4 am because I had to find out how it ended. It is beautifully written and very moving. It took me a bit to get into the story, but when I did I was hooked. I laughed, I cried and I was excited and sad at the same it. There are some amazing characters in this book. Even though all of the twists were pretty predictable, I still really wanted to read the rest.
Recommended if you love good writing, interesting characters, a great love story and don't mind a bit of tears and heartache along the way.

( )

If I'm completely honest, I wouldn't have stepped within three miles of this book had it not been for a raving review I heard from a close friend. I'm a bit picky when it comes to books and, unfortunately, I seem to have developed several preconceptions of book covers that lead me astray. However, after reading this gem, I'm burying such misconceptions in their graves.

Interestingly, I don't think it is so much the story itself that enticed me. There were times where everything was predictable and a bit repetitive. However, all of that can be forgiven and even simply ignored because of the author's enticing writing style and complete grip of voice. From the second I started this book, I knew I was going to love it. It has a quality that simply sucks you in and keeps you hooked. Any lover of romance should definitely pick this book up. I'm so happy I finally decided to! ( )

5* for angst.
4* for general quality of the writing.
2* for the sheer stupidity of the characters.
1* for the tiresome I-hate-you-because-imaginary-stuff tirades ( )