By: Amanda Heath
Book Summary (excerpt from goodreads.com)
Spencer and I have been enemies for as long as I can remember. Though it wasn't hard to fall into lust with him. And things seemed to be headed for love before unspeakable things happened to me...
Spencer was supposed to be my rock. My angel. He turned out to be none of those things. What he did hurt more then the tragedy. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive him...
Not that he hasn't tried to win me back over. His new actions leave me wondering if love can really forgive anything?
My name is Harley Maxton and this is my story.
My Review
So I know the summary states that there's a tragedy and yada yada yada but I don't think I mentally prepared myself for this book. It seemed like everything was going in warp speed. Like..everything that I thought was going to happen, happened within the first 30 or 40 pages. I remember thinking..hmm..what else could there be? I definitely wasn't expecting the remaining events to unfold like they did. I must add..proceed with caution. There is some intense content in this book. I will hand it to Amanda Heath though, she shocked my socks off! My jaw hit the floor at least twice..possibly three times while reading this book. I'll try my best not to have spoilers in this review as I really feel that this book could go either way, it just depends on the reader.
As you can probably tell I've had a lot of mixed emotions about this book and it took me a while to get it together to write this review. While I think the story had a lot of potential to develop into something great, I feel that the execution could have been a little better. This book covers a timeframe of about maybe 3-4 months (possibly a little shorter or longer) and within that time there are so many HUGE events that take place. First, we are faced with the "main tragic event" that happens to Harley. I have to admit here that I dislike reading about situations like this with a passion. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a girl and this is naturally one of my biggest fears but the author didn't go into a lot of detail, which I greatly appreciated. It was kind of put out there as a tragedy that took place but as a reader I wasn't forced to read about it in depth. I do think that Amanda Heath did a good job of describing the insecurities, dissapointment and adjustment period that comes with a life altering event such as Harley's. However, and I say this with such disappointment, how Spencer reacted to this event and his actions afterwards I find to be absolutely horrible. I wanted to forgive him. I really did. I even tried to reread some of his sections to try and make myself feel sorry for him and all he's going through...but I couldn't. While reading reviews for this book I noticed that some people could sympathize with how he felt and what he was going through...I just couldn't bring myself to do it. His girlfriend had experienced the unthinkable and he's behaving like he's unattached? Nope. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars..dunzo.
The remaining events are pretty out there. While they were very intriguing and unexpected, I found them to be a little of a stretch. I think one of these events would have been enough to set this book apart. Like I said, I feel that the story had a ton of potential, but cramming in so much drama just made it a whirlwind of craziness instead. Please, don't think I hate book drama. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Also, I don't think that all love stories should be rainbows and ponies. Love is hard, it's messy and sometimes it's just downright terrible but I do think that a woman should stand up for herself..and while I did enjoy reading about how Harley went all "Carrie Underwood" on Spencer's truck..I do think it's a stretch to believe that someone who experiences such a tragedy and gets screwed over by the guy, can forgive him a month or so later.
In all honesty, I couldn't say whether I could recommend this book to a friend. I think it all depends on the reader's style. Personally, I didn't find this book as captivating as others I have previously read but I felt that the story was good and I am more than willing to read other books written by Amanda Heath.
I give this book: 2 HATS
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