Sunday 16 June 2013

Blog Tour ~ Watch Over Me by Tara Sivec

 
Watch Over Me by Tara Sivec
 

Addison Snow is your typical teenager. She has a family that loves her, friends that make her laugh, and she's wrapped up in the excitement of graduating high school and going off to college to pursue her dream of becoming an author. When her mother, who also happens to be Addison's best friend, dies unexpectedly, her world comes to a crashing halt.

Death changes everyone...

To make the pain go away, Addison and her father travel down separate, dark paths. She chooses to end her grief forever, while he drowns his sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. How do you learn to live again when the most important person in your life is gone?

Addison struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. Instead of getting back to being the carefree teenager she once was, she's stuck handling all of the responsibilities that should have been her father's. She has no time to grieve, no time for emotions, and no time for happiness...until Zander Reinhardt walks in. All it takes is one little handwritten note on a napkin to kickstart her back to life and help her realize that maybe there's more to that life than pain.

But can it really be that simple? Can she really trust this man who makes her feel alive again for the first time in a year?

Addison and Zander both have secrets they aren't ready to share. When the truth finally comes out, is it enough to tear them apart or has something bigger than themselves always been watching over them, pushing them together, making sure they both get their happily ever after?
 
 

Reviewed by Willow & Donna ~ 5 Stars

**ARC received for honest review**

What Willow says:
 
I really don't know how I'm going to write this review, it was so deep and emotional and seemed so personal.

The story is about Addison, told from her point of view. Addison has lost her mum, her Dad is a drunk and not there for her and she had tried to take her life. She can't get past the loss of her mum, her life is not moving forward and she is closed off to everyone. She is stuck running her mums bakery, feeling its her duty, not wanting to let go.

Zander has been coming to the bakery for a while and can't keep his eyes off her, he starts leaving napkin notes for Addison and they soon start talking, but can she let him in? Can she trust him?

I love how the book is told, it's like it's told in three ways, you have the present, through Addison, the flashbacks/memories Addison has, and then the parts where she was having therapy. I have to say during the therapy scenes I was actually feeling like I was the one having  therapy, it was very deep and well written.

Whilst the relationship with Zander was great and I loved him (and I REALLY loved the whole napkin notes),  the impact of this story was all about grieving and dealing with addiction and depression. I usually highlight books like mad, especially now I write reviews for the blog as I like to include lines in my reviews, but I didn't highlight a single thing in this book. That was because I was so engrossed, so drawn into the story and the emotions that everything was forgotten and I was just focused on the story itself.

I really feel that I can't say more about the story, because I really think you should read it yourself.

 
What Donna says:
 
This was emotional! If this is not a personal experience I will eat my hat! The pages radiated grief, emotion, heartache, sadness and depression, at times I was sobbing and I felt myself thinking what would I do in this situation and I didn’t like it..I couldn’t imagine, I didn’t want to imagine and I was scared to imagine.
 
The blurb had me hooked, it was so far away from Tara’s usual writing style that I wanted to see how it panned out and I was not disappointed.
 
Addison was an only child, she was a happy teenager, all that came to an end when she lost her mother, who was also her best friend. Her father did not take his wife’s death very well and turned to alcohol basically leaving Addison to bring herself up and continue to run her mother’s business all on her own. She feels like her life is over, her dreams and aspirations went up in smoke the day her mum died and she feels trapped. She once tried to free herself and has been to counselling and support groups but nothing seems to be able to pull her from her depression…that is until one day…..
 
Zander, oh how I loved Zander…he was so sweet, his messages on napkins had me going ooooh and aaaaah, he was just adorable. He knew that it would take something/someone special to get through to Addison and he never gave up and that is what I loved about him, but as with any book, is he all that he seems and is he too good to be true as most of these men are?? You will have to read and find out!
 
This is a book about being at the lowest of the low and finding the strength and inner courage to pull yourself back out and not being afraid to accept help from those around you that want to help. Addison had more or less shut herself off from life and it needed a great best friend and Zander to help her see the light and get herself back on track. To never give up on your hopes and dreams and no matter what the sacrifice, to remember that you need to do things for yourself sometimes, you don’t have to be the martyr for everybody else.
 
Zanders wise words whilst trying to explain life to Addison with Lego….
 
“And if something doesn’t fit, if one of your pieces just isn’t working, you can put it aside and find another one. There are so many pieces to work with that you don’t have to try and force one in where it doesn’t belong. You may not need that piece right now, and it may not be helping you right at this moment, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important and won’t fit somewhere else down the line when you need it more.”

“You don’t have to try and pick up all the pieces at once, sometimes you only need to use a few of them at a time. If you try and pick them all up and use them all the same time, it’s overwhelming and frustrating when you start to drop them or you just can’t make them work.”
 
“Another good thing about Legos. If it falls apart, it doesn’t mean it’s destroyed. It just means you have to pick up the pieces and start again.”
 
As I said, highly emotional, beautifully written and a book that will stay with me for a very long time, Tara Sivec I salute you!!

Amazon.com:
Amazon UK:
Barnes & Noble:
Kobo:
 
 

T.E. Sivec is the pen name for Tara Sivec. Under T.E. Sivec, she delves into a more serious genre that is her absolute favorite to read romantic suspense. She loves reading a book and feeling her heart speed up with anticipation and wanted to be able to give that feeling to her fans.

T.E. lives in Ohio with her husband and two children, living the dream of being a fulltime
writer.
 
Social Media Links:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6422281.Tara_Sivec
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaraSivec.authorpage?ref=hl
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tarasivec
 

Up for grabs is a signed paperback of Watch Over Me & some super cool swag


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