“We tend to regret our yesterdays, live in our todays and forget about our tomorrows, but I’m trying to cherish them all.”
WOW, see that splodge there --> ___, those are tear stains and a lot of tears were shed whilst reading this book and writing this review. This is one emotional rollercoaster!! But once you are on it, you just don’t want to get off…you have to read until the very last word is devoured.
Kate was an outgoing girl, until one night, something happened and her outlook on life changed. She changed and it wasn’t for the better. She had a best friend called Beau, they had been friends since they were 5, even he couldn’t get through to her. No-one knew why she had changed, just that she had. She kept herself to herself. She would still talk and text Beau but not on the same level they used to. 2 years had passed and Beau was going off to college, Kate had decided not to go and was taking a year off. Beau needed to get a few things off his chest before he went, it pained him to see her so withdrawn and distant and he just wanted to try and get through to her. The talk, left their friendship in even more tatters than it was before.
Kate begins to shrink further and further away, she wants Beau to have the “full college experience” so she starts ignoring texts and phone calls, separating herself even further from the one person that has been there for her and kept her grounded.
One day, in the little diner where Kate works, in walks Asher…handsome, cocky, but has an ability to see right through Kate. He perseveres, breaks down her walls, they become friends and then lovers. Kate has her secrets, Asher has his, will all be revealed or will some secrets not be told till it is too late?
“I feel like he was sent here to awaken my soul, but he chose not to stop there. He awakened everything”
This book is emotionally powerful, it will make you laugh, cry, love, hate, guttural stomach wrenching ugly sobs and more love. It has everything, we have friendships, hardships, falling in love, passion and lots of angst.
“You don’t live because of me. You live because you let me love you. You made the choice to breathe all on your own…I just helped you find the strength to inhale.”
As usual, I cannot go into too much detail else it will spoil it for you all, but I cannot convey how this book affected me. My eyes were big puffy balls and red rimmed , my nose (let’s not go there!) but you get the picture, not pretty at all! It takes a lot for an author to get you into that state but Lisa De Jong managed to do it with ease. The writing was fluid, the story flowed beautifully, but most importantly, you felt it in your heart. Kate became your friend and you were living through it with her, you went through everything she did and you couldn’t help but be drawn into this story with your heart, body and soul.
“I also realise that there’s a difference between soul mates and true love. Looking at the surface, they are similar, but when I dug deep down inside, I found they were different.”
I felt so sorry for Kate, I wish she had the strength to talk about what she was going through, but she kept it all inside. It was hard to read about her become so broken, you felt her on that downward spiral and that she felt that there was nowhere else to go. She loved Beau but couldn’t give him back the kind of love he deserved so she felt she had to let him go. This killed me! My heart broke for Beau at this point so I was not a happy bunny when Asher came on the scene.
Asher, he steals your heart, I always struggle when I fall in love with both characters. This is not a love triangle though, so don’t panic! I didn’t want them to get together at first, I wanted her to go with Beau but once he crawls under your skin and into your heart you do not want to let him go. He really was such a lovely character. Yes he has his past but he has tried to not let it dictate his future, he has left that to fate. He now feels that life is punishing him for his sins, but since he has met Kate, he has been a totally different person, these two really do bring the best out of each other. They truly have a forever kind of love.
“I told you that every star in the sky was made for you, and they were, Kate. You light up my world even in my darkest moments.”
I am glad that Kate had people that cared for her, she needed them throughout this book and they stepped up to the plate when needed. There was one point I could have slapped Beau, but I forgave him as we are talking about “Beau,” he was adorable.
“Yes, Kate, I’m going to miss you. I’m so damn in love with you, I can barely stand to spend a few hours apart from you, and now we’re going to be miles apart. It sucks. It really effing sucks.”
Just have a read and savour the story, have a big tub of ice-cream, your favourite chocolate and a box of tissues handy as you will need all the comfort you can get! Lisa de Jong, an amazing story, I cannot wait to see what you write next.
“Loving you is easy, but it makes this so much harder.”
