I Found You by Jane Lark
Starting Out #1
Release Date: December 4, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: I received an ecopy through Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 3.5 Bookworms
Source: I received an ecopy through Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 3.5 Bookworms
Synopsis
Tomorrow is for regrets. Tonight is for being together.
On a cold winter night, Rachel and Jason's lives collide on Manhattan Bridge. She's running from life, he's running toward it. But compassion urges him to help her.
His offer of a place to stay leads to friendship and trouble. There's his fiancee back home in Oregon and a family who just don't trust this girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
But when the connection between them is so electric, so right...everyone else must be wrong. And as the snow begins to settle on the Hudson, there's nothing but the possibility of what could be -- of this, right here, right now. Them.
I Found You was a compelling read about two people seemingly fated to be together. I enjoyed the element of fate as I'm a firm believer in things happening as they're meant to. The story also touched on a topic not often discussed - mental illness.
Rachel Shears has lived a hard life. Having left home at a young age, she's done what she had to in order to survive. She's done a lot she's not proud of. She can't seem to help herself and as she can't understand herself, she doesn't expect anyone else to. When things in her life erupt, she finds herself on Manhattan Bridge. It's there she finds Jason Macinlay.
Jason is a small-town boy who's come to New York to prove something - to himself and to his family and friends. When he finds Rachel on that bridge, his life takes on a new course. One he must decide whether he has to strength to endure. Because life with Rachel is anything but steady.
Jason shows maturity and strength of character as his relationship with Rachel evolves. He's chivalrous and a calm presence in Rachel's life. He makes Rachel want a good life. Rachel changes so much over the course of the story. It was nice to see - especially once her secret is revealed.
When Jason and Rachel visit his hometown, I was appalled at the welcome they received. I had to grit my teeth over the small-town prejudices and the repercussions they had on Rachel.
Mental illness is not something spoken of often. It's not something many understand and so we ignore it. I applaud Ms. Lark taking a mental illness and using it as a focal element in this story.
There were a few things about I Found You that bothered me. The main one being Ms. Lark's using the U.S. as her setting and then using British dialect. I literally heard these characters, who were supposed to be from New York and Oregon, speak with British accents. I don't take issue with that - I love British accents. However, I don't understand her use of the U.S. as a setting when the story could have easily been set in Britain. I also found some of the dialog a bit repetitive and it slowed the pace for me. And I questioned the necessity of the physical violence perpetrated by Jason's ex-girlfriend. However, as this is the first book in a series, this may be expanded upon in the future.
Overall, I Found You was a good read. I liked the story. I liked the element of fate and the mental illness angle. And I'm eager to know where Rachel and Jason go from this point forward.
