#OctobeRecFest Review #6 ~ Easy ~ Tammara Webber

Easy by Tammara Webber
Contours of the Heart #1
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased paperback
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Goodreads
Recommended by: Girls @Chapter Break, Naomi @Naomi's Reading Palace, Marilyn @Marilyn's Mystery Blog, Sharrice @Reese's Reviews, Ali @Black Heart Reviews, Robyn @Robgirlbooks, & Andrea (formerly The Bookish Babe)

Synopsis
When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night - but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

**This book was recommended by EVERYONE! (see above)**

To all my blogging friends who threatened to unfriend me for not having read this book sooner: I get it now. :) I'm sorry it took me so long but I'm on board with y'all now. Easy rocked!

It's easy to see why Easy is such a beloved story. It was an early entry in the New Adult market and it delivered beautifully on all the elements I've come to love in NA. And it did it with little angst.

I'm not going to rehash the entire book as I'm sure you've allread your fair share of reviews and/or have read the book yourselves. I'm going to highlight positives and negatives from my perspective.

+ Jacqueline - she's a great heroine. Sure she made mistakes but she proved her intelligence by not only learning from them but also creating something positive from the negatives. I enjoyed seeing her grow, stand up for herself, and show her inner strength.

+ Erin - she proved to be more than a one-dimensional secondary character. I adored her support of Jacqueline and championing of girl solidarity in general. She showed me not all Greek girls fit their stereotype.

+ Lucas - this boy broke my heart, made me smile, and cheer. He was proof looks can be deceiving. The depth contained in this guy...whoa!

+ Webber's realistic portrayal of college students dealing with relationships ending and beginning.

+ Webber's realistic portrayal of dealing with the fallout from sexual assault.

+ Dr. Heller - if only more professors were as compassionate as him.

- Absentee parents - okay, so both Jacqueline's and Lucas' parents were absentee but Lucas' had grounds. I didn't appreciate that Jacqueline's, particularly her mom, were more concerned with their own lives than their daughter's.

Yeah, I really think there was only the one negative.

Easy is compelling and well-written. I understand it's legions of fans. I'm now part of it and can't wait for more!

#2015HW Review ~ Hopeless ~ Colleen Hoover

Hopeless
Hopeless #1
Release Date: December 19, 2012
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased paperback
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Goodreads

Synopsis
Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies...

That's what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she's never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he's nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn't at all who he's been claiming to be. When the secrets he's been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky's life will change forever.

Why, oh why did I wait so long to read this?? Colleen Hoover is an incredibly talented storyteller. She takes painful topics and weaves amazing stories around them, creating robust characters as well. Hopeless was sometimes funny,

"Relax," I say, after seeing her eye both Holder and Breckin, with concern. "Neither one of them is getting me pregnant this weekend."

sometimes painful,

Despite the fact that I want to be mad at him, I just can't. If he wasn't here right now to comfort me after the realization I just had, I don't know what I would do. He's done nothing but place blame on himself for every single thing that's ever happened to me. I'm beginning to accept the fact that maybe he needs comforting just as much as I do. For that, I allow him to steal another piece of my heart.

sometimes poignant,

"Let's not let this be your life tonight," he says. "Let's get back in the car and pretend we're driving away because we want to...not because we need to. We can pretend I'm taking you somewhere amazing...somewhere you've always wanted to go. You can snuggle up to me and we can talk about how excited we are and we'll talk about everything we'll do when we get there We can talk about the important stuff later. But tonight...let's not let this be your life."

sometimes awe-inspiring,

"Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers."
I kiss him. Holy shit, do I kiss him. I kiss him with every ounce of emotion that's coursing through me. He cradles my head with his hand and lowers me back to the bed, climbing on top of me. "I love you," he says. "I've loved you for so long but I just couldn't tell you. It didn't feel right letting you love me back when I was keeping so much from you."

Both Sky and Holder have painful, traumatic pasts. Hoover wraps them in love, healing, dreams, and possibilities. She shows that there must always be darkness in order to have light.