Author: Elizabeth Scott
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Source: Harlequin TEEN via NetGalley
Goodreads rating: 3.75 out of 5.00 (250+ ratings)
Goodreads | The Reading Room
Life. Death. And...Love?
Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.
Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?
Review by Nara
While I do understand how people could consider this book a five star read, there was one thing (literally one thing) that stopped it from becoming one of mine. This was the main character. OMFG EMMA. Seriously. She was so angry and spiteful and selfish and I just couldn't take it. Okay, I get that her mother has actually passed away and is being kept "alive" to save the baby and so Emma is in grieving and all that, but I don't understand why she hates Dan so much. All he's doing is trying to SAVE YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE ARGH!
I understand what she meant now about the edge and how hate can take over everything. I see it. I feel it. But I don't know how to stop it. And the one person who could, the one person who'd be able to pull me back, is gone.Ignoring the problem of Emma's bitchiness, the rest of the book was rather good. The main thing keeping me reading the book was the romance. Caleb was a very intriguing character. I don't think I've ever really read a book where the love interest is so flawed (or maybe I have and just can't remember lol). Just as Emma carries this heavy grief, Caleb does too- as well as guilt and hate and god knows what else. However, whereas in Emma's case I just couldn't connect with her character, strangely, there's an understanding when I read about Caleb. Even though what Caleb does/did is on many levels, much worse. Actually, I'd almost prefer it if we could see things from Caleb's POV. He was just such an interesting character, much more so than Emma.
I see what grief does, how it strips you bare, shows you all the things you don't want to know. That loss doesn't end, that there isn't a moment where you are done, when you can neatly put it away and move on. It never leaves you.Well, overall, I would definitely recommend this book to people looking for a poignant, feels-inducing story with a swoon-worthy romance.
Liked it
Ratings
Overall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 2/5
I definitely agree with you! It was a good book but omg Emma was just so so annoying.to an extent, she can be angry but she was just irrational too. Great review and happy new year Nara!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess the irrationality can be attributed to her grief, but still...ugh.
DeleteHappy New Year to you too!
I somewhat agree with this. I kind of get where Emma is coming from, if she were an adult and this bitchy, I would have just hated it but she's a teenager and I kind of get that her feelings seem like the most important thing in the world when they're really not. Caleb was really cool & so flawed, I LOVED IT! Awesome review & nice quote choices :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get that, but it was just a bit too much for me at times :/
DeleteCaleb on the other hand! A much better character ;)
I know what you mean about Emma, she was a pretty infuriating character, and I would have probably given up on the book if I wasn't such a huge fan of Scott's other works, and well, the romance, too :D I think Emma was so angry with Dan because she was grieving and was maybe in denial of a few things, like her mother actually wanting the baby, and also grief sometimes clouds people's perspectives, so I totally get why Emma would behave the way she did. Everyone handles grief differently, and losing a mother isn't easy.
ReplyDeleteBut, ah, Caleb! I loved their relationship and how they seemed to make things easier for each other. I agree that Caleb was a little more interesting, more mysterious I guess, than Emma. I also really liked Emma's relationship with Olivia, and how there was a difference in Emma's mind, like before her mom died (Olivia) and after (Caleb) and how she felt about it.
Thanks for sharing & love those quotes!
I don't think I've read too many of Scott's other books (only I Love You sth sth), but I probably should.
DeleteWhile Emma was pretty flawed, I guess she was still quite interesting to read about. And Caleb too. And yeah- Olivia was a nice balance to Emma, I think :)
I haven't read that one yet! My favorite by Scott is probably Something, Maybe or Bloom. :)
DeleteAwesome! I've added both of those to my TBR :D
DeleteI don't know if I could stand Emma though...lol! Those kinds of MCs drive me bonkers. >_< Angry and spiteful, okay, I can deal with that...but full on selfish? It makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Still. Caleb does sound pretty awesome.
ReplyDeleteYeah...it was kind of annoying. Still, not a bad book overall.
DeleteI think I've heard about the MC's character being a turn off of the book. Meh, she would definitely annoy me. That's great that the love interest is flawed! I really like it when characters are so dimensional. I don't think I'll be checking this one out but great review Nara :D
ReplyDeleteI definitely like characters with more depth too :) Just not characters like Emma lol.
DeleteI have been hearing a little bit about this book, and it does like it is hard to connect to this main character.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely difficult. It was just so frustrating at times :/
DeleteI'm glad you liked this one in general Nara! I personally felt like it was the book I've been looking for all this while. I just actually really connected with Emma, her grief and while her reaction may have been overdone, I think I understand. I have felt the same grief only that I wasn't caught in such an unusual situation. But I think grief tends to make some irrational. But fantastic review all the same, Nara! :) I think you captured what a lot of people think too! I also agree about Caleb being imperfect as a refreshing change! :D
ReplyDeleteFantastic review, Nara! <33
Quite true. I guess grief does make people irrational- it just wasn't something I necessarily wanted to read about, if that makes sense haha.
DeleteOkay, you have me intrigued. Who is this "Dan"? You can't just mention his name and give us no more information about him Nara! (I don't care if it's a spoiler LOL) -bangs head on wall-
ReplyDeleteAnd I can tell Caleb would be one interesting character. The summary alone made me think that way. I'm glad to hear that you liked him since I may read the book just to meet him! -wink wink-
lol good point. For some reason I thought it was already in the blurb haha. My bad :P
DeleteHe's the stepdad :)
I had some problems with Emma too.She kept on blaming Dan, and it started to become annoying.
ReplyDeleteI loved Caleb. I have a huge soft spot for flawed and broken heroes,and he is one of the best I've read.
Definitely agree! Caleb was a really interesting character. A lot more interesting to read about than Emma in any case :P
Delete