New Adult Contemporary
Release: December 2, 2014
Published by Penguin/InterMix
Amazon ~ Barnes
& Noble ~ iBooks
Google Play ~ Kobo
Google Play ~ Kobo
Kara Marcus is desperate to
forget the past and move on. But she can’t escape her choices—especially when
she finds herself falling in love…
Since the first day she stepped into her childhood Southern
Baptist church, two truths have been engrained in Kara Marcus’s head: sex
before marriage is bad and murder is a sin. And that’s why Kara can never
forgive herself for what she did at the age of sixteen.
Now, as second semester of freshman year comes to a close, Kara
has stood by her high school boyfriend, Ethan. But as they seem to grow further
and further apart every day, Kara realizes that she has feelings for someone
else: Ethan’s roommate Colt.
Suddenly, Kara’s clear-cut world shifts out of focus, and she’s
torn between what her head tells her is right and what her heart is desperately
pushing her to do—even if it means committing another undeniable sin...
My review:
An up-front warning: this is a book that deals with abortion. Kara does not have an abortion in this story, but Miles from Kara is not only a romance between Kara and Colt but is just as much about Kara dealing with her emotions about her abortion when she was 16 years old.
Kara is majoring in psychology, and she starts volunteering in a counseling center. Kara is immediately confronted with her own past when one of the first people she is assigned to help is a young pregnant girl because Kara had been in this situation herself. Kara's mother had decided that she should get an abortion, and Kara basically went along with it. Some people will judge Kara for this and not like her as a character, but we also have to remember she was 16 when her mother scheduled the abortion for her and she basically felt she had no choice. The relationship that Kara develops with Maggie, the pregnant teen, is oh so unhealthy and unprofessional, but, at the same time, it seems to be what Kara needs to deal with the issues about her abortion, and Maggie certainly needs someone like Kara.
Kara's relationship with Colt just puts the icing on the cake. We already have a great story with Kara and Maggie, but the love interest with the sexy Australian accent makes it even better. Kara knows that things aren't right between her and her long-time boyfriend, Ethan, but she feels like they should stay together because it's what's familiar. However, she finally realizes that she needs to break it off. I didn't like how Kara wouldn't or couldn't break it off with Ethan until it seemed certain that Colt was going to return her feelings of attraction for him. However, the rest of the relationship with Colt made up for it. Colt is like a dream boyfriend. Besides being hot and having a sexy accent, he is very understanding and patient about Kara's issues in the bedroom. It certainly makes him a keeper.
A sweet and sexy love story with a lot of emotional issues all rolled into one makes this is a great read, and I would recommend it.
An ARC was provided for an honest review.
Excerpt:
Colt
started to say something, then shook his beer. “I’m out. Want another?”
Three?
I’d nursed the second one, so I wasn’t feeling it just yet, and I’d already
said and done morethan I would have if I were fully sober. I should stop. I
should let my buzz wear off and go sleep in Ethan’s room. But instead, I kicked
off my sandals and pulled my legs crisscross on the sofa. “All right, I’ll have
another,” I said, mimicking his accent.
He
grinned. “Very funny. You know you have an accent, too.”
“Yeah,
but mine’s not nearly as sexy.” As soon as the words slipped from my mouth, my
eyes went wide and I covered my mouth, my face burning. “I . . .” There was
nothing I could say to take it back.
His
grin switched to a smirk and he cocked his hip against the kitchen counter,
crossing his arms so his biceps bulged against the tightness of his T-shirt.
“You think I sound sexy, huh? What else do you think of me?” He started toward
me, a slow strut that made my insides ignite. His dirty blond hair fell over
his eyes as he studied me. His jaw was covered in fine stubble and I found
myself wishing I could run my fingers across it. I flushed.
“Nothing.”
“All
right. How about I tell you what I think of you?” I started to argue, but he
continued before Icould get a word out. “I think you’re smart, though you doubt
yourself. I think you’re kind, though you’re hard on yourself. I think you’re
funny and your laugh draws attention no matter where you are.” He was standing
before me now, staring down, his presence a force I couldn’t ignore. “And I
think you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life. So
beautiful, in fact, I have a hard time being around you . . . without staring.”
About the Author
Melissa West writes young
adult and new adult novels for Entangled Teen and Embrace and Penguin/InterMix.
She lives outside of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends
most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her coffee addiction.
She holds a B.A. in
Communication Studies and a M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson
University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.
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