Synopsis
Alyssa Boyd had big plans. Big plans that included getting the hell out of the little town she’d grown up in with her two best friends. When she decided it was time to let one of them know her true feelings for him; a change of plans resulted in a tragic turn of events. Now, Alyssa is left alone to find her way out of the darkness that an untimely death has left in its wake.
Jesse Vaughn was never good at letting people in. He’d learned a long time ago that it’s easier that way because people leave, or, unfortunately, die. The one person he wanted to let in doesn’t want him anymore. The only problem is he can’t stop thinking about her. Jesse returns to the childhood home he left behind with one goal in mind… to convince her that they should be together.
When Jesse finds Alyssa she’s not the same girl he left behind. She’s wild, reckless and hell-bent on not giving Jesse a second chance. Lucky for Jesse, his stubborn streak has always been a mile-wide and he’s not about to give up on her.
When your life has been shattered can you really pick up all the pieces and move on?
Jesse Vaughn was never good at letting people in. He’d learned a long time ago that it’s easier that way because people leave, or, unfortunately, die. The one person he wanted to let in doesn’t want him anymore. The only problem is he can’t stop thinking about her. Jesse returns to the childhood home he left behind with one goal in mind… to convince her that they should be together.
When Jesse finds Alyssa she’s not the same girl he left behind. She’s wild, reckless and hell-bent on not giving Jesse a second chance. Lucky for Jesse, his stubborn streak has always been a mile-wide and he’s not about to give up on her.
When your life has been shattered can you really pick up all the pieces and move on?
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Review
This story made my heart hurt for poor Alyssa but brought so much angst and joy throughout it too. At such a young age, her world was taken away from her-part of it permanently and part of it just left. You want to cry for this shell of a girl, who doesn't know how to function after the two closest people to her are no longer there and just wants to leave the world behind that damaged her so much. She does continue to maintain a friendship with a girl, January, she's known since kindergarten but it's minimal due to her being in a long term relationship. So you get to watch her try to function minimally and without a care until the time comes that she gets to really live again-by leaving town for good.
The book started out with the typically "I don't give a crap" feel from Alyssa but then you start to learn why she feels this way, which is the loss Jesse and Garrett. However, Jesse comes back, after being a part of that destruction to her heart and soul, to make things right and show her how he really feels about her. He's seriously swoon worthy and a knight in shining armor for her. However, she is so damn stubborn! But, Alyssa says it herself, well rather thinks it herself, when she talks about him in the beginning of this story-she was the drama of the trio and he was the stubborn one and Garrett kept them grounded. The chemistry and battle of hearts is unbearable because you just want to scream "get it together and be together already!!!"
Elizabeth's writing style for this book was different than what you typically see. It is written from different points of view but also written in a timeline sequence and has flashbacks. It almost seems scattered but really it's not and flows very well. You really feel like you are in these characters minds because as one of them thinks about a particular event, you are taken back to that point in time with Elizabeth's words. This can be a very hard writing style to conquer but was so beautifully executed in this book.
This story is seriously SO good! It's about the type of friendships and love you want to have. The friendships are the lifelong, brother/sister, I know your deepest darkest secret type friendships that most people want and seek in life. The love is the ultimate love that is the friendship that blossoms to something so beautiful and natural between the characters, no matter how hard they fight it. That is a realistic love story. It's not cookie cutter or raunchy but real and true. I loved every bit of this book from page one and think just about anyone else will too!
The book started out with the typically "I don't give a crap" feel from Alyssa but then you start to learn why she feels this way, which is the loss Jesse and Garrett. However, Jesse comes back, after being a part of that destruction to her heart and soul, to make things right and show her how he really feels about her. He's seriously swoon worthy and a knight in shining armor for her. However, she is so damn stubborn! But, Alyssa says it herself, well rather thinks it herself, when she talks about him in the beginning of this story-she was the drama of the trio and he was the stubborn one and Garrett kept them grounded. The chemistry and battle of hearts is unbearable because you just want to scream "get it together and be together already!!!"
Elizabeth's writing style for this book was different than what you typically see. It is written from different points of view but also written in a timeline sequence and has flashbacks. It almost seems scattered but really it's not and flows very well. You really feel like you are in these characters minds because as one of them thinks about a particular event, you are taken back to that point in time with Elizabeth's words. This can be a very hard writing style to conquer but was so beautifully executed in this book.
This story is seriously SO good! It's about the type of friendships and love you want to have. The friendships are the lifelong, brother/sister, I know your deepest darkest secret type friendships that most people want and seek in life. The love is the ultimate love that is the friendship that blossoms to something so beautiful and natural between the characters, no matter how hard they fight it. That is a realistic love story. It's not cookie cutter or raunchy but real and true. I loved every bit of this book from page one and think just about anyone else will too!
Excerpt
Was he the one who took me home from the party last night? Why didn’t I remember? How drunk was I?
It had been nine long months since I’d last seen him, or even heard from him for that matter. I turned back to face January and Hap in utter disbelief.
“Yep.” Hap nodded with a confirming smile. January’s expression matched her boyfriend’s. They were excited about the possible reunion of Jesse and me. January knew everything that almost happened, so it went without saying that Hap was clued in. I hated to break it to them, but this wasn’t going to be the happily ever after that they’d hoped for. As much as I wanted to run up, wrap my arms around his neck and tell him how much I’d missed him, I couldn’t fight the dormant anger that I’d let be suppressed by the sadness and guilt. He left me. It was bad enough that Garrett was gone, but that wasn’t his choice. Jesse had left because he wanted to. I brought my hands up and covered my face, hoping he would walk back out the door before I had to face him.
“Hey, Lyss.” The tone of his voice was hesitant, surely he knew I was in shock to see him. “How are you?” It was hard to tell if he meant, “How are you? It’s been nine months since I last saw you.” or “How are you after getting completely shit-faced last night?” Just hearing his deep, raspy voice sent a ripple across my skin. I really thought he was gone.
I looked up to see him standing beside our table. He looked the same. He’d let his hair grow out, just a little bit longer, but it was same jet-black color and messy tousled look I remembered. The glow of his suntanned skin led me to believe that he’d been hiding out somewhere sunny as opposed to what I’d assumed, which was that he must have crawled under a rock and died, or fell off the face of the earth. Why else would he have just completely disappeared from my life? Everything that had happened the night of Garrett’s accident flashed in my mind. I couldn’t even begin to form a complete sentence. Instead, I pushed out of the booth and looked directly in the eyes I’d tried to forget.
“Don’t,” was all I could come up with before I ran out of the diner.
“Alyssa, please.” He followed me out the door. “Can’t we just talk?”
“No!” I yelled out, not breaking my stride as I walked across the street.
His hands stopped mine before I could pull the car door open and escape. The contact of our skin sent a shock up my arm. “Please.” I turned to see the desperation in his eyes. He pulled his lip between his teeth and brushed a stray hair from my cheek. His hand rested on my cheek. I caught myself turning my face into his strong, warm hand and quickly pulled away. As much as I wanted to fight it, everything that I’d felt for him was still there. I still wanted him to touch me. To kiss me. The guilt and anger that accompanied the desire was too much.
“I can’t do this, Jesse.” I pulled my face from his and quickly sunk behind the wheel of my car. I drove away, leaving him alone on the street.
I wasn’t ready to talk to him. To ask him the string of questions that had been running through my head for months. To explain my erratic behavior the night before. I wasn’t ready for any of it. So, I did the only thing I could think of to avoid the entire situation. I went home, opened the desk drawer and retrieved my new foolproof method of not dealing with it.
It had been nine long months since I’d last seen him, or even heard from him for that matter. I turned back to face January and Hap in utter disbelief.
“Yep.” Hap nodded with a confirming smile. January’s expression matched her boyfriend’s. They were excited about the possible reunion of Jesse and me. January knew everything that almost happened, so it went without saying that Hap was clued in. I hated to break it to them, but this wasn’t going to be the happily ever after that they’d hoped for. As much as I wanted to run up, wrap my arms around his neck and tell him how much I’d missed him, I couldn’t fight the dormant anger that I’d let be suppressed by the sadness and guilt. He left me. It was bad enough that Garrett was gone, but that wasn’t his choice. Jesse had left because he wanted to. I brought my hands up and covered my face, hoping he would walk back out the door before I had to face him.
“Hey, Lyss.” The tone of his voice was hesitant, surely he knew I was in shock to see him. “How are you?” It was hard to tell if he meant, “How are you? It’s been nine months since I last saw you.” or “How are you after getting completely shit-faced last night?” Just hearing his deep, raspy voice sent a ripple across my skin. I really thought he was gone.
I looked up to see him standing beside our table. He looked the same. He’d let his hair grow out, just a little bit longer, but it was same jet-black color and messy tousled look I remembered. The glow of his suntanned skin led me to believe that he’d been hiding out somewhere sunny as opposed to what I’d assumed, which was that he must have crawled under a rock and died, or fell off the face of the earth. Why else would he have just completely disappeared from my life? Everything that had happened the night of Garrett’s accident flashed in my mind. I couldn’t even begin to form a complete sentence. Instead, I pushed out of the booth and looked directly in the eyes I’d tried to forget.
“Don’t,” was all I could come up with before I ran out of the diner.
“Alyssa, please.” He followed me out the door. “Can’t we just talk?”
“No!” I yelled out, not breaking my stride as I walked across the street.
His hands stopped mine before I could pull the car door open and escape. The contact of our skin sent a shock up my arm. “Please.” I turned to see the desperation in his eyes. He pulled his lip between his teeth and brushed a stray hair from my cheek. His hand rested on my cheek. I caught myself turning my face into his strong, warm hand and quickly pulled away. As much as I wanted to fight it, everything that I’d felt for him was still there. I still wanted him to touch me. To kiss me. The guilt and anger that accompanied the desire was too much.
“I can’t do this, Jesse.” I pulled my face from his and quickly sunk behind the wheel of my car. I drove away, leaving him alone on the street.
I wasn’t ready to talk to him. To ask him the string of questions that had been running through my head for months. To explain my erratic behavior the night before. I wasn’t ready for any of it. So, I did the only thing I could think of to avoid the entire situation. I went home, opened the desk drawer and retrieved my new foolproof method of not dealing with it.
Author Bio
When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand. Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination! Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that!
Find Elizabeth on Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads
Find Elizabeth on Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads