Synopsis If You Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act. Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He's never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart. |
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Review
I’ve had I guess a blogger’s version of writer’s block all day today. I’ve tried to write this review 5 different times, but I end up sitting here with a blank Word document open. It’s not because I didn’t love this book, because I did. I just can’t seem to figure out what to say. So this will be my shortest review to date, and Lia Riley, I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a more in depth review. It’s not you, it’s me. You were fantastic.
In a nutshell, you’ve got Talia, who takes a trip to Australia to basically get away from her life. She wants to be someone she isn’t, because who she was in California wasn’t shaping up so well. Her sister was killed in a car accident, her father has sort of shut her out, and her mother ran off to Hawaii. On top of it, she slept with her sister’s love and she suffers from OCD. She’s over being Talia (I don’t blame her, I would be too. Poor girl) and sets out to be Talia 2.0. While in Australia, she meets Bran. Oh Bran. Bran Bran Bran. I haven’t said his name enough so just give me one more time…Sigh Bran. Bran has a past as well, although very different from Talia’s. They’re both scared to move forward but know they can’t live in the past. Seeing their relationship bloom and mature is something…well…something romance novels are made of. It’s the epitome of a love story, in my opinion.
This book is about hope and self-discovery. It’s romantic. Tummy flutters, warm and fuzzies romantic. On the other hand, it deals with some serious subject matter in parts. The death of her sister really takes a toll on Talia and seeing it hurt her is heartbreaking. The same goes for Bran. You know his story must be something major, and fitting all of the pieces together was a captivating puzzle that I couldn’t put down. But as intriguing as each character is in their own right, it’s the two of them together that made this story for me. They’re perfect together. Absolutely perfect. Seeing how much they love one another, how passionate they are, and how much they help one another was beautiful.
Overall, Upside Down was a very emotional tale of two lost souls who help find one another. It’s romantic, heartbreaking, frustrating, and really just all around emotional. You’ll feel for these characters and their story. I can’t wait for the second book in the series, and am so glad I picked this one up.
Huh. That wasn't so short after all. Thanks for knocking that writer’s block Lia. :) I don't know how authors do it. Props to you ladies for overcoming that and writing entire novels. I can’t imagine, so way to be a superstar!
<3 Erin
In a nutshell, you’ve got Talia, who takes a trip to Australia to basically get away from her life. She wants to be someone she isn’t, because who she was in California wasn’t shaping up so well. Her sister was killed in a car accident, her father has sort of shut her out, and her mother ran off to Hawaii. On top of it, she slept with her sister’s love and she suffers from OCD. She’s over being Talia (I don’t blame her, I would be too. Poor girl) and sets out to be Talia 2.0. While in Australia, she meets Bran. Oh Bran. Bran Bran Bran. I haven’t said his name enough so just give me one more time…Sigh Bran. Bran has a past as well, although very different from Talia’s. They’re both scared to move forward but know they can’t live in the past. Seeing their relationship bloom and mature is something…well…something romance novels are made of. It’s the epitome of a love story, in my opinion.
This book is about hope and self-discovery. It’s romantic. Tummy flutters, warm and fuzzies romantic. On the other hand, it deals with some serious subject matter in parts. The death of her sister really takes a toll on Talia and seeing it hurt her is heartbreaking. The same goes for Bran. You know his story must be something major, and fitting all of the pieces together was a captivating puzzle that I couldn’t put down. But as intriguing as each character is in their own right, it’s the two of them together that made this story for me. They’re perfect together. Absolutely perfect. Seeing how much they love one another, how passionate they are, and how much they help one another was beautiful.
Overall, Upside Down was a very emotional tale of two lost souls who help find one another. It’s romantic, heartbreaking, frustrating, and really just all around emotional. You’ll feel for these characters and their story. I can’t wait for the second book in the series, and am so glad I picked this one up.
Huh. That wasn't so short after all. Thanks for knocking that writer’s block Lia. :) I don't know how authors do it. Props to you ladies for overcoming that and writing entire novels. I can’t imagine, so way to be a superstar!
<3 Erin
Author Info
Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live in Northern California. |