Remember how you felt the first time you read your favorite book? Or the first time you read that one book that made you ugly cry? Or maybe the first time you read the book that made you step back and evaluate life? All three of those could quite possibly have happened at the same time. 

That.

That is The Summer Remains.

I’m usually all wordy and write these ridiculously long reviews that probably no one reads, but I can’t make the words stop. Usually. In this case, I can’t make the words form. There are no words. None. 

It’s beautiful. It’s heartfelt. You can feel it in every word on every single page that this book meant something to the author. Of course, every book means something but it was more than that… I can’t explain it. You’ll understand when you read it. 

It’s heartbreaking but makes you feel. It makes you think. It’ll makes your heart hurt (I actually said those words to the author in a FB message. “You’re making my heart hurt.” His response? Some pain demands to be felt. He wins.), you’ll fall in love, but more than all of that, it will make you appreciate life. It’s just one of those books.

Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to type this, and it makes me SO very happy to do it for Jessica Park – What…in the bloody hell…did I just read?! Greatness. Greatness, is what I read. Man…

I’m not going to even tell you about the storyline in detail, because you need to experience that full on, all by yourself. I will say that the first portion, I felt confused a lot. I honestly felt like I was going insane. I knew the pieces would eventually all fall in place, but I just wasn’t sure when. We knew that this was very different for Park, but how? I kept waiting for the other foot to drop, but in the midst of that wait, you get a romance that will put fairytales to shame. More on that in a second. So while reading, keep going. Keep pushing. You are not crazy. 

When the pieces do click, it’s breathtaking. Not in the sense that we normally use that word in reviews. It WAS breathtaking writing, but no…this story will physically take your breath away. Gasp, no more breaths, exhale what feels like forever later. That sort of breathtaking. It’s intense and exhilarating. It’s unlike anything else I’ve read, ever. This story has so much going on, but under it all, it’s about love. It’s about hope. It’s about believing and being there for one another.

I’ve been sitting for a bit trying to figure out how to write my review. Trying to figure out just how to write down what I loved about this book. And I’m still having a hard time. So I’m just going to go with it.

I love hockey books. I love books about manwhores who fall in love. I love books with secrets in them. I love books where the girl thinks its okay to break up with the guy because its better for him that they aren’t together. I love gay best friends. And Garrett had all of that in it. This was a book I just couldn’t put down. It hooked me. It grabbed me. And it wouldn’t let go until I finished. And the epilogue. LOVED IT. Totally and utter loved it. It wasn’t the normal epilogue. It was the epilogue I’ve always wanted in a book. 

What starts as a one night stand to help Olivia feel alive, turns into so much more. And the relationship that grows, is beautiful. Its real. It comes together organically. 

I’m going to write a very vague review. Mainly it should just say read it. Because you must read this book. But in order to be spoiler free, it must be vague. 

We’ve loved Cohen Cage since he was a three year old little boy fighting ninjas and talking about weiners. And let me say, I love him even more now.

Harper Sloan outdid herself with Unexpected Fate. Totally outdid herself. She made me laugh, she made me swoon, she made me cry, she made me fan myself and blush.  I have loved every single one of Harper’s books. Each one is better than the last. But Unexpected Fate blew them all out of the water. 

Cohen Cage is his fathers son. In so many ways. SO MANY WAYS. There is so much of Greg within Cohen its crazy. But the alpha you see in Greg Cage is multiplied with Cohen. The sex, its hotter. The protectiveness, there is more. It’s hard to imagine anyone that is more then Greg Cage but Cohen is. 

I need a minute.

I wish I could say I was clever enough to use that seeing as how it’s a Kiera/Kellan thing, but no seriously, I need a minute.

Can I take a second to just have a mini-freak out? Kellan…Freaking…Kyle is back ya’ll! Kellan Kyle! Kellan! Kyle!!! Ahhhhhh. Kellan, in all of his swoonworthy, sexy, delicious glory. Sigh. I’ve missed him so.

I’m not going to explain who he is or what this story is about because I’m betting you know, even if you haven’t read the books, which in that case – what are you waiting for?! That’s beside the point, let’s just talk about what I absolutely loved.

Breathe. 

I must keep breathing. Through the tears running down my face. 

This was my first Jay McLean book. And it might be my last. She makes me feel too much. She makes me think. She made me cry. And it would be spoilerish if I told you why I cried. Actually it would be spoilerish if I told you why she made me cry multiple times. 

It took me time to get into this book. I had a lot going on in my house aka my kids driving me nuts because of so many snow days. It wasn’t one of those books you can read while distracted. You needed to give it all of your attention. And I was finally able to do that today. It was another snow days for my kids, but I used my friend the DVR and put on the tv and just let them watch. And I stayed in bed and read. I started off this morning at 35%. And finished. I got into it. I got up to feed my kids lunch and that was all. I sat down this morning with a cup of coffee and thats all I’ve had today. I couldn’t leave this book. I couldn’t put it down. It sucked me in, took all of my attention and made me feel. It touched me deep. It made me think. 

As soon as I finished Pulse, the first words out of my mouth were “awwww”. And really, that kind of surprised me. This was not the kind of book that you ever expected to say awww to. This is the kind of book that makes your heart bound with adrenaline and makes your eyes bug out when you read  the sex scenes. But really, that ending, was amazing. 

Pulse starts off 6 months after Beat ends. The are questions that still aren’t answered. There are situations that need rectified. And there is a heart that is so broken, you don’t know if it will ever mend. But it comes together. Not easily. Definitely not easily. 

It’s hard to describe Pulse. Was it raunchy? Yes. Was the sex hot? Yes. Was the guy swoon worthy? Not always but you knew he was underneath. Was the chick tough? OMG, Yes. Usually you read books about fights and its just the guy. Not in Beat and Pulse. Ren was a fighter too. And she took no shit. But she was also so vulnerable. She was one character I don’t think I would be friends with in real life. But I still love her. And I love everything she has overcome to become who she is. 

I’m pleasantly surprised, and almost eager to write this review. When I started Love Bites, I had…a hard time. Not that it wasn’t good, not that it wasn’t sweet or romantic enough, not that it wasn’t a great story. It just wasn’t grabbing me, and that made me so very sad because I was really excited to read it. I’ll be the first to admit this – If I don’t love a book by 30%, I’m done. No more. My opinion is that there are way too many books on my TBR to spend time on something I might not like. So I’ll DNF a book in a heartbeat if I don’t feel it. But something with this one…I just couldn’t stop even though I wasn’t hooked. It’s like I NEEDED to know what happened to Justine, and how she dealt with the issues in her life. I’m beyond thrilled that this was a rare exception and that I kept pushing, because I absolutely adored this book by the end. Completely in love with it.

As I mentioned, the first half seemed very slow for me. I wasn’t in love with the abundance of flashbacks. I know they were necessary, and it shows why Justine made the choices in the present that she has. It almost seemed like maybe too much. Too many, too often, although every flashback was important. It’s such a weird thing trying to explain. It’s like I didn’t want to read that many flashbacks, but can’t imagine not having them. Does that make sense? No, it doesn’t to me either. BUT…then I hit that 50% mark, and it all changed. I can’t even tell you what it is that changed, but I started enjoying it so much more. At that point, you’ll feel for Justine and want the best for her. You’ll be rooting for her to make the right choices, and want to scream at her when she doesn’t.