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judeinthestars's review
3.0
Belinda spent the last six years in a coma after falling suddenly and mysteriously ill. When she wakes up, she’s sixteen and locked inside her body. Her parents have given up on her ever recovering and it takes a particularly perceptive teenager to notice the small changes. Belinda seems to be reacting to Carly’s voice more than to anything else and an unlikely friendship begins between the two girls.
I liked this book a lot until suddenly I didn’t. The first part, everything about Belinda being locked in, Carly’s belief that she’s awake, the birth of their friendship and the beginnings of Belinda’s feelings for her new friend, all that is really good. Annette Mori handles the topic in a very delicate manner and the way she writes both characters makes them very endearing. The secondary characters – both young women’s families, the friends they meet – are well-written too.
Then a terribly clichéd French character entered, which started to get me out of the story. The way one of the secondary characters’ struggle with alcohol was written didn’t help and the not-acting-on-our-feelings game Carly and Belinda play for all the wrong reasons got old. It felt like the book was trying too hard and it lost me on the way.
I listened to the audiobook and the narration is pretty good, the various young women have distinctive enough voices and the pace is effective.
In the end, this wasn’t a book for me, but other reviewers found themselves sufficiently involved in the first half of the story to enjoy it in its entirety, so give it a try and make up your own mind.
I liked this book a lot until suddenly I didn’t. The first part, everything about Belinda being locked in, Carly’s belief that she’s awake, the birth of their friendship and the beginnings of Belinda’s feelings for her new friend, all that is really good. Annette Mori handles the topic in a very delicate manner and the way she writes both characters makes them very endearing. The secondary characters – both young women’s families, the friends they meet – are well-written too.
Then a terribly clichéd French character entered, which started to get me out of the story. The way one of the secondary characters’ struggle with alcohol was written didn’t help and the not-acting-on-our-feelings game Carly and Belinda play for all the wrong reasons got old. It felt like the book was trying too hard and it lost me on the way.
I listened to the audiobook and the narration is pretty good, the various young women have distinctive enough voices and the pace is effective.
In the end, this wasn’t a book for me, but other reviewers found themselves sufficiently involved in the first half of the story to enjoy it in its entirety, so give it a try and make up your own mind.
vixdag's review
5.0
***No Synopsis***Spoilers***
I thoroughly loved this book. I normally don’t care for books in first person narration, but this flowed so effortlessly that I completely felt like I was in Belinda’s head the whole time.
First of all, how refreshing to have a lead character with a physical disability! The descriptions of what it was like for Belinda when she wakes up from her Locked In Syndrome are rather harrowing and it gave me pause while I tried to think of myself in her position. I never felt sorry for Belinda because she was such a fighter and her outlook was so positive. This was believable because she still got angry with people, felt jealousy, and got snarky when pushed too far. The author never portrayed her as a victim, which would have been close to insulting.
I thought that Carly was such a breath of fresh air as a character. She seems almost too good to be true, but I completely bought the whole Carly package. I’ve known people who are simply good, caring, compassionate and helpful and Carly’s goodness felt very authentic to me. She was three-dimensional because she did get her bitch on when necessary and had a few stumbles through her first semester of college as most have.
I really liked how the author let the reader know that there was going to be a happily ever after from the get go. The author also gave us little reminders of that throughout the book so there was none of that “Will they/won’t they?” energy which is honestly a waste in this genre because there is ALWAYS a happily ever after.
The romantic relationship was endearing because we get to see it over time. While both of them admit to love at first sight, we get to witness their relationship bloom and it is terribly sweet.
A side character comes to terms with being and alcoholic and begins her recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. This is the first romance I have read where it appeared like the author did some serious research around AA and nailed the spirit of the program and disease.
I thoroughly loved this book. I normally don’t care for books in first person narration, but this flowed so effortlessly that I completely felt like I was in Belinda’s head the whole time.
First of all, how refreshing to have a lead character with a physical disability! The descriptions of what it was like for Belinda when she wakes up from her Locked In Syndrome are rather harrowing and it gave me pause while I tried to think of myself in her position. I never felt sorry for Belinda because she was such a fighter and her outlook was so positive. This was believable because she still got angry with people, felt jealousy, and got snarky when pushed too far. The author never portrayed her as a victim, which would have been close to insulting.
I thought that Carly was such a breath of fresh air as a character. She seems almost too good to be true, but I completely bought the whole Carly package. I’ve known people who are simply good, caring, compassionate and helpful and Carly’s goodness felt very authentic to me. She was three-dimensional because she did get her bitch on when necessary and had a few stumbles through her first semester of college as most have.
I really liked how the author let the reader know that there was going to be a happily ever after from the get go. The author also gave us little reminders of that throughout the book so there was none of that “Will they/won’t they?” energy which is honestly a waste in this genre because there is ALWAYS a happily ever after.
The romantic relationship was endearing because we get to see it over time. While both of them admit to love at first sight, we get to witness their relationship bloom and it is terribly sweet.
A side character comes to terms with being and alcoholic and begins her recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. This is the first romance I have read where it appeared like the author did some serious research around AA and nailed the spirit of the program and disease.
vastatuuli's review
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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