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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I have been looking forward to reading this book for a while now because I totally loved JP's other books Flat Out Love, Flat Out Matt, and Relatively Famous. I one-clicked the book the second I knew it was released. I was not disappointed.
I've seen a few complaints in other reviews about the insta-love between Chris and Blythe being too much. Sometimes I do agree that it can seem too unrealistic for people to fall so quickly but the way that Jessica Park wrote it, it seems pretty perfect. They were instantly attracted to each other and had a strong connection but the way they fell in love was slow and steady. Shit, I fell in love with Chris pretty instantaneously myself.
"But Chris does not run. Instead he slides his arm around my waist and pulls me in close until my back is tight against his chest. "It's okay. Breath into it.""
"I want to hear you come. I need to hear you come."
Come to think of it I kept thinking to myself...what is taking so long? How long are you two gonna drag this out?!? Then finally they get their shit together and hump like bunnies for days and I'm like THANK GOD!
Then suddenly 64% of the way through the book I want to throw my Kindle against a wall!! Seriously....seriously? W.T.F. ?!? Turmoil, heartbreak, stupid decision-making;I was expecting it all but not like this. Not.Like.This.
After this is where the book kind of lost me for a minute. Things began to happen pretty quickly without a lot of details that I feel would have been interesting to read about. How (in greater detail)did Blythe deal with being around his family after? How did she deal with normal every day things for that year? I would've liked to hear a little about her life without the Shepherds in it.
I'm still a little angry at Blythe for getting over everything pretty easily and I'm super pissed at Chris that he acted so casually about what he almost did but then suddenly decides that he's all-in with Blythe and nobody seems that upset by it.
I have to mention how in love I am with all of the secondary characters. I mean Sabin is ridiculously awesome and quirky in the best way.
"What's happenin', the cakest of all my baby cakes?"
James, Eric, Zach and Estelle round out the group pretty nicely. Estelle and her faith make me giggle..is that supposed to happen?
"Forgive me my sins, O lord, forgive me my sins; the sins of my youth, the sins of my age, the sins of my soul, the sins of my body; my idle sins, me serious voluntary sins..."
While I'm not sure if I love this book as much as I LOVED the Flat Out books I will absolutely say without a doubt that I love the way Jessica Park writes her characters. I want to be friends with each and every one of them.
In the end we get our HEA and days after finishing the book I'm still kind of in love with Chris and Blythe's story.
Words cannot express how much I loved this story. Much like the first book I read by Jessica Park, Flat Out Love, Left Drowning will be with me for a long time.
Left Drowning is an emotionally compelling story about Blythe McGuire who lost her parents in a house fire when she was seventeen years old. She and her brother James luckily survived. As you can imagine, this loss has changed Blythe forever. She is now twenty one years old, in her last year of college, and she has successfully cut herself off from everyone for the past 4 years. She has no friends to speak of, and the only social interaction she has is going out and getting drunk at parties. That is until she meets Chris Shepard. She feels an inexplicable connection to Chris, and he brings out feelings in her that she has long since buried. Along with Chris' two brothers, Sabin and Eric, and their sister, Estelle, Blythe is saved from drowning. They teach her to breathe again. The Shepard clan becomes the family she is missing.
However, Chris and his family also have demons in their past. Blythe wants to be there for Chris, to help him like he did her, but he keeps her at arms length. She makes him feel too much, makes him remember his troubled past, and he doesn't want that, he only wants to move forward with his life.
There is so much emotion in this story. You feel for and fall in love with every one of the characters. There were very intense moments, emotional highs and lows. Your heart will literally break. There were also some of the hottest love scenes I have read in any book. They were not only hot, but beautiful and totally added to the connection between Chris and Blythe. The moment they fall in love, I too felt it. Jessica Parks words are that powerful.
Chris and Blythe both share with each other that they don't believe in God or fate, or divine intervention. However, this is exactly what brings these two together. There are pieces to this story, that if you pay attention, fit together perfectly. I think you will either pick up on it or you won't. Either way, you will love the ending of this book. I myself am a firm believer that everything does happen for a reason.
On a side note, I must bring up Sabin, Chris' brother. I loved him so much. He becomes Blythe's best friend and is the comic relief. There were times, when I was pissed off at Chris, that I wished she would end up with Sabin. I adore him and hope he gets his own book because he deserves a happily ever after too.
This book is going right onto my favorites shelf. I absolutely loved it. 5+++ stars!!
Left Drowning is an emotionally compelling story about Blythe McGuire who lost her parents in a house fire when she was seventeen years old. She and her brother James luckily survived. As you can imagine, this loss has changed Blythe forever. She is now twenty one years old, in her last year of college, and she has successfully cut herself off from everyone for the past 4 years. She has no friends to speak of, and the only social interaction she has is going out and getting drunk at parties. That is until she meets Chris Shepard. She feels an inexplicable connection to Chris, and he brings out feelings in her that she has long since buried. Along with Chris' two brothers, Sabin and Eric, and their sister, Estelle, Blythe is saved from drowning. They teach her to breathe again. The Shepard clan becomes the family she is missing.
However, Chris and his family also have demons in their past. Blythe wants to be there for Chris, to help him like he did her, but he keeps her at arms length. She makes him feel too much, makes him remember his troubled past, and he doesn't want that, he only wants to move forward with his life.
There is so much emotion in this story. You feel for and fall in love with every one of the characters. There were very intense moments, emotional highs and lows. Your heart will literally break. There were also some of the hottest love scenes I have read in any book. They were not only hot, but beautiful and totally added to the connection between Chris and Blythe. The moment they fall in love, I too felt it. Jessica Parks words are that powerful.
Chris and Blythe both share with each other that they don't believe in God or fate, or divine intervention. However, this is exactly what brings these two together. There are pieces to this story, that if you pay attention, fit together perfectly. I think you will either pick up on it or you won't. Either way, you will love the ending of this book. I myself am a firm believer that everything does happen for a reason.
On a side note, I must bring up Sabin, Chris' brother. I loved him so much. He becomes Blythe's best friend and is the comic relief. There were times, when I was pissed off at Chris, that I wished she would end up with Sabin. I adore him and hope he gets his own book because he deserves a happily ever after too.
This book is going right onto my favorites shelf. I absolutely loved it. 5+++ stars!!
ARC given in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley and Amazon Publishing.
WOW! What an emotional rollercoaster of a book! Blythe was a great heroine. She was suffering over grief of the loss of her parents and the emotions and her story were real and heartbreaking. She dealt with her grief the best way she good. She goes about her day the same and ends it the same. Until one day a guy named Sabin comes and steals her coffee and everything in her life changed. It led her to Chris which led her to Estelle and Eric and Zach. Every single character in this book were AMAZING! I loved each and every one of them. It made me jealous and wish I had people like that in my life! SUch amazing friends. They really got Blythe through her depression and got her life back. I will not lie and say that in the middle what was going on with Chris didnt get me so frustrated. But I can understand. Growing up with the childhood they did could really mess up a persons head and think they are not good enough for people. And that is what chris felt. But I am so happy they finally got there stories out and when they finally found they were actually connected, really shows how FATE plays a part in everyone's lives. I believe that in real life. I believe fate and the saying "Everything happens for a reason" is completely accurate no matter how bad or good it is. Books like this is what I love to read. Everything was great in this book and it ended perfectly. I just wish we could have a book for James, Eric and Estelle because they were amazing characters! LOved this book! Definite 5 stars!
WOW! What an emotional rollercoaster of a book! Blythe was a great heroine. She was suffering over grief of the loss of her parents and the emotions and her story were real and heartbreaking. She dealt with her grief the best way she good. She goes about her day the same and ends it the same. Until one day a guy named Sabin comes and steals her coffee and everything in her life changed. It led her to Chris which led her to Estelle and Eric and Zach. Every single character in this book were AMAZING! I loved each and every one of them. It made me jealous and wish I had people like that in my life! SUch amazing friends. They really got Blythe through her depression and got her life back. I will not lie and say that in the middle what was going on with Chris didnt get me so frustrated. But I can understand. Growing up with the childhood they did could really mess up a persons head and think they are not good enough for people. And that is what chris felt. But I am so happy they finally got there stories out and when they finally found they were actually connected, really shows how FATE plays a part in everyone's lives. I believe that in real life. I believe fate and the saying "Everything happens for a reason" is completely accurate no matter how bad or good it is. Books like this is what I love to read. Everything was great in this book and it ended perfectly. I just wish we could have a book for James, Eric and Estelle because they were amazing characters! LOved this book! Definite 5 stars!
*Warning this contains mature content and also physical abuse*
I think that if I didn't listen to this on audiobook I wouldn't be able to make it through it. In the end the book was emotional, and completely heartbreaking, but there were some cringe worthy moments and definitely some tough parts to get through. For me the winning grace of this book were the characters!
Park created a story that was an emotional roller coaster that covered a lot of tough and heartbreaking subjects. For me the writing was just subpar. There were parts of the story I felt were a little unrealistic and some parts (mainly the sexual encounters) that were rough. The sexy time scenes were a bit repetitive and for me the "dirty talk" was funny and cringe worthy. I think it was even funnier because I was listening to it on audiobook. Those part definitely made me lose some interesting in the story. Also I have a weird thing with pet names and those part made me cringe a lot as well. That being said, the other parts that were not the romance and love story were extremely emotional. The loss and abuse really added a layer and complexity to the story. And some of the love story felt weird to me, but I liked how they helped each other grow and that being together made each other better and whole.
The characters saved this book for me. Blythe was my least favorite out of the lot of them. Although she had her moments and definitely grew to be a strong and fierce female character, I felt her to be a little whiney and naive. The Shepard kids were a blast and had such a great dynamic! They each had their own quirks and great big personalities. Sabin was by far my favorite! He was funny and always looking out for Blythe. He was one of those guys that you want to be your best friend and it breaks your heart to see him hurting. The twins were also fantastic! Estelle was definitely a badass! I got really invested in the characters and their personal stories that it made up a little for the rest of the things I did not enjoy.
Overall I thought this was an okay New Adult novel. It is heavy in the mature content and deals with the darker subjects of abuse, depression and loss. The romance at times was good and for me sometimes it just didn't work, but there was so much going on in the book that it wasn't always the main focus. I great enjoyed the characters and their growth and found what they accomplished and went through to be very inspirational.
I think that if I didn't listen to this on audiobook I wouldn't be able to make it through it. In the end the book was emotional, and completely heartbreaking, but there were some cringe worthy moments and definitely some tough parts to get through. For me the winning grace of this book were the characters!
Park created a story that was an emotional roller coaster that covered a lot of tough and heartbreaking subjects. For me the writing was just subpar. There were parts of the story I felt were a little unrealistic and some parts (mainly the sexual encounters) that were rough. The sexy time scenes were a bit repetitive and for me the "dirty talk" was funny and cringe worthy. I think it was even funnier because I was listening to it on audiobook. Those part definitely made me lose some interesting in the story. Also I have a weird thing with pet names and those part made me cringe a lot as well. That being said, the other parts that were not the romance and love story were extremely emotional. The loss and abuse really added a layer and complexity to the story. And some of the love story felt weird to me, but I liked how they helped each other grow and that being together made each other better and whole.
The characters saved this book for me. Blythe was my least favorite out of the lot of them. Although she had her moments and definitely grew to be a strong and fierce female character, I felt her to be a little whiney and naive. The Shepard kids were a blast and had such a great dynamic! They each had their own quirks and great big personalities. Sabin was by far my favorite! He was funny and always looking out for Blythe. He was one of those guys that you want to be your best friend and it breaks your heart to see him hurting. The twins were also fantastic! Estelle was definitely a badass! I got really invested in the characters and their personal stories that it made up a little for the rest of the things I did not enjoy.
Overall I thought this was an okay New Adult novel. It is heavy in the mature content and deals with the darker subjects of abuse, depression and loss. The romance at times was good and for me sometimes it just didn't work, but there was so much going on in the book that it wasn't always the main focus. I great enjoyed the characters and their growth and found what they accomplished and went through to be very inspirational.
When I first started reading I had assumed it was going to follow that now familiar new-adult mold: damaged girl meets mysterious, brooding guy, girls falls head over heels in love with guy for no apparent reason, girl turns into a sex maniac, guy turns out to be screwed up in some terrible way which makes him think he’s not worthy of the girl, they break up, the girl stops eating/generally falls apart, they inevitably get back together and everyone’s happy. Except me. I am disgusted.
One of my biggest issues with new-adult books is that I almost always find the characters to be caricatures rather than characters. It’s stereotype after stereotype after stereotype with pretty much zero character development or depth. While I’m not here to tell you that this book completely abandons all of those new-adult standby story telling devices, I am here to tell you that the ones it does include are handled extremely well and that the character development and writing here are stellar.
Blythe (how great is that name? I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main character is name is Blythe) has had a hard time in life since her parents were killed in a fire that she blames herself for. It’s four years out from the fire and she’s at the start of her senior year of college. She spends pretty much all of her time alone and when she’s not alone she’s at parties getting drunk to forget about her problems. One day she decides to wake up early and take a stab at a different kind of life. That morning she meets two guys, Sabin and Chris, who turn out to be brothers and who both help her turn her life around (it’s not a love triangle).
Here’s what I liked about Blythe, she’s damaged and hurt and closed off and while at times I thought the story spent too much time in her head, I liked her and I wanted her to fix her life. I also really loved that she used running as a way to become healthier physically and emotionally rather than something self-destructive (I mean, after she stopped drinking like a fish), plus I love to see healthy living portrayed in books. Chris was involved in her running, but in a friendly, supportive way; she didn’t try to mainly fix herself by engaging in a destructive relationship.
Chris I liked, too. He obviously is dealing with his own issues, but for the most part he is a warm, open, inviting person who is exactly what Blythe needs. I don’t personally find the dark, brooding bad boy to be an attractive male lead and I was so happy that Jessica Park combined damaged with kind so well here. I wish other authors would take note.
I honestly can’t believe what I’m doing to type next. One of my favorite parts about this book was the supporting characters. Normally I cannot stand supporting characters, but the ones in this book were seriously great. Chris’s siblings all attend college with him and Blythe and while they’re a handful of a family, they were all charming, interesting characters that really gave something to the story. Blythe’s brother James was also a very real supporting character who at one point I wanted to kill, but who was also really important to the story.
There are sexytimes in this book, but not as many as I originally thought there would be. They’re also, and this is just my opinion, really nice sexytimes. Not nice in terms of being steamy (although they are steamy, very steamy), they’re nice in terms of two people who really like and respect each other coming together and having sane, consensual sex that satisfies both of them and makes them both stronger. No one feels used or coerced or anything negative.
I have a few complaints. I wish we knew more about Blythe before the fire. There are a couple things said here and there, but never anything really definitive. There are also some moments where the book veers into the melodramatic, but it reigns back in pretty quickly and I was never annoyed or rolling my eyes.
Bottom Line: If you’ve heard about “new-adult” books but haven’t been sure if you want to read one or if you’ve tried one or two and have not been impressed I highly recommend you give this one a try. It’s a mature book that deals with some difficult situations, but it’s beautifully written and the characters are extremely well developed.
One of my biggest issues with new-adult books is that I almost always find the characters to be caricatures rather than characters. It’s stereotype after stereotype after stereotype with pretty much zero character development or depth. While I’m not here to tell you that this book completely abandons all of those new-adult standby story telling devices, I am here to tell you that the ones it does include are handled extremely well and that the character development and writing here are stellar.
Blythe (how great is that name? I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main character is name is Blythe) has had a hard time in life since her parents were killed in a fire that she blames herself for. It’s four years out from the fire and she’s at the start of her senior year of college. She spends pretty much all of her time alone and when she’s not alone she’s at parties getting drunk to forget about her problems. One day she decides to wake up early and take a stab at a different kind of life. That morning she meets two guys, Sabin and Chris, who turn out to be brothers and who both help her turn her life around (it’s not a love triangle).
Here’s what I liked about Blythe, she’s damaged and hurt and closed off and while at times I thought the story spent too much time in her head, I liked her and I wanted her to fix her life. I also really loved that she used running as a way to become healthier physically and emotionally rather than something self-destructive (I mean, after she stopped drinking like a fish), plus I love to see healthy living portrayed in books. Chris was involved in her running, but in a friendly, supportive way; she didn’t try to mainly fix herself by engaging in a destructive relationship.
Chris I liked, too. He obviously is dealing with his own issues, but for the most part he is a warm, open, inviting person who is exactly what Blythe needs. I don’t personally find the dark, brooding bad boy to be an attractive male lead and I was so happy that Jessica Park combined damaged with kind so well here. I wish other authors would take note.
I honestly can’t believe what I’m doing to type next. One of my favorite parts about this book was the supporting characters. Normally I cannot stand supporting characters, but the ones in this book were seriously great. Chris’s siblings all attend college with him and Blythe and while they’re a handful of a family, they were all charming, interesting characters that really gave something to the story. Blythe’s brother James was also a very real supporting character who at one point I wanted to kill, but who was also really important to the story.
There are sexytimes in this book, but not as many as I originally thought there would be. They’re also, and this is just my opinion, really nice sexytimes. Not nice in terms of being steamy (although they are steamy, very steamy), they’re nice in terms of two people who really like and respect each other coming together and having sane, consensual sex that satisfies both of them and makes them both stronger. No one feels used or coerced or anything negative.
I have a few complaints. I wish we knew more about Blythe before the fire. There are a couple things said here and there, but never anything really definitive. There are also some moments where the book veers into the melodramatic, but it reigns back in pretty quickly and I was never annoyed or rolling my eyes.
Bottom Line: If you’ve heard about “new-adult” books but haven’t been sure if you want to read one or if you’ve tried one or two and have not been impressed I highly recommend you give this one a try. It’s a mature book that deals with some difficult situations, but it’s beautifully written and the characters are extremely well developed.
Enjoyable, fast read, but I figured out the twist very early and some areas could have used more development. She becomes bff with all the siblings too quickly, for example.
I enjoyed reading this book, and couldn't really put it down. Even though there were some major cheesy parts and some aspects of the plot was pretty obvious, I liked it. I didn't mind the saucy aspect of the book either, I think it was pretty well written and wasn't too corny.
I really enjoyed this book. I really liked the Shepard siblings and, though I didn't emotionally connect with Blythe, I liked her too. I have some issues with the storyline. The beginning was rough. I thought it was weird to start out with your main character drunk and not like herself. It just didn't help the story at all and it took longer to understand her because of that. And not only that, by there were a lot of issues I had with it being unrealistic. Stuff seemed to happen randomly and out of character just to create some drama.
After all that, I enjoyed this book a lot. It kept me up late at night as long as I put the unrealistic things aside. I would recommend it.
After all that, I enjoyed this book a lot. It kept me up late at night as long as I put the unrealistic things aside. I would recommend it.
this book was amazing. I loved how unique the characters were and the complexity of their relationships. blew me away.
While it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, Left Drowning missed the mark for me. It had some very strong moments, especially in fleshing out some of the non-romantic relationships and in the occasional witty one-liner. However, it also had plenty of cringey descriptions, an overabundance of internal commentary, and some glaring plot issues.
The beginning was rough to get through for me. Not necessarily because of Blythe's mental state, rather because of the descriptions and internal monologue that try to come across as sarcastic or funny and fail. Partially, this was also caused by unusual behavior on Blythe's end that doesn't come back up later in the story: talking to herself about stupid things, pointless commentary, putting herself down for being a virgin, etc.
Overall, there were moments of genius alongside moments of missed potential and/or over-explanation. Ironically, most of these all stemmed from the same issue: the intensity of the love between the Blythe and Chris. While super-intense love is not really a problem for me (if done properly), there were too many times that I felt myself rolling my eyes at how overly-dramatic the dialogue was between them. Beyond that, there were unnatural situations set up and concluded within the same chapter without really adding anything to to the story. Most of these were very superficial or not at all believable such as.
Pros:
* well-developed non-romantic relationships that are actually significant to the story
* a romance whose steps don't follow traditional linear ones
* well-placed, entertaining one liners
* occasional profound, quotable moments
Cons:
* awkward descriptions
* unrealistic situations set up and resolved in a few pages only to cause tension
* too much internal monologue
* awkward, overly-dramatic dialogue
The beginning was rough to get through for me. Not necessarily because of Blythe's mental state, rather because of the descriptions and internal monologue that try to come across as sarcastic or funny and fail. Partially, this was also caused by unusual behavior on Blythe's end that doesn't come back up later in the story: talking to herself about stupid things, pointless commentary, putting herself down for being a virgin, etc.
Overall, there were moments of genius alongside moments of missed potential and/or over-explanation. Ironically, most of these all stemmed from the same issue: the intensity of the love between the Blythe and Chris. While super-intense love is not really a problem for me (if done properly), there were too many times that I felt myself rolling my eyes at how overly-dramatic the dialogue was between them. Beyond that, there were unnatural situations set up and concluded within the same chapter without really adding anything to to the story. Most of these were very superficial or not at all believable such as
Spoiler
Chris getting engaged to some random classmate and platonic friend Sabin forcefully kissing BlythePros:
* well-developed non-romantic relationships that are actually significant to the story
* a romance whose steps don't follow traditional linear ones
* well-placed, entertaining one liners
* occasional profound, quotable moments
Cons:
* awkward descriptions
* unrealistic situations set up and resolved in a few pages only to cause tension
* too much internal monologue
* awkward, overly-dramatic dialogue