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alabooktique 's review for:
Dear Ava
by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Our lines got a little blurry along the way, through broken hearts and time lost, but in the end, we made a full, complete, beautiful circle
I was feeling epic
This is one of those books that was just too good, extraordinary and just incredible to the point where I fear reviewing it coz no matter what I type it will never describe this book enough. No amount of reviewing can do this book justice; it was just extremely good. One of the best.
This book will always continue to be one of my favorite.
Let me just clarify something first. This is not your typical high school romance. This is so, so much more. I love cheesy love stories and this was cheesy in its own way, but it was never typical. This is not a story where a hot guy meets a damsel in distress, he helps her and guards her and they fall in love and they have sex and the girl says she wants the moon and the guy goes out of the freaking planet and gets the moon and wraps it in frilly pink paper and places it at the girl’s feet, NO, this story is nothing like that.
You know those stories that are just too freaking sweet that makes you wish that your life was like that but you just your life will never be like that coz the story is all fictional and just too perfect and it’s a bloody fairytale and fairytales just don’t exist in real life,,, those stories that sound too good to the point that they sound unreal in an obvious way? Yeah? Once again, NO, this story is nothing like that either. It was REAL. It felt real. And you know what makes it even better? It gives you hope and it teaches you a number of wonderful lessons, one of it being: never, ever give up
The female lead, Ava Tulip Harris is exactly the kind of heroine I absolutely love. Strong-willed, determined, ambitious, kind and just lovely. She’s gorgeous with her aquamarine eyes and I see her beauty through our hero’s eyes. And to top that she is a wonderful person. Inner beauty beats outer beauty any day. And our heroine is just perfect on the inside. Drugged and sexually assaulted by one of her own anonymous school mates, she takes 10 months off and yet again returns to the same school. She goes through a hell of a lot of slut-shaming and is called a number of names and is always picked on and laughed at and hated on and basically bullied because not one person believes in her. But she has got some spirit and she is just brave and strong and incredibly kind. Her resilience and selflessness is why I love her more and more.
She was born to a dysfunctional mother who abandons her and her kid half-brother, she grows up in a group home and fights her way to a prestigious school through scholarship,,, always looking out for herself and her brother. Despite being a kid herself, she is basically a mother to her brother Tyler. The way she looks after him and fights for him and protects him is all just overwhelming. She waits shifts at a diner, saving up cash to cover her daily needs and starts over everything from scratch for herself and her brother. She is just perfect. And even when all the mean girls and jocks bully her at school upon her return she never stoops to their level,,, always keeping calm and letting the harsh words slide past and only speaks up and gets sarcastic (never in a hurtful way) when the verbal abuse gets too obvious. She never lets anything get to her, and that strength is just ADMIRABLE. And another thing I absolutely adore her and respect her for is the way she never slut shames ANYONE, like even when she confronts her ex (who at the beginning is one of the people who doesn’t believe/take her side) he tells him to be:
“Go and be sweet and especially kind to the next girl you love.” I huff out a laugh. “Even if it’s Brooklyn”and Brooklyn is one of the mean girls who bullies and slut-shames her. Ava’s kindness and righteousness is just out-of-the-world
Knox Grayson, the hero and the guy who noticed and had feelings for Ava from her first day at their school and the only guy who believed her story is also one of the rich/mean-kids circle at his school and what’s more? He’s the head of the said circle! And guess what it might just be someone within his circle who sexually assaulted Ava. Having gone through a dark childhood himself and practically being another father to his twin brother Dane, he has got a lot on his plate. And to top it all his heart secretly belongs to Ava, and he goes out of his way to find out who did her wrong and sticks to her side, protecting her through and through. He is not your regular hot jerks that you just swoon over. He is one of those clear headed, ambitious start quarterback who isn’t into losing control over life by succumbing to something as low as getting drunk or drugged and passing out. Nevertheless, he is as handsome as it gets with the most intense silver eyes, perfect facial features like those of Adonis’ and a body to die for. He’s cold, mean, heartless and definitely plays around.
But is he really though? I mean, cold, mean and heartless? Or is there a backstory to the slash across his beautiful face running sideways down his temple, across his cheek and ending with his upper lip thereby slightly disorienting it. Is he really heartless or has just closed himself to feeling too much? If so, why? And why is he so hell-bent on helping out ava? Is it only coz he loves her or is there something else too? On contrary to popular belief, he has a heart and it’s beautiful and loyal. And we get to see just how much of a perfection he is, in this story. These are the kinds of guys I absolutely love. Men like are just too rare and that’s unfortunate. The story starts off describing him one way and then very soon as it proceeds further you learn more and more about him and guess what? It always gets better. He always gets better. One of the best book boyfriends ever.
Warning!!! This whole para is filled with spoilers. But it's only this para.
Another thing I absolutely loved about the story is when Ava actually leaves Knox for a while. Coz that takes a huge lot of courage and strength to leave the person you love, behind. But she does it anyways. Because at the moment they both actually needed it. Just too much was going on. Too much drama and too much stress. They needed a breather and needed to set their paths and focuses right. Knox has to be there for Dane and their family had to work on their relationship and Ava had to rebuild her life and start fresh. But it is just epically awesome that the two of them remained celibate and committed to and still in deeply in love with the other through the years, despite being separated. It was way too romantic and manly of Knox to having kept tabs on Ava and looking out for her and making sure that she was safe while still giving her the space she needed and requested. And when those to finally met, I was on coud nine. I swear I haven’t read a better reunion. Like seriously? The whole running into each other at Ava’s college? Whoa, so hot. My heart was basically in my throat.
“Hi. I’m Ava, sometimes Tulip if you know me well. I apologize for the book. I hope it’s okay”
He takes my hand slowly, almost as if he’s afraid I’m going to turn and run. “My first name is Lee”Like whoa! Half my mind was like, yaayyyy Knox is here and the other half was so scared that Lee was actually a different person and that Ava was going to meet a new guy,,, like oh God those two (Ava and Knox) were supposed to be end game after all that they’ve been through. And I knew, like I knew it was Knox, but then that’s how my paranoia, trust issue and I react to most of the time. So that’s there. And the final epilogue? With their twins – Leland and Persephone, excellent names btw! And the whole family? Dane and his fiancée Ari and Knox and their dad and Ava and Wyatt with Jagger and Piper and Tyler and Lou! Just EXCELLENT EPILOGUE! I loved watching Mr. Grayson bond with Tyler and I love how Tyler calls him grandpa and looks at Knox as his father fgure. I love how Knox built a future for Ava and Tyler and I love him too damn much for being that great of a responsible boyfriend/husband and father to Tyler and their twins! It’s all just, wow, now I am again getting emotional. The world needs more men like Knox. This whole story was perfect and that epilogue? Damn! Took the definition of “perfect” to a whole other level.
All in all, I love the fact that this story hits high and low and definitely hits home. There are just so many complications. So much pain. Too much responsibility and just way too much at stake. This is an undeniable breathtaking romantic story that is about two complicated people with completely opposite lives finding each other despite all the hardships. And when I say “complicated” I don’t mean it lightly, the fact that the heroine of this story was raped just sets the complication at an intense level. But at the end of the day the romance is just extraordinary and I love every single bit about this story. I love almost all the characters in this story – Dane (hero’s twin bro), Piper (heroine’s bestfriend), Tyler (heroine’s baby brother), Wyatt (heroine’s gay best friend), Chance (the ex-boyfriend who starts out being a jerk but then eventually comes to his senses), Lou and finally Dane’s & Knox’s dad.
This book is a lovely unique gem, and anyone who reads it is just about lucky to have come across it coz trust me, that’s how I feel.