A review by jaimejustreadsromance
Left Drowning by Jessica Park

4.0

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.