She used to be perky, fun, and full of life—everything I hated about girls and their bullshit exterior. People called her bubbly; I called her “fake-as-hell.”
The edgy, dark, lonely girl in front of me was not the Olivia Brennan I knew from high school—far from it, actually. I knew the story—the whole town knew the story, we witnessed it all. It happened in the blink of an eye and the girl we knew was gone.
But I refuse to watch it anymore—I can’t stand it. I’m going to fix it—fix her. It’s time I showed Olivia her way back…
Back to the girl she used to be.
"She really needs to get up. She's been in that bed for two weeks, Trish," my dad says to my mom. They're right outside my door again. I sigh softly.
"Leave her be, Greg. She's not ready yet."
"She's never going to be ready. No one's ever ready for what she has to face."
Mom sniffles and I know she's crying again. I'm so tired of hearing her cry. There's no reason for her to cry—not because of me. I lived.
I wish I could cry but I can't. I haven’t cried since I woke up in the hospital. I didn't cry from the pain of my fractured and broken bones. I didn't cry at the funeral when I stared down at the lifeless body of my soulmate—the body lying there was unfamiliar—not at all my Danny. I didn't cry while I struggled on crutches with a fractured rib over the uneven lawn, past all the weathered gravestones signifying just how final death really is.
I didn't cry when I lost it at the people—strangers—who didn't know my friends and my love by more than a passing hello stood there crying and carrying on. They didn't know their favorite color, their favorite food. They didn't know Danny chewed spearmint gum. They didn’t know Simon kept us laughing. They didn't know Cassidy was our support system. They didn't know Phil wasn't really as shallow as he led everyone to believe.
They. Just. Didn't. Know.
They didn't have a right to cry for people they didn't know—people who weren't good enough for them while they were alive.
And me? I just couldn't cry. I didn't even cry when my parents took me home and I stared at the corkboard filled with photos of me with my friends, me and the love of my life holding one another and laughing—a life that no longer exists. I stared at it for the hour I waited for the cemetery workers to cover the graves of those I love most. Then I went to them with my tequila.
My eyes are locked on that corkboard now and I can only stare mutely.
I'm numb.
I don't want to feel. I don't want to face a future alone, so I stay in bed and sleep. Sleep is the only friend I have left.
Sleep embraces me and holds me tight, blocking out the pain and grief that would otherwise fill my shattered heart. Sleep enfolds me in a cocoon of nothingness, and nothingness is what I crave.
Book one in The Way series was phenomenal and had so many emotions rolling through it I couldn't help but give it a solid 5 stars. While this book did have sad parts it does end in a very happy for right now ending. This is also the start of a series from an author that falls in love with her characters and builds on each successive book so we will get more information about all the characters as the books come (so in other words they are NOT stand-alones).
Olivia Brennan is living the life, with her long-time boyfriend, and her 4 best friends when tragedy strikes the night of their high school graduation party. Livvy is no longer a part of the Fab 5 because she was the only one who survived the car accident that took them all away. Liv has to learn how to live again and adjust the best she can. After a long and painful physical rehab she is able to head to college in the fall in New York. Liv is glad to have such a kind friend in her new roommate Alexa, but she suddenly remembers that Alexa has a brother and it just so happens to be the person that made her life hell all through high school. Not only does he attend the same school as them but he is also majoring in the same studies as Liv. So the one person that can get under her skin like no other is her new roommates brother and in most of her classes... what else can go wrong?
Cameron Stone can't believe the girl "who has to be fake as hell" is his sister's roommate. He knows that Liv has been through a lot this past summer but she still can't be that nice - ALL THE TIME, no one can. Now with Alexa and Liv here Cameron almost feels protective of the pair so they don't fall victim to any shenanigans but with Liv it feels like more and he can't figure out why. Eventually Cam convinces Liv to bury the hatchet and as they strike an unlikely friendship all the while Cam still has ulterior motives...but not all ulterior motives are bad, right?
Between my own laughing and crying I was able to see a broken girl resurface into a woman. While at times I wanted to shake Liv and tell her how stupid she was being in the next paragraph I wanted to hold her and reassure her it would be alright. Liv was awe inspiring in her strength and a true heroine for all she has overcome. While Cam is a straight shooter who won't sugar coat anything, he also cherishes Liv and makes her feel again. Cam overcame his manwhore ways but he is still sexy, demanding and so alpha in the bedroom to make the sexy times smoking hot too. Bring on book two ASAP :)
REVIEWED BY JILL
I was born and raised in Wisconsin and still live here today with my two sons and puppy. (Though one day soon I hope to move to southern California!)
I’m an avid reader who gets inspired by reading the stories from my favorite authors as well as listening to various types of music. I am a huge fan of music, chocolate, fruit, desserts, autumn, M. Shadows, Avenged Sevenfold, and Milo Ventimiglia. Through my books, I am proudly creating new Avenged Sevenfold and Milo Ventimiglia fans one reader at a time.
“The best part of being an author, to me, is being able to take the reader to that one place they long to go when they need to escape reality. Knowing I can do that, for even one reader, makes what I do worthwhile.” ~ Anne Mercier
Hugs and love,
Anne xoxo
Anne xoxo
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