Review: What If - Rebecca Donovan

What If by Rebecca Donovan, published by Penguin on 22nd January 2015

Goodreads synopsis:
What if you had a second chance to meet someone for the first time?

Cal Logan is shocked to see Nicole Bentley sitting across from him at a coffee shop thousands of miles from their hometown. After all, no one has seen or heard from her since they graduated over a year ago. Except this girl isn't Nicole.

She looks exactly like Cal's shy childhood crush, but her name is Nyelle Preston and she has no idea who he is. This girl is impulsive and daring, her passion for life infectious. The complete opposite of Nicole. Cal finds himself utterly fascinated and falling hard. But Nyelle is also extremely secretive. And the closer he comes to finding out what she's hiding, the less he wants to know.

When the secrets from the past and present collide, one thing becomes clear: Nothing is what it seems.

Review:
'What If' is a wonderfully captivating book which will touch your heart and make you treasure life and each and every step you take on your journey.  The book's message is about living life to the full and living the life you want.  This really resonated with me and made me want to be more bold and carefree and to appreciate happiness, rather than waiting for happy to come along.  

A young-adult standalone from Rebecca Donovan, author of the Breathing trilogy, I have been waiting to read this book ever since I first heard about it. I now want to recommend it to everyone for the very positive message it contains, as well as for it being such a fantastic contemporary read.  It made me laugh, smile and cry.  It tugged at my heartstrings and had me reading long into the night.  

It has an intricately layered narrative structure which took a bit of getting used to.  It switches narrators and the time frame jumps backwards a lot but it was so cleverly executed that I soon found myself not taking much notice of this.  Plus, the events that the story takes us back to are extremely central to the plot and the motivations and actions of the characters.  

The characters themselves are warm and real and flawed and really leap off the page.  There's Cal, the main narrator of the story, along with childhood friends Rae, Richelle and Nicole.  I'm not always so keen on male narrators, but I grew to like Cal immediately and I think Rebecca Donovan wrote him exceptionally well. Cal is at college when he meets Nyelle Preston - a girl who looks exactly like Nicole but acts in a completely different way.   Their personalities are polar opposites.  I don't want to say anything else about the plot except to say that this is a story you will want to puzzle out on your own.  It has a surprising twist at the end but it's a treat to try and unravel.  

'What If' is a brilliant romance that will make you question your actions and the what ifs of your own life.  Gorgeously written, it will take you on an incredible journey that you will not want to miss. 

   

Review: Barely Breathing - Rebecca Donovan

Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan, published by Penguin on 28th February 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
 The scandalous secrets of Emma's abuse are revealed, but she still has so much to learn out about her past. Why did her mother leave her all those years ago? What really happened the night Emma's father died? Were her memories of being happy just a dream?

The repercussions of one horrific night has affected the lives of everyone involved. But with the promise of true love and new relationships, will Emma let it ruin hers for good?

 
Review:
'Barely Breathing' will leave your emotions in a mess and your heart hurting.  It will also leave you counting down the days to the third and final instalment of this series which can't be published soon enough for me.  I was extremely impressed with Rebecca Donovan's debut novel, 'Reason to Breathe' and so picked this one up as soon as it arrived.  It's another difficult read because it makes you care so much about the main character Emma that at times it is hard to read about some of the things that she has to go through.  I felt sadness, hope, joy and despair at various stages throughout this book and by the end I felt exhausted but also desperate to know what was going to happen next.

The story picks up 6 months after previous events.  Emma is now safe and living with Sara and her parents, while Carol has been sent to prison and George and the children have moved away.  Emma is slowly coming to terms with the abuse which was inflicted on her and is trying to carry on with her life with Evan by her side.  With college in the near future, at the beginning of the book she decides to move in with her mother Rachel, so that the two can develop a relationship before she moves away.  I have to admit that although I admired how willing Emma is to give people a second chance and try to build bridges, a small part of me couldn't understand why she wanted to put herself back into a potentially difficult situation, after having just escaped one.  She is safe and secure with Sara's family and I wanted her to stay there and put herself first for once.

Her relationship with Rachel is not a typical mother-daughter one.  Rachel abandoned her in the past and has problems with drinks and drug, both of which make for a potentially explosive family environment.  She is also now dating a younger man, Jonathan, who she brings into Emma's life.  It was hard at times to see the way in which she treats Emma and her reluctance to talk about what happened to her daughter while she was gone.  I think she genuinely did want to mend things between them but it was also obvious that she didn't have her own life under control yet.  There is also friction because of Emma's father and some surprising revelations are brought to light about their family situation.  

I definitely was not a fan of Jonathan at all but I thought the bond which develops between him and Emma was well written.  They have things in common because of experiences they've both faced in their pasts and Emma feels like he understands some of what she has gone through.  As an Emma/Evan supporter, I did not want to see anything come between them and therefore read some of the scenes in the book with some unease about the way in which things were going to work out for them. 

The ending left me in tears.  It literally ripped my heart out.  I don't know how I'm going to cope until I get my hands on the third book, 'Out of Breath'.  I'm going to be in a continual state of anticipation until then!  I only hope that Emma gets the ending that I want for her. 

Review: Reason to Breathe - Rebecca Donovan

Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan, published by Penguin on 17th January 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
An passionate love. A brutal betrayal. Unwavering hope.

In a town where most people worry about what to be seen in and who to be seen with, Emma Thomas would rather not be seen at all. She's more concerned with feigning perfection, pulling down her sleeves to conceal the bruises. Emma doesn't want anyone to know how far from perfect her life truly is.

When Emma unexpectedly finds love, it challenges her to recognize her own worth - but at the risk of revealing the terrible secret she's desperate to hide.

 
Review:
'Reason to Breathe' is not an easy read.  Dealing with the subject of abuse, it is hard-hitting, powerful and emotional and often had me in tears.  I had to put the book down several times because I was so moved and upset by what happened to Emma, but ultimately it was a story that I needed to finish.  I was nervous about starting this title because I normally avoid subjects like this which are likely to rip your heart out and stomp all over it.  However, I'd heard such good things about it from fellow readers that there was never any doubt in my mind that I wanted to pick it up.  I'm so very glad I did because it is a tremendous book and has left me on tenterhooks for the next in the series.

I've been reading quite a few New Adult books lately and this is definitely the one that has moved me the most.  The story centres around teenager Emma, a high-flying overachiever who gets top grades, is best friends with the most popular girl in school, editor of the school newspaper and star player on various sports teams.  She seems to have it all but is hiding a terrible secret which she will go to any lengths to protect.  Her secret is threatened when she begins to lower her defences to let new guy Evan into her life.  He makes her feel things she's never experienced before and his pursuit of her shows his obvious attraction.  Emma wants to be with him but fears letting him get too close to her dysfunctional family life.  

Rebecca Donovan drew me into Emma's struggle from the very first chapter.  I because so immersed in the story that I felt like I experienced with her all the highs and lows that she went through.  Part of me understood Emma's reasons for protecting her secret but the other half of me didn't and desperately wanted her or Sara, her best friend, to tell an adult what was going on.  I wanted Emma to find happiness and security and to have everything that most other normal teenagers have.  Instead of worrying about parties and fashion, she's concerned with how she's going to cover up her numerous bruises and what she'll tell the people who ask how she got them.

Evan was a breath of fresh air in both the story and in Emma's life.  He's interested in her from the start and wants them to be more than just good friends.  He shows her what happiness feels like and is very protective of her which I loved.  He provides her with the opportunity to escape some of the day to day horrors she is faced with and provides a real shoulder for her to lean on.  Although she won't tell him what is really going on, he begins to piece things together and offers her a way to escape.

The character of the abuser is a malicious presence in the book.  Every time she appeared in the story I was nervous about the horror she was going inflict upon Emma.  Ultimately, I hope that she is punished for her actions but that remains to be seen.  It really made me shiver when even her name was mentioned and I abhorred the way she treated Emma. 

I cannot recommend this book enough.   Although at times it is hard to read and was quite upsetting in places, I found it stuck with me long after finishing it and I'm desperate to know how the story will continue in the sequel, 'Barely Breathing'.

Love Hurts blog tour: Tammara Webber and Rebecca Donovan

Today I'm hosting a stop on the Love Hurts blog tour for Rebecca Donovan's new book 'Reason to Breathe' and Tammara Webber's 'Easy' which are both due to be published by Penguin.

 

Tammara and Rebecca were kind enough to answer some of my questions about their novels, both of which I can't wait to read.

Congratulations on your novels becoming bestsellers in the US. I’m really looking forward to the UK publications. Have you done anything to celebrate this incredible success?

Tammara: Thank you! I haven’t done anything super celebratory. Having Easy make the New York Times list was mind-blowing all on its own. I think maybe I went out to dinner that night instead of cooking. ;)

Rebecca: Thank you! Not yet, but I plan to take the most amazing vacation on a tropical island with crystal blue water once Out of Breath is released! Cannot wait (for either)!


How would you describe your book in one sentence?

Tammara: Easy is the story of Jacqueline – a girl who’s learning to trust again after she is dumped by one boy and assaulted by another, and Lucas, who helps her recover her self-confidence while hiding the trauma of his own past.

Rebecca: Reason to Breathe is a compelling story of one girl's struggle with an abusive home life and her need to hide this horrible secret from everyone, especially the boy who she is falling in love with.


There are some hard-hitting themes in your book. Why was it important to you to write about these things?
Tammara: Acquaintance rape is a topic that’s been important to me for some time. It’s too often regarded as a ‘lesser form’ of rape – if it’s counted as such at all. This societal attitude leads to victims who accept blame for something that was never their fault. This also diminishes a survivor’s chance of healing and getting on with her life. There have been many first-rate novels written tackling the subject; I wanted to write a story for readers who need something palpable and accessible, less graphic, perhaps, with a romance wrapped around it. I also wanted to show what a healthy, loving relationship looks like – and that’s it possible to love and trust again.

Rebecca: Child abuse is a sensitive topic and most people prefer not to talk about it. I want to break that silence. Abuse can happen behind any closed door, in any town. I want to bring awareness to what could be taking place right next door.

Can you tell me a bit more about why you originally decided to self-publish and how you found this process?

Tammara: I self-published my first book after using critique partners and beta-readers, doing rewrites, querying literary agents and pitching the novel at conferences– in short, everything aspiring writers are told to do. It’s very possible I’d have found an agent if I hadn’t self-published. Personally, however, I grew tired of waiting, and I was ready to get on with the next writing project. After self-publishing that first novel, I didn’t even think about querying subsequent manuscripts – I just went straight to self-publishing, though I still used critique partners, beta-readers and a copy editor. Easy was the fourth novel I self-published.

The process itself is a lot of work. As a self-published author, you are not only free to choose every detail, you’re responsible for choosing every detail. There’s some guesswork, especially at first. Timing and luck play a part. If you hire someone to do something for you and they do a poor job, you have to fire them and pay someone else to do it. There are many marketing opportunities you have to decline because there’s just no time to do them all. You learn your own way.

Rebecca: I considered self-publishing as an option after submitting multiple queries to agents without any acceptances. More than anything I just wanted people to read what I’d written. Self-publishing was a way to share the story with the world without risk. If people liked it, they would read it. And... they liked it!

How do you feel about your novel being classified in the ‘new adult’ genre which has quite literally taken the book world by storm?

Tammara: I don’t particularly care how Easy is categorized, as long as it’s accessible to the readers I considered when I wrote it: women in the 16-23 age range. I LOVE that others outside that demographic have connected with the story as well, but that was the important audience for me. Publishers in the US have long rejected the majority of novels with protagonists in the 18-23 age range. Now everyone is scrambling to figure out where to classify these books. In reality, they may not all classify together. Time will tell. I have no problem with my books being called Mature Young Adult or New Adult – whichever the reader prefers.

Rebecca: There is such value in the New Adult genre and I am so excited to be among the authors to bring the category to light to readers. NA allows for a book’s plotline to develop naturally so the characters can mature realistically and experience coming-of-age moments as they should.

Are there any ‘new adult’ titles that you are looking forward to reading or you can recommend?

Tammara: Anything by Colleen Hoover. (I just beta-read her newest not-yet-released book, HOPELESS, and it’s wonderful.) FALL GUY by Liz Reinhardt was fantastic. I read and loved Rebecca Donovan’s books BARELY BREATHING and REASON TO BREATHE recently. Abbi Glines has several titles that cross into New Adult territory. My favourite “new adult” of all time is WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman – and it’s classified as Young Adult.

Rebecca: I love to read, when I have time! I can’t wait to submerge myself in upcoming stories by Tammara Webber, Colleen Hoover, Katja Millay, Nicole Williams and Gayle Forman. They are currently among my favorite storytellers!

Can you tell me about what you are working on next?

Tammara: I’m writing a fourth (final) book in my BETWEEN THE LINES series. After that, I’ll be working on another stand-alone.

Rebecca: The story I have in mind next is a New Adult novel about an average ‘boy next door’ who wants the unattainable girl. But then when he actually gets to know her, he must decide if she is truly who he wants.