Review: Breakable - Tammara Webber

Breakable by Tammara Webber, published by Penguin on 7th May 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.

Review:
'Breakable' is the exquisitely written and heart-breaking companion novel to Tammara Webber's 'Easy'.  This isn't a sequel but more of a prequel which takes the reader back to the beginning of Lucas and Jacqueline's relationship, presenting events from Lucas's point of view.  The story also encompasses Lucas's life before he met Jacqueline, when he went by his first name Landon and was an innocent teenage boy with his whole future ahead of him. Changed forever by an unspeakable tragedy, he has to try and put his life back together again, even when he has no idea what his future might hold.

Gut-wrenching in it's emotional intensity, 'Breakable' will quite literally break your heart in two.  Having already been familiar with certain aspects of Lucas's story from 'Easy'', I knew the terrible emotional trauma he had suffered but experiencing it all again and hearing about it in his words put it into a whole new perspective.  I felt like I developed a much greater understanding of his character and fell in love with him all over again.  I admired his integrity and determination to make something of himself and I enjoyed seeing his relationships develop with his best-friend Boyce and his Grandpa.  I also loved seeing how he felt about Jacqueline and the way in which he respected her and treasured her as something very precious. 

If you haven't yet read 'Easy' then you would still enjoy this book regardless but I would strongly urge you to get your hands on both books and allow Lucas and Jacqueline's stories to sweep you away.

I cried buckets at the end so be warned that you will definitely need a box of tissues to hand.  You will also need to clear your weekend and forget any plans you were going to make.  Believe me when I say that reading 'Breakable' is the best way you could possibly spend your Saturday.  Tammara Webber continues to astound me with her beautiful stories.  Originally a self-published phenomenon, I'm so glad that her novels have now found a wider audience and I look forward to joining her on the next stage of her writing journey.

Review: Where You Are - Tammara Webber

Where You Are by Tammara Webber, published by Penguin on 14th March 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
Emma, Reid and Graham's story continues in this sequel to Between the Lines, by bestselling author of Easy, Tammara Webber. Emma has pursued her dream - she's trying to live a normal life and attend university. But when a twist of fate means she encounters Graham again in New York, life promises to be anything but ordinary . . .

Review:
'Where You Are' is the second book in the Between the Lines series by Tammara Webber.  I ended up loving it even more than the first one because the focus was heavily on the romance between Emma and Graham.  Because they are now giving it a go as a couple there are lots of lovely romantic scenes between them and there's no doubting their feelings for each other. 

There are four different narrative points of view incorporated into the story: Emma and Graham, plus Brooke and Reid.  I will admit that the latter two characters are definitely not amongst my favourites in the series.  This time, they are scheming to break-up the happy couple but I can't help thinking they would be much happier if they just got back together themselves.  Although Reid has grown on me a tiny bit and there could be hope for him in the future, I disliked Brooke straight-away and she definitely gets to show her true colours.  I was glad to find out more about their shared past but I did find myself skimming past their sections of the book quite quickly because I was desperate to get back to Emma and Graham's lives.

Please someone tell me where I can find a guy out there like Graham!  He is sweet, kind, mature for his age and utterly, utterly adorable.  I loved him even more in this instalment because he expresses his feelings for Emma in such a way that I felt weak at the knees.  The scenes with them together were my favourite in the book and I like the fact that he is always honest and truthful with her about what's going on in his life and how he feels about her.  By the end she's left in no doubt at all. 

The ending was brilliant but the whole book was such an enjoyable read and so good that it was hard to put down.  The next book in the series is called 'Good For You' and I have a feeling will focus more on Reid.  I really hope that he can finally redeem himself and prove that he's not such a bad guy after all.     

Review: Between the Lines - Tammara Webber

Between the Lines by Tammara Webber, published by Penguin on 14th February 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
Young actress Emma is starring in her first ever major film role, opposite well-known teen heart-throb Reid. The exclusive clubs, snapping photographers and screaming fans are all a normal part of life for Reid but it's all new to Emma.The other actors befriend her - and Graham in particular seeks her out - but Emma isn't sure she's really comfortable in this scene. Reid is also experiencing something new - girls throwing themselves at him is an everyday occurrence but genuinely falling for his co-star? That's not what he expected to happen...

 

Review:
A few weeks ago I read 'Easy' by Tammara Webber and was completely blown-away by it.  I was therefore very excited to discover that Penguin are publishing more of her books in the UK, including the Between the Lines series.  The first installment focuses on Emma and Reid who are both starring in a modern adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice', set in a high school.  Cast in the two lead roles, they are thrown together on the movie set.  It looks like life could be mirroring art when Reid sets his sights on Emma but her head may already have been turned by someone else.

The story is told with a dual narrative, providing insights into the lives of both Emma and Reid.  I have to say that I really wasn't a big fan of Reid's at all.  I'm still not sure if I was supposed to have warmed to him by the end of the book or not, but I just found him quite obnoxious and extremely arrogant.  Because he has heaps of screaming female fans literally falling at his feet, he is very self-confident and thinks that he can have anything he wants, including Emma.  There is a twist regarding his character which is revealed near the end of the story but even that wasn't enough to make me change my mind about him.

The other central male figure in the book is Graham, who is also an actor in the film.  My reaction to him was almost the opposite to how I felt about Reid.  Graham came across as kind, caring and sensitive.  He and Emma get on really well and have a strong connection from the start.  He is older than some of the others on the set but he always seems to do and say the right thing and he has real depth and intelligence.  I was rooting for him and Emma the whole way through because they seemed a much, much better match.

I loved the setting for the story and finding out more about the process of film-making.  Interspersed throughout are pages of dialogue from the characters' scripts and this was also a good addition.  Behind the scenes emotions run riot as jealousy, love, hatred and despair all come to the fore.  There are also two really unexpected revelations at the end, which set things up nicely for the next book in the series. 

'Between the Lines' was very different to 'Easy' because the tone of the whole book was much lighter.  The story however was still brilliant and I'm excited to find out what is going to happen next.    

Review: Easy - Tammara Webber

Easy by Tammara Webber, published by Penguin on 3rd January 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
Jacqueline seems to have a knack for making the wrong choices. She followed her boyfriend to his choice of university, disregarding her preference. Then he dumped her. She chose a minor she thought she could combine with her music studies, but she's falling behind. And then, leaving a party alone one night, she is attacked. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of a stranger, she would have been raped. Now she must make a choice - give up and give in, or toughen up and fight on. Only the support of the man who is tutoring her and the allure of the guy who saved her from the attack convince her that it's worth fighting on. Will Jacqueline now have to make a choice between them too? And can she make the right decision? It's not easy . . .

Review:
'Easy' is an amazing book which made me laugh, smile and cry.  I could hardly see the words on the page at the end because I was crying so much.  An emotional and heart stopping read, it exceeded all of my expectations and was impossible to put down. 

Tammara Webber hasn't shied away from dealing with some quite heavy subjects, the main one being rape and a woman's right to say no.  The story starts with the main character Jacqueline being assaulted and nearly raped in a campus car park and this sets up her first meeting with the man that rescued her, Lucas.  I wasn't prepared for the book to launch so quickly into such a difficult scene to read, but I applaud Webber for writing so brilliantly and sensitively about a topic such as this.

As Jacqueline begins to come to terms with what happened to her, she is also getting over her break-up with her boyfriend Kennedy, as well as being attracted to Lucas and craving to know more about him.  I liked Jacqueline a lot and warmed to her more as the story progressed.  I thought she might not be able to deal with things after the attack but she proves to be a strong person who still gets on with her life.  She enrols in self-defence classes with her friend Erin and takes steps to ensure that she never feels that vulnerable again.

I loved her developing relationship with Lucas, who happens to be both hot and mysterious.  He doesn't reveal a huge amount about himself and is very guarded when it comes to his personal life but Jacqueline always feels safe around him and he is incredibly gentle with her.  I'm not normally a fan of tattoos, piercings and long hair but for Lucas I was willing to make the exception!  There are some great moments between the two of them as their romance blossoms and they each begin to open up with the other person and express their true feelings.

The ending was totally gut wrenching and really made me cry but it was brilliantly written and fitted perfectly with the story. I loved 'Easy' and can't wait to read more by such a talented author. 

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.