by Mia Hoddell
Genre: Upper YA/NA Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 16th 2015
Pages: 324
Blurb
Neve Colvin isn’t good enough. As an introvert, her life is a never-ending list of labels and criticism. Pressures to change come from everyone—including the one person she thought would love her unconditionally … her mother. All Neve wants is acceptance, but surrounded by extroverts it’s a wish that’s nearly impossible to fulfil.
For Neve there’s only one solution: anyone disapproving must go. Even if it means only one person will remain.
That person is her lifelong friend Blake Reynolds. He’s seen the fights with her mum, the breakdowns caused by attacks on her personality, and the battles for acceptance. Each time she is left shattered and questioning who she is, he’s the one to collect the pieces of her broken heart. Shielding her from the cruelty is his only concern. But how can he protect her when Neve is concealing a secret so dark?
Blake thinks he knows everything about her, and with their relationship developing, he assumes Neve trusts him fully. However, there is one memory Neve is too ashamed of to share. Revealing it will test Blake’s loyalty beyond what she could ever ask, and Blake is the only friend she can’t afford to lose. He’s the one person capable of dragging her from the darkness plaguing her, but with pressures to conform increasing, even Blake may not be enough to pull her back this time.
ONLY 0.99 FOR THE RELEASE WEEK!
Buy Links:
What reviewers are saying:
"From the dedication at the beginning up to the end this was both a thought provoking and an emotional read for me and I loved it!" - Sandra @ JeanzBookReadNReview
"This story tugged at my heartstrings, played on my every emotion. It was a beautifully written story of how an introverted young girl blossoms into a beautiful young woman." - Keren Hughes, Author of Nothing Like The First Time
"A heartbreaking read that sometimes had me close to tears." - Susan @ Ladies Living in Bookland
"Heartbreaking. Powerful. Real ... I literally lived the pages, not read them ... It's so well and beautifully written, it is more than just another YA novel." - Cristina @ Crazy Beautiful
Excerpt
“What are
you doing?” I manage to get out around my laughs. She tenses at my words and
then tilts her head back to fix me with a glare, her eyes blazing with
irritation.
“I’m
sleeping in the bath like I said I would. Why, what did you think I was doing?
Teaching myself to swim?”
“I
know what you’re doing. I think that’s obvious. What I meant was why are you doing this?” I step into the
room and move in front of her so she doesn’t have to crane her neck to see me.
“You
know why.”
“You’re
not sleeping in here, Stripes.”
“Watch
me.”
I
cross my arms. There’s no way I’m going back to bed and allowing her to sleep
in a bath. The only problem is that it’s hard to maintain a frustrated
expression when everything about the situation is so damn funny. “Be back in a
second.”
She
mumbles something that sounds like “I’m not going anywhere” to my back as I
rush out of the bathroom. Rummaging in my drawer, I find what I’m looking for
then I’m back in the room with Neve in seconds.
Before
she can react, I have a camera in front of me.
“Smile,”
I tease, only it causes her glower to darken. Three lines appear on her
forehead as her face screws up.
“Delete
that now.”
“Nope.
Get out of the bath and I might let you.”
“I’m
not getting out. I told you I’m sleeping here.”
“Why
all the drama? We’ve slept in the same bed for ages now. It’s not a big deal.”
She rolls over, showing me her back, and ignores me. “Stripes, get out of the
bath.”
“Night,
Blake.”
If
she thinks I’m going to give up that easy, she’s got another surprise coming.
She should know by now that I don’t give up and people don’t say no to me. I
put the camera on the counter by the sink, needing both of my hands.
Carefully,
so as not to reveal my intentions, I lean over the bath and line up my hands.
With one swift motion, I grip her tightly, heaving her out of the tub and
throwing her over my shoulder as she screams, “Put me down, Blake!”
“I
told you, you’re not sleeping in a bath. Now shut up and stop hitting my back.”
My light and jovial words only serve to make her flail around even more. I
manage to pin her legs, but I’m powerless to do anything to stop her hands pounding
against my back. It’s not enough to hurt, that’s not her intention, but the
squirming is becoming increasingly frustrating.
When
I reach the bed, I drag her back over my shoulder and dump her on the mattress.
She bounces, not able to hide the laughter on her face while she stares at me
and hiccups. This is how I like to see her, carefree and happy. It’s rare
nowadays that I catch a glimpse of Neve when she’s truly happy, but in this
moment there isn’t a strained muscle in her body. It’s natural, and I can’t
stop myself from watching her. I’m still amazed that I’m the one who can bring
out her joy and it baffles me that she’s allowed herself to be mine.
We
remain gazing at each other with ridiculous grins for a minute. When I’m sure
she isn’t going to run, I move around to my of the bed side. Her head follows
me, and when I go to climb in beside her, she rolls over. She throws her arms
and legs out wide, taking up the entire mattress.
“You’re in the bath then.” She points at
the door with the hand furthest away from me, a devilish twinkle in her eyes.
It takes me a while to respond. The sight of her body stretched out in her
skimpy pyjamas makes my throat dry, and I have to consciously remind myself to
swallow. My gaze focuses on her pale skin, which is exposed by her shirt riding
up and the top of her shorts lowering as a result of her actions.
“I
don’t think so.” My voice comes out more breathless than I expect as I watch
her spread out in front of me.
“Well,
you’re not sleeping in here with me.”
“My
bed, my rules.” I place one knee on the mattress and climb on. My arms support
most of my weight so my body is directly above hers. “So, I can either sleep on
the left … or on top of you.” My voice drops into a murmur and she gulps, her
lips parting as I hover over her. “Take your pick, Stripes.”
Teasers
About the Author
#1 Amazon bestselling author Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family and two cats. She spends most of her time writing or reading, loves anything romantic, and has an overactive imagination that keeps her up until the early hours of the morning.Mia has written over ten titles including her Seasons of Change series, the Chequered Flag series, the Elemental Killers series, and her standalone novels False Finder and Not Enough.
Her favourite genres are contemporary romance or romantic suspense, and with an ever growing list of ideas she is trying to keep up with the speed at which her imagination generates them. She also designs book covers on her website M Designs.
You can follow Mia on:
Or sign up to her newsletter for the chance to receive ARCs, giveaways, and exclusive content first.
* * Giveaway * *
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This is my first Hoddell read and I have to say that I really enjoyed her writing style. Her characters, especially Blake really warmed my heart and felt life like to me. I never questioned their motives or actions and it was a lot of fun getting to know them and to like them.
And while this story was emotional and I did enjoy it, the believability factor, for me, was never there. I don't know if that is because like the main character, I too, tend to be more of an introvert and have never, never, encountered the type of problems and harassment that she did in this story, or whether, I don't know, something about it just didn't work for me, but because of it, I had a really hard time connecting with Neve sometimes.
I adored her emails to herself though and those were the parts of the story that really grabbed me. Because regardless of the realistic factor or not, this book was full of wonderful, uplifting messages that had me slightly teary eyed at times and kept me reading on. And Blake, he stole the show. He really was the most amazing friend to her (and his family as well!) in this story and I loved him immediately and he too, made it worth reading.
Overall, this wasn't a bad read at all and like I mentioned, it really was well written and the messages about being yourself and not letting anyone change who you are or validate you as a person, were really beautiful and well done and because of that and the fact that I had to know how it ended, I'm giving this four stars because truly, any author that can make you want to finish a story even if you aren't connecting to it, deserves to have her work praised.
*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*
This is my first Hoddell read and I have to say that I really enjoyed her writing style. Her characters, especially Blake really warmed my heart and felt life like to me. I never questioned their motives or actions and it was a lot of fun getting to know them and to like them.
And while this story was emotional and I did enjoy it, the believability factor, for me, was never there. I don't know if that is because like the main character, I too, tend to be more of an introvert and have never, never, encountered the type of problems and harassment that she did in this story, or whether, I don't know, something about it just didn't work for me, but because of it, I had a really hard time connecting with Neve sometimes.
I adored her emails to herself though and those were the parts of the story that really grabbed me. Because regardless of the realistic factor or not, this book was full of wonderful, uplifting messages that had me slightly teary eyed at times and kept me reading on. And Blake, he stole the show. He really was the most amazing friend to her (and his family as well!) in this story and I loved him immediately and he too, made it worth reading.
Overall, this wasn't a bad read at all and like I mentioned, it really was well written and the messages about being yourself and not letting anyone change who you are or validate you as a person, were really beautiful and well done and because of that and the fact that I had to know how it ended, I'm giving this four stars because truly, any author that can make you want to finish a story even if you aren't connecting to it, deserves to have her work praised.
*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*
I'm almost afraid to find out the reason for Neve's disposition, because she sounds an awful lot like me. I enjoy reads of this nature sometimes, depending on the nature of the character's behavior. I'm an introvert, and have given up on everyone who can't handle my personality. No one knows what or why a person is the way they are, because the truth is scary. Thanks for sharing this. Adding to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteThat is very true. ;)
DeleteThat really is saying something about the writing when you aren't connecting but really want to finish the book regardless. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace!
DeleteOh no. I've never been a fan of defeatist characters, but hey I'm glad you remain curious regardless of your detachment to the characters.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy, me too. ;)
DeleteI'm glad you the writing was so strong that you were able to finish it. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteOf course, thanks for stopping by Tyler! :D
DeleteI would consider myself an introvert as well Ali, but it sounds like Neve is on a whole other level and maybe one I can't quite relate to as much. I do love a friends to lovers romance though, and I'm glad the author still made you want to keep flipping the pages even if Neve didn't grab you as a character:)
ReplyDeleteThe romance was very sweet and I loved it more than anything else. ;)
DeleteHmmm.... I like the sound of the character and the emails, but if it didn't seem believeable, then I would struggle.
ReplyDeleteYou never know. ;)
DeleteIt sounds like it has an interesting concept and the writing sounds strong but I wonder if the believability aspect is going to be difficult for me. Regardless, it sounds like you had a good time reading it!
ReplyDeleteIt might not be, you never know. Some might relate more to her than others I think. ;)
DeleteI do like the sound of the message this book delivers
ReplyDeleteIt did have some great messages. ;)
DeleteThe hidden messages sound good to me but I'm not sure if this is a book that would really work for me. I'm glad you enjoyed it though!
ReplyDeleteThanks Candace!
DeleteThanks for the review,showcase and giveaway Kindlemom. I'm not sure this would be my cup o tea though
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and checking it out Debbie!
DeleteI might be okay without the believability part since it sounds dark, but I almost need to connect with the main character. However, the fact that you still wanted to finish it really does say something about her writing. Brilly review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa!
DeleteSorry the entire book didn't feel entirely realistic, but that's good you liked it for the most part! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteToo bad the main character wasn't believable. I used to be a bit of an introvert, but not so much now.Thanks for the honest review :)
ReplyDeleteI'm tons better now as well than I use to be. I think having kids helped a lot with that. ;)
DeleteBlake sounds like an interesting character and I am glad you enjoyed the realistic characters
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim, he was a great character.
DeleteI love a well written novel no matter the genre. I never read anything by this author but maybe. Nice review :)
ReplyDeleteI don't like when a book loses the believability factor. That's a pet peeve for me lol.
ReplyDeleteIt does make it hard.
DeleteSucks you didn't connect with Neve but I can see me getting into this book.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it if you decide to try it.
DeleteEmails herself? Huh. Why? Yeah, yeah, I know, read the book. lol.
ReplyDeleteIt acts like her journal, why email, I've no clue LOL!
DeleteIt's nice to have a book like that even if it was difficul to connect. But in a whole it sounds ineteresting.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting!
DeleteThank you!!
ReplyDeleteI love the teasers!! This sounds so good. Thanks for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking them out!
DeleteThis sounds great and its always awesome when a book makes a emotional impact
ReplyDeleteSo very true Tori!
DeleteGreat review! Emotional books are hard for me because I seem to have an unhealthy amount of emotions ;)!
ReplyDeleteLOL right there with you Becca! :P
DeleteWow, those teasers! This sounds emotional and with that I can understand the need to connect with Neve more, but Blake sounds like a real keeper. And, I like the positive message of being true to yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Ali :)
I really did too Kim and Bake was definitely a keeper. ;)
Delete