Enter Jack. Everything about him is wrong for Lily and she knows it, but she can't stop herself from being attracted to him. When things implode with Derek, it's Jack who's there to pick up the pieces - and to show Lily an entirely new set of experiences she didn't know she was missing.
Of course, Jack has his own problems and once Lily gets to know him better, she starts to wonder if she can handle all of Jack.
When Derek reappears on the scene, Lily is forced to decide between two guys and herself. Can she find herself without losing the people who matter in the process?
eBook received from author in exchange for honest review
Published October 27th 2013 by SDE Press
Our Review--
Soooooo....do we have another awesome indie author to share with you or what. Sarah Daltry so kindly asked us a while ago to review her book...and I for one am ecstatic that she did. Had she not asked, we would've missed out on this series, and that would make me sad. And by while, I mean a while...so thank you Sarah for waiting for us...these day jobs of ours....ggrr! I know...stupid work gets in the way of ALL of our fun!!
Anyways! This book...I for one am the biggest hater of the cheating plot line, well for obvious reasons...being the cheated ON has to be one of the suckiest things in existence. So I won't excuse Lily for that...but the way she turns from a young girl who has lost her way into a woman that is deserving of love even though she made mistakes is a journey that I enjoyed immensely to read. When I started Forget Me Not, I really didn't feel very sorry for her. She chose where she wanted to go to school to forge her own path and all that. So when she figures out that life sucks, and college isn't the same as living at home with your parents breathing down your neck to make good choices and do your homework...well...let's just say she has a lot of spreading her wings to do!
This novel started with a bang--as in they were banging with in paragraphs. And honestly, for the first part of my reading it felt like a lot of sex held together with a thin storyline of a girl trying to figure things out during her first semester of college...and trust me, I was totally okay with that..hahaha. But as the story progressed, I reflected on the truth of what Lily was experiencing. She was homesick, confused, and trying to find her place in her new world and I KNOW many people feel exactly like that when they leave home for the first time.So not only was she struggling to adjust but she had boyfriend problems that had her turning to a new boy, Jack.
Jack initially seemed like your classic bad idea. He's sarcastic and dark and rough around the edges...and turns out he's really soooo much more. He's got a back story that is incredibly sad and he's admittedly broken from year so of coping with the messed up situation he's coming from.
Then...Jack. Jack is a tortured soul that I want to snuggle. Although, I'm not sure that snuggling is his thing...*wink, wink* NO really, he needs some TLC, and Shelley, we need to help him out with that. He has never known love as it should be given to him from either parent, and is one of the truest don't judge a book by its cover tales I've read in a while. I'm thinking in the next story from his POV we will be finding out a lot more of how he became the loner he is today...and my heart breaks just thinking about it. But for this...once we get past some of those hardened heart walls, he is a really great guy. He was an awesome character, and don't think that his tattoos and good looks are cliche, because there is not a typical description of him that I can recall.
And the writing. Wow. I think we can all agree that reading someone new that you haven't read before can be a little bit daunting, for us and them. Because we read a dang lot of books, so you never know. But I felt like the writing made this book effortless to read. So Thank You Sarah. Because you know your characters. You're not afraid to make them do unlikeable things so that we get to feel and experience their journey the hard way. Some of the conversations in this book were hard to have, and even someone my age might have trouble tackling that kind of stuff in a mature way. It was genuine experiences for this girl, and I have a soft spot for coming of age love stories.
Yes, this novel was a super easy read. I loved seeing the growth and honesty in these characters--some of my 40 year old friends could learn a thing or two from Lily and Jack! It looks like there will a lot more to come with these two and I'm interested in seeing how they will handle the next part of their journey together.
This story read so fast y'all, you have no idea. I think I read it in less than 3 hours...sooooooo you should pick it up. There is a lot of young people growing in this one, as Lily just turns 19...so my advice...be patient with her! I had to. :)
Courtney: 4 Stars!!
Shelley: 4 Stars
About the Author--
Sarah Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She’s written works in various genres – romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn’t as important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she’s been known to shake it up. Most of her stories are about relationships – romantic, familial, friendly – because love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn’t matter if the story is set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future – human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This is the principle behind all of Sarah’s stories.
Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.
When Sarah isn’t writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.
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Check out Sarah's Forget Me Not Playlist!!
Purchase Forget Me Not
Goodreads | Amazon| B&N | Smashwords
Check out Sarah's Forget Me Not Playlist!!
Purchase Forget Me Not
Goodreads | Amazon| B&N | Smashwords
Available now!
Title: Lily of the Valley (Flowering, #1.5)
Author: Sarah Daltry
Blurb:
18+ New Adult romance
This
isn’t a sweet and innocent coming of age story. If dirty talk, bedroom toys,
and threesomes offend you… this is not your book. There are also no
billionaires, strippers, or virgins. This is just the story of typical college
kids trying to connect to each other.
“No one tells you about pain.
They tell you that it hurts, that sometimes it’s consuming. What they don’t
tell you is that it’s not the pain that can kill you. It’s the uncomfortable
numbness that follows, the weakness in your body when you realize your lungs
may stop taking in air and you just can’t exert enough energy to care. It’s the
way taste and color and smell fade from the world and all you’re left with is a
sepia print of misery. That’s when the shift starts – the movement from passive
to active. I fall asleep, hoping that the morning will bring back the pain. At
least the pain is a thing.”
Plagued by a
dark past, Jack sees college as a way out. Desperate to escape the area where
he grew up, the people who know his secrets, and his own family, he deals with
his problems through alcohol and meaningless sex.
When he first
sees Lily, she’s the epitome of everything he hates. Yet something about her
makes Jack rethink everything he knows and assumes about other people. Now,
with the help of his best friend and lover, Jack has to decide if he wants to
pursue something that he knows will only end badly.
Can Lily be one
of the few people who can see Jack for who he really is – or will his darkness
be too much for her to handle?
Buy Links:
Thank you! The whole series is on sale for .99 each this weekend. :)
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