Sunday 23 June 2013

Review: "Carey Heywood's "Him."

@CareyHeywood 

4 Heart Review of "Him" by Surj

Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/187FrYc
Amazon.com:   http://amzn.to/12asbhf

Synopsis:

Sarah Miller hasn’t been home in seven years. She thought she could stay away forever. If it wasn’t for her big brother's wedding, that is. Part of her even feels silly for staying away this long. It's not like anyone even knew what happened. Well, except for him.

That guy. The one she compared all others to. The one who set the bar so high no other guy after him could even compete. The one who made her feel like anything was possible. The one she thought she would never be good enough for. The one she spent the last seven years trying to forget.
All she needs to do is make it through the next week without running into him.


(ARC recieved from Carey Heywood for an honest review).

Review:

It's him. The goddamned reason I haven't been home in seven years just happens
to be on my plane. The last time I had seen him was that night. His eyes
meet mine and I watch the recognition pass over them.

This book was such a lovely story of love and loss and then love again (but not loss in the sense you think). The events of one night led Sarah Miller to leave everything she had ever known behind and start afresh somewhere new. That included leaving her best friend:

My heartbreak over losing him had been twofold, since before
he even knew I loved him, he had been my best friend.

 On the surface she never looked back. She focused on getting through college, getting herself a job and starting up her own company. So engrossed in work, she hoped not to have time to think about "him." But he was always there. Every living breathing moment he was in her thoughts, she couldn't escape him:

Most days I do everything in my power to stay busy in the hope of not thinking
about him. Seeing him, being in his car, this will clearly set me back years.

But what was it that happened that night? Don't worry, this one didn't take me down a dark road but it did keep me reading because I had to know why. And then just as the reason was revealed, I discovered there were two reasons!!! Both heart breaking, especially as Sarah was only eighteen, getting ready to go to college and having just got together with the guy she had loved forever. Her life had suddenly fallen into place and then in one night, it was all taken away:

I lost a piece of myself that night, and in all of these years, I have never found it.
That night changed me. I was so naive and trusting and mostly in love.

This book was told with chapters from the present and the past but they linked perfectly and as each on ended, I couldn't wait to read the next because it would give me another part of the puzzle. It was lovely watching Will and Sarah's relationship progress from friendship into something more when they were eighteen. Young love is so sweet and it definitely left my heart all happy and fluttery. When they reconnected at the wedding, I was rooting for them to get back together and I wasn't the only one. There were even characters in the book pushing them together. It was obvious they both still had feelings for each other and that they belonged together but Sarah was stubborn, refusing to hear him out.... yes there were a few "come on woman, hear the poor guy out" moments. Unfortunately she couldn't get past the hurt:

"I gave you everything once. Now I have nothing left to give you."

Will Price was a hottie but so wonderful and caring and sweet with it. Can you tell I liked him!!!  (That lip biting thing he kept doing... mmmm.) And that tattoo... wow. He left me in a  puddle of goo after that revelation. Will was so in love with Sarah and he was trying everything to understand what went wrong. I really felt for him when she kept pushing him away.  And Sarah, part of me could completely understood her behaviour, especially since she had been so young when her world had crumbled. But part of me really wanted her to say her piece, just let it all out. Ok so maybe I was getting impatient .... I was desperate and I hate suspense!!! lol Neither of them had moved on over the last seven years, each of them spoilt for anyone else:

If I'm being honest with myself, I use all of the travelling for my job as a reason
 not to let anyone get too close. What's the point? I met the love of my life in
middle school. Problem is he hadn't felt the same way.

Sarah's best friend Sawyer was also such a brilliant member of the cast  and just what Sarah had needed in her life. That girl had me in stitches at times and definitely brought humour to the book.

I read this book in one sitting because I really wanted Will and Sarah to get their HEA. This is a standalone so I guess it doesn't take a lot of imagination to work out the end but their journey to get them to that happy place is definitely worth the read. Although there were no huge heart sinking moments, Will and Sarah's story still had my heart doing all sorts from joyful flutters to a little bit of that "pain in the heart" thing you hear me talk about often (it happens... sometimes my heart hurts for characters!!!)

Lucky for us, Carey Heywood is giving us "Her" soon. Yes we are getting the story from Will's POV and I cannot wait!!!!

"I felt useless, I felt branded beneath my skin by a girl who left without even saying goodbye."

I rated this book 4 Hearts








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