Author: Samantha Christy
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 316 Pages
Publication: November 2014
My Rating: 2/5 Stars
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Brief Synopsis
Keri lost her parents when she was sixteen, now, at twenty-four, she might lose her breasts. After being diagnosed with breast cancer Keri and her best friend/roommate Tanner begin saving all their money to cover the expense of her treatment. During Chemotherapy Keri meets Jace, a handsome artist with throat cancer. The two form an immediate bond that continues to grow as they go through treatment together.
As Keri and Jace grow closer their personal lives start to intrude on their budding relationship. They have very different backgrounds and their families have very different expectations for them. As their bond grows they discover that sometimes you have to fight for what you want, even if you have to fight your family. Even if you have to fight yourself.
Review
I really wanted to like this novel. I started it with every intention of enjoying it. Some parts I did enjoy, but overall it fell far short of what I was hoping for out of it. Many people will love this novel (I know several people right now that I could recommend it to who would like give it a full five star rating), so don't get turned away by this first piece. Read on and see what you think.
The idea of a story about two cancer patients meeting in treatment and developing a relationship was interesting to me. This is not necessarily the type of story I typically read, but I liked the concept and I want to branch out-try more things. The idea was good, the execution was just lacking.
I think this novel could have easily been cut nearly in half. There was far too much filler that could have been almost entirely cut. It would have been much more enjoyable that way. With just a few changes and cutting out that extra fluff, this could have been a really nice book.
The writing was lacking in some aspects. No one is perfect and this is something that Christy can improve on. With some more editing to improve the flow of the novel and the dialog, the writing would have been fine. The writing was almost too formal in some parts. I would have preferred a more relaxed, conversational approach, since we were inside the head of Keri-the main character. The dialog, again, was too formal. I felt that it was stilted. This could easily be improved. And Jace. He was much more enjoyable through his texts than he was speaking. I'm not exactly sure why.
The love story in this novel reminded me of Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins in some ways. Jace already has a girlfriend and his conflict with his feelings between the two was very Etienne St. Clair like. The thing that made it somewhat worse here is that this is a twenty-seven year old man, not a seventeen year old. I just felt like he should have been more concerned with falling for someone when he was in a committed relationship.
My biggest complaint with the story is Keri. She had so much potential, but I just never felt an extreme connection to her. She was constantly putting herself down and then making reference to how she had been so strong in the past. It would have been nice to see some of that strength, but you never really do. She was always thinking of how she wasn't good enough for certain people because she was poor or because of her past. It was very off-putting. Insecurity makes sense, it just wasn't shown well here. You can be insecure and strong. Keri was more insecure than strong in most cases.
Overall it was an ok read. If you enjoy love stories and romance novels that get quite cheesy in parts, then this might be for you. With just a bit more work I would have enjoyed this novel much more. If you read this novel, let me know what you think in the comments.
Happy reading!
Courtney
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