OMG!! I have read hundreds of books in my lifetime, but never have I been so affected by one. I normally finish one and then move on, but Tarryn Fisher has written this one so well and took me on such an emotional roller coaster that I have no idea where I am or what I am supposed to do next (besides read Dirty Red)!
I have read some amazing reviews of this entire series and I am glad that I had the foresight to purchase all three titles when I did, otherwise I don't think I would have been able to pick up another book between them!

Olivia and Caleb have a relationship that has it's ups and downs, mostly downs, and while you can see from the beginning that they would be great together, you just know that it will never work out. Olivia is a classic child of neglect and circumstance, she is afraid to let anyone really in and it shows in her relationships, romantic and platonic. Her college roommate Cammie is a character and i was glad to see her in strategic spots throughout the story.

Olivia met Caleb in college, he was your typical good looking jock from the outside and every girl wanted him, well every girl but Olivia. They do end up "dating" and for a short while things are good; then of course Olivia pushes him away. There is a decent gap where the two are not together and Caleb isn't even acknowledging Olivia, but she continues to "stalk" him through friends of Cammie's and eventually she sees an opportunity to get him back.. Enter the abortion and Olivia's subsequent rumor starting through Cammie and a Frat party and the two are back together.

In true Olivia fashion, things get really serious and when she is almost finished with college she happens upon something that tears them apart..She of course goes off and does something worse and confesses a whole bunch of the things she did. Caleb's parting words broke my heart...

“I will love again, Olivia, you will hurt forever. What you’ve done is…You are worthless because you make yourself that way. You will remember me every day for the rest of your life because I was the one and you threw me away.”

Now keep in mind that all of the previous is learned through "flashback" chapters to the past. The book is told in the present after Olivia and Caleb have spent three years apart. Caleb was in an accident and has amnesia...There is a chance encounter between the two, and Olivia uses this to her advantage and has Caleb back for what she assumes is just a short time. Caleb has moved on and while he doesn't remember his current girlfriend he stayed with her because it was what was expected of him. Leah is one character that I did not like at all, even before "meeting" her she was on the bottom of my list. This charade that Olivia is playing does end up biting her is the butt when Leah finds out the truth. She of course threatens to tell Caleb and Olivia runs instead of facing the consequences. She runs off to Texas to stay with Cammie and years pass...

Not going to give away the rest, but know that the two do come back together again...though not the way you would like to think... ( )

I seriously love how @tarrynfisher writes her female characters. They are so strong, but still have a vulnerability about them. They are pretty but not beautiful, they are smart but still make mistakes. They are so real. So incredibly lifelike. The arc this story takes is pretty powerful, and that inner dialogue we all have within our own heads and hearts is splayed out on the pages of this book. #theopportunist #tarrynfisher #bookone #series #read #bookstagram ( )

I don't normally write reviews.. at all. But this book was just WOW. I have no words. I can't stop thinking about it, it sucked me in by page 10 and probably was the most emotional book I read to date. Don't get me wrong this book is not really about conventional suffering and abuse and the like; also, it doesn't have HEA even though we so hope that it did.

Anyway I'm in love with it, and so can't way for the next one. The author was right: nothing makes you feel like regret and sadness but combine those emotions with hope and you have a winner. I'm surprised this book doesn't have more reads yet.
I can't stop thinking about it, I NEED the next one already. ( )

Aptly named, The Opportunist is a well-written guilty pleasure with a rather unlikable main character who is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. I don't really like the storyline or the characters that much, but something about this novel is very compelling...though I cringe at most of what goes on.

It's very hard to feel sorry for "the opportunist" because she thinks only of herself and does horrible things in the name of love (a love which seems more like an obsession than genuine caring and affection.) Women (and how they treat each other) do not come across very well in this highly addictive "but I shouldn't be reading this" novel.

The further along I got in The Opportunist the more I found myself really admiring the style and heart of it. Some of the feelings Olivia experienced struck me hard with their universality; even if I never did come around to liking her, I can't help but understand that intense emotions often make us do insane things that we aren't proud of.
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This entire book is one train wreck happening over and over again. Olivia cannot let go of her love (obsession) of Caleb. She has screwed up and lied so many times, she can't redeem herself. She lies. She manipulates. She is at a constant tug-of-war with herself to do the right thing. She knows the things she does is wrong, but she just can't help herself. She wants what she wants.

Is it wrong that I actually felt sorry for her through most of the book. With an exception of one or two things.... the things she does I think any of us would have done given the situation. She is only human, a wounded human, but a human nonetheless. In her defense, she tries to come clean and do the right thing, but Caleb stops her every time.

This book is a good read. I couldn't put it down, no matter how hard I tried. ( )