Sweet baby Jesus, what the hell did I just read? I have all of these feelings and none of them are good. This book hit the holy trifecta of terrible story-telling: telling, not showing; inconsistent characterization; super-lazy narrative building. I understand that rape is a thing and it's a thing that happens more often than people would prefer to admit. I don't think authors should stop writing about it but I do think that they should stop using it as an easy means of building narrative tension. Don't know what to write about? Have one of your characters be raped! Now you don't need to think about giving them a personality and motivations and aspirations, they can just be a victim! Boom! This book is a perfect example of How Not To Use Sexual Assault as Plot Advancement. [b:Easy|16056408|Easy|Tammara Webber|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349370267s/16056408.jpg|19113823] is an example of How To Use Sexual Assault In a Way That is Both Meaningful and Respectful. Also, see grammar carnage. I am doubly pissed because I spent .99c on this and I could have bought a hamburger instead. It would have been a better (and more delicious) use of my money. ( )

I am always a little torn when I read these types of books. You have to remember that all the cast of characters are young, in this case the heroine is still in high school. Even though she is 18 now she has been hiding a horrible secret for two years. The shame of that secret made her push all the good people out of her life, her perfect popular jock boyfriend and her best friends. She total alienated herself from everyone except for a bartender at a bar she frequents with a fake id. During the course of the two years she ends up with 3 guys that are prominent in her life. Two of them she tries to avoid – her ex jock boyfriend TJ and another classmate who is the singer in a band, Rhye, who she had a fling with after the traumatic thing happened. She also meets a new guy, Kane through the bartender and they become hot and heavy pretty quick even though neither wants a relationship. None of the guys are bad but she was a different person at a different time in her life which each one. Right off the bat I was rooting for Kane.

Even though Jay chose to keep her secrets someone should have seen the signs of what happened to her. She certainly showed the behaviors but her parents and friends were pretty clueless. The end of this book finds Jay going back to TJ and her secret being revealed in front of the whole senior class which then snowballs into another tragedy which is how this books ends.
( )

I am not sure where to start with this story. I think I will start with the basics of the story, then just tell what I liked and disliked about the book.

Jay has spent two years running from tragedy. Her running has included leaving behind her long-term boyfriend, her best friends, and sheltering herself from being close to anyone. She drowns herself in alcohol and sex thinking it will help her shield everyone from the pain she carries with her. Enter Zach. She is mesmerized by him the moment he walks into the bar. She charms him with her wit and sass. He is intrigued like he has never been. The two become close in a short amount of time. As they draw closer to one another, things start to change. Her walls are coming down, and her secrets she has been hiding for two years are threatening to come out. The few people who haven’t allowed her to push them away continue to pursue what makes her so sad. Zach can see that she is hiding within herself. The question is, can she hold on to herself or will she allow herself to bring everyone down with her secrets in ways no one could imagine?

This story is full of almost emotions. What I mean by this is that there are many parts of the book where I should feel something strong, but I just can’t because the writing hasn’t given me what I need to feel. I should be able to cry with this story in more than one place, but just can’t. The writing style is too technical for such a deep and painful story. I read this expecting to feel… I was not successful. The story line itself was wonderful, however, the delivery of the story not-so-much. The characters are likable, and I knew who I wanted Jay to end up with and why. This story would have been a 5 heart story had it been written with real emotion. ( )

Absolutely gut retching ( )

Absolutely gut retching ( )