My Perfect Mistake by Kelly Siskind

Title: My Perfect Mistake (Over the Top #1)

Author: Kelly Siskind

Publisher: Forever Yours

Release Date: April 5, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

What happens in Aspen

is definitely not staying in Aspen…

A girls’ trip to Aspen was exactly what Shay needed to forget about her toxic ex-boyfriend. She’s got her girls, pristine slopes for skiing, and hot guys everywhere. Of course, her epic self-rediscovery goes completely to hell when a wild (and deliciously hot) skier knocks Shay on her ass…and war is declared.

Kolton doesn’t know what it is about Shay that makes him lose it. Not just his cool—although she does have an unholy gift for that—but his restraint. When anger gives way to explosive chemistry, they’re both shaken with the intensity of it. But somewhere between lust and hate, Kolton and Shay realize they could have something real…if they don’t kill each other first.

I read Kelly Siskind’s debut earlier this year and it convinced me that this was an author whose books I would love. When I got the chance to read Siskind’s upcoming book, My Perfect Mistake, I jumped on it and I absolutely was not disappointed.

This weekend in Aspen was supposed to be all about Shay spending some quality time with her two best friends and move on from years stuck in a toxic relationship. It was supposed to be all about letting go of the past and getting her groove back. What it wasn’t supposed to be about? Getting in a fight with a gorgeous skier and hooking up with him a few hours later. Kolton doesn’t understand how he and Shay keep ending up naked together when they can’t seem to go more than two minutes without getting the other angry. But even after the weekend is over, he can’t seem to stop thinking about her. When circumstances puts brings them together again, neither one of them can deny that there’s something bigger happening between them. But can Shay and Kolton stop arguing long enough to see that what’s right in front of them could be the real thing?

Earlier this year, I read and loved Kelly Siskind’s debut New Adult, Chasing Crazy, and it definitely got me interested in reading more of her books. So when I saw that her upcoming contemporary romance My Perfect Mistake, was up on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it and clicked “request.” Once I started reading, I got hooked right from the beginning of the story. I mean, the story starts with a girl throwing her bra into a tree from a ski lift. How can a story not hook you when it starts off that way? But My Perfect Mistake did more than just hook me, it get me interested in the story the whole way through. Even though My Perfect Mistake is at its core a romance, I loved the way that Kelly Siskind also showed all different kinds of relationship. There were the friendships between Shay and her two best friends, and the one between Kolton and his two friends. There were all the different relationships that involved Kolton’s son, Jackson. But the most important relationship in this story was obviously the romance between Shay and Kolton. And honestly? I loved that romance. The loved the way it started, I loved the way it grew and developed. It just felt right and realistic. And obviously it didn’t hurt that I also loved Shay and Kolton.

Did I mention that this book starts with Shay throwing her bra into a tree from a sky lift? Then it should really go without saying that I loved her right away. I mean, she certainly grabbed my attention. More than that, she kept it. Iloved seeing Shay get back her confidence and find herself again after spending so many years in a relationship that got her down. In a way, it was really empowering to watch her taking her life back, even if she still had plenty of insecurities. And those insecurities definitely came out around Kolton. And I can hardly blame her because what girl wouldn’t feel insecure around Kolton? That’s because Kolton was pretty freaking fantastic. Sure, he had his own set of issues, just like everyone else, but that mean he wasn’t a genuinely good man. Because he totally was. And he was the perfect man for Shay. Plus he was adorable with his son and that wins him all the points in my books. Which brings me to Jackson, Kolton’s son, who absolutely stole the show for me. And made it so the number one thing I learned while reading My Perfect Mistake is not to let a curious and word-obsessed seven-year-old anywhere near an urban dictionary. That is unless you actually want him to ask highly inappropriate questions, loudly, in very public settings. But it was amusing to read about for sure.

I loved reading Kelly Siskind’s My Perfect Mistake. It was such a fun contemporary romance and I couldn’t seem to get enough of these characters. Lucky for me, there’s two more books coming and I couldn’t be more excited to read them.

Blog Tour - With Every Breath by Lia Riley + Giveaway

Title: With Every Breath

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: December 29, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher/Wordsmith Publicity

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

BREATHE DEEP…AND JUMP IN

At the ends of the earth, Patagonia is a land where ambition trumps reason and the savage summit of La Abuja lures the most determined climbers. It’s also the last spot a “play-it-safe girl” like Auden Woods expects to find herself. But she’ll lace up her brand-new hiking boots and do whatever is takes to secure a dream job at an adventure magazine…even if it kills her. And it just might. When disaster strikes, her only chance at survival comes in the form of the surliest, sexiest mountaineer ever to come out of Scotland.

After a climbing accident cost him his brother, professional mountaineer Rhys MacAskill is at the end of his rope. Redemption is not in his future. That is, until a terrifying storm blows a budding journalist into his tent and it’s up to him to make sure they both survive until morning. Despite the demons weighing on him, Rhys can’t resist the temptation of the charming American and one wild night just isn’t enough. 

Auden and Rhys soon learn there are no shortcuts as they navigate their way between life, death, and atonement, and discover something they never expected—love.

Lia Riley has easily become one of my go-to authors when it comes to NA and contemporary romance. I always get really excited when I find out that she has a new book coming out, and I jump right into reading it the first chance I get. And it was no different with her latest, With Every Breath.

Auden Woods is determined to put her journalism degree to good use and land her dream job at an adventure magazine. The only problem is that Auden isn’t exactly the adventure and outdoors type. She’s someone who plays it safe and because of severe asthma, has never gone too far from home. But now, Auden is determined to wander out of her comfort zone, traveling to Patagonia on her own to talk to climbers getting ready to climb La Aguja. When the trip doesn’t go quite as planned, Auden crosses paths with Rhys MacAskill, a Scottish mountaineer who sees this climb as his redemption after his last climb cost him his brother. Rhys will stop at nothing to be the first to reach the summit of La Aguja. But what he didn’t anticipate, was Auden barging in to his life and making him rethink everything he thought he knew. Both were looking for something in Patagonia, but what they didn’t expect to find there was love.

In the past year, Lia Riley has totally become one of my go-to authors when it comes to romance and NA books. I mean, between October 2014 and now I’ve read seven books and two novellas written by her. So it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when I say that I was excited when she first announced her latest, With Every Breath. Not only is this book NA romance, but it also involves travel and it basically had my name written all over it. So basically, I was in when it comes to With Every Breath. And for me, Lia Riley once again delivered. I got sucked into the story, I connected with the characters and I just wanted to keep reading. In fact, I might have stayed up way past my bedtime to read even though I had to be at work the next morning. But as tired as I was the next day, I didn’t regret my decision to just keep reading until the end. And, not gonna lie, With Every Breath totally made me want to go hiking in Patagonia. Never really thought about it before reading this book, but now this is a thing that I want to do. So be warned, this book may give you a slight (or major) case of wanderlust. With Every Breath simply reaffirmed that I will read just about anything that Lia Riley writes because her stories just suck me in and usually result in me falling a little bit in love with fictional characters (but really, that’s not exactly anything new).

When I first started reading, it didn’t take too long for me to connect with Auden. Much like her, I very much tend to be someone who plays it safe, not necessarily doing all that much to go out of my comfort zone. So I definitely understood that side of Auden’s personality, and I even admired her for actually going out on this trip to hike by herself in Patagonia. As much as With Every Breath made me want to go hike in Patagonia, I don’t think I would actually decide to do so on a whim and just take off and go for it the way Auden did. Though if I had someone like Rhys with me, I might reconsider. Because, holy brooding, hot, Scottish guy. Rhys MacAskill is gruff and surly and not exactly the most welcoming or warmest of person. But when you crack his shell, he is something else entirely. And I hardly blame Auden for falling for him as fast as she did. Because I’m not sure I would have put up much resistance if I had been in her shoes. But for real though, I more than liked Rhys, even if sometimes I kinda wanted to (lovingly) hit him in the back of the head for being a stubborn idiot. But at the end of the day, I liked what they brought out in each other and enjoyed reading their story and seeing them come together.

After having read With Every Breath, I can say that Lia Riley will continue to be one of my go-to authors for all things NA and romance. Just like with all her other stories, I got sucked into this one and I loved the characters. And as a bonus, it gave me a major case of wanderlust.

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Mini Review - Carry Me Home by Lia Riley

Title: Carry Me Home (Off the Map #3.1)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: May 5, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Love doesn’t have to be perfect to be true…

Years ago, Tanner Green loved Sunny Letman. She was meant to be his first kiss, his first love, first everything. Then their world spun upside-down and out of control.

Free-spirited Sunny doesn’t do commitment. Sure, guys are great for a night or a week, but she always leaves first. That is, until professional skateboarder and town golden boy, Tanner Green, unexpectedly walks back into her life.

Despite their broken history, a fragile and undeniably electric connection still holds them together. Now Tanner has to convince Sunny that even though love isn’t always perfect, it’s worth sticking around for…

I’m not usually a fan of novellas. Many times, I feel like it’s just a way for publishers to get even more of my money. But there are times when I really enjoy novellas and actually look forward to reading them. And that was the case with Lia Riley’s Carry Me Home.

Tanner and Sunny have a history. When they were kids, they were supposed to be each other’s first everything. But things never turn out the way they are supposed to. After everything fell apart, Sunny and Tanner grew apart, but they never forgot about that time they shared. Now, Sunny doesn’t get attached to anyone. She’s seen what getting attached to men has done to her mother, and the last thing she wants is to be like that woman. But when Tanner walks back into her life, Sunny can’t help but feel connected to him. They share a history, after all. And unlike her, Tanner is more than willing to stick around. He just has to convince Sunny that getting attached doesn’t always end in disaster.

I really enjoyed the three main books in Lia Riley’s Off the Map series, but all three books were very much focused on Bran and Talia’s story. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that because I really loved reading their story. But the whole time I was reading, I couldn’t help but be curious about some of the other people that were mentioned, whether they were Talia’s friends or Bran’s friends and family. I can’t help it. I’m just a curious person who wants to know all there is to know about everyone. That’s why I’m so drawn to companion novels, but that’s not really the point here. I was curious about other people featured in the Off the Map world so I was happy to find out that Lia Riley was writing novellas about Talia’s two best friends. Carry Me Home was the first of those and I pretty much devoured it. I wanted to know all about Sunny and Tanner and their shared past. I wanted to know why Tanner behaved the way he did with Talia after Talia’s sister, who also happened to be his girlfriend, died. And I wanted to find out more about why Sunny was so afraid of commitment. I’m just a curious person, it is what it is. So all that to say I loved reading about Sunny and Tanner, finding out more about them and seeing them find a way to go back to being those two kids who were supposed to be all of each other’s firsts. And though their romance was off to a bit of a rocky start, I loved the way it all came together and I was happy with where it went.

Carry Me Home was a great for helping me satisfy my curiosity about some of the other characters in the Off the Map world. But as I often do with novellas, I couldn’t help but want the story to be longer. I got hooked on Sunny and Tanner and I wanted more. But I was still more than satisfied with what I got.

Off the Map series by Lia Riley

Title: Upside Down (Off the Map #1)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: August 5, 2104

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

If Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found

Twenty-one-year-old Natlia Stolfi is saying goodbye to the past—and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she’ll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He’s never wanted anyone the way the wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime…or if they were meant to live a world apart.

Title: Sideswiped (Off the Map #2)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

It was only meant to last the summer…

Tahlia Stolfi has seen more than her share of loss in her twenty-one years. But then fate brought her Bran Lockhart, and her dark world was suddenly and spectacularly illuminated. SO if being with Bran means leaving her colorless NorCal life for rugged and wild Australia, then that’s what she’ll do. But as much as Talia longs to give herself over completely to a new beginning, the fears of her past are still lurking in the shadows. 

Bran Lockhart knows that living without the beautiful girl who stole his heart will be torment, so he’ll take whatever time with her he can. But even thought she has packed up her life in California and is back in his arms for the time being, she can’t stay forever. And the remaining time they have together is ticking by way too fast. Though fate seems determined to tear them apart, they won’t give up without a fight—because while time may have limits, their love is infinite…

Title: Inside Out (Off the Map #3)

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: December 2, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

The Off the Map series comes to a stunning conclusion

When Talia first moved from California to Australia to study abroad, she never dreamed she’d find the love of her life. Bran understands her like no one ever has before. And despite the numerous challenges they’ve faced, they’ve’ always managed to figure out how to stay together. But this time they’ll face their toughest hurdle yet. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?

Most New Adult series I’ve read are series in the sense that they are a series of companion novels (also, how many times can I use the word “series” in one sentence?). But Lia Riley’s Off the Map series was different. All three books, Upside Down, Sideswiped and Inside Out, are all part of one large story. And I loved reading that story.

When she decided to run away to Australia for six months as part of a study abroad program, Talia never thought she would do much beyond study and discover Melbourne. After all, she’s still trying to find a way back to herself after her older sister’s death. As she starts to put her life back together in a new place, Talia meets Bran Lockhart. And Bran sees straight through to everything she’s been trying so hard to hide. But Bran has his own baggage to deal with. After losing who he thought was the girl of his dreams, Bran is forced to move back home to Australia and move on with his life. But even though he swore he wouldn’t get attached to anyone that way again, he can’t seem to stay away from Talia. Together Talia and Bran will have to decide whether they want to be together or let geography force them apart.

Like I said earlier in this review, most of the NA series that I’ve read have been made up of companion novels all set in the same world, but focusing on different characters so that people who were secondary characters in one book end up the main characters in another. But Lia Riley’s Off the Map series wasn’t like that. All three books are about Bran and Talia and everything that seems to stand in the way of them being together. And as much as I am a strong supporter of companion novels and standalone books, I actually really liked getting to spend all this time with Bran and Talia. It didn’t feel like their story was dragged out or got too convoluted partway through. It was just their story, and their story needed three books to be told. And honestly, it could have been another book or two longer and I still would have read them. Lia Riley found a way to completely draw me into these characters’ story, making me feel like I was a part of it with them (or maybe that’s just me wanting to go to Australia, which is also entirely possible). But that’s all to say that because I believed in Talia and in Bran, I didn’t ever feel like their story was too drawn out. I was happy to see everything they went through, even if it wasn’t always pleasant, because it made them stronger and ultimately led them to where they ended up. And I was MORE THAN happy with the conclusion of their story.

Tahlia definitely hadn’t had it easy. Between her sister’s sudden death and her mom basically abandoning her family, things weren’t exactly going great for her. So I could see why she would want to run away to Australia for a few months. Hell, I don’t have half the stuff she did going on in my life and I’d hop on a plane to Australia without any second thoughts. So yeah, I got why she wanted to escape her life. For a while though, I wasn’t sure that she was doing the right thing by running away from it all. But in running away, she somehow found a way to deal with everything that was going on. And in large part, that’s because of Bran. And Bran, well he had his own set of baggage to deal with and it wasn’t exactly light baggage either. But, even if it took him a while to see it, he was good for Talia and Talia was good for him. Individually, I don’t know that Bran and Talia would have found their way as easily, but together they just worked. I just wished that there hadn’t been so many obstacles standing in their way. But then that wouldn’t have made as compelling a story, so there’s that. When it comes down to it though, I really loved Bran and Talia, both as individuals and together. And that’s all that really matters.

I really enjoyed reading all three books in Lia Riley’s Off the Map series. Each one had it’s own merits and I don’t know that I would be able to pick a favourite out of them all. If you’re looking for a New Adult read that digs a little deeper, then definitely check out the first book in the series, Upside Down.

Finding Fate Trilogy by Chelsea Fine

So I did that thing where I binge read an entire trilogy in just a few days again. I figured the best way to talk about Chelsea Fine's Finding Fate trilogy review would be to do another video review. So to find out more about my thoughts on these books, just watch the video below! Enjoy!

About the Books

Title: Best Kind of Broken (Finding Fate #1)

Author: Chelsea Fine

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Indigo

Sometime moving on means moving in…

Pixie Marshall wishes every day she could turn back time and fix the past. But she can’t. And the damage is done. She’s hoping that a summer of free room and board working with her aunt at the Willow Inn will help her forget. Except there’s a problem: the resident handyman is none other than Levi Andrews. The handsome quarterback was once her friend—and maybe move—until everything changed in a life-shattering instant. She was hoping to avoid him, possibly forever. Now he’s right down the hall and stirring up feelings Pixie thought she’s long buried…

Levi can’t believe he’s living with the one person who holds all his painful memories. More than anything he wants to make things right, but a simple “sorry won’t suffice—not when the tragedy that scarred them was his fault. Levi knows Pixie’s better off without him, but every part of him screams to touch her, protect her, wrap her in his arms, and kiss away the pain. Yet even though she’s so close, Pixie’s hear seems more unreachable than ever. Seeing those stunning green eyes again has made one thing perfectly clear—he can’t live without her.

Title: Perfect Kind of Trouble (Finding Fate #2)

Author: Chelsea Fine

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: June 17, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Indigo

Sometimes when perfect falls apart, a little trouble fixes everything…

Twenty-one-year-old Kayla Turner has lost everything. After spending most of her life taking care of her ailing mother, she just wants to spot a glimmer of light t the end of the tunnel. So when her late father—a man she barely knew—leaves her an inheritance, she finally breathes a sigh of relief…until she learns the inheritance comes with strings. Strings in the form of handsome playboy Daren Ackwood, her father’s protégé. To see any of her inheritance, she’s forced to team up with him. From his expensive car to those sexy dimples, Kayla’s seen his type before. But Daren isn’t who he seems to be…

Struggling to make amends for his family’s mistakes, Daren has a life more Oliver Twist than Richie Rich these days. He’s beyond grateful that James Turner included him in his will, but working with Turner’s princess of a daughter to fulfill his cryptic last wish is making Daren wonder if being broke is really so bad. Still, she’s just as beautiful as she is stubborn, and the more time he spends with Kayla, the less it feels right being without her. Soon Daren and Kayla being to wonder if maybe the best gift Kayla’s dad could have left them…was each other.

Title: Right Kind of Wrong (Finding Fate #3)

Author: Chelsea Fine

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: September 2, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Indigo

Sometimes wrong can feel oh so right…

Jenna Lacombe needs complete control, whether it’s in the streets…or between the sheets. So when she sets out on a solo road trip to visit her family in New Orleans, she’s beyond annoyed that the infuriatingly sexy Jack Oliver wants to hitch a ride with her. Ever since they shared a wild night together last year, he’s been trying to strip away her defenses one by one. He claims he’s just coming along to lee her safe—but what’s not safe is her prolonged exposure to the tattooed hottie.

Jack can’t get Jenna out from under his skin. She makes him feel alive again after his old life nearly destroyed him—and losing her is not an option. Now Jack’s troubles are catching up to him, and he’s forced to return to his hometown in Louisiana. But when his secrets put them both in harm’s way, Jenna will have to figure out how far she’s willing to let love in…and how much she already has.

The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Title: The Redemption of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence #2)

Author: Jessica Sorensen

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: February 11, 2014 (Paperback)

Source: Purchased eBook

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden comes an emotional new story about two troubled souls sharing one all-encompassing love…

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is finally out. Worse, he's facing charges for battery. The only way to clear his name is for Callie to speak up--something he'll never ask her to do. Instead, he'll do whatever he must to protect her…even if it means letting go of the only girl he's ever loved.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But that means facing her greatest fear and admitting her own painful secrets aloud. The thought of breaking her silence terrifies her--but not as much as the thought of losing Kayden forever.

Deep in her heart, Callie knows the time has come for her and Kayden to forget the pain of the past. With the help of her friends Seth and Luke she makes a plan to show Kayden the life they could have. But can she convince him they can make a fresh start together--or is she already too late?

It looks like I am continuing on with my newfound, mild obsession with New Adult, and so far I'm loving everything I've been reading. Jessica Sorensen's The Redemption of Callie & Kayden was what I hoped it would be, and I loved continuing on with the characters I'd gotten to know in the previous book.

His whole life, Kayden Owens has worked to keep his secret hidden. To everyone else, Kayden was the popular football player, but at home things weren't the same. But now people know what his father has been doing all these years. Except not everyone has the right story. Now the only way for Kayden to make things right is with Callie's help. But the last thing he wants is to ask Callie to do the one thing he was never able to do, speak up. Callie knows she has to help Kayden, but she doesn't know how. THe last thing she wants is to lose Kayden, but it seems like everything she does only ends up pushing him away. With Luke and Seth's help, Callie sets out to show Kayden the life he could have, but will he be willing to do what it takes to live that life?

The first book in this series, The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden, ended on a cliffhanger that left me pretty desperate to know what would happen next. Unfortunately for me, I was on a plan at the time and had no way of getting The Redemption of Callie & Kayden. As soon as I got off the plane, though, I dug my Kindle out of my bad and got myself the next book. Where the first book was more focused on what happened to Callie, this one focused more on Kayden. My heart broke multiple times while reading. There were many times where it hurt to see Kayden struggle with his father's absue and his own self-harm as a result of that abuse. For me, that struggle kept off the page, and once again, the way Jessica Sorensen presented these subjects felt disturbingly real. But more than the pain and struggle present throughout the story, there's also hope and love. In The Redemption of Callie & Kayden, the two titular characters' romance shone through everything else. It was their story and no one else's. Callie and Kayden just needed to realize that their best chance of survival was together, not apart.

Because of the way Jessica Sorensen wrote their story, Callie and Kayden have felt like real people from the start. Once again, my heart broke while reading Callie's story, not just because of what had happened to her but also because of everything that was happening with her and Kayden. This time though, I grew a little frustrated with Kayden at times. I understood where he was coming from, but I just wanted him to stop pushing Callie away and get the help he needed and deserved. But beyond that, seeing Callie and Kayden together warmed my heart and gave me hope. These were two people who had suffered so much and but managed to find each other and start to build something new that would be good for them. And I was happy to see their story get as happy an ending as possible given their circumstances. I'll also say that I was happy to see more of Seth and Luke, but I'm still waiting for them to get their own stories.

Jessica Sorensen's The Redemption of Callie and Kayden was a nice conclusion to Callie and Kayden's story. If you aren't sure if New Adult is for you, Callie and Kayden's story is a good place to start. With these books, you'll get a story filled with pain and struggled, but that also has shining moments of hope throughout it all.

The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Title: The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence #1)

Author: Jessica Sorensen

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: August 6, 2013

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

For Kayden, suffering in silence was the only way to survive. If he was lucky, he could keep his head down, do as he was told, and make it through the day. But one night it seemed like his luck--and his life--might finally end…until an angel named Callie appeared just in time to rescue him.

Callie has never believed in luck. Not since her twelfth birthday when everything was taken from her. After the worst was over, she locked up her feelings and vowed never to tell anyone what happened. Now, six years later, she continues to struggle with the painful secret that threatens to consume her.

When fate lands Kayden and Callie at the same college, Kayden is determined to get to know the beautiful girl who changed his destiny. Quiet and reserved, Callie still fears letting anyone else into her world. But Kayden is certain that Callie has come back into his life for a reason. And the more he tries to be a part of her life, the more he realizes that, this time, it's Callie who needs to be saved...

If you've been reading my posts for the past month or so then you'll know I've been devouring any and all New Adult books I've been able to get my hands on. It was no different with Jessica Sorensen's The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden. I was hooked right from page one and just tore through the book.

Callie Lawrence has wanted to be invisible since everything was taken from her on her twelfth birthday. And she's succeeded to do it all the way through high school. But as she's about to leave doe college, Callie witnesses something, and for once she can't just be invisible. Stepping in to save Kayden's life, Callie couldn't have predicted that she would be saving herself in the process. Letting Kayden into her life goes against everything Callie believes in, but it might be just what she needs. Because no one can understand her desire to be invisible better than Kayden. 

Maybe it's because New Adult is typically contemporary romance and that's my favourite genre, but it just can't seem to get enough of these stories. Jessica Sorensen's The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden just fuelled that hunger more. I got hooked right from the start. I wanted to know more about what had happened to both Kayden and Callie. I wanted to see if they would be able to come out on the other side. This wasn't a happy story and some parts of it were downright painful to read but that's where some of the story's power ultimately comes from. In this story, Jessica Sorensen tackles some tough subjects in a way that feels disturbingly realistic.  The abuse Kayden suffers and how it affects me completely broke my heart. There were times while I was reading where I just wanted to hurt his father for what he was doing and knock some sense into his mother. The way Callie dealt with her own trauma felt just as realistic and, like with Kayden's pain, Callie's pain just made my heart break at times. 

But it wasn't just a dark story about abuse. The romance between Callie and Kayden was, to sound completely cheesy, beautiful. These were two people who understood each other on a level other people wouldn't be able to understand them. I loved seeing them work together to overcome their past, even if at times they struggled. But their struggle is what added that realistic quality to the story. I was rooting for them the whole way. Even though they sometimes didn't see it, I could see that they were good for each other and they made each other better I more than one way. 

It wasn't just Callie and Kayden's story that felt real, it was the characters themselves. I figured what happened to Callie pretty much ten pages into the books that only made me appreciate her character more. Because I knew what had happened to her, I was able to better understand why she was acting the way she was acting. With Kayden, the reader is told in the first chapter that his father is physically abusive, but as I read, I realized that there was a whole lot more going on with him. And that just broke my heart. But what I appreciated the most about Kayden is that the chapters that were written from his perspective really and truly felt like I was I the mind of an 18 year old guy. That just made Kayden feel that much more real to me. My only wish as far as characters are concerned is that I could see more of Seth and Luke. They both have their own story to tell and while I've been able to get bits and pieces from here and there, it has only served to make me want more. 

I love nothing more than a good contemporary romance with characters that are completely broken. I've said it before and I'll say it again, broken characters make for some of the best and most touching stories. This is exactly what Jessica Sorensen's The Coincidence of Callie & Kaden was. If you choose to read this story, be prepared to be hooked and want the sequel immediately after you finish. At least, that's what happened to me.