Review: Wait For You

Title: Wait for You
Author: J. Lynn
Page Count: 332
Release Date: September 3, 2013
My Rating: 4 TURTLES: A great read, I definitely recommend.
Publisher: William Morrow

Synopsis:

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

Review:

I picked up Wait for You at ALA and didn't know what to expect. I hadn't read anything by the author before and the cover looks like any old romance-y type of story, but I decided to give it a shot since I've had good luck with New Adult before. I was very pleasantly surprised when I found myself really liking this book. Not only is it a sweet romance, but it deals with serious real life issues as well that don't get talked about as often as they might be.

I really appreciated the author's honesty with how she portrayed Avery and how the tragic event earlier in her life affected her. Several other times when I've read about abuse and adverse events in young adult and new adult, the writing hasn't felt true or tactful enough. I appreciate bluntness, but I think there is a way to write it without sounding insensitive. I can't even pin down what it is exactly - and maybe it's just me - but I can tell when it is there and when it isn't, and this book had it.

A funny thing is that one of the other things I liked about the book was also one of my biggest complaints: Cam was a bit of a knight in shining armor. Yes, he had done something in the past that he was ashamed of, but if that hadn't happened he would have been way to perfect. He, of course, is gorgeous, as is everyone in his family. Of course he is a popular reformed party animal who takes notice of Avery out of everyone else on campus. Now, the emotional reader part of me is swooning, but my intellectual, review-minded reader part of me is like "seriously? why doesn't the author just give him a pet turtle just for the kicks and giggles of the writer of the Howling Turtle. What is that I see - he does have a pet turtle? of course he does. (meanwhile emotional reader part of me is doing cartwheels). My other complaint is also one that I am torn about. In the novel, Avery keeps going back and forth between wanting to be with Cam, but having a hard time because she keeps getting triggered and then feeling embarrassed and avoiding Cam. I feel torn because it feels realistic given what she's been through, but for the sake of the sorry I wish she hadn't flip-flopped so much because it got a tinsy bit boring because I knew that they'd eventually get back together at some point.

I'd say that Wait for You is one of the best NA novels I've read and that if you are a fan of NA or contemporary romance it is definitely worth your time to check out.


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