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Title: Beside Your HeartAuthor: Mary Whitney
Format acquired: eARC (PDF)
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Publication date: June 17th 2013
Source: Received from tour host (Thanks, Literati Literature Lovers and Mary!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Late one night Nicki Johnson plays with emotional fire and Googles her high school love, only to find his name splashed across the British gossip columns. Back in his native England, Adam Kincaid is successful and dating a woman from an aristocratic family like his own. With a career in politics, Nicki’s no slouch, but she knows Adam is living a world away from her life.
Yet there was a time he was no farther than the next locker. Nicki will never forget their year together in high school—the year of her sister’s death, the year her mother checked out. Adam helped Nicki through suffocating grief, and she led him through a coming of age. Was it just high school, or was it something more?
(Image and summary provided by Literati Literature Lovers.)
Review:
Oh. My. God.
This book... It leaves me completely stunned whenever I think about it. I had to spend a few minutes composing myself after I finished reading it, it left me utterly speechless. But this is where book sudjectivity comes in, while I'm here gushing about how much I loved and worshipped Beside Your Heart, there may be others who will disagree so just a disclaimer, I'm not pressuring you to love this book but if there was ever a book to give a shot at, it's this one.
I have honestly never been a fan of those first love, first heartbreak type of books (eg: The Summer I Turned Pretty) but after reading Beside Your Heart, I am second-guessing my decision to shun those types of books (I normally let Geraldine handle all the mushy stuff.) I don't know if it's because I'm sixteen now and I'm very curious about how first love comes about and knowing that I'll probably never experience it (I study in an all girls school, go figure) that made me so interested in the book or what, but whatever it was, I don't regret signing up for this tour. It's weird but I hardly ever give high rating to tour books and it's even rarer for me to give a 6-star rating (this is my third 6-star rating so far) but I'm going to be honest, I didn't even hesitate when I decided to rate it this way. I just knew in my heart, my mind and my gut that Beside Your Heart deserved it and so now, I flail. *flails*
I try to stay away from angsty books because I get all depressed after reading them but I was totally fine (or not fine) with this one. The way Mary Whitney made the story flow pretty much matched the steady flow of tears streaming down my face. I can't even count the number of times I cried while reading this book, it was just so emotional. My heart ached so much that I found myself continuously clutching my chest to relieve the tightness there. I was so amazed at how invested I was in this book but I wasn't shocked as to why, because no one who has read Beside Your Heart will disagree with what I am saying.
Beside Your Heart is the type of book that will slowly, inconspicuously, grip at your heart strings and gently tug at them. You won't even notice how deep into it you are anymore, you just end up going even deeper. I'm being serious when I tell you that I was sold with this book after reading the first chapter (there was a prologue,) Mary Whitney finds a way to really bring a reader a romance that is both so authentic and dream-like that it's so hard to untangle yourself from it. There was already so much depth right from the very beginning and for those of you who have someone that got away, Beside Your Heart will be a sure hit for you. Oh and by the way, the first chapter to the last (not including the epilogue) is written as a sort of flashback.
Let's talk about the characters now, I didn't think that Nicki (the protag) would be such a complicated character, but she was. Her sister, Lauren, just recently passed away and Nicki was recovering from the accident that killed her sister and injured her mother. Nicki had both physical and emotional scars, and they were big. But she surprised me by not being the type of girl who became withdrawn in herself, Nicki was willing to still be open to others and be social. I think the problem with so many books right now is that when you have a protag that went through a very rough time is that they don't like to talk about it, I personally don't think that will get you anywhere. Sometimes it's okay to lean on others and there's nothing wrong it needing another person's help, and that's how Nicki was. She didn't necessarily depend on her friends and family, but she wasn't opposed to talking to them... at times. She was a strong girl and I very much looked up to her. With our ages being so close to each other, I felt that I really connected with her. But as much as I'd like for a hot English guy to fall for me, I don't see that happening in the near future, so Nicki has that over me.
Every teenage girl's dream is to have a swoony guy with a hot accent fall for her and I am certainly not an exception. Adam Kincaid is the answer to that fantasy, wrapped in a soccer uniform, I might add. Adam is genuinely a sweet guy, and smart too. And very good looking. *blushes* I fell for him more than once in this book and even though he broke my heart, I couldn't help but still love him anyway. He made me laugh, ugly cry and blush. While there are so many swoony and crush-worthy guys in the fictional world, Adam is one of a kind. He's left a tattoo of himself in my heart, body and soul. (Can I please borrow him for prom?) He's not perfect, but that's what makes him so great. You can see how much he cares for his friends and his family. Even though he seems constantly annoyed at his sister, Sylvia, you can see that he truly loves her and means well. And Adam with Nicki? I think those two created a planet of their own.
Adam and Nicki's relationship wasn't perfect. There was a point where it was pretty close, but don't be fooled. Not everything is meant to be that good even in books and I was totally fine with that. All the problems and good times they had with each other made the book all the more realistic. You can actually relate to the characters and you can imagine this happening in real life. There's a possibility of some girl out there experiencing the very same love and hurt. I don't think I can go too deep about their relationship without bursting into tears because I am seriously tearing up as I am typing this right now. *sniffs*
Serendipity. I've heard this word a thousand times when it comes to romance and mushy books and I've never really thought much about it... till now. I won't elaborate on what happens lest I start crying and also end up spoiling the book for you but no matter what people will tell you, this book's ending was perfect. A bit shocking that I would say that since I was about to throw my iPad against the wall after I finished reading Beside Your Heart but after a few moments of pondering, I realized that I wouldn't change anything for the world. Everything was perfect and I appreciated all the effort Mary Whitney put into creating such a beautiful book.
If the 6-stars isn't enough to get you to read it, then I don't know what will. I kid, just read the summary. How can you not want to read this book? Beside Your Heart is one of the very, very best books I have read ever and I will always remember it. You know that a book is good when you start tearing up just thinking about what happened in it (just like Clockwork Princess.) I seriously cannot recommend Beside Your Heart, Mary Whitney has become one of my all time favorite authors and I will now spend the next few days reading the rest of her books. Ciao!
I have honestly never been a fan of those first love, first heartbreak type of books (eg: The Summer I Turned Pretty) but after reading Beside Your Heart, I am second-guessing my decision to shun those types of books (I normally let Geraldine handle all the mushy stuff.) I don't know if it's because I'm sixteen now and I'm very curious about how first love comes about and knowing that I'll probably never experience it (I study in an all girls school, go figure) that made me so interested in the book or what, but whatever it was, I don't regret signing up for this tour. It's weird but I hardly ever give high rating to tour books and it's even rarer for me to give a 6-star rating (this is my third 6-star rating so far) but I'm going to be honest, I didn't even hesitate when I decided to rate it this way. I just knew in my heart, my mind and my gut that Beside Your Heart deserved it and so now, I flail. *flails*
I try to stay away from angsty books because I get all depressed after reading them but I was totally fine (or not fine) with this one. The way Mary Whitney made the story flow pretty much matched the steady flow of tears streaming down my face. I can't even count the number of times I cried while reading this book, it was just so emotional. My heart ached so much that I found myself continuously clutching my chest to relieve the tightness there. I was so amazed at how invested I was in this book but I wasn't shocked as to why, because no one who has read Beside Your Heart will disagree with what I am saying.
Beside Your Heart is the type of book that will slowly, inconspicuously, grip at your heart strings and gently tug at them. You won't even notice how deep into it you are anymore, you just end up going even deeper. I'm being serious when I tell you that I was sold with this book after reading the first chapter (there was a prologue,) Mary Whitney finds a way to really bring a reader a romance that is both so authentic and dream-like that it's so hard to untangle yourself from it. There was already so much depth right from the very beginning and for those of you who have someone that got away, Beside Your Heart will be a sure hit for you. Oh and by the way, the first chapter to the last (not including the epilogue) is written as a sort of flashback.
Let's talk about the characters now, I didn't think that Nicki (the protag) would be such a complicated character, but she was. Her sister, Lauren, just recently passed away and Nicki was recovering from the accident that killed her sister and injured her mother. Nicki had both physical and emotional scars, and they were big. But she surprised me by not being the type of girl who became withdrawn in herself, Nicki was willing to still be open to others and be social. I think the problem with so many books right now is that when you have a protag that went through a very rough time is that they don't like to talk about it, I personally don't think that will get you anywhere. Sometimes it's okay to lean on others and there's nothing wrong it needing another person's help, and that's how Nicki was. She didn't necessarily depend on her friends and family, but she wasn't opposed to talking to them... at times. She was a strong girl and I very much looked up to her. With our ages being so close to each other, I felt that I really connected with her. But as much as I'd like for a hot English guy to fall for me, I don't see that happening in the near future, so Nicki has that over me.
Every teenage girl's dream is to have a swoony guy with a hot accent fall for her and I am certainly not an exception. Adam Kincaid is the answer to that fantasy, wrapped in a soccer uniform, I might add. Adam is genuinely a sweet guy, and smart too. And very good looking. *blushes* I fell for him more than once in this book and even though he broke my heart, I couldn't help but still love him anyway. He made me laugh, ugly cry and blush. While there are so many swoony and crush-worthy guys in the fictional world, Adam is one of a kind. He's left a tattoo of himself in my heart, body and soul. (Can I please borrow him for prom?) He's not perfect, but that's what makes him so great. You can see how much he cares for his friends and his family. Even though he seems constantly annoyed at his sister, Sylvia, you can see that he truly loves her and means well. And Adam with Nicki? I think those two created a planet of their own.
Adam and Nicki's relationship wasn't perfect. There was a point where it was pretty close, but don't be fooled. Not everything is meant to be that good even in books and I was totally fine with that. All the problems and good times they had with each other made the book all the more realistic. You can actually relate to the characters and you can imagine this happening in real life. There's a possibility of some girl out there experiencing the very same love and hurt. I don't think I can go too deep about their relationship without bursting into tears because I am seriously tearing up as I am typing this right now. *sniffs*
Serendipity. I've heard this word a thousand times when it comes to romance and mushy books and I've never really thought much about it... till now. I won't elaborate on what happens lest I start crying and also end up spoiling the book for you but no matter what people will tell you, this book's ending was perfect. A bit shocking that I would say that since I was about to throw my iPad against the wall after I finished reading Beside Your Heart but after a few moments of pondering, I realized that I wouldn't change anything for the world. Everything was perfect and I appreciated all the effort Mary Whitney put into creating such a beautiful book.
If the 6-stars isn't enough to get you to read it, then I don't know what will. I kid, just read the summary. How can you not want to read this book? Beside Your Heart is one of the very, very best books I have read ever and I will always remember it. You know that a book is good when you start tearing up just thinking about what happened in it (just like Clockwork Princess.) I seriously cannot recommend Beside Your Heart, Mary Whitney has become one of my all time favorite authors and I will now spend the next few days reading the rest of her books. Ciao!
Rating:
About the author:
Even before she graduated from law school, Mary
knew she wasn't cut out to be a real lawyer. Drawn to politics, she's spent her
career as an organizer, lobbyist, and nonprofit executive. Nothing piques her
interest more than a good political scandal or romance, and when she stumbled
upon writing, she put the two together. A born Midwesterner, naturalized Texan,
and transient resident of Washington, D.C., Mary now lives in Northern
California with her two daughters and real lawyer husband.
You can find her here:
Thank you again!!! Mary
ReplyDeleteI think the book is awesome and I badly wanna own it. :)
ReplyDeleteI love stories that start in school and end years later when everyone's grown up and doing something else. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDelete