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Saving Amy
Eighteen year old Amy’s surname may be Hope, but her life contains anything but. She drinks, she sleeps around, she cuts… anything to help her escape the agonising existence growing up between her mother’s drunken wails and her father’s fists. But nothing works. There is no escape. And Amy wants out…
Enter Richard Lewis – the doctor responsible for saving Amy’s life after her drink and drug-fuelled suicide attempt. Thanks to his own hidden demons, Richard is drawn to Amy and her situation, and despite the incessant warnings from both his own mind and his jealous ex-lover Joanna, he feels compelled to help her.
But how will Amy feel when she discovers Richard’s attachment to her is born out of his own guilt? He was her last resort – her last chance at being saved. Can anybody save Amy, or has she finally reached the end of a very long, torturous road?
(Not suitable for under 18's due to language, scenes of self-harm and sexual content)
Enter Richard Lewis – the doctor responsible for saving Amy’s life after her drink and drug-fuelled suicide attempt. Thanks to his own hidden demons, Richard is drawn to Amy and her situation, and despite the incessant warnings from both his own mind and his jealous ex-lover Joanna, he feels compelled to help her.
But how will Amy feel when she discovers Richard’s attachment to her is born out of his own guilt? He was her last resort – her last chance at being saved. Can anybody save Amy, or has she finally reached the end of a very long, torturous road?
(Not suitable for under 18's due to language, scenes of self-harm and sexual content)
454 pages, ebook
First published June 25, 2013
42 people are currently reading
2232 people want to read
About the author
Nicola Haken
22 books1,298 followersRomance Author.
I live in not-so-sunny Rochdale, England (true northern girl!) with my five kids - one of whom many refer to as my husband. I write about life, and love, and all the beauty and angst that come with them.
All in all I'm just an ordinary gal with an addiction to reading, tattoos, and Pepsi Max. I don't like even numbers or metal spoons, and I'm allergic to exercise.
Please note: I don't check in here often. If you would like to contact me, please get in touch via Facebook, Twitter, or email - nicola@nicolahaken.co.uk
I live in not-so-sunny Rochdale, England (true northern girl!) with my five kids - one of whom many refer to as my husband. I write about life, and love, and all the beauty and angst that come with them.
All in all I'm just an ordinary gal with an addiction to reading, tattoos, and Pepsi Max. I don't like even numbers or metal spoons, and I'm allergic to exercise.
Please note: I don't check in here often. If you would like to contact me, please get in touch via Facebook, Twitter, or email - nicola@nicolahaken.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
December 23, 2013
wow why i have i only now just heard of this book...just wow!!! i found another little gem, i seriously fell in love with everyone in this book..well except joanna. It was perfect, made me cry made me smile..all different emotions!! PLEASE READ THIS I THINK ITS AMAZINGGGGG!!! <3 *****
June 28, 2013
"Everything you consider to be wrong with you are just the results of you trying to be strong for too long --- trying to cope alone for too long. Don't you think it's amazing that after everything you've been through --- the violence, the fear, the isolation... you can still do this? That you can still feel? Still trust? Because I sure as hell think it's a miracle. I think you're a miracle."
I'm still on the fence because I really want to give this a shining 5-star rating but I also know that I have reasons for wanting to settle down for a 4-star rating instead. But let me just say this---this was one helluva read about a young woman's journey from self-destruction to healing and redemption.
Amelia "Amy" Hope really got it bad. And when I say bad, I really mean she's stuck in deep shit in her life. The first 1/3 of this book was dedicated in getting inside her self-destructive head and it was really ugly. I cringed a lot of times because of the things she allowed herself to experience---drugs, booze, drunken sex, cutting, and other suicide attempts... you name it, she probably did it. But I honestly can't blame her as well for wanting an escape from her life at home because it was just as horrendous. For her to endure living under the house as her shit of a father and wasted mother for eighteen long years, I honestly admire her in a way for holding on that long. And then enter Richard Lewis... Doctor Richard Lewis, who became Amy's savior in a lot of ways.
Amy and Richard's romance was just beautiful to watch, especially during the times that they were both navigating through their sort of forbidden feelings given their doctor-patient relationship as well as the fact that he was ten years older than her. But of course, their attraction and feelings to each other just became too much to bear that they had to give in and man oh man was it hot and super swoon-worthy! Richard was just too perfect for words. Thus begins Amy's journey to a path to healing with the help and guidance of Richard BUT of course, it is without any hindrances, problems, and tragedy.
All in all, this was really such a beautiful story but somewhere along the way (I think somewhere in the middle), things got a little lost and dragging for me. I can't believe I'm gonna complain about this but Richard got a little too unbelievably perfect for me. I really loved his sleek, mysterious, and sweet ways at first but then he became too sweet to the point that it was as if he suddenly turned into a pussy-whipped guy overnight that made me forget that he's already 28 years old. I guess their sweet moments just lost its magic after a while. I understand the author's aim to show us Amy's road to healing but I think something lacked with the way the story progressed and developed. I think it has something to do with the fact that the first part of the story was so raw, believable, and real and then it suddenly lost its way.
Don't let my personal qualms hinder you from reading this one because this is a definite must-read! I think all of us will be able to relate a bit to Amy (not unless your teenage years were just so perfect with rainbows and butterflies) and the way she moved on from the tragedies and demons of her past. But of course if you had a hot, rich, and super swoony doctor for a boyfriend who's head-over-heels in love with you, things couldn't be that bad right? :)
"I'll help you a thousand times over just to keep you by my side."
I'm still on the fence because I really want to give this a shining 5-star rating but I also know that I have reasons for wanting to settle down for a 4-star rating instead. But let me just say this---this was one helluva read about a young woman's journey from self-destruction to healing and redemption.
Amelia "Amy" Hope really got it bad. And when I say bad, I really mean she's stuck in deep shit in her life. The first 1/3 of this book was dedicated in getting inside her self-destructive head and it was really ugly. I cringed a lot of times because of the things she allowed herself to experience---drugs, booze, drunken sex, cutting, and other suicide attempts... you name it, she probably did it. But I honestly can't blame her as well for wanting an escape from her life at home because it was just as horrendous. For her to endure living under the house as her shit of a father and wasted mother for eighteen long years, I honestly admire her in a way for holding on that long. And then enter Richard Lewis... Doctor Richard Lewis, who became Amy's savior in a lot of ways.
Amy and Richard's romance was just beautiful to watch, especially during the times that they were both navigating through their sort of forbidden feelings given their doctor-patient relationship as well as the fact that he was ten years older than her. But of course, their attraction and feelings to each other just became too much to bear that they had to give in and man oh man was it hot and super swoon-worthy! Richard was just too perfect for words. Thus begins Amy's journey to a path to healing with the help and guidance of Richard BUT of course, it is without any hindrances, problems, and tragedy.
All in all, this was really such a beautiful story but somewhere along the way (I think somewhere in the middle), things got a little lost and dragging for me. I can't believe I'm gonna complain about this but Richard got a little too unbelievably perfect for me. I really loved his sleek, mysterious, and sweet ways at first but then he became too sweet to the point that it was as if he suddenly turned into a pussy-whipped guy overnight that made me forget that he's already 28 years old. I guess their sweet moments just lost its magic after a while. I understand the author's aim to show us Amy's road to healing but I think something lacked with the way the story progressed and developed. I think it has something to do with the fact that the first part of the story was so raw, believable, and real and then it suddenly lost its way.
Don't let my personal qualms hinder you from reading this one because this is a definite must-read! I think all of us will be able to relate a bit to Amy (not unless your teenage years were just so perfect with rainbows and butterflies) and the way she moved on from the tragedies and demons of her past. But of course if you had a hot, rich, and super swoony doctor for a boyfriend who's head-over-heels in love with you, things couldn't be that bad right? :)
"I'll help you a thousand times over just to keep you by my side."
July 7, 2013
I don't even know how to explain my feelings for this book. It was an emotional roller coaster for me. The story made me cry, angry, heartbroken, sad, and it even made me laugh. This entire book was amazing. The pain and suffering that Amy went through was unimaginable. Any time I read a book where there is abuse (any kind of abuse), it is very hard to read because of my past. The author has to really understand abuse and know how to put it into writing for the reader to truly understand what they are feeling. It's so easy for people to believe that the victim of abuse should just get up and leave, when in fact it is NOT. In this book you watch Amy hit rock bottom, and slowly starts believing in herself. Of course, this has a lot to do with Richard Lewis the doctor that first treats her. There is a huge age difference between the two of them by 10 years. She is 18 where as he is 28. I had no problem with it, because the abuse she suffered and survived from didn't allow her to be the normal child. She had to raise herself, and I believe this is what captivated Richard. Even though she thought she was a weak person and didn't deserve to be alive, Richard saw beyond that. The love Richard had for her was truly heartbreaking, because it takes a strong person to love somebody that has been through the hell Amy went through. Yes I cried for her and for him. There struggles to stay together were hard to read because they truly were legitimate reasons that could break up a relationship like theirs. I don't even want to talk about Joanna. Richard's crazy ex-girlfriend, who is a counselor by the way. You almost want to punch her in the face, well maybe not almost. I think I would have because she caused so much trouble when their relationship was just starting, and kept stirring up problems until she gets a taste of her own medicine. I couldn't have been happier.
The story did have a few things that made you laugh. I loved the part when he took her to an amusement park. I laughed so much, and then at the very end when she was in the hospital. How she yelled at him to do the breathing, and her description of the pain she was feeling that was indescribable. I don't want to say why she was in the hospital, because I would like for you to enjoy the book and see how it ends. Once you read it and get to the epilogue you will know exactly what I'm talking about. I started this book at 11pm and finished it by 3am the next morning. I could not and would not put it down. I had to see it through the end, and I loved every part of it. The lack of sleep was worth it :) Bring out the tissues, alcohol, and chocolate. You will definitely need this while reading the book and after you finish it.
The story did have a few things that made you laugh. I loved the part when he took her to an amusement park. I laughed so much, and then at the very end when she was in the hospital. How she yelled at him to do the breathing, and her description of the pain she was feeling that was indescribable. I don't want to say why she was in the hospital, because I would like for you to enjoy the book and see how it ends. Once you read it and get to the epilogue you will know exactly what I'm talking about. I started this book at 11pm and finished it by 3am the next morning. I could not and would not put it down. I had to see it through the end, and I loved every part of it. The lack of sleep was worth it :) Bring out the tissues, alcohol, and chocolate. You will definitely need this while reading the book and after you finish it.
Read
February 5, 2017DNF 36%
maybe
October 3, 2021Self note,
Plain average looking girl from abusive home. Age gap. Depressing.
Plain average looking girl from abusive home. Age gap. Depressing.
Want to read
February 22, 2014FREE today on Amazon US (2/22/2014).
http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Amy-Nico...
http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Amy-Nico...
August 24, 2013
This book is such a roller coaster of emotion! You have 18 year old Amelia "Amy" who has been abused at the hands of her father all of her life, and her mother is a negligent drunk who just drinks herself into oblivion while watching the father beat Amy.
The abuse causes Amy to find harmful and reckless ways of dealing with her pain. She self harms, has sex with strangers and turns her attention to drugs to find an escape. Then she meets Richard. The handsome stranger who finds her passed out on the pavement after her high on drugs. He goes out of his way to care for Amy himself, rather than just pass her off to the emergency services. As the story develops, Amy's reckless behaviour brings her with another encounter with Richard, as she discovers he is a doctor on the emergency ward.
Richard and Amy grow closer and it is not long until they find themselves falling in love with each other - much to ex girlfriend Joanna's dismay.
Because of Amy's turbulent past, she finds herself wondering whether she is worthy of a man like Richard and why he'd even bother saving her, when after all, in his line of work he'd see many different cases of vulnerable people in need - so what makes Amy so different? What are Richard's intentions, that drives him to be so protective of Amy? Can Amy put her past behind her and learn how to trust and accept love in her life?
Whilst reading Saving Amy, I really found myself yearning to reach out for Amy and comfort her when she didn't have anyone. She kept her abuse a secret from everyone she knew, for fear that her powerful father would influence his way out of trouble and hurt her even further. The author did a brilliant job of giving the readers an insight into what it's like to be driven to the extremes Amy went to because of her situation - there are definitely moments where you feel your heart break for Amy.
I'd suggest anyone to read this book if they feel they can handle such depression and violence being played before their eyes. There are certain times within the book that overly sensitive people would be upset by, which is why I feel that this book should be restricted to at least ages 16+.
If you do decide to give this book a go, then you won't be disappointed as it won't be one of those books where you feel like giving up half way through, take the time to enjoy it and reflect back on what happens with the characters.
The abuse causes Amy to find harmful and reckless ways of dealing with her pain. She self harms, has sex with strangers and turns her attention to drugs to find an escape. Then she meets Richard. The handsome stranger who finds her passed out on the pavement after her high on drugs. He goes out of his way to care for Amy himself, rather than just pass her off to the emergency services. As the story develops, Amy's reckless behaviour brings her with another encounter with Richard, as she discovers he is a doctor on the emergency ward.
Richard and Amy grow closer and it is not long until they find themselves falling in love with each other - much to ex girlfriend Joanna's dismay.
Because of Amy's turbulent past, she finds herself wondering whether she is worthy of a man like Richard and why he'd even bother saving her, when after all, in his line of work he'd see many different cases of vulnerable people in need - so what makes Amy so different? What are Richard's intentions, that drives him to be so protective of Amy? Can Amy put her past behind her and learn how to trust and accept love in her life?
Whilst reading Saving Amy, I really found myself yearning to reach out for Amy and comfort her when she didn't have anyone. She kept her abuse a secret from everyone she knew, for fear that her powerful father would influence his way out of trouble and hurt her even further. The author did a brilliant job of giving the readers an insight into what it's like to be driven to the extremes Amy went to because of her situation - there are definitely moments where you feel your heart break for Amy.
I'd suggest anyone to read this book if they feel they can handle such depression and violence being played before their eyes. There are certain times within the book that overly sensitive people would be upset by, which is why I feel that this book should be restricted to at least ages 16+.
If you do decide to give this book a go, then you won't be disappointed as it won't be one of those books where you feel like giving up half way through, take the time to enjoy it and reflect back on what happens with the characters.
November 3, 2013
WOW! This book is just chalked full of raw emotion. I love, love, loved it! I don't know why I waited so long to read it. I have seen it recommended for a while.
Amy did not live the princess life growing up with her alcoholic mother and abusive step-dad. To deal with the abuse, Amy learns how to deal with the pain on her own which leads her down a destructive path. Richard, a young doctor, finds Amy on a night when she was most destructive and decides to take care of her. Both with challenging backgrounds, they forge a relationship against all odds. You will have to read to find out what happens to this beautiful couple.
Nicola creates beautiful prose that just captivates you from the moment you begin reading the book until you finish the last sentence. Her characters are beautifully developed and you feel like you can relate to them or that they have been your friends all along. There were moments in the book where I actually set my Kindle down because of the intense emotions that each character goes through in this book. Nicola masterfully describes some very difficult scenes in this book.
If you love a great story full of emotion, heartache, and powerful love, then I recommend this book to you! Nicola is one of those authors that I would read anything that she writes. She is amazing and you will add her to your favorite authors as I have done. Thanks Nicola of sharing your talent with me!
"You make me the proudest man alive you know that? I will never get tired of loving you."
Amy did not live the princess life growing up with her alcoholic mother and abusive step-dad. To deal with the abuse, Amy learns how to deal with the pain on her own which leads her down a destructive path. Richard, a young doctor, finds Amy on a night when she was most destructive and decides to take care of her. Both with challenging backgrounds, they forge a relationship against all odds. You will have to read to find out what happens to this beautiful couple.
Nicola creates beautiful prose that just captivates you from the moment you begin reading the book until you finish the last sentence. Her characters are beautifully developed and you feel like you can relate to them or that they have been your friends all along. There were moments in the book where I actually set my Kindle down because of the intense emotions that each character goes through in this book. Nicola masterfully describes some very difficult scenes in this book.
If you love a great story full of emotion, heartache, and powerful love, then I recommend this book to you! Nicola is one of those authors that I would read anything that she writes. She is amazing and you will add her to your favorite authors as I have done. Thanks Nicola of sharing your talent with me!
"You make me the proudest man alive you know that? I will never get tired of loving you."
September 16, 2013
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If I had to describe Saving Amy in one word it would be "intense". Despite the fact that there is an uplifting, hopeful thread to the story, it is also bleak, sad and distressing to consider the life that Amelia (Amy) Hope lived is, in fact, lived by many.
The first few chapters of Saving Amy were incredibly disturbing - a violent and abusive father, a mother detaching herself from her surroundings with a gin bottle, drug abuse, random sexual encounters and self harm ... I was devastated by the horror that was Amy's life. To me her choices were all about survival, which is kind of ironic because every one of them took her so close to death. These chapters painted a graphic picture of Amy, her life, and her quest to escape it so well that I felt like I was right there with her and I so wished I could reach out and do something to show her that she did have a worth.
Following a suicide attempt Amy finds herself in hospital. Dr Richard Lewis is her attending physician. Amy is painfully reminded of the time he had helped her once before, embarrassed by the tingling she feels when he touches her and the flush that involuntarily colors her cheeks. Richard has secrets in his past that no-one else knows and he is drawn to Amy. He steps into her life and while Amy doesn't fully understand why Richard is doing what he is doing, she accepts what he offers on the basis that it will be short lived, an escape from the pain that is her life, until she has to return home again.
Amy was a wonderful character. Having lived her life in fear, hiding her horrific home life from everyone, she was incredibly strong, incredibly resilient. Mature beyond her eighteen years Amy had essentially resigned herself to her life, deciding it was what she deserved and sought to release her pain in increasingly risky ways. Richard saw things in Amy she wasn't able to see.
As much as Richard was focussed on 'saving' Amy, it was through his connection with Amy that he was also able to begin to recover from his own past.
Saving Amy is beautifully written. I found myself lost in the story. At times I had to put it aside briefly as the intensity of the subject matter was a little overwhelming. The beatings Amy suffered at the hands of her father were quite graphically described at times and as a parent it was difficult to read, particularly knowing that her mother was effectively allowing it to occur.
Despite the bleak elements of the story there was a thread of hope, a promise of happiness, woven into the story that had me persisting to the end, and I am very glad that I did. There is a happy ending, although the path is not smooth. There were some elements that were unpredictable, as well as elements that were heartbreaking although critical to the outcome. Upon finishing Saving Amy I was left feeling drained, sad that Amy had had the life she did, but happy she had managed to find a way to rise above her experiences and become so much more than she ever thought possible.
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for great book reviews, new release updates, giveaways and more!!
If I had to describe Saving Amy in one word it would be "intense". Despite the fact that there is an uplifting, hopeful thread to the story, it is also bleak, sad and distressing to consider the life that Amelia (Amy) Hope lived is, in fact, lived by many.
The first few chapters of Saving Amy were incredibly disturbing - a violent and abusive father, a mother detaching herself from her surroundings with a gin bottle, drug abuse, random sexual encounters and self harm ... I was devastated by the horror that was Amy's life. To me her choices were all about survival, which is kind of ironic because every one of them took her so close to death. These chapters painted a graphic picture of Amy, her life, and her quest to escape it so well that I felt like I was right there with her and I so wished I could reach out and do something to show her that she did have a worth.
Following a suicide attempt Amy finds herself in hospital. Dr Richard Lewis is her attending physician. Amy is painfully reminded of the time he had helped her once before, embarrassed by the tingling she feels when he touches her and the flush that involuntarily colors her cheeks. Richard has secrets in his past that no-one else knows and he is drawn to Amy. He steps into her life and while Amy doesn't fully understand why Richard is doing what he is doing, she accepts what he offers on the basis that it will be short lived, an escape from the pain that is her life, until she has to return home again.
"I wanted to stay but I needed to go. I thought I loved him - if that was an emotion I was even capable of - but I knew he didn't love me; he just wanted to save me."
Amy was a wonderful character. Having lived her life in fear, hiding her horrific home life from everyone, she was incredibly strong, incredibly resilient. Mature beyond her eighteen years Amy had essentially resigned herself to her life, deciding it was what she deserved and sought to release her pain in increasingly risky ways. Richard saw things in Amy she wasn't able to see.
"Everything you consider to be wrong with you are just the results of you trying to be strong for too long - trying to cope alone for too long."
As much as Richard was focussed on 'saving' Amy, it was through his connection with Amy that he was also able to begin to recover from his own past.
Saving Amy is beautifully written. I found myself lost in the story. At times I had to put it aside briefly as the intensity of the subject matter was a little overwhelming. The beatings Amy suffered at the hands of her father were quite graphically described at times and as a parent it was difficult to read, particularly knowing that her mother was effectively allowing it to occur.
Despite the bleak elements of the story there was a thread of hope, a promise of happiness, woven into the story that had me persisting to the end, and I am very glad that I did. There is a happy ending, although the path is not smooth. There were some elements that were unpredictable, as well as elements that were heartbreaking although critical to the outcome. Upon finishing Saving Amy I was left feeling drained, sad that Amy had had the life she did, but happy she had managed to find a way to rise above her experiences and become so much more than she ever thought possible.
October 24, 2013
If I can give more than 5 stars I would. So many reasons to love this book. I get into angst, it is what draws me in a lot of the time.
Can anybody save Amy, or has she finally reached the end of a very long, torturous road?
Long list here but the main character Amelia Hope, aka Amy, she is so realistic. I really got into her as the victim. The books takes you on a journey from her teen years to adult hood. She has several areas in the book where the author takes you back to her as a 5 to 9 year old. Very rich story with tons of abuse, lies, deceit and drugs.
This girl has really one best friend who is a constant, Julie. The other constants are sadly abuse, drugs and alcohol. The complex character that Amy is could be hard for people to read. I loved her. I loved how the author created Amy's thinking to be objective and proactive. I mean that she has only Julie so therefore she had no real reason to create all of these elaborate schemes. She has nobody to lie to and certainly nobody to question her. She covered her actions, family life, depression and self destruction well.
When the author introduces Richard Lewis, the ER physician, brought in as a result of Amy's hospital visit. It was an apparent he was different. Being an ER doctor, he has seen hundreds of teens come in with drugs overdoses, accidents and alcohol poisoning. This is where he is different. Something grabbed him about Amy from the moment he saw her. I cant give a spoiler, but there is a turn of events that scared the absolute shit out of me.
Richard brings a new dynamic and changes his perspective on getting involved with a patient. He goes above the call of duty to help Amy. She is not just another patient, he takes a serious interest in her and somehow he knows what her troubles are and how she has lied. He tries so hard to get her to see that he really wants to help her.
The truth comes out in several moments.Oh My GOOOOD
The next big thing for me was that BOTH of them were affected by addiction in one way or another. I dont want to say that one was more or less. I think the ways these addictions touched both of them and how the dealt with it was unique. The author shows that whether it is direct or indirect, their issues create a vacuum in which their friends, family and co-workers will be stuck in the vortex with them. It wont be your typical read where you think "Oh the Doctor will save her and a nice happily ever after" NOPE not this one.
While Richard was great he was not perfect. His family and what appears on the outside were perfect. I was thrilled that we saw he was flawed as well. Not nearly as bad as Amy, but it was nice to see how different he was compared to other characters I have recently read. While I would have enjoyed the book without his flaws, I totally LOVED it that he was a little chipped and broken.
A few important things I saw was Amy always had a plan created to go about her getting in and out of her house. The way she missed the squeaky floor board to sneak out before her Dad left for work was ingenious. It was little things like this that get you caught up and literally at the edge of your seat so scared she will get caught.
Can anybody save Amy, or has she finally reached the end of a very long, torturous road?
Long list here but the main character Amelia Hope, aka Amy, she is so realistic. I really got into her as the victim. The books takes you on a journey from her teen years to adult hood. She has several areas in the book where the author takes you back to her as a 5 to 9 year old. Very rich story with tons of abuse, lies, deceit and drugs.
This girl has really one best friend who is a constant, Julie. The other constants are sadly abuse, drugs and alcohol. The complex character that Amy is could be hard for people to read. I loved her. I loved how the author created Amy's thinking to be objective and proactive. I mean that she has only Julie so therefore she had no real reason to create all of these elaborate schemes. She has nobody to lie to and certainly nobody to question her. She covered her actions, family life, depression and self destruction well.
When the author introduces Richard Lewis, the ER physician, brought in as a result of Amy's hospital visit. It was an apparent he was different. Being an ER doctor, he has seen hundreds of teens come in with drugs overdoses, accidents and alcohol poisoning. This is where he is different. Something grabbed him about Amy from the moment he saw her. I cant give a spoiler, but there is a turn of events that scared the absolute shit out of me.
Richard brings a new dynamic and changes his perspective on getting involved with a patient. He goes above the call of duty to help Amy. She is not just another patient, he takes a serious interest in her and somehow he knows what her troubles are and how she has lied. He tries so hard to get her to see that he really wants to help her.
The truth comes out in several moments.Oh My GOOOOD
The next big thing for me was that BOTH of them were affected by addiction in one way or another. I dont want to say that one was more or less. I think the ways these addictions touched both of them and how the dealt with it was unique. The author shows that whether it is direct or indirect, their issues create a vacuum in which their friends, family and co-workers will be stuck in the vortex with them. It wont be your typical read where you think "Oh the Doctor will save her and a nice happily ever after" NOPE not this one.
While Richard was great he was not perfect. His family and what appears on the outside were perfect. I was thrilled that we saw he was flawed as well. Not nearly as bad as Amy, but it was nice to see how different he was compared to other characters I have recently read. While I would have enjoyed the book without his flaws, I totally LOVED it that he was a little chipped and broken.
A few important things I saw was Amy always had a plan created to go about her getting in and out of her house. The way she missed the squeaky floor board to sneak out before her Dad left for work was ingenious. It was little things like this that get you caught up and literally at the edge of your seat so scared she will get caught.
July 9, 2013
I finished this book a few days ago and I'm STILL thinking about it. I felt like I was really there with Amy with everything she had to deal with. Richard too. At times he struggled himself with some aspects of being in a relationship. It was new to him too and he had his own issues to overcome along the way. But he was so supportive of Amy no matter what she was thinking or talking about. He couldn't have said the things he did if he wasn't utterly devoted to her. It was beautiful to read.
I have never read a book that included such intense descriptions of self-harm before and I felt so unbelievably emotional while reading it. It was written in a way that made me understand and like I said I was right there with Amy. I felt every bit of her pain. There were happy moments too, even a few funny ones. And then there were the truly moving moments when Richard and Amy's love for each other shone through perfectly.
I seriously couldn't put it down it's not one of those books you can keep coming back to when you've got a spare half hour to kill. As for the epilogue - WOW! I won't give anything away but for the first few lines my heart literally stopped and I thought the book had turned in a direction I completely didn't want it to go!! But I'll let you get to that yourself.
Great book. I still can't get my head around how much it affected me.
I have never read a book that included such intense descriptions of self-harm before and I felt so unbelievably emotional while reading it. It was written in a way that made me understand and like I said I was right there with Amy. I felt every bit of her pain. There were happy moments too, even a few funny ones. And then there were the truly moving moments when Richard and Amy's love for each other shone through perfectly.
I seriously couldn't put it down it's not one of those books you can keep coming back to when you've got a spare half hour to kill. As for the epilogue - WOW! I won't give anything away but for the first few lines my heart literally stopped and I thought the book had turned in a direction I completely didn't want it to go!! But I'll let you get to that yourself.
Great book. I still can't get my head around how much it affected me.
August 6, 2016
WOW VERY EMOTIONAL READ! AMY IS ONE TOUGH COOKIE!
ALL THE THINGS SHE'S BEEN THROUGH WAS HEARTBREAKING!!
BUT GOOD THING RICHARD IS THERE TO SAVED HER....
WELL WRITTEN AND VERY EMOTIONAL! I WANT MY OWN RICHARD!!! T___T
ALL THE THINGS SHE'S BEEN THROUGH WAS HEARTBREAKING!!
BUT GOOD THING RICHARD IS THERE TO SAVED HER....
WELL WRITTEN AND VERY EMOTIONAL! I WANT MY OWN RICHARD!!! T___T
September 3, 2013
She finally got her happily ever after!!!
Want to read
February 21, 2014Amazon Freebie 2/22/14
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMSX4B4/r...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMSX4B4/r...
August 11, 2013
OH....MY.....GOD.... This book is beautiful and heartbreaking!
August 19, 2013
One of best abuse novels I have ever come across though my abuse shelf consists of over 200 YA n NA books !!
October 14, 2013
I absolutely loved Saving Amy!! It is a raw, edgy, painful book.. but also a beautiful story, full of hope for a second chance at life & love!! This book will stay with me for a long time!
February 23, 2014
Heartbreaking, riveting story of abuse and redeeming love. One of the best reads this year.
July 15, 2013
★★★★★ SHATTERING STARS!
"When you are on a mission to self-destruct you become determined. It's almost addictive - the urge to find some sense of release, of escape. It consumes you entirely - leaving no room to consider anyone else, and the only person that can help you is yourself"
This book, oh my god this book, is real, raw and gritty, and if you can believe it after that it's also beautiful. It's not light, fluffy or easy to read and it may not be a book that everyone can stomach because it shows the effects of long term abuse and the ways in which a person chooses to cope. I can't even begin to describe the emotions associated with this book, I never would have thought that a book about abuse, drugs, and self harm would make it on my favorites list but it has. Mrs. Haken took me through a year in the life of such a beautiful yet shattered girl and I felt like I was right there with her. Living each moment, suffering each blow, feeling each cut, shedding each tear, and wanting nothing more than to be saved from the nothing that surrounded her.
Shattered doesn't even begin to describe Amy. She has lived her whole life alone in a home with an alcoholic mother and a powerfully influential and extremely abusive father. Always being alone and never feeling love, unless you call love broken ribs, and busted lips, over the years she has found ways to cope...publicly and privately. Publicly not having many friends except her BFF Julie she has a relatively easy time masking her hurt in front of her by doing the usual teenage rebellion, partying, one night stands, but Amy doesn't do these things for fun like the others around her, shes doing it to escape, to feel....anything. Privately Amy copes in another way by inflicting self harm to escape the realities of the wretched word around her. Escaping the screams of her parents, the fists of her father, by just embracing the pain.
"A faint voice in the back of my mind was telling me to stop but I defied it, craving the relief I knew it would bring. I glided the blade through the skin of my thigh slowly, meticulously... Again, I tuned out the pain...Trying desperately to carve away his touch...I felt fulfilled and smiled inwardly at the knowledge that my dad couldn't hurt me as much as I could hurt myself"
The thing is though when you're on a downward spiral, when all you want is to get away to just not feel, eventually you need more, more of anything to dull the pain, the drinking isn't enough, the cutting isn't enough everything is temporary and you want more, more of what you don't have, you want to escape not just from life but you want a completely different one, a happy one and Amy found that escape- that temporary happiness in drugs.
"Four drinks in and I was getting a little bored. Things didn't look so beautiful anymore...I recalled Leon's words in my mind 'it's cool if you manage it properly'...What the hell, I decided. It wasn't like I needed it. I just wanted it. When I started to feel like I needed it, I'd stop. Simple."
This book depicts the aspect of a downward spiral perfectly, it captures Amy's life in those weeks and months of abuse and into addiction and just how easy it is to find that little bit more until you have nothing left and have completely hit rock bottom, without realizing how it even got to that point flawlessly.
"He reached into his pocket and removed a five-dollar bill. Then he threw it at my feet before walking off into a crowd of other men who were laughing...I slid down onto the damp, stone floor. I felt empty. Worthless. Utterly humiliated. I couldn't feel my heart anymore...I couldn't do anything. I was numb. Frozen. Ashamed."
Richard Lewis is a 28 year old doctor and has worked hard to get to where he is at such a young age. He first meets Amy when he finds her passed out in front of his apartment building. That night against his better judgement instead of calling an ambulance he takes her in and helps her out. Their first interaction is fairly brief and Amy bails the next morning, and the next time he sees her is after she is brought into the hospital in worse shape than before.
"Nice to see you again Miss Hope" ....It was him. The dodgy guy whose swanky over-the-top apartment I woke up in after the nightmare that was Romy's Party"
"You're a doctor?"
"Last time I checked. You've been very lucky, Miss Hope" I smirked inwardly at the irony of my name. Hope - something I'd never been fortunate enough to experience"
Richard sees something in Amy and becomes determined to help her, to help her escape the brutality in her home and to help her realize that there are other coping mechanisms other than drugs and harming herself. But is Richard doing this because he truly cares for Amy and wants to see her get better and succeed or because he is trying to fix the mistakes and regrets of his past. And are all the people the Richard is bringing into Amy's life through him beneficial for her or are they harming her deeper and in worse ways than her father ever could?
Saving Amy isn't for everyone and I realize that. I wish I could say it's a book that everyone will adore but to be honest it's not. It's emotionally gut wrenching and depicts the harsh realities of life that that many people around us face but we don't see or hear about until it's too late. But with that being said I also believe that Mrs. Haken held nothing back when writing this book and I commend her for that. Amy is so many faceless people out there that are just looking for an escape anything, the only difference is this is fiction and Amy got her Happily Ever After, many other sadly don't.
"You are strong and courageous young woman. You're a survivor I am both privileged and proud to have met you"
I would recommend Saving Amy to anyone who is willing to venture out of their comfort zone, to anyone with an open mind and an open heart. And if I can get only one thing across is that this book is about so much more than a girl cutting, it was about a young woman's journey in finding herself in a world that she was never made to belong in. It's about learning to love not only yourself but others and letting them love you, and most importantly it was about healing. The path to healing for both Richard and Amy is not an easy one and they face many challenges along the way, this book is filled with twist after twist and will have you on the edge of your seat for most of the ride, but making it to the other side was a heart shattering, imperfectly perfect journey I enjoyed taking with Richard and Amy.
"Two guilt-ridden souls, laid bare in every sense of the word- both silently begging to be saved"
This was my first Nicola Haken read and even though it was one of the heaviest books I have ever read I look forward to more from this author no matter the subject.
VISIT My Blog For More Reviews
LIKE Jelena's Book Blog On FACEBOOK
FOLLOW @JelenasBookBlog On TWITTER
**Copy kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**
"When you are on a mission to self-destruct you become determined. It's almost addictive - the urge to find some sense of release, of escape. It consumes you entirely - leaving no room to consider anyone else, and the only person that can help you is yourself"
This book, oh my god this book, is real, raw and gritty, and if you can believe it after that it's also beautiful. It's not light, fluffy or easy to read and it may not be a book that everyone can stomach because it shows the effects of long term abuse and the ways in which a person chooses to cope. I can't even begin to describe the emotions associated with this book, I never would have thought that a book about abuse, drugs, and self harm would make it on my favorites list but it has. Mrs. Haken took me through a year in the life of such a beautiful yet shattered girl and I felt like I was right there with her. Living each moment, suffering each blow, feeling each cut, shedding each tear, and wanting nothing more than to be saved from the nothing that surrounded her.
Shattered doesn't even begin to describe Amy. She has lived her whole life alone in a home with an alcoholic mother and a powerfully influential and extremely abusive father. Always being alone and never feeling love, unless you call love broken ribs, and busted lips, over the years she has found ways to cope...publicly and privately. Publicly not having many friends except her BFF Julie she has a relatively easy time masking her hurt in front of her by doing the usual teenage rebellion, partying, one night stands, but Amy doesn't do these things for fun like the others around her, shes doing it to escape, to feel....anything. Privately Amy copes in another way by inflicting self harm to escape the realities of the wretched word around her. Escaping the screams of her parents, the fists of her father, by just embracing the pain.
"A faint voice in the back of my mind was telling me to stop but I defied it, craving the relief I knew it would bring. I glided the blade through the skin of my thigh slowly, meticulously... Again, I tuned out the pain...Trying desperately to carve away his touch...I felt fulfilled and smiled inwardly at the knowledge that my dad couldn't hurt me as much as I could hurt myself"
The thing is though when you're on a downward spiral, when all you want is to get away to just not feel, eventually you need more, more of anything to dull the pain, the drinking isn't enough, the cutting isn't enough everything is temporary and you want more, more of what you don't have, you want to escape not just from life but you want a completely different one, a happy one and Amy found that escape- that temporary happiness in drugs.
"Four drinks in and I was getting a little bored. Things didn't look so beautiful anymore...I recalled Leon's words in my mind 'it's cool if you manage it properly'...What the hell, I decided. It wasn't like I needed it. I just wanted it. When I started to feel like I needed it, I'd stop. Simple."
This book depicts the aspect of a downward spiral perfectly, it captures Amy's life in those weeks and months of abuse and into addiction and just how easy it is to find that little bit more until you have nothing left and have completely hit rock bottom, without realizing how it even got to that point flawlessly.
"He reached into his pocket and removed a five-dollar bill. Then he threw it at my feet before walking off into a crowd of other men who were laughing...I slid down onto the damp, stone floor. I felt empty. Worthless. Utterly humiliated. I couldn't feel my heart anymore...I couldn't do anything. I was numb. Frozen. Ashamed."
Richard Lewis is a 28 year old doctor and has worked hard to get to where he is at such a young age. He first meets Amy when he finds her passed out in front of his apartment building. That night against his better judgement instead of calling an ambulance he takes her in and helps her out. Their first interaction is fairly brief and Amy bails the next morning, and the next time he sees her is after she is brought into the hospital in worse shape than before.
"Nice to see you again Miss Hope" ....It was him. The dodgy guy whose swanky over-the-top apartment I woke up in after the nightmare that was Romy's Party"
"You're a doctor?"
"Last time I checked. You've been very lucky, Miss Hope" I smirked inwardly at the irony of my name. Hope - something I'd never been fortunate enough to experience"
Richard sees something in Amy and becomes determined to help her, to help her escape the brutality in her home and to help her realize that there are other coping mechanisms other than drugs and harming herself. But is Richard doing this because he truly cares for Amy and wants to see her get better and succeed or because he is trying to fix the mistakes and regrets of his past. And are all the people the Richard is bringing into Amy's life through him beneficial for her or are they harming her deeper and in worse ways than her father ever could?
Saving Amy isn't for everyone and I realize that. I wish I could say it's a book that everyone will adore but to be honest it's not. It's emotionally gut wrenching and depicts the harsh realities of life that that many people around us face but we don't see or hear about until it's too late. But with that being said I also believe that Mrs. Haken held nothing back when writing this book and I commend her for that. Amy is so many faceless people out there that are just looking for an escape anything, the only difference is this is fiction and Amy got her Happily Ever After, many other sadly don't.
"You are strong and courageous young woman. You're a survivor I am both privileged and proud to have met you"
I would recommend Saving Amy to anyone who is willing to venture out of their comfort zone, to anyone with an open mind and an open heart. And if I can get only one thing across is that this book is about so much more than a girl cutting, it was about a young woman's journey in finding herself in a world that she was never made to belong in. It's about learning to love not only yourself but others and letting them love you, and most importantly it was about healing. The path to healing for both Richard and Amy is not an easy one and they face many challenges along the way, this book is filled with twist after twist and will have you on the edge of your seat for most of the ride, but making it to the other side was a heart shattering, imperfectly perfect journey I enjoyed taking with Richard and Amy.
"Two guilt-ridden souls, laid bare in every sense of the word- both silently begging to be saved"
This was my first Nicola Haken read and even though it was one of the heaviest books I have ever read I look forward to more from this author no matter the subject.
VISIT My Blog For More Reviews
LIKE Jelena's Book Blog On FACEBOOK
FOLLOW @JelenasBookBlog On TWITTER
**Copy kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**
February 21, 2014
I give this book a solid 4.5/5 and I suggest getting this book and devouring it!!
I really need to stop agreeing to read books that like to take my heart out, squeeze it and then just completely shatter it.
The sad thing is I enjoy it.. I enjoy it, a lot... So what does that say about me??? Probably that I like really good books (maybe?)..
Whatever.. I knew this book was going to be twisted, dark, and make me completely ache with emotions from the very beginning and I couldn't have been happier that I got to read it
Amelia (Amy) is a very fucked up young lady. She has been beaten almost every damn day of her life by a man that is supposed to love her and protect her, all while her mother watches in silence when the fists connect with Amy's body.
She tries to cope by using alcohol, drugs, and sex to escape. They give her a little reprieve but it is never enough, especially when she has to return to the hell she is living in.
One night Amy decides to try coke for the first time and it makes her feel elated, floating, escaping. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) she ends up passed out in the middle of the sidewalk in an unknown place. You know this is a book when she wakes up and happens to be sleeping in a bed, in a very swanky apartment, that is twice the size of her home.
This is where we meet Dr. Dick.. I mean Dr. Delicious errr Richard
Richard ends up finding her on the sidewalk and saves her (foreshadowing maybe?), brings her back to his home and lets Amy sleep it off. When Amy wakes up she is beyond scared and ungrateful that this lovely doctor just saved her life. She ends up leaving without barely saying thanks to him or learning his name.
Time passes and Amy is worse than before, she becomes addicted to the drugs, and addicted to the fast spiral she's spinning in while she is high. She never wants to NOT be high, it hurts too much to feel and she just doesn't want to feel anymore. She cuts to relieve the pain buried deep inside her, to release the pain she feels, she has to watch herself bleed so she can SEE the pain leaving her body.
(The author does a really good job in portraying the way a cutter thinks and feels, I am glad she did her research).
"Anything had to be better than living here between my mother's drunken wails and my father's fists"
Amy then feels that cutting isn't enough, she wants it all to end, to be able to leave on her own terms rather than on her father's. She jumps (literally) and just hopes she finds peace when she lands.
She doesn't...
she ends up in the hospital where of course Dr. Delicious works and as fate would have it he is the one to save her again.
Since Amy didn't know Richard was a Dr. or even know his name before, she is surprised to find him tending to her.
While in the hospital recovering, she starts to notice Richard and how amazingly attractive, attentive, and how her stomach heaves with a full force of bats when he touches her. She can't explain this instant attraction to him and why she feels like her insides are a fluttery mess when he is around, she never felt that way before...ever. But she knows she isn't good enough for him, she is a hot mess and well.. he's a doctor.
What Amy doesn't know is Richard isn't perfect either, he has demons too and when he looks at Amy he sees something he can't put his finger on but he needs to know what is behind those eyes..
But can he save her? Can she save him? Can they save each other? How can a relationship work when he is damn near ten years older than her? What the heck would they have in common?
These are all questions I asked myself..
I was put off that he was ten years older..
It's a lil much, especially since she is such a baby herself and just turned 18
(I think the author should have made her a little older)
BUT there is something between them that doesn't seem to matter.. I forgot about all these questions and just enjoyed the ride I was on while reading.
I really loved the characters, the drama, setting, and the emotions that it pulled out of me. I was high/low/in between and it was intense, hanging on the edge of my seat intense. I couldn't figure out which way I wanted this book to go, all I knew was I wanted it to end in a HEA but did it?
I knew for sure the author wasn't done throwing punches at me and not only was Amy's past so dark I could barely see but she discovers something that throws a curve ball into all of this and makes it just plain crazy..
I swooned my freaking pants off, I got teary eyed, and I just felt so bad for Amy and her life and I was rooting for her and Richard from the very beginning.
Their relationship built, there was nothing rushed about it. Richard's love for her was ocean deep, he picked her up when she was down, loved her better than anyone else and never gave up trying to get past her defenses so she could accept his love.
"Everything you consider to be wrong with you are just the results of you trying to be strong for too long - trying to cope alone for too long. Don't you think it's amazing that after everything you've been through - the violence, the fear, the isolation... you can still do this? He motioned his hands over our entangled bodies. That you can still feel? Still trust? Because I sure as hell think it's a miracle. I think you're a miracle"
(that's some swoon-worthy shit and a lot more where that came from)
I was laughing, crying, and smiling for all the good but when it was bad I was cringing, turning the pages eagerly, and waiting for the roller coaster to be over. I wasn't sure where the roller coaster in this book was going to leave me but I was enjoying every last bump and twirl.
I really need to stop agreeing to read books that like to take my heart out, squeeze it and then just completely shatter it.
The sad thing is I enjoy it.. I enjoy it, a lot... So what does that say about me??? Probably that I like really good books (maybe?)..
Whatever.. I knew this book was going to be twisted, dark, and make me completely ache with emotions from the very beginning and I couldn't have been happier that I got to read it
Amelia (Amy) is a very fucked up young lady. She has been beaten almost every damn day of her life by a man that is supposed to love her and protect her, all while her mother watches in silence when the fists connect with Amy's body.
She tries to cope by using alcohol, drugs, and sex to escape. They give her a little reprieve but it is never enough, especially when she has to return to the hell she is living in.
One night Amy decides to try coke for the first time and it makes her feel elated, floating, escaping. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) she ends up passed out in the middle of the sidewalk in an unknown place. You know this is a book when she wakes up and happens to be sleeping in a bed, in a very swanky apartment, that is twice the size of her home.
This is where we meet Dr. Dick.. I mean Dr. Delicious errr Richard
Richard ends up finding her on the sidewalk and saves her (foreshadowing maybe?), brings her back to his home and lets Amy sleep it off. When Amy wakes up she is beyond scared and ungrateful that this lovely doctor just saved her life. She ends up leaving without barely saying thanks to him or learning his name.
Time passes and Amy is worse than before, she becomes addicted to the drugs, and addicted to the fast spiral she's spinning in while she is high. She never wants to NOT be high, it hurts too much to feel and she just doesn't want to feel anymore. She cuts to relieve the pain buried deep inside her, to release the pain she feels, she has to watch herself bleed so she can SEE the pain leaving her body.
(The author does a really good job in portraying the way a cutter thinks and feels, I am glad she did her research).
"Anything had to be better than living here between my mother's drunken wails and my father's fists"
Amy then feels that cutting isn't enough, she wants it all to end, to be able to leave on her own terms rather than on her father's. She jumps (literally) and just hopes she finds peace when she lands.
She doesn't...
she ends up in the hospital where of course Dr. Delicious works and as fate would have it he is the one to save her again.
Since Amy didn't know Richard was a Dr. or even know his name before, she is surprised to find him tending to her.
While in the hospital recovering, she starts to notice Richard and how amazingly attractive, attentive, and how her stomach heaves with a full force of bats when he touches her. She can't explain this instant attraction to him and why she feels like her insides are a fluttery mess when he is around, she never felt that way before...ever. But she knows she isn't good enough for him, she is a hot mess and well.. he's a doctor.
What Amy doesn't know is Richard isn't perfect either, he has demons too and when he looks at Amy he sees something he can't put his finger on but he needs to know what is behind those eyes..
But can he save her? Can she save him? Can they save each other? How can a relationship work when he is damn near ten years older than her? What the heck would they have in common?
These are all questions I asked myself..
I was put off that he was ten years older..
It's a lil much, especially since she is such a baby herself and just turned 18
(I think the author should have made her a little older)
BUT there is something between them that doesn't seem to matter.. I forgot about all these questions and just enjoyed the ride I was on while reading.
I really loved the characters, the drama, setting, and the emotions that it pulled out of me. I was high/low/in between and it was intense, hanging on the edge of my seat intense. I couldn't figure out which way I wanted this book to go, all I knew was I wanted it to end in a HEA but did it?
I knew for sure the author wasn't done throwing punches at me and not only was Amy's past so dark I could barely see but she discovers something that throws a curve ball into all of this and makes it just plain crazy..
I swooned my freaking pants off, I got teary eyed, and I just felt so bad for Amy and her life and I was rooting for her and Richard from the very beginning.
Their relationship built, there was nothing rushed about it. Richard's love for her was ocean deep, he picked her up when she was down, loved her better than anyone else and never gave up trying to get past her defenses so she could accept his love.
"Everything you consider to be wrong with you are just the results of you trying to be strong for too long - trying to cope alone for too long. Don't you think it's amazing that after everything you've been through - the violence, the fear, the isolation... you can still do this? He motioned his hands over our entangled bodies. That you can still feel? Still trust? Because I sure as hell think it's a miracle. I think you're a miracle"
(that's some swoon-worthy shit and a lot more where that came from)
I was laughing, crying, and smiling for all the good but when it was bad I was cringing, turning the pages eagerly, and waiting for the roller coaster to be over. I wasn't sure where the roller coaster in this book was going to leave me but I was enjoying every last bump and twirl.
September 30, 2013
You know you are in for quite the ride, when the book starts with pages over pages describing the abuse a young girl is suffering from the hands of her father.
Amy Hope has never known love but a life full of hate, pain and abuse. At the age of 17 the only way she knows how to cope is alcohol and random sex, until one day she is lured into trying drugs. This is where her downward spiral begins, leading her to laying half-dead on the concrete and ending up in hospital. This is where she meets Dr. Richard Lewis and it is not the first time he is saving her life.
She feels instantly attracted to him despite their age gap of 10 years and him being her doctor. As he repeatedly helps her and wins her trust, they get closer and finally start a relationship. You might think that this is the part where Amy gets saved, but with one person in the relationship having loads of baggage and the other one having secrets that threaten to make them fall apart, the relationship is bumpy and rocky and full of issues that put their happiness at danger. Can they make a relationship work despite their age gap, their different backgrounds and financial situations? And can they make it work with all the demons haunting them?
Up until the end of the book, I could just never be sure if one of the many issues those two have separately or together as a couple wouldn’t break their neck. There were so many things that came up, people trying to get in their way, that I at times did not think a happy end would ever happen.
I really enjoyed the story and the fact that Nicola Haken kept me guessing up until the bitter end.
Amy was an incredibly strong girl. Having gone through the abuse and neglect that she experienced, she still wasn’t giving up. She had her weak moments, but that is understandable. What counts is that she did want a better life for herself. At times she was acting immature or irrational, but with her history it made sense. She wasn’t used to being loved, she wasn’t used to be able to trust and she wasn’t used to people being anything other than mean, brutal, abusive and hateful. The fact that she dared to love and dared to trust made her strength shine even brighter. I also loved her snarky attitude. Her thoughts and comments were at times laugh out loud funny, which was really needed with the dark and twisted nature of the story.
Richard on the other hand thankfully wasn’t the flawless knight in shining armour. His armour had quite a few chinks due to mistakes and false decisions he has made in the past and keeps on making during the course of the relationship. He carries around enough guilt and self-hate to suffice for a lifetime. Although a bit unethical in my eyes for a doctor to start a relationship with his patient that is ten years younger, his explanation made sense and the way it was addressed took most of the discomfort this relationship created for me away. This books made me understand that you can’t choose who you fall in love with and age sometimes can be nothing more than just a number. He was incredibly understanding and patient towards Amy, not to mention protective and caring. But at times I found his love a bit over-bearing and suffocating. And the one huge big mistake he made, made me want to slap him silly. Could Amy ever trust him again?! I know I would have had a hard time.
After the horrific start the story centres on Amy’s and Richard’s relationship with all its ups and downs, bumps and detours. Then the end of the book became just as horrific and dramatic as the beginning if not even more. It packed a serious punch. Tragedy and terror caught up with Amy and threatened to shatter her world and her new life and happiness. Just when I thought the suspense, terror and angst couldn’t be topped, Nicola Haken proved me wrong. It took all my self-restraint not to pull out my hair. After all the breath-holding and teeth-clenching, the epilogue made up for everything. While before I was bawling my eyes out because of the desperation, pain and agony Amy – and to a certain degree Richard – went through, with the epilogue there was lots of happy bawling.
This book is not for the faint of heart, but definitely worth a read.
4.75 messed-up, tearful, emotional stars.
http://thebookenthusiast.net/
Amy Hope has never known love but a life full of hate, pain and abuse. At the age of 17 the only way she knows how to cope is alcohol and random sex, until one day she is lured into trying drugs. This is where her downward spiral begins, leading her to laying half-dead on the concrete and ending up in hospital. This is where she meets Dr. Richard Lewis and it is not the first time he is saving her life.
She feels instantly attracted to him despite their age gap of 10 years and him being her doctor. As he repeatedly helps her and wins her trust, they get closer and finally start a relationship. You might think that this is the part where Amy gets saved, but with one person in the relationship having loads of baggage and the other one having secrets that threaten to make them fall apart, the relationship is bumpy and rocky and full of issues that put their happiness at danger. Can they make a relationship work despite their age gap, their different backgrounds and financial situations? And can they make it work with all the demons haunting them?
Up until the end of the book, I could just never be sure if one of the many issues those two have separately or together as a couple wouldn’t break their neck. There were so many things that came up, people trying to get in their way, that I at times did not think a happy end would ever happen.
I really enjoyed the story and the fact that Nicola Haken kept me guessing up until the bitter end.
Amy was an incredibly strong girl. Having gone through the abuse and neglect that she experienced, she still wasn’t giving up. She had her weak moments, but that is understandable. What counts is that she did want a better life for herself. At times she was acting immature or irrational, but with her history it made sense. She wasn’t used to being loved, she wasn’t used to be able to trust and she wasn’t used to people being anything other than mean, brutal, abusive and hateful. The fact that she dared to love and dared to trust made her strength shine even brighter. I also loved her snarky attitude. Her thoughts and comments were at times laugh out loud funny, which was really needed with the dark and twisted nature of the story.
Richard on the other hand thankfully wasn’t the flawless knight in shining armour. His armour had quite a few chinks due to mistakes and false decisions he has made in the past and keeps on making during the course of the relationship. He carries around enough guilt and self-hate to suffice for a lifetime. Although a bit unethical in my eyes for a doctor to start a relationship with his patient that is ten years younger, his explanation made sense and the way it was addressed took most of the discomfort this relationship created for me away. This books made me understand that you can’t choose who you fall in love with and age sometimes can be nothing more than just a number. He was incredibly understanding and patient towards Amy, not to mention protective and caring. But at times I found his love a bit over-bearing and suffocating. And the one huge big mistake he made, made me want to slap him silly. Could Amy ever trust him again?! I know I would have had a hard time.
After the horrific start the story centres on Amy’s and Richard’s relationship with all its ups and downs, bumps and detours. Then the end of the book became just as horrific and dramatic as the beginning if not even more. It packed a serious punch. Tragedy and terror caught up with Amy and threatened to shatter her world and her new life and happiness. Just when I thought the suspense, terror and angst couldn’t be topped, Nicola Haken proved me wrong. It took all my self-restraint not to pull out my hair. After all the breath-holding and teeth-clenching, the epilogue made up for everything. While before I was bawling my eyes out because of the desperation, pain and agony Amy – and to a certain degree Richard – went through, with the epilogue there was lots of happy bawling.
This book is not for the faint of heart, but definitely worth a read.
4.75 messed-up, tearful, emotional stars.
http://thebookenthusiast.net/
August 1, 2014
Wow, this was an intense and emotional read. I can’t recommend it to everyone, some wouldn’t understand or care, but if you are one who tends to be tender hearted and hate having a ride on the emotional roller coaster then you need to avoid this book. Now with the warning out of the way, I personally feel everyone should read a book like Saving Amy. The author did a great job at showing the grit and grime of abuse, lies, betrayal and self-harm. She took you into the world of a young adult who was raised with hate and lies, broken ribs and bruises and a voice inside her head that screamed for her to hurt herself so someone could see the pain she was in. Amy lived in a world of secrets, isolation and drugs as an escape. She didn’t need more judgment, she needed love and acceptance.
Amy knew life wasn’t supposed to be like this. What 17 year old was meant to have only one friend and spend her time nursing the wounds from her father and counting the minutes till she was 18 and could escape? She didn’t deserve to have a mother who was so drunk most of the time, that saying hello was too much responsibility as a mom. Why did Amy have the parents that one would watch while the other beat her? She just needed to get out on her own and be alone, once she had that freedom she would figure the rest out. Lucky for her, she ended up passed out and Richard Lewis found her.
Richard was a doctor who not only worked hard to get to where he is right now, he still carries around a ton of guilt and baggage from his past. He finds Amy unconscious and decides to bring her into his home and nurse her back to health instead of taking her to the hospital. She skips out on him the next morning unsure what they had done the night before. A while later Richard has another chance to convince her that he cares when she shows up in the ER and he is her doctor. I wanted to badly to jump on the Richard band wagon right away. He was a caring, sexy, mature doctor who seemed to want what was best for Amy. Unfortunately for me in the beginning I found I was so protective of Amy, I was fearful he would be just another on in a long line to end up hurting her.
The rest of this story needs to be spoiler free so you can really invest in the story. There are twists and turns that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. I love how the author didn’t give us a simple and easy cure for Amy. While love does heal a great deal, it isn’t the cure all. Richard’s motives for his devotion to Amy were sketchy to me for a while. I couldn’t tell sometimes if he really loved her or if she was his way of correcting past mistakes that haunt him. Amy was one brave young woman. For being raised in an environment that doesn’t promote love and trust, she saw something in Richard and trusted herself to go with him. I found myself sobbing with Amy when the truth about her family came out. I had to literally put myself in isolation here so I could get through the last part of this book.
Truth will come forth and wreak havoc in Amy’s world. She will begin to doubt her identity and death will present itself as either a loss or a freedom. This is something Amy will have to decide. Her bitterness and resentfulness about her life will have to be dealt with and Richard is going to have to lay down the burdens he has carried all of these years. They have an age difference, a financial difference and in some ways a personality difference that they will have to work through. In a nut shell, Richard and Amy are going to begin a journey that will make them question if the goal is worth the work. Will they both stand together at the end of the day and for once be happy to be alive and blessed to be together.
The author did a brilliant job with this plot, there were a few areas that felt like it dragged on but overall I would say I was pleased with the style and character development and flow of the story. I feel the lives of Amy and Richard will stay with me for a very long time as I think to the times when giving up would be easier than standing up one more time. Although the book is heart breaking and emotional, their story is one of courage and inspiration.
*Copy provided for review*
Reviewed by Tbird for Crystal's Many Reviewers
Amy knew life wasn’t supposed to be like this. What 17 year old was meant to have only one friend and spend her time nursing the wounds from her father and counting the minutes till she was 18 and could escape? She didn’t deserve to have a mother who was so drunk most of the time, that saying hello was too much responsibility as a mom. Why did Amy have the parents that one would watch while the other beat her? She just needed to get out on her own and be alone, once she had that freedom she would figure the rest out. Lucky for her, she ended up passed out and Richard Lewis found her.
Richard was a doctor who not only worked hard to get to where he is right now, he still carries around a ton of guilt and baggage from his past. He finds Amy unconscious and decides to bring her into his home and nurse her back to health instead of taking her to the hospital. She skips out on him the next morning unsure what they had done the night before. A while later Richard has another chance to convince her that he cares when she shows up in the ER and he is her doctor. I wanted to badly to jump on the Richard band wagon right away. He was a caring, sexy, mature doctor who seemed to want what was best for Amy. Unfortunately for me in the beginning I found I was so protective of Amy, I was fearful he would be just another on in a long line to end up hurting her.
The rest of this story needs to be spoiler free so you can really invest in the story. There are twists and turns that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. I love how the author didn’t give us a simple and easy cure for Amy. While love does heal a great deal, it isn’t the cure all. Richard’s motives for his devotion to Amy were sketchy to me for a while. I couldn’t tell sometimes if he really loved her or if she was his way of correcting past mistakes that haunt him. Amy was one brave young woman. For being raised in an environment that doesn’t promote love and trust, she saw something in Richard and trusted herself to go with him. I found myself sobbing with Amy when the truth about her family came out. I had to literally put myself in isolation here so I could get through the last part of this book.
Truth will come forth and wreak havoc in Amy’s world. She will begin to doubt her identity and death will present itself as either a loss or a freedom. This is something Amy will have to decide. Her bitterness and resentfulness about her life will have to be dealt with and Richard is going to have to lay down the burdens he has carried all of these years. They have an age difference, a financial difference and in some ways a personality difference that they will have to work through. In a nut shell, Richard and Amy are going to begin a journey that will make them question if the goal is worth the work. Will they both stand together at the end of the day and for once be happy to be alive and blessed to be together.
The author did a brilliant job with this plot, there were a few areas that felt like it dragged on but overall I would say I was pleased with the style and character development and flow of the story. I feel the lives of Amy and Richard will stay with me for a very long time as I think to the times when giving up would be easier than standing up one more time. Although the book is heart breaking and emotional, their story is one of courage and inspiration.
*Copy provided for review*
Reviewed by Tbird for Crystal's Many Reviewers
June 30, 2013
Wonderful and moving story with a tortured heroin. I love this one and I'm going to read the other one.
http://www.blue-moon.fr/spip.php?arti...
Il faudra sans doute suivre de très près cette nouvelle auteure qu’est Nicola Haken. Elle vient de publier coup sur coup deux romances, deux longs romans aux résumés alléchants et pour au moins, l’un d’entre eux, le livre a totalement tenu ses promesses ! Nicola Haken est britannique mais l’intrigue de son livre se déroule à Seattle avec un très beau et riche médecin aux cheveux acajou... Il est évident que Nicola Haken a pensé très fort à sa compatriote EL James en écrivant son roman mais elle a son style, sa propre histoire et les comparaisons s’arrêtent là.
En effet, son héroïne est très jeune femme d’à peine dix-huit ans au début du roman aux prises avec des parents particulièrement terrifiants. Amy vit entre un père violent et une mère alcoolique et est quasiment totalement seule dans la vie. Elle a bien une amie à qui elle n’a jamais pu raconter la totalité de ses problèmes. C’est cette immense solitude et une impossibilité à trouver une solution qui l’a conduite à l’auto-destruction et à jouer avec l’idée de la mort. Dans ce trou noir où elle survit à peine, Amy va pourtant trouver sa lumière au bout du couloir en la personne d’un certain Richard, un jeune et brillant médecin qui va la soigner.
Le roman est particulièrement sombre et violent surtout au début et à la fin. La première partie revient longuement sur la descente aux enfers d’Amy, totalement démunie face à ce qui lui arrive. Tous les moyens de gérer l’insoutenable sont utilisés par la jeune femme et c’est un portrait sombre et douloureux que nous avons d’elle. Sans rien dévoiler de la fin, soulignons aussi son aspect sombre et violent. Le reste est beaucoup plus lumineux et fort.
Amy va avoir la chance de tomber sur un médecin, Richard, qui va aller un peu plus loin que les autres dans les questions et à qui elle va accepter de faire confiance ce qu’elle ne fait jamais. Nous sommes alors dans un des courants les plus répandus de la romance aujourd’hui, la confrontation d’une héroïne détruite qui va peu à peu choisir de vivre grâce à la patience infinie et à l’amour indéfectible d’un homme. C’est magnifique et très bien fait ici. La souffrance, les privations subies par Amy qui n’a jamais été aimée, a toujours été si seule, ignore la tendresse élémentaire donnent un aspect superbe et lumineux aux moments de bonheur de Richard va lui apporter relativement naturellement. Lui-même a son lot de problèmes avec qui il vit à peu près. Il va surtout tomber amoureux fou d’une femme bien plus jeune que lui, une patiente qui plus est. Ce n’est pas vraiment le sujet du roman mais le fait qu’ils soit un soignant, une personne très empathique lui permettent de rentrer en relation avec Amy.
Cette partie centrale, longue et belle où Amy découvre ce qu’elle n’a jamais connu est également très réussi. Tout cela se déroule au milieu de la famille de Richard, non sans difficulté car Amy n’est pas une personne facile et le côté sombre qui existe en elle peut rapidement prendre le dessus. Mais à force d’amour, de cadeaux, de moments qui permettent à la jeune femme de découvrir des plaisirs simples et enfantins parfois.
Le roman a de plus une construction qui révèle quelques surprises. L’enjeu n’est pas de savoir si Richard et Amy s’aiment, c’est évident assez vite. Il s’agit plutôt de savoir si on les laissera être heureux et si ils pourront dépasser ce qui persiste entre eux et pourrait leur nuire. L’auteure pilote le lecteur avec facilité dans l’intrigue, apporte révélations et rebondissements au moment adéquats et convainc totalement avec ces deux personnages.
Voilà une très belle histoire sombre et difficile avec une héroïne qui survit avant d’être reconstruite élément par élément par l’amour. Encore une histoire de rédemption par la passion mais que c’est beau et efficace !
February 21, 2014
Saving Amy is the first book I have read from author Nicola Haken and what a baptism of fire it is!
I am quite a sucker for angst ridden stories that aren’t full of hearts and flowers and sometimes you need a good bit of depressing and a mighty slice of reality to pull you from the dreamy romantic stories I have read recently. And this is the book that does that perfectly.
Amy (Amelia) has led a difficult life. Only one person, her friend Julie, has been there for her through the years of neglect, abuse and self-harm. And even Julie only knows the tip of the iceberg. I instantly felt sorry and deeply regretful for Amy and although her reaction to her situation is extreme you can fully sympathise with her choices in life even if it is something you cannot yourself identify with.
As her story progresses so does her reaction to her life. Drugs and random meaningless hook-ups are her only way of escape along with her self-harming. And yes, she is young, but I dare anyone who may have experienced the similar, not to react in some extreme way or another.
On the evening that she finally breaks, enter Dr Richard, a young doctor who finds her unconscious on the pavement and takes her in to care for her. He’s a bit older than her but is pretty hot in the doctor stakes and it doesn’t take much for her to become attracted to him. Good looks, caring attitude and a history of his own that immediately makes him compassionate towards her are a recipe for a good romantic thread in the chaotic and depressing story.
Richard is not perfect, but who is? But one thing is for sure he sees something in Amy that goes beyond the broken shell and realises that he can and wants to care for her more than anyone else in her short life. And that is something that she needs.
The plot is dark and heartfelt and at times very difficult reading. Amy inevitably fights her feelings and tries to distance herself from Richard but he persists and even though he makes some stinking mistakes himself, you can’t help but root for him. And above all you really feel like Amy deserves a break and hope that she can be put back together before it really is too late.
I really enjoyed reading this book despite the intense subject matter and to the extent that it was a page turning story with a hefty dose of reality, it was also a very difficult read too. Tissues are a necessity to accompany this book and it isn’t the sort of book to read if you are expecting a sappy romance. However, it touches on a lot of sensitive subjects and isn’t afraid to make you think. I particularly applaud how Amy’s parents especially her father, Mr Hope is portrayed and I felt the quiet creep emerge from the pages every time he appeared. Her mother has obviously suffered and something also in her past has caused her to be the alcoholic shell of a person she was. Things are explained as the plot progresses and I also liked the ending and the revelations that come out as quite a twist in the tale at the end. This was refreshing and did in fact explain quite a bit of the history of all involved.
The epilogue was a nice way to round off the story but I don’t want to give too much away. The ending before the epilogue did leave it open slightly for perhaps a further book to explore the intervening six years and some of the relationships that were hinted at! I won’t say much more other than it would have also been nice to have a bit more from Richards family too although this story was mainly about Amy and her journey. Having said that it was a really eye opening read and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey that it took me on! It’s definitely one to try!
Five very emotional stars
I am quite a sucker for angst ridden stories that aren’t full of hearts and flowers and sometimes you need a good bit of depressing and a mighty slice of reality to pull you from the dreamy romantic stories I have read recently. And this is the book that does that perfectly.
Amy (Amelia) has led a difficult life. Only one person, her friend Julie, has been there for her through the years of neglect, abuse and self-harm. And even Julie only knows the tip of the iceberg. I instantly felt sorry and deeply regretful for Amy and although her reaction to her situation is extreme you can fully sympathise with her choices in life even if it is something you cannot yourself identify with.
As her story progresses so does her reaction to her life. Drugs and random meaningless hook-ups are her only way of escape along with her self-harming. And yes, she is young, but I dare anyone who may have experienced the similar, not to react in some extreme way or another.
On the evening that she finally breaks, enter Dr Richard, a young doctor who finds her unconscious on the pavement and takes her in to care for her. He’s a bit older than her but is pretty hot in the doctor stakes and it doesn’t take much for her to become attracted to him. Good looks, caring attitude and a history of his own that immediately makes him compassionate towards her are a recipe for a good romantic thread in the chaotic and depressing story.
Richard is not perfect, but who is? But one thing is for sure he sees something in Amy that goes beyond the broken shell and realises that he can and wants to care for her more than anyone else in her short life. And that is something that she needs.
The plot is dark and heartfelt and at times very difficult reading. Amy inevitably fights her feelings and tries to distance herself from Richard but he persists and even though he makes some stinking mistakes himself, you can’t help but root for him. And above all you really feel like Amy deserves a break and hope that she can be put back together before it really is too late.
I really enjoyed reading this book despite the intense subject matter and to the extent that it was a page turning story with a hefty dose of reality, it was also a very difficult read too. Tissues are a necessity to accompany this book and it isn’t the sort of book to read if you are expecting a sappy romance. However, it touches on a lot of sensitive subjects and isn’t afraid to make you think. I particularly applaud how Amy’s parents especially her father, Mr Hope is portrayed and I felt the quiet creep emerge from the pages every time he appeared. Her mother has obviously suffered and something also in her past has caused her to be the alcoholic shell of a person she was. Things are explained as the plot progresses and I also liked the ending and the revelations that come out as quite a twist in the tale at the end. This was refreshing and did in fact explain quite a bit of the history of all involved.
The epilogue was a nice way to round off the story but I don’t want to give too much away. The ending before the epilogue did leave it open slightly for perhaps a further book to explore the intervening six years and some of the relationships that were hinted at! I won’t say much more other than it would have also been nice to have a bit more from Richards family too although this story was mainly about Amy and her journey. Having said that it was a really eye opening read and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey that it took me on! It’s definitely one to try!
Five very emotional stars
March 13, 2014
I was lucky enough to find this fantastic book on kindle for free.And I don't normally read books I get from kindle because they're always there right?But this one really intrigued me and as soon as I started it...I was hooked.This is the second book I read by the same author and I'm really glad it made me remember how much I love her writing.
Saving Amy tells the story of a girl who didn't know what happiness felt like until she met her other half.This might sound like any other common book but it really isn't.Her struggle,her pain and everything she went through felt so real.It was obvious that she never had someone to love her,nobody cared for her and you can't imagine the relief and happiness I felt for her when she found someone who really cared and gave her things she never had before.Emotionally speaking.
I felt her pain and I cried for everything she went through.It seemed like fate didn't want her to be happy.She wants to escape,get away from the parents that don't care for her,the mother that drinks all the time and the father that beats her.She wants to get away from a life without HOPE which is ironically her surname.And then she meets Richard.It's amazing how a person can change by receiving someone else's love.By knowing that even one person cares.
I loved their relationship and they were both wonderful characters.They both went through some very difficult times.Amy was such a tortured and unhappy person.But she kept on living and eventually,found the person who put a smile on her face and made her want to keep living.She cared for other people,even if she didn't believe it...She had feeling.Richard was...perfection.He loved her unconditionally,supported her and he was there for her through every single thing that happened.Their love for each other was obvious and you could feel it.The only thing that frustrated me was the fact that he kept forgiving Joanna.God...I hated her so so much.That just show how loyal he was and how much faith he had on other people.I really loved that about him.
Moving on to the writing.The story was told in such a poetic and magical way.The author managed to capture the characters' feelings and transfer those feelings to me.Not many books/authors can do that.The story was told from Amy's perspective which made everything more real and believable.The character development is in my opinion impressive and a bit obvious in the sense the she goes from being a self destructing,depressed person to a young woman who finds love,survives and starts healing with the help of her beloved Richard who also developed a lot as a character.
The plot was really unpredictable and Amy's life made me sad,happy,depressed,angry,frustrated...It broke my heart,made me laugh...made me cry.This book was a roller coaster of emotions.The ending of course had me jumping up and down from joy and I was so glad that Amy and Richard got their happily ever after together,even after all those things that happened.They just show that they're brave,their fighters and they survived!
Saving Amy was perfect for me.The story of a girl who learns how to live and love told in such a poetic way that captivates you.The journey of a young woman towards love,healing and redemption.I immensely enjoyed it and I highly highly recommend it!
Saving Amy tells the story of a girl who didn't know what happiness felt like until she met her other half.This might sound like any other common book but it really isn't.Her struggle,her pain and everything she went through felt so real.It was obvious that she never had someone to love her,nobody cared for her and you can't imagine the relief and happiness I felt for her when she found someone who really cared and gave her things she never had before.Emotionally speaking.
I felt her pain and I cried for everything she went through.It seemed like fate didn't want her to be happy.She wants to escape,get away from the parents that don't care for her,the mother that drinks all the time and the father that beats her.She wants to get away from a life without HOPE which is ironically her surname.And then she meets Richard.It's amazing how a person can change by receiving someone else's love.By knowing that even one person cares.
I loved their relationship and they were both wonderful characters.They both went through some very difficult times.Amy was such a tortured and unhappy person.But she kept on living and eventually,found the person who put a smile on her face and made her want to keep living.She cared for other people,even if she didn't believe it...She had feeling.Richard was...perfection.He loved her unconditionally,supported her and he was there for her through every single thing that happened.Their love for each other was obvious and you could feel it.The only thing that frustrated me was the fact that he kept forgiving Joanna.God...I hated her so so much.That just show how loyal he was and how much faith he had on other people.I really loved that about him.
Moving on to the writing.The story was told in such a poetic and magical way.The author managed to capture the characters' feelings and transfer those feelings to me.Not many books/authors can do that.The story was told from Amy's perspective which made everything more real and believable.The character development is in my opinion impressive and a bit obvious in the sense the she goes from being a self destructing,depressed person to a young woman who finds love,survives and starts healing with the help of her beloved Richard who also developed a lot as a character.
The plot was really unpredictable and Amy's life made me sad,happy,depressed,angry,frustrated...It broke my heart,made me laugh...made me cry.This book was a roller coaster of emotions.The ending of course had me jumping up and down from joy and I was so glad that Amy and Richard got their happily ever after together,even after all those things that happened.They just show that they're brave,their fighters and they survived!
Saving Amy was perfect for me.The story of a girl who learns how to live and love told in such a poetic way that captivates you.The journey of a young woman towards love,healing and redemption.I immensely enjoyed it and I highly highly recommend it!
August 16, 2013
Amanda's 4 1/2 Emotional Star Thoughts
Saving Amy is one of the most emotional books I have EVER READ! It is amazingly written! The author holds nothing back and lets you truly feel the harsh realities of life, thru every broken moment the characters have to live through! There were many times I had to stop just to collect my thoughts, calm down and continue! You must be prepared for this book but it is an AMAZING STORY!
Amelia "Amy" Hope is extremely off balance. She can't find her place in the world between her alcoholic mother who acts like she doesn't exist and her powerful and abusive father. She hides her life from the friends she has and tries to focus on the fact that some day she will get away or it will just be over. Amy has never felt safe and loved, even as a child. The first third of the book you are learning the heavy stuff about her life. It is hard to read in some places because you could feel the pain she was feeling and how it must feel to be completely alone and terrified.
"Anything had to be better than living here between my mother's drunken wails and my father's fists."
After a night of heavy drinking and her first try at cocaine, she ends up passed out on the sidewalk and luckily for her Richard finds her. He takes her back to his house and tries to help her but when she wakes up the next day she is so confused by the sexy strangers motives, she leaves. As the addiction and abuse get worse she decides she wants it all to end, so one night after trying heroine she jumps and hopes to finally find peace, safety and love. But she is just in a hospital room and Richard Lewis is there… and is a doctor, a gorgeous doctor.
"Nice to see you again Miss Hope"…
"You're a doctor?"
"Last time I checked. You've been very lucky, Miss Hope"
Richard wants to help Amy. He has been drawn to her and seen something in her from the beginning and is determined to help her. He wants to show her other ways to cope then just abusing drugs or cutting. But you soon are left wondering why is he doing this is it really for Amy, or is it to help him fix past mistakes and regrets he has. Will his past hurt Amy even more than she already has been?
"You are strong and courageous young woman. You're a survivor I am both privileged and proud to have met you."
This book is a roller coaster for your emotions and truly broke my heart so many times. I felt for Amy and the many girls out in the world who are just like her. It was hard to read at times and very emotionally driven. I know some people will not like this book for that reason, but for me it just made the HEA that much better knowing the struggle they both went thru to get there. Richard and Amy are so sweet together, so romantic! But the part of the story that grabbed me was their journey to find peace within themselves and to love themselves…. To be healed!!! Luckily for Amy she finds her happily ever after and the epilogue… there are no words! AMAZING!!!! Don't not miss this book, it is a must read!!!
"Two guilt-ridden souls, laid bare in every sense of the word- both silently begging to be saved."
4.5 EMOTIONAL STARS!
Saving Amy is one of the most emotional books I have EVER READ! It is amazingly written! The author holds nothing back and lets you truly feel the harsh realities of life, thru every broken moment the characters have to live through! There were many times I had to stop just to collect my thoughts, calm down and continue! You must be prepared for this book but it is an AMAZING STORY!
Amelia "Amy" Hope is extremely off balance. She can't find her place in the world between her alcoholic mother who acts like she doesn't exist and her powerful and abusive father. She hides her life from the friends she has and tries to focus on the fact that some day she will get away or it will just be over. Amy has never felt safe and loved, even as a child. The first third of the book you are learning the heavy stuff about her life. It is hard to read in some places because you could feel the pain she was feeling and how it must feel to be completely alone and terrified.
"Anything had to be better than living here between my mother's drunken wails and my father's fists."
After a night of heavy drinking and her first try at cocaine, she ends up passed out on the sidewalk and luckily for her Richard finds her. He takes her back to his house and tries to help her but when she wakes up the next day she is so confused by the sexy strangers motives, she leaves. As the addiction and abuse get worse she decides she wants it all to end, so one night after trying heroine she jumps and hopes to finally find peace, safety and love. But she is just in a hospital room and Richard Lewis is there… and is a doctor, a gorgeous doctor.
"Nice to see you again Miss Hope"…
"You're a doctor?"
"Last time I checked. You've been very lucky, Miss Hope"
Richard wants to help Amy. He has been drawn to her and seen something in her from the beginning and is determined to help her. He wants to show her other ways to cope then just abusing drugs or cutting. But you soon are left wondering why is he doing this is it really for Amy, or is it to help him fix past mistakes and regrets he has. Will his past hurt Amy even more than she already has been?
"You are strong and courageous young woman. You're a survivor I am both privileged and proud to have met you."
This book is a roller coaster for your emotions and truly broke my heart so many times. I felt for Amy and the many girls out in the world who are just like her. It was hard to read at times and very emotionally driven. I know some people will not like this book for that reason, but for me it just made the HEA that much better knowing the struggle they both went thru to get there. Richard and Amy are so sweet together, so romantic! But the part of the story that grabbed me was their journey to find peace within themselves and to love themselves…. To be healed!!! Luckily for Amy she finds her happily ever after and the epilogue… there are no words! AMAZING!!!! Don't not miss this book, it is a must read!!!
"Two guilt-ridden souls, laid bare in every sense of the word- both silently begging to be saved."
4.5 EMOTIONAL STARS!
March 31, 2015
She’s high. She’s a cutter. She’s suicidal.
She’s unloved. She’s a mess.
Amy’s broken.
I found myself reading a totally depressing and sad, sad story. The blurb caught my attention. I think I’m into dark, twisted and disturbing stories. I want my abused hero/heroines to have their happily ever after in the end. And I’m so glad I found it in this book.
Saving Amy is a gut-wrenching story about a girl named Amy . She’s been abused since she could remember. No one could save her but herself, not even her mom or her dad. Her only outlet is to inflict physical pain unto herself so she knows no one could hurt her more than herself considering she’s already covered with bruises, cuts and abrasions from his dad’s sadistic nature. Not until Richard Lewis came along her way. He saved her, became her safe haven, her happiness and her only love.
After baring their hearts and souls to one another, they’re faced with challenging situations, those that will test their unconditional love for one another and their desire to be saved from their own demons. I just hate one character in this book, it was Joanna . She made a terrible mistake toward Amy and Richard. I don’t think I have it in me to forgive such devious, self-centered bitch of an ex. Anyways, even though things haven’t ended well in some parts, I’m just so glad I found my happily ever after. Although it took them a long time to find what they’re missing from their dark and twisted lives, I’m delighted about the Epilogue I can’t stop smiling after reading it.
I don’t know what else to expect from this author, Nicola Haken but I’m pretty sure I’ll be reading more of her books in the future. She has a promising career. This first book that I’ve read has a very nice pacing and the characters are well-founded. I love her writing style although some confused me since it differs a bit from the American writing style that I’m used to.
Fellow readers, if you’re looking for an abused, broken heroine that ended up with a family full of love and a beautiful and wonderful husband, I think this may just be what you’re looking for. ;) I had a few moments of silent tears and flutters in the stomach. I assure you, this is one of the good stories out there.
PERFECT FIVE STARS.
CHEERS.
September 30, 2013
***ARC Provided for honest review*** - originally posted at Reading Rainblog
Wow! This book was difficult to read, only because of the things Amy has been through. The life she’s been living all these years is painful to read. Her mother spends all her time lost in a liquor bottle, her father takes all of his anger out on her, and she feels like she has nobody and no hope. She starts cutting herself, drinking, sleeping around, and doing drugs – all of which is a recipe for disaster.
She meets Richard when she ends up in the hospital, and he’s immediately drawn to her because of the problems she is going through and how similar they are to problems he’s seen before. He wants to help Amy get better, and he falls deeply in love with her. However, Richard is dealing with demons in his own past, along with a very jealous ex-girlfriend who makes it her mission to split up Richard and Amy. Add in having to deal with Amy’s abusive father, and things get stressful quick!
Richard is a really nice guy, and he really cares about Amy and her happiness. Amy, however, is very self-destructive and doesn’t feel she is worthy of Richard’s love or his acceptance of her and her past. Richard is trying to help Amy realize her dreams and get better, but Amy doesn’t trust the happiness she’s feeling and sub-consciously starts trying to sabotage the relationship.
This book has many dark parts to it. Between the abuse, the self-mutilation, Amy’s drug use and depression, etc, it’s a difficult book to read. My heart broke for Amy, and also for Richard and the demons he is struggling with. Nicola did a wonderful job writing the characters of Amy and Richard, as well as writing about the situations Amy finds herself in throughout the book. Amy was an amazing character, and so strong despite everything she was put through. Saving Amy was a very intense, emotional roller-coaster read, and I couldn’t put it down.
The only issue I had with it was Amy & Richard’s almost instant love. Since they were both loners and had been through very emotional events (and Amy had never really been shown love), I didn’t think the instant love they had for each other was realistic. I would have liked to see more of a relationship build up between them instead of the instant deep emotions.
Wow! This book was difficult to read, only because of the things Amy has been through. The life she’s been living all these years is painful to read. Her mother spends all her time lost in a liquor bottle, her father takes all of his anger out on her, and she feels like she has nobody and no hope. She starts cutting herself, drinking, sleeping around, and doing drugs – all of which is a recipe for disaster.
She meets Richard when she ends up in the hospital, and he’s immediately drawn to her because of the problems she is going through and how similar they are to problems he’s seen before. He wants to help Amy get better, and he falls deeply in love with her. However, Richard is dealing with demons in his own past, along with a very jealous ex-girlfriend who makes it her mission to split up Richard and Amy. Add in having to deal with Amy’s abusive father, and things get stressful quick!
Richard is a really nice guy, and he really cares about Amy and her happiness. Amy, however, is very self-destructive and doesn’t feel she is worthy of Richard’s love or his acceptance of her and her past. Richard is trying to help Amy realize her dreams and get better, but Amy doesn’t trust the happiness she’s feeling and sub-consciously starts trying to sabotage the relationship.
This book has many dark parts to it. Between the abuse, the self-mutilation, Amy’s drug use and depression, etc, it’s a difficult book to read. My heart broke for Amy, and also for Richard and the demons he is struggling with. Nicola did a wonderful job writing the characters of Amy and Richard, as well as writing about the situations Amy finds herself in throughout the book. Amy was an amazing character, and so strong despite everything she was put through. Saving Amy was a very intense, emotional roller-coaster read, and I couldn’t put it down.
The only issue I had with it was Amy & Richard’s almost instant love. Since they were both loners and had been through very emotional events (and Amy had never really been shown love), I didn’t think the instant love they had for each other was realistic. I would have liked to see more of a relationship build up between them instead of the instant deep emotions.
May 15, 2014
This is my 5 star review for Saving Amy by Nicola Haken for Eskimo Princess Book Reviews.
Saving Amy is about the life of Amelia Hope. Amy is young, beautiful, but she is completely lost. She has had to endure so much in her young life that she doesn’t want anything but to be free; free from her pain, free from her attacker, free from the pressure of herself. When she makes a decision one night she doesn’t realize that it will lead her to someone who just might be able to save her. Will she be able to find the freedom she needs? Will the one person she has allowed herself to trust be the one to hurt her?
Richard Lewis seemingly has it all. He is a young, highly successful doctor. He is sexy, rich, and devoted to his job. When he comes upon the beautiful Amy in the middle of the night he feels so drawn to her. He hasn’t had feelings to ever hit him like he did the first time he looked into her sad eyes. Will he be able to save the one girl who has captured his every thought? Will the people in his life cause her to run before he has the chance to beg her to stay?
Oh holy rollercoaster ride! This book is HIGHLY EMOTIONAL. I can’t imagine ever being treated like young Amy was. The shit she had to endure growing up no one, and I do mean no one should have to go through. I admire her, even though she wasn’t perfect, nowhere near perfect. However, I believe she was courageous and in so many ways stronger than a lot of people gave her credit for. Now Richard, well he was fantastic. He wasn’t perfect either but damn sure close. He made me swoon more than once. He was a great guy and he never gave up on Amy. He never let her fall and to me that was amazing. Richard and Amy were great leading characters.
I enjoyed reading this book; in fact I read it in one day. I love how this author is so talented with words. She has a way about her writing that gets you zoned so far into the book that you can actually feel what the characters are feeling. Many times I felt like I was right there with Amy chanting don’t give up, don’t give up. Give this one a chance, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Saving Amy is about the life of Amelia Hope. Amy is young, beautiful, but she is completely lost. She has had to endure so much in her young life that she doesn’t want anything but to be free; free from her pain, free from her attacker, free from the pressure of herself. When she makes a decision one night she doesn’t realize that it will lead her to someone who just might be able to save her. Will she be able to find the freedom she needs? Will the one person she has allowed herself to trust be the one to hurt her?
Richard Lewis seemingly has it all. He is a young, highly successful doctor. He is sexy, rich, and devoted to his job. When he comes upon the beautiful Amy in the middle of the night he feels so drawn to her. He hasn’t had feelings to ever hit him like he did the first time he looked into her sad eyes. Will he be able to save the one girl who has captured his every thought? Will the people in his life cause her to run before he has the chance to beg her to stay?
Oh holy rollercoaster ride! This book is HIGHLY EMOTIONAL. I can’t imagine ever being treated like young Amy was. The shit she had to endure growing up no one, and I do mean no one should have to go through. I admire her, even though she wasn’t perfect, nowhere near perfect. However, I believe she was courageous and in so many ways stronger than a lot of people gave her credit for. Now Richard, well he was fantastic. He wasn’t perfect either but damn sure close. He made me swoon more than once. He was a great guy and he never gave up on Amy. He never let her fall and to me that was amazing. Richard and Amy were great leading characters.
I enjoyed reading this book; in fact I read it in one day. I love how this author is so talented with words. She has a way about her writing that gets you zoned so far into the book that you can actually feel what the characters are feeling. Many times I felt like I was right there with Amy chanting don’t give up, don’t give up. Give this one a chance, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
December 9, 2013
Talk about a very sad and powerful book. We're introduced Amelia, better known as Amy, who lives life in constant fear ... she lives in an actual horror story that is permanent and doesn't go away!
Life as Amy knows and has lived has always been in constant fear. She is constantly trying to escape the horrors that live in her house - and the only way she can escape is through literature, alcohol, drugs and hurting herself. She's become an expert liar, and has been able to trick her only friend into believing things aren't as bad as they seem. But there is only so much that she can take, before she
tries to end things.
After her attempted suicide doesn't work, she gets a second chance meeting with Dr. Richard Lewis. His own haunted past gives him a better understanding of part of what Amy is going through, and he gets this overpowering feeling to do everything in his power to protect and keep Amy as safe as possible.
The journey between Amy and Richard is mind blowing and overly powerful. The more they get involved in each others lives, the more you cheer for them to succeed.
Nicola's ability to write is absolutely compelling. She draws her readers, extracting empathy from them, giving them hope that things can be ok, if you put your trust in the right people, and NEVER give up hope.
The power behind this book is so invigorating and holds so much promise. It should also be used as a reminder for people who live these horrors in real life, that there is ALWAYS someone there who wants and is willing to help you overcome ANYTHING!
There were a few spelling mistakes, but nothing that distracts and takes away from the actual story.
This book is an absolute emotional roller coaster, and something that I highly recommend to everyone to read!
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