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The End of Feeling
Benjamin Nefer seems to have it all. He’s the most popular guy in school, the star quarterback with college scouts looking at him, his grades are near the top of his class, he can get any girl he wants . . . but he hides behind his dream life to mask the nightmare of his reality.
Charlie Austin is the new girl. Forced to move in with a bitter aunt, she only wants to protect her fragile mom from the world’s cruelty. When Benjamin sets his sights on Charlie, she’s armored against his charm—friends warned her about Benjamin’s game of pursuing and then dumping a long line of girls, not caring about the broken hearts he leaves behind. She doesn’t count on how single-minded he can be when she refuses him, or how charismatic, easing into her life through what he claims is just friendship.
Benjamin thought he could keep Charlie in the same place he keeps all girls—something to be used and then discarded. But Charlie has as many secrets as he does, secrets he’s determined to discover while keeping his own hidden. He realizes she’s the perfect girlfriend candidate . . . someone he can use to keep up the façade of a perfect life. Now he just has to keep his frozen heart from softening toward this unique girl, because if he doesn’t, his carefully constructed lies might just come thundering down around him, crushing him beneath the burden of feeling.
Charlie Austin is the new girl. Forced to move in with a bitter aunt, she only wants to protect her fragile mom from the world’s cruelty. When Benjamin sets his sights on Charlie, she’s armored against his charm—friends warned her about Benjamin’s game of pursuing and then dumping a long line of girls, not caring about the broken hearts he leaves behind. She doesn’t count on how single-minded he can be when she refuses him, or how charismatic, easing into her life through what he claims is just friendship.
Benjamin thought he could keep Charlie in the same place he keeps all girls—something to be used and then discarded. But Charlie has as many secrets as he does, secrets he’s determined to discover while keeping his own hidden. He realizes she’s the perfect girlfriend candidate . . . someone he can use to keep up the façade of a perfect life. Now he just has to keep his frozen heart from softening toward this unique girl, because if he doesn’t, his carefully constructed lies might just come thundering down around him, crushing him beneath the burden of feeling.
277 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2014
264 people are currently reading
1979 people want to read
About the author
Cindy C. Bennett
23 books1,144 followersCindy C Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City, growing up in the shadows of the majestic Rocky Mountains. She lives with two daughters, and three dogs. She also has two sons and two daughters-in-law. She volunteers her time working with teen girls between the ages of 12-18, all of whom she finds to be beautiful, fascinating creatures. When she’s not writing, reading or answering emails she can often times be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home (yes, she rides a Harley and no, you'd never know it to look at her!).
Please visit the author’s website at
www.cindycbennett.com
Please visit the author’s website at
www.cindycbennett.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
March 2, 2015
This is a story about Benjamin and Charlie. Benjamin is the star quarterback, most popular guy at school, good student, confident and smug. He is also known for his heart breaking tendencies, girls throw themselves at him, he uses them and then leaves behind without a blink of en eye. Charlie is the new girl in school, she catches Ben's eye, but to his amazement, she doesn't fall for his cheesy lines.
With such basis, I was thinking I would get some angst and high school drama and sweet love story to that. That's what I was counting for. I got some of that but I also got so much more. I never expected it to be so rough and sad. Both MCs have a lot of to deal with in such young age. He struggles every day to avoid abusive father and she struggles every day to take care of her mother. Both of them have secrets that they want to keep hidden, but as they spend more and more time together and their friendship develops, they slowly begin to trust each other enough, to confide. Lines are blurred, and what started as school project partnership, transforms into beautiful friendship and then young love.
I liked that transformation, I liked slow build up and progress they both made. I liked how Benjamin changed from cocky and jerky to attentive and reliable. I liked how Charlie learnt that she doesn't always have to take care of everything herself, that she has friends and her aunt that she can always count on. I also liked how she was able to shatter Benjamin's walls and find a way to his frozen heart.
It's a good YA book, you won't get smut here, just sweet kisses. But the story is interesting and very much worth reading.
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 21, 2014
Una historia muy bonita y tierna,que no quise soltarlo. Eso sí, creo que hubo ciertas partes tan rutinarias que me recordó un poco a S. Young. Por lo mismo no le doy las 5 estrellas. Todo era como me levanto,desayumo,voy a la escuela,regreso a casa,etcétera. Pero ya luego le fui agarrando el ritmo a la lectura y continué hasta terminarlo.
Me gustó como llevaron el tema de la mamá de Charlie. Triste y todo,pero no un dramon exagerado. Al principio me daba coraje con Charlie,pues sentía que juzgaba mucho a su tía y ella hacía lo mismo,escondía a su mamá de todos para que nadie supiera su condición. Cora la mamá de Charlie,fue mi personaje favorito, ella me robó mi corazón.
Me gustó que aunque se desarrollara en la High School,la escritora no llegó al típico cliché de los populares,la virgen verhonzosa y cosas por el estilo. Si Benjamin era popular,pero por cosas muy diferenes a creerse el super macho man. Su situación me conmovió mucho. Y aquí entro nuevamente al caso de que si como es costumbre en este género, está el tipico padre ausente o el maltratante,pero la autora lo manejó muy a su estilo. Hay ciertos detalles que esperaba que lo manejaran de otra forma,como el papá de Benjamin,pero me recompensa saber que su otra situación familiar no se resolviera de milagro y si dejara una puerta abierta,para mejorar o al menos conectar un poco.
Sobretodo me gustó el final,aquí no cayeron en eso de jurarse amor eterno cuándo ni siquiera se han graduado de la escuela,aunque cerró de una manera muy linda,le dio espacio al lector de imaginarse que ocurrirá con ellos. Hubiera sido bueno un epílogo, pero no por no tenerlo daño el final. Recomendado especialmente para los que les gusta las relaciones que crecen a fuego lento y no un insta love.
Me gustó como llevaron el tema de la mamá de Charlie. Triste y todo,pero no un dramon exagerado. Al principio me daba coraje con Charlie,pues sentía que juzgaba mucho a su tía y ella hacía lo mismo,escondía a su mamá de todos para que nadie supiera su condición. Cora la mamá de Charlie,fue mi personaje favorito, ella me robó mi corazón.
Me gustó que aunque se desarrollara en la High School,la escritora no llegó al típico cliché de los populares,la virgen verhonzosa y cosas por el estilo. Si Benjamin era popular,pero por cosas muy diferenes a creerse el super macho man. Su situación me conmovió mucho. Y aquí entro nuevamente al caso de que si como es costumbre en este género, está el tipico padre ausente o el maltratante,pero la autora lo manejó muy a su estilo. Hay ciertos detalles que esperaba que lo manejaran de otra forma,como el papá de Benjamin,pero me recompensa saber que su otra situación familiar no se resolviera de milagro y si dejara una puerta abierta,para mejorar o al menos conectar un poco.
Sobretodo me gustó el final,aquí no cayeron en eso de jurarse amor eterno cuándo ni siquiera se han graduado de la escuela,aunque cerró de una manera muy linda,le dio espacio al lector de imaginarse que ocurrirá con ellos. Hubiera sido bueno un epílogo, pero no por no tenerlo daño el final. Recomendado especialmente para los que les gusta las relaciones que crecen a fuego lento y no un insta love.
July 10, 2020
Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and give this 4.5 stars, because a;lsdkjfas, this book.
I'm sitting here at work and I actually teared up a little because this book was so sweet and heartwrenching, from start to finish.
Every once in awhile a book comes along that takes two flawed, so incredibly real characters and weaves a story about them that's emotional and amazing. This is one of those books, at least for me.
If you read the summary of the book, it actually tells you a lot about the plot, in a sense. But what it doesn't tell you is the slow, careful story that's held inside and the way it will take your heart and squeeze, making you feel protective over the characters, make you smile and laugh and maybe even cry a little. It's got a charming bad boy and a pretty girl with secrets, and backstories that will make your stomach clench and your heart turn over.
This isn't a story of insta-love and fatal attraction, etc. Oh, the first-look attraction is there, but it's not that shallow 'omg he makes my head spin' story, where characters go from meeting to 'so in love' overnight. It's so much more than that.
The two main characters are Charlie and Benjamin, each with their own burdens, hidden secrets and wounds that they're hiding from almost everyone. Neither of them have any intention of even becoming friends with each other, at first - Ben's hardened to the world and is looking for an easy conquest as usual, and Charlie doesn't have any time for that, with everything else going on in her life and having been warned about him by her friends.
That initial barrier between the two of them is what makes the progress from there all the more wonderful to read, to be honest. The friendship and building relationship between the two of them is important but there's other stuff that's going on as well, and that extra depth is really what takes the book to another level and makes it shine.
As the story unfolds, we switch back and forth between Charlie and Ben's point of view, getting inside their heads and seeing the conflict and emotional chaos that they're both dealing with. And that's really where my heart was squeezed, because both characters are so young, and they're both dealing with things that teenagers should never have to deal with - yet all too often, they do. Yet in spite of the burdens they're carrying, they do their best to continue on as normal, to hide their differences from the world, because what every teenager wants is pretty simple: to be normal. And I get that, I really do, because I remember how I felt in highschool myself and what it was like when I had my own crap going on at home, and a facade to put up at school. You present a face to the world and try not to let anyone see past, and sometimes not letting that crack is the most important thing in the world.
I think what I loved so much about this book was how real it seemed, in many ways. Charlie and Ben both think that each other's life is perfect, but the opposite is true - and in many ways, the one person who can understand them better than anyone else is the other person, as much as they try to hold each other at bay. Even as that proves increasingly futile, both of them are growing up and things are changing in their lives as they learn about themselves and each other, and start to heal from pain they've been carrying for most of their lives. They're intent on being friends, but slowly that blossoms into more - against their own best intentions, but it's for the best and anyone reading can determine that.
My one quibble would be when it comes to the ending, and in particular, Ben's story. I don't think that it was quite as well fleshed out as Charlie's, and was too abrupt for the depth of it throughout the book - I think it needed a lot more, and that's why I deducted the one star, in the end. It's a case of a too-quick climax, without the thoroughness and the breadth of emotion that had been put into the rest of the story, and it detracts from the impact, in my opinion. I also would have liked to see more from the cast of characters in the background - I wanted to know more about these people who are so important to Charlie and Ben, and I think it could have been done without taking away from the overall story. Again, just something that decreased my overall opinion of the book.
Overall, though, this was just a book that made me care a lot about the characters in the span of a few hundred pages, and left me smiling at the end.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm sitting here at work and I actually teared up a little because this book was so sweet and heartwrenching, from start to finish.
Every once in awhile a book comes along that takes two flawed, so incredibly real characters and weaves a story about them that's emotional and amazing. This is one of those books, at least for me.
If you read the summary of the book, it actually tells you a lot about the plot, in a sense. But what it doesn't tell you is the slow, careful story that's held inside and the way it will take your heart and squeeze, making you feel protective over the characters, make you smile and laugh and maybe even cry a little. It's got a charming bad boy and a pretty girl with secrets, and backstories that will make your stomach clench and your heart turn over.
This isn't a story of insta-love and fatal attraction, etc. Oh, the first-look attraction is there, but it's not that shallow 'omg he makes my head spin' story, where characters go from meeting to 'so in love' overnight. It's so much more than that.
The two main characters are Charlie and Benjamin, each with their own burdens, hidden secrets and wounds that they're hiding from almost everyone. Neither of them have any intention of even becoming friends with each other, at first - Ben's hardened to the world and is looking for an easy conquest as usual, and Charlie doesn't have any time for that, with everything else going on in her life and having been warned about him by her friends.
That initial barrier between the two of them is what makes the progress from there all the more wonderful to read, to be honest. The friendship and building relationship between the two of them is important but there's other stuff that's going on as well, and that extra depth is really what takes the book to another level and makes it shine.
As the story unfolds, we switch back and forth between Charlie and Ben's point of view, getting inside their heads and seeing the conflict and emotional chaos that they're both dealing with. And that's really where my heart was squeezed, because both characters are so young, and they're both dealing with things that teenagers should never have to deal with - yet all too often, they do. Yet in spite of the burdens they're carrying, they do their best to continue on as normal, to hide their differences from the world, because what every teenager wants is pretty simple: to be normal. And I get that, I really do, because I remember how I felt in highschool myself and what it was like when I had my own crap going on at home, and a facade to put up at school. You present a face to the world and try not to let anyone see past, and sometimes not letting that crack is the most important thing in the world.
I think what I loved so much about this book was how real it seemed, in many ways. Charlie and Ben both think that each other's life is perfect, but the opposite is true - and in many ways, the one person who can understand them better than anyone else is the other person, as much as they try to hold each other at bay. Even as that proves increasingly futile, both of them are growing up and things are changing in their lives as they learn about themselves and each other, and start to heal from pain they've been carrying for most of their lives. They're intent on being friends, but slowly that blossoms into more - against their own best intentions, but it's for the best and anyone reading can determine that.
My one quibble would be when it comes to the ending, and in particular, Ben's story. I don't think that it was quite as well fleshed out as Charlie's, and was too abrupt for the depth of it throughout the book - I think it needed a lot more, and that's why I deducted the one star, in the end. It's a case of a too-quick climax, without the thoroughness and the breadth of emotion that had been put into the rest of the story, and it detracts from the impact, in my opinion. I also would have liked to see more from the cast of characters in the background - I wanted to know more about these people who are so important to Charlie and Ben, and I think it could have been done without taking away from the overall story. Again, just something that decreased my overall opinion of the book.
Overall, though, this was just a book that made me care a lot about the characters in the span of a few hundred pages, and left me smiling at the end.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 2, 2015
*3.75/5 stars*
January 8, 2015
3.75 Stars
Charlie is the new girl in town, after her grandmother passes away both her mentally ill mother and her move in with Charlie's aunt. Charlie refuses to be a burden, not accepting help from aunt to take care of her mother. She doesn't trust anyone to do it after her mother was sexually assaulted in a home for special needs adults thus resulting in her creation. She certainly won't entertain the idea of putting her mother away again much to her aunts dismay.
The last thing Charlie is time for is going out with her new found friends. Especially Benjamin, schools bad boy and star quarterback. On the outside he lives a charmed life, can get anyone he wants, great grades and star quarterback, but his home life is a different story. It's dark and painful and not something he shares with anyone.
Slowly Ben and Charlie form a friendship, she's heard the stories about him, and even one of her friend knows first hand considering she fell victim to his charm once. However, Ben's different with CHarlie and slowly they begin to share secrets and soon things become more serous. But when new challenges arise their bond is seriously tested and it might not work out to what they wanted.
---
This book was good. I almost didn't finish after the first few chapters. Charlie was plain mean to her aunt, I wanted to smack her. If I ever have a niece who talk to me like that I would've smacked her. I mean I get why Charlie was pissed but she was outright rude and annoying about it.
Then there's Benjamin, which also annoyed me that she never called him Ben, who was so conceded I nearly died. If he didn't have such a messed up childhood I would've hated him.
"Some of our other buddies are sitting around with us as well, but they're almost unimportant. Daniel and I rule the school and they know it."
Then when meeting Charlie for the first time and he's thinking about his dating life …
"Sometimes they fall too hard for me. If I'm being honest, most times they fall too hard for me."
This was the worst one that almost made me hate Ben
"Daniel and I have a very clear understanding about girls--I get first pick, and he gets either the leftovers or my picks once I'm finished with them."
Almost ruined him for me, thankfully he redeems himself somewhat throughout the story and we're able to see him grow as a character and change hims ways.
I wish there had been an epilogue or something, The ending was super rushed and I didn't realize it was over unit lI turned the page and that was it. It didn't feel complete.
It was still a good story and I'm glad the characters redeemed themselves!
Charlie is the new girl in town, after her grandmother passes away both her mentally ill mother and her move in with Charlie's aunt. Charlie refuses to be a burden, not accepting help from aunt to take care of her mother. She doesn't trust anyone to do it after her mother was sexually assaulted in a home for special needs adults thus resulting in her creation. She certainly won't entertain the idea of putting her mother away again much to her aunts dismay.
The last thing Charlie is time for is going out with her new found friends. Especially Benjamin, schools bad boy and star quarterback. On the outside he lives a charmed life, can get anyone he wants, great grades and star quarterback, but his home life is a different story. It's dark and painful and not something he shares with anyone.
Slowly Ben and Charlie form a friendship, she's heard the stories about him, and even one of her friend knows first hand considering she fell victim to his charm once. However, Ben's different with CHarlie and slowly they begin to share secrets and soon things become more serous. But when new challenges arise their bond is seriously tested and it might not work out to what they wanted.
---
This book was good. I almost didn't finish after the first few chapters. Charlie was plain mean to her aunt, I wanted to smack her. If I ever have a niece who talk to me like that I would've smacked her. I mean I get why Charlie was pissed but she was outright rude and annoying about it.
Then there's Benjamin, which also annoyed me that she never called him Ben, who was so conceded I nearly died. If he didn't have such a messed up childhood I would've hated him.
"Some of our other buddies are sitting around with us as well, but they're almost unimportant. Daniel and I rule the school and they know it."
Then when meeting Charlie for the first time and he's thinking about his dating life …
"Sometimes they fall too hard for me. If I'm being honest, most times they fall too hard for me."
This was the worst one that almost made me hate Ben
"Daniel and I have a very clear understanding about girls--I get first pick, and he gets either the leftovers or my picks once I'm finished with them."
Almost ruined him for me, thankfully he redeems himself somewhat throughout the story and we're able to see him grow as a character and change hims ways.
I wish there had been an epilogue or something, The ending was super rushed and I didn't realize it was over unit lI turned the page and that was it. It didn't feel complete.
It was still a good story and I'm glad the characters redeemed themselves!
January 9, 2015
I received a copy of The End of Feeling via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars.
Benjamin Nefer has become skilled at the art of putting on an act. No one would guess what waits for him almost every night. Charlie Austin is just as skilled at keeping people away.
This book starts out pretty typical. Heartbreaker boy (Benjamin)sets his sights on the new girl. New girl (Charlie)knows she should stay away and brushes off his advances. Both of them carry secrets that they believe no one but themselves can handle. The pair are assigned a team project at school and slowly the walls they worked so hard to build start to drop.
Two things stood out for me while reading The End of Feeling. A big one is the issues that Charlie deals with. Its unique in this genre. While I normally like a lot of sex in my books this one doesn't have much in the way of sexual activity. Sure, there are hints but nothing over the top. I'm surprised to hear myself say that I really liked that aspect of this book.
So why the low rating? Its rough. The pacing, the dialogue, the awkward stances.
3.5 stars.
Benjamin Nefer has become skilled at the art of putting on an act. No one would guess what waits for him almost every night. Charlie Austin is just as skilled at keeping people away.
This book starts out pretty typical. Heartbreaker boy (Benjamin)sets his sights on the new girl. New girl (Charlie)knows she should stay away and brushes off his advances. Both of them carry secrets that they believe no one but themselves can handle. The pair are assigned a team project at school and slowly the walls they worked so hard to build start to drop.
Two things stood out for me while reading The End of Feeling. A big one is the issues that Charlie deals with. Its unique in this genre. While I normally like a lot of sex in my books this one doesn't have much in the way of sexual activity. Sure, there are hints but nothing over the top. I'm surprised to hear myself say that I really liked that aspect of this book.
So why the low rating? Its rough. The pacing, the dialogue, the awkward stances.
November 10, 2015
DNF
The writing is good but I could not continue because I felt the heroine, Charlie, was a HYPOCRITE.
The heroine's mother is mentally disabled. Charlie judges her aunt for being ashamed of her sister but yet Charlie is too embarrassed to bring Benjamin (or anyone) into the house for the fear they will see how her mother is. I just could not get over what a hypocrite she is. I can understand when a character is ashamed of a lot of things. I understood why Benjamin did not want to bring Charlie to his house, but Charlie being ashamed of her mother and judging her aunt upset me too much. I can not respect someone for judging one person when she could not see her own actions.
Why does she even hate her aunt???? Her aunt is trying to make up for what happened to Cora, her aunt is telling her to take time for herself, her aunt is giving her free shelter and food, her aunt is letting her use a nice car, her aunt is trying to make her life easier, her aunt offers her money. I think Charlie just likes to whine and likes to make up problems with her aunt where there are none.
And I got so sick and tired about hearing about her perfect BFFs. I think in the real world, Alexa who was brokenhearted by Benjamin would not be so kind to Charlie. I did not get to the end, but I did not buy the whole "perfect" friendships.
I am not telling you not to read this, I am just telling you what did not work for me.
The writing is good but I could not continue because I felt the heroine, Charlie, was a HYPOCRITE.
The heroine's mother is mentally disabled. Charlie judges her aunt for being ashamed of her sister but yet Charlie is too embarrassed to bring Benjamin (or anyone) into the house for the fear they will see how her mother is. I just could not get over what a hypocrite she is. I can understand when a character is ashamed of a lot of things. I understood why Benjamin did not want to bring Charlie to his house, but Charlie being ashamed of her mother and judging her aunt upset me too much. I can not respect someone for judging one person when she could not see her own actions.
Why does she even hate her aunt???? Her aunt is trying to make up for what happened to Cora, her aunt is telling her to take time for herself, her aunt is giving her free shelter and food, her aunt is letting her use a nice car, her aunt is trying to make her life easier, her aunt offers her money. I think Charlie just likes to whine and likes to make up problems with her aunt where there are none.
And I got so sick and tired about hearing about her perfect BFFs. I think in the real world, Alexa who was brokenhearted by Benjamin would not be so kind to Charlie. I did not get to the end, but I did not buy the whole "perfect" friendships.
I am not telling you not to read this, I am just telling you what did not work for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2015
Where do I even start with this book.
I really expected it to be good.. but I am so disappointed..
The writer had every cliché in YA romances written in this.. it's typical angst-filled book with troubled main characters who somehow connect and make each other better.. it was all been-there-read-that to me. Nothing new!
The thing that could have helped the book the most was heavy editing. It's 50+ chapter of cliché storyline that test your patience mainly. The longest I can see it be is 30 chapters only without many stuff that could have been handled much better.
It could have helped if the characters were likable. But they're really self-centered and aren't developed deep enough for me to like them or relate to them. However, I did like Charlie's development better than Benjamin's. Ben's was resolved way too easily IMO.
The end was cute and I wished this book had been better because it had a great potential.
I really expected it to be good.. but I am so disappointed..
The writer had every cliché in YA romances written in this.. it's typical angst-filled book with troubled main characters who somehow connect and make each other better.. it was all been-there-read-that to me. Nothing new!
The thing that could have helped the book the most was heavy editing. It's 50+ chapter of cliché storyline that test your patience mainly. The longest I can see it be is 30 chapters only without many stuff that could have been handled much better.
It could have helped if the characters were likable. But they're really self-centered and aren't developed deep enough for me to like them or relate to them. However, I did like Charlie's development better than Benjamin's. Ben's was resolved way too easily IMO.
The end was cute and I wished this book had been better because it had a great potential.
April 14, 2014
The End of Feeling is a remarkably heartfelt and touching story. I instantly fell in love with Charlie and, against my better judgment, fell in love with Benjamin as well. The struggles in their story bring to light the fact that beauty and truly miraculous things can be found in the everyday, and that the most important thing any one of us can possess, is love. I really don't know how else I can possibly say that I loved this book, but I did. Cindy always writes these very dynamic characters that are unpredictable enough that I honestly don't know what they're going to do next... which is scary but also, let's face it, kind of awesome. Love this book, love the characters, love Cindy Bennett and her epicness.
February 19, 2015
You can read this review and more on my blog:
I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book tried a little too hard to be serious. It dealt with some very serious issues, but reading about how the characters dealt with their problems just didn’t feel natural.
Benjamin is a star football player, the most popular guy in school, and a complete womanizer. His life seems perfect on the outside, but he has a dark secret. His father beats him daily, and his mother abandoned him years ago. Because of his parents, Benjamin has closed himself off from feeling, and goes through the motions of daily life until he can get his football scholarship and leave his crappy life behind forever. His plan is complicated when he meets the new girl in school, Charlie, and she awakens feelings in him that he thought died a long time ago.
Charlie also has a few secrets of her own. She is beautiful, smart, and finds friends in her new school immediately, but she also builds a wall around herself and won’t fully let anyone in. Not only does Charlie have diabetes, but she is a product of a brutal sexual crime that was committed against her mentally handicapped mother. She’s not ashamed of her illness or of her mother, but she is sick of the way some people react when they find out about her personal life so she decides not to tell anyone. Charlie loves her mother fiercely, and would do anything for her, but she takes on too much responsibility all by herself.
Both Charlie and Benjamin could frustrate me at times. Benjamin was a jerk who mistreated any girl who made the decision to date him. He wasn’t abusive, but he would chase a girl down just to dump her before they ever got to the third date. There is no way to sugar coat it, the dude was a jerk! But he dated because it made him look normal, not because he wanted to use girls so I gave him a pass. His home life was so rough that silly trivial things like him not wanting a girlfriend didn’t seem to matter.
Charlie frustrated me because of how controlling and selfish she could be, but it all came from a good place in her heart. her mom was all she had, and she spent her entire life taking care of her so it was hard for her to learn to let her mother have a life of her own. However, this was a young girl who had just lost her grandmother (The only real parent she had), dealt with a life threatening disease, and had to take on the responsibility of parenting her mother. Considering all of this, her occasional attitude with her aunt was forgivable.
There was only one character that really pissed me off.
The relationship between Charlie and Benjamin was just okay. They didn’t have enough cute or passionate moments for me. I don’t mean I wanted them to make out more, because I know this author doesn’t write that way, but I also know that this author can write a passionate love story without writing one kissing scene, and that didn’t happen this time. I enjoyed the friendship between the two of them more than I did the romance. Benjamin was darn cute with Charlie’s mom though.
Overall, this was a decent book that did cause me to tear up towards the end. The writing was good, the main characters and their relationships were well-developed, and it had a satisfying ending. This won’t be a new favorite of mine, but if you like moody Young Adult novels, then this one is worth your time.
This book tried a little too hard to be serious. It dealt with some very serious issues, but reading about how the characters dealt with their problems just didn’t feel natural.
Benjamin is a star football player, the most popular guy in school, and a complete womanizer. His life seems perfect on the outside, but he has a dark secret. His father beats him daily, and his mother abandoned him years ago. Because of his parents, Benjamin has closed himself off from feeling, and goes through the motions of daily life until he can get his football scholarship and leave his crappy life behind forever. His plan is complicated when he meets the new girl in school, Charlie, and she awakens feelings in him that he thought died a long time ago.
Charlie also has a few secrets of her own. She is beautiful, smart, and finds friends in her new school immediately, but she also builds a wall around herself and won’t fully let anyone in. Not only does Charlie have diabetes, but she is a product of a brutal sexual crime that was committed against her mentally handicapped mother. She’s not ashamed of her illness or of her mother, but she is sick of the way some people react when they find out about her personal life so she decides not to tell anyone. Charlie loves her mother fiercely, and would do anything for her, but she takes on too much responsibility all by herself.
Both Charlie and Benjamin could frustrate me at times. Benjamin was a jerk who mistreated any girl who made the decision to date him. He wasn’t abusive, but he would chase a girl down just to dump her before they ever got to the third date. There is no way to sugar coat it, the dude was a jerk! But he dated because it made him look normal, not because he wanted to use girls so I gave him a pass. His home life was so rough that silly trivial things like him not wanting a girlfriend didn’t seem to matter.
Charlie frustrated me because of how controlling and selfish she could be, but it all came from a good place in her heart. her mom was all she had, and she spent her entire life taking care of her so it was hard for her to learn to let her mother have a life of her own. However, this was a young girl who had just lost her grandmother (The only real parent she had), dealt with a life threatening disease, and had to take on the responsibility of parenting her mother. Considering all of this, her occasional attitude with her aunt was forgivable.
There was only one character that really pissed me off.
The relationship between Charlie and Benjamin was just okay. They didn’t have enough cute or passionate moments for me. I don’t mean I wanted them to make out more, because I know this author doesn’t write that way, but I also know that this author can write a passionate love story without writing one kissing scene, and that didn’t happen this time. I enjoyed the friendship between the two of them more than I did the romance. Benjamin was darn cute with Charlie’s mom though.
Overall, this was a decent book that did cause me to tear up towards the end. The writing was good, the main characters and their relationships were well-developed, and it had a satisfying ending. This won’t be a new favorite of mine, but if you like moody Young Adult novels, then this one is worth your time.
March 16, 2015
**This review may contain spoilers. Read at own risk.**
I'm not entirely certain how I feel about this book. The writing was pretty good, the main characters were well developed for the most part, and I applaud Bennett for taking on some harder issues while trying to still write an essentially light teen romance. But...
I don't know how much experience Bennett has had with people with special needs. My youngest brother has Down Syndrome, and my best friend growing up had a little brother who's birth was the same as what was described for Cora, resulting in brain damage and life-long mental disability. While I know that some people with mental disability do go to Daycare, in general, they aren't all sitting around playing games all day. They aren't little kids in adult bodies - while they have much lower maturity levels, to describe them as big kids all the time isn't fair. My brother works full time through a disability program doing lawn care - he works very hard all day, 3-5 days a week. My friend's brother never acted like he was an exuberant large child - he was quiet and reserved. While I know that, as with Neuro-typical people, they come in different shapes and sizes and personalities, it seemed like Bennett just blanketed this child like behavior over all of the mentally-disabled people in this book. Furthermore, Cora's selfish behavior regarding where she wanted to live and what she wanted to do is also not typical of mentally-disabled people - 9 times out of 10, they are VERY centered on what they can do to bring others happiness. Again, I get that not everyone is going to be the same, and there are going to be times that they will throw fits over what they want because they don't know any other way to get out what they are feeling or what they want. I just... it felt wrong, the way Bennett portrayed Cora as a self-centered child in an adult's body. There was only one scene where she really dropped the self-centered act to provide Charlie with comfort. This has just not been my experience with the mentally-disabled, and I wish Bennett had provided more in-depth with the characters, giving them a range of personalities.
My other BIG issue with this book was the way that people completely overlooked Ben's dad That's not real life. I know that society today can be a horrible disappointment, but
Last - that ending. As soon as I got to the ending scene, I just skimmed because seriously? It just felt like a copy cat of the ending of that Cinderella movie Hillary Duff was in. The whole ending felt very cliche and boring.
So, while I liked most of the book, there were enough things wrong with it for me to only give it 3 stars.
I'm not entirely certain how I feel about this book. The writing was pretty good, the main characters were well developed for the most part, and I applaud Bennett for taking on some harder issues while trying to still write an essentially light teen romance. But...
I don't know how much experience Bennett has had with people with special needs. My youngest brother has Down Syndrome, and my best friend growing up had a little brother who's birth was the same as what was described for Cora, resulting in brain damage and life-long mental disability. While I know that some people with mental disability do go to Daycare, in general, they aren't all sitting around playing games all day. They aren't little kids in adult bodies - while they have much lower maturity levels, to describe them as big kids all the time isn't fair. My brother works full time through a disability program doing lawn care - he works very hard all day, 3-5 days a week. My friend's brother never acted like he was an exuberant large child - he was quiet and reserved. While I know that, as with Neuro-typical people, they come in different shapes and sizes and personalities, it seemed like Bennett just blanketed this child like behavior over all of the mentally-disabled people in this book. Furthermore, Cora's selfish behavior regarding where she wanted to live and what she wanted to do is also not typical of mentally-disabled people - 9 times out of 10, they are VERY centered on what they can do to bring others happiness. Again, I get that not everyone is going to be the same, and there are going to be times that they will throw fits over what they want because they don't know any other way to get out what they are feeling or what they want. I just... it felt wrong, the way Bennett portrayed Cora as a self-centered child in an adult's body. There was only one scene where she really dropped the self-centered act to provide Charlie with comfort. This has just not been my experience with the mentally-disabled, and I wish Bennett had provided more in-depth with the characters, giving them a range of personalities.
My other BIG issue with this book was the way that people completely overlooked Ben's dad That's not real life. I know that society today can be a horrible disappointment, but
Last - that ending. As soon as I got to the ending scene, I just skimmed because seriously? It just felt like a copy cat of the ending of that Cinderella movie Hillary Duff was in. The whole ending felt very cliche and boring.
So, while I liked most of the book, there were enough things wrong with it for me to only give it 3 stars.
May 8, 2015
Esperaba que me gustase, pero ¿taaaaaaaaaaanto? Me he leído cuatro libros de Cindy C. Bennett y todos me enamoraron. De principio a fin. Me esperaba algo totalmente diferente de The End of Feeling, pero lo que me he encontrado no me ha defraudado para nada. Al contrario, la manera en la que me lo imagina no tiene ni punto de comparación con lo que en realidad es.
Me ha encantado Charlie. En serio. Es tan fuerte, protegiendo a su madre a toda costa. A veces era egoísta, ¿pero no lo somos todos en lo que se refiere a uno mismo y los familiares? Charlie antepone sus necesidades, su necesidad de mantener a su madre cerca, porque la idea de no estar con ella la pone enferma, antes que preferir ingresarla en Dayspring, donde su madre es feliz. Pero después se da cuenta que el lugar al que su madre pertenece es ahí, donde pueda estar a gusto consigo misma, con sus amigos. Me ha resultado muy dulce la relación que tienen las dos.
Y Benjamin... uf. Vaya muchacho. Su padre le pegaba a su madre y después a él y a su hermana Mia. Su madre se fue y los dejó con el padre. Al poco tiempo, ella vuelve y sólo se lleva a Mia. Deja a Benjamin con esa cosa. Así que Benjamin se cerró completamente en banda. A partir de ese momento, dejó de sentir emociones. Al principio vemos que es un poco cabroncete, porque sus intenciones con Charlie como que no eran muy buenas (ella lo rechaza, él piensa "¿por qué? nadie me rechaza" (golpe al orgullo?) así que hace como que es su amigo, pero después sí que lo es, es una amistad agradable y bonita), pero me ha gustado mucho su evolución. No es "oh, me preocupo por esta chica, tengo que cambiar" ¡No! Creo que no hay ni una vez en la que Benjamin admita que se preocupa o que le importa Charlie. A ver, se entrevee, pero que él lo diga? Nah. Entonces empiezan los dolores de pecho y los ataques de corazón. Hasta que se da cuenta que lo que le pasa, básicamente, es que de verdad que quiere a Charlie.
La relación entre ambos me ha gustado mucho. No sé, es demasiado cucosa para mi bien.
Entonces, debo admitir que me he tirado la mitad del libro con una estúpida teoría. Yo ya estaba llorando en la página 120 de sólo pensarlo. PERO GRACIAS A DIOS NO PASA ESO. Es que es muy extraño, porque hay un capítulo, el que Benjamin conoce a la madre de Charlie, que Nadia (la tía de Charlie) le pregunta por su apellido (Nefer) y se queda como extrañada. Entonces mi cerebro comenzó a dar vueltas y a pensar y llegó a la conclusión que el que violaba a Cora fue el padre de Benjamin, siendo Benjamin y Charlie hermanos. En el prólogo dicen bien claro que la hermana se llama Mia, pero existen los cambios de nombre, igual que los tintes (porque dice que Mia tenía el pelo negro y Charlie lo tiene rubio, ella misma admite que es teñido). Afortunadamente, lo único cierto de todo esto es que mi cerebro estaba sobrecargado de estudiar JAJAJA
La única pega que tengo es el final. Me ha gustado pero a la vez no. Los dos se reconcilian, vamos que quedan juntos, pero ¿qué pasa con su futuro? Uno de los pesares que tiene Benjamin cuando se cuenta de que la ama es que él quiere estudiar lejos (o al menos lo hacía antes de que su padre muriera) y ella, obviamente, se va a quedar cerca de su madre... Y, bueno, ya que estamos, no me hubiese importado saber lo que les depara el futuro a estos dos, ya que estamos.
Después de una semana sin leer, lo que me apetecía era algo mono, cuqui y romanticoso. Creo que todo eso lo encontré con The End of Feeling. Lo recomiendo un montón!! Y sólo me queda decir: Ojalá libro de Mia <333
Me ha encantado Charlie. En serio. Es tan fuerte, protegiendo a su madre a toda costa. A veces era egoísta, ¿pero no lo somos todos en lo que se refiere a uno mismo y los familiares? Charlie antepone sus necesidades, su necesidad de mantener a su madre cerca, porque la idea de no estar con ella la pone enferma, antes que preferir ingresarla en Dayspring, donde su madre es feliz. Pero después se da cuenta que el lugar al que su madre pertenece es ahí, donde pueda estar a gusto consigo misma, con sus amigos. Me ha resultado muy dulce la relación que tienen las dos.
Y Benjamin... uf. Vaya muchacho. Su padre le pegaba a su madre y después a él y a su hermana Mia. Su madre se fue y los dejó con el padre. Al poco tiempo, ella vuelve y sólo se lleva a Mia. Deja a Benjamin con esa cosa. Así que Benjamin se cerró completamente en banda. A partir de ese momento, dejó de sentir emociones. Al principio vemos que es un poco cabroncete, porque sus intenciones con Charlie como que no eran muy buenas (ella lo rechaza, él piensa "¿por qué? nadie me rechaza" (golpe al orgullo?) así que hace como que es su amigo, pero después sí que lo es, es una amistad agradable y bonita), pero me ha gustado mucho su evolución. No es "oh, me preocupo por esta chica, tengo que cambiar" ¡No! Creo que no hay ni una vez en la que Benjamin admita que se preocupa o que le importa Charlie. A ver, se entrevee, pero que él lo diga? Nah. Entonces empiezan los dolores de pecho y los ataques de corazón. Hasta que se da cuenta que lo que le pasa, básicamente, es que de verdad que quiere a Charlie.
La relación entre ambos me ha gustado mucho. No sé, es demasiado cucosa para mi bien.
Entonces, debo admitir que me he tirado la mitad del libro con una estúpida teoría. Yo ya estaba llorando en la página 120 de sólo pensarlo. PERO GRACIAS A DIOS NO PASA ESO. Es que es muy extraño, porque hay un capítulo, el que Benjamin conoce a la madre de Charlie, que Nadia (la tía de Charlie) le pregunta por su apellido (Nefer) y se queda como extrañada. Entonces mi cerebro comenzó a dar vueltas y a pensar y llegó a la conclusión que el que violaba a Cora fue el padre de Benjamin, siendo Benjamin y Charlie hermanos. En el prólogo dicen bien claro que la hermana se llama Mia, pero existen los cambios de nombre, igual que los tintes (porque dice que Mia tenía el pelo negro y Charlie lo tiene rubio, ella misma admite que es teñido). Afortunadamente, lo único cierto de todo esto es que mi cerebro estaba sobrecargado de estudiar JAJAJA
La única pega que tengo es el final. Me ha gustado pero a la vez no. Los dos se reconcilian, vamos que quedan juntos, pero ¿qué pasa con su futuro? Uno de los pesares que tiene Benjamin cuando se cuenta de que la ama es que él quiere estudiar lejos (o al menos lo hacía antes de que su padre muriera) y ella, obviamente, se va a quedar cerca de su madre... Y, bueno, ya que estamos, no me hubiese importado saber lo que les depara el futuro a estos dos, ya que estamos.
Después de una semana sin leer, lo que me apetecía era algo mono, cuqui y romanticoso. Creo que todo eso lo encontré con The End of Feeling. Lo recomiendo un montón!! Y sólo me queda decir: Ojalá libro de Mia <333
January 8, 2015
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I don't have any friends that have read this one so I really had no idea what to expect. Especially since I've never read anything by this author either. What I found out is that Cindy C. Bennett writes about horrible stuff. Horribly tragic stuff. I don't know if I would be able to write things like this. Most of the book was completely heart wrenching and I just don't see how she didn't dread getting up in the morning knowing that she was going to have to work on such a depressing story.
You know, I've kind of gone back and forth on my rating for this one. For a myriad of reasons. While this story is very sad but with a lot of depth, I still felt a tinge of disconnect between me and the characters. It was almost as if I didn't know them enough. Now that could very well be because I was trying to distance myself from what was going on in the novel ... like I said ... sad ... or it could be that the characters just weren't fully developed. Anyhow, I would have liked to have delved a little deeper into the main characters. Some people will probably be upset with my saying that because this is a Young Adult novel and come on, kids read it. But that just isn't how the YA genre works anymore. I would bet that just as many (if not more) adults read the YA books than the kids it was intended for. That being said, I don't think that the author wrote FOR young adults ... it was clearly written for anyone. It was a story that needed to be told. Even if it yanks your heart out of your chest, stomps on it and then tries to shove it back in using some tongs and an ice pick.
I know, weird way to put it but just when you think this story can't get any more sad, it does. Just one page after another was more horrible stuff and I think that if one more bad thing happened to these kids, it would have sent the story over the line and it would have looked ridiculous. I know that I don't want to read about characters that NEVER get a break.
The ending was a bit ... meh ... for me. I don't know what I expected but I wanted more. I like how it ended but I didn't. Does that make sense?!? Probably not because it doesn't make sense to me. The story line felt like it had reached this peak and then for the ending to just ... peter out, it was a little depressing. But that was about par for the course on this one because everything was sad. Even the romance was sad. But the story was well written. Except I didn't like the ending. Which I also liked at the same time. Do you see why I didn't know whether to give this one 3 or 4 stars? I guess I shouldn't downgrade the stars just because something is sad especially when the author wrote these depressing pages beautifully.
Anyway, good book from a new author and I'm excited to see what she will write next. Hopefully nothing so sad.
March 24, 2015
I don't even know where to start with this book. It felt so inconsistent and useless that I couldn't even care.
Benjamin is such a cliche and, to be honest, so is Charlie. They remind me of Alex and Britney from Perfect Chemistry, just less entertaining that them. I cannot call this story anything besides cliche. And the writing is for 16 years old, accentuating the character's outer features but describing them in simple words when it comes to their internal feelings/aspects. Really disappointed. And this book had only high mark ratings :( .
Her best friend is also a cliche. She's perfect and she's her BFF despite knowing each other for what? a few days? She's new in town after all...
I don't understand why she hated her aunt that much. She was such a child. The only mildly interesting part was the fact that she had diabetics. Still we're not getting a lot of insight regarding that issue either. There is no depth to this story, or to the characters :( .
If I hear one more time how gorgeous Benjamin is and how bad he is for her I'm going to throw myself down the window. Also, what's with those conversations? a 10 years old could imagine more interesting speech. Also, why does the author keeps on calling her mature when she's clearly not? Author, who are you trying to fool here? Us, or yourself?
I didn't really feel the romance so to say. It felt rushed and predictable :( . Her aunt was She was just immature and wanted a normal family, like all children do. The ones at fault are her parents for caving in to her demands and not teaching her to love her sister. It's also nice that now she's trying to make amends for that.
Also, I find it hard to believe that a group of friends could be so nice, especially teenagers, they are really shallow, but ok, it's better than to get more drama anyway. In this book things got solved way too easy...
I don't get this book's message...
The title is fitting though It did made me stop feeling for the story or any of the characters XD.
Benjamin is such a cliche and, to be honest, so is Charlie. They remind me of Alex and Britney from Perfect Chemistry, just less entertaining that them. I cannot call this story anything besides cliche. And the writing is for 16 years old, accentuating the character's outer features but describing them in simple words when it comes to their internal feelings/aspects. Really disappointed. And this book had only high mark ratings :( .
Her best friend is also a cliche. She's perfect and she's her BFF despite knowing each other for what? a few days? She's new in town after all...
I don't understand why she hated her aunt that much. She was such a child. The only mildly interesting part was the fact that she had diabetics. Still we're not getting a lot of insight regarding that issue either. There is no depth to this story, or to the characters :( .
If I hear one more time how gorgeous Benjamin is and how bad he is for her I'm going to throw myself down the window. Also, what's with those conversations? a 10 years old could imagine more interesting speech. Also, why does the author keeps on calling her mature when she's clearly not? Author, who are you trying to fool here? Us, or yourself?
I didn't really feel the romance so to say. It felt rushed and predictable :( . Her aunt was She was just immature and wanted a normal family, like all children do. The ones at fault are her parents for caving in to her demands and not teaching her to love her sister. It's also nice that now she's trying to make amends for that.
Also, I find it hard to believe that a group of friends could be so nice, especially teenagers, they are really shallow, but ok, it's better than to get more drama anyway. In this book things got solved way too easy...
I don't get this book's message...
The title is fitting though It did made me stop feeling for the story or any of the characters XD.
October 1, 2016
4.5 stars. A wonderful story again about high school age students which is the norm for a Cindy Bennett book. Also norm is no overt sex. Ben has been left by his mother to live with his extremely abusive father. The mother needed to get Ben's younger sister and herself out of the house before the father killed them. She mistakenly thought Ben was old and strong enough to take care of himself. Ben has hated her for never coming back for him. He has also become the campus lothario, the star football player who dates and then leaves broken hearts in his path. He vows never to fall in love.
Charlie (Charlotte) moves to town to stay with her aunt after her grandmother dies. Charlie's grandmother raised Charlie after she was conceived and born to her daughter who had been brain damaged at birth. The daughter was sexually assaulted (frequently) at the group home she was living in and the assault's results, Charlie, has vowed to never let her mother live in a situation like that again, even though they don't have the grandmother's support any more.
Charlie didn't realize how much care her mother needed until her grandmother was no longer there to support her and Charlie was now doing most of the work herself (with some help from her mother's sister).
This story takes a beautiful turn as Charlie and Ben start to rely on each other to deal with their difficult lives. But can Ben really find love after being brutally abused for so many years? Can Charlie put aside the stories she's heard about Ben's love 'em and leave 'em life and give her heart to him.
.
Charlie (Charlotte) moves to town to stay with her aunt after her grandmother dies. Charlie's grandmother raised Charlie after she was conceived and born to her daughter who had been brain damaged at birth. The daughter was sexually assaulted (frequently) at the group home she was living in and the assault's results, Charlie, has vowed to never let her mother live in a situation like that again, even though they don't have the grandmother's support any more.
Charlie didn't realize how much care her mother needed until her grandmother was no longer there to support her and Charlie was now doing most of the work herself (with some help from her mother's sister).
This story takes a beautiful turn as Charlie and Ben start to rely on each other to deal with their difficult lives. But can Ben really find love after being brutally abused for so many years? Can Charlie put aside the stories she's heard about Ben's love 'em and leave 'em life and give her heart to him.
.
October 1, 2015
Me enamore de la historia, me conmovió tanto, me gano desde el principio, cuando comencé a leer creí que seria solo otro chico problemático, pero mientras vas leyendo y conociendo la vida de estos chicos, tu corazón poco a poco se derrite por esta historia, porque no son la pareja común, cada uno tiene una vida difícil que de alguna manera ocultaban y hacen que la vida funcione, sin darse cuenta que se necesitan el uno al otro mas de lo que creen. Me dolía por Charlie, siendo una chica con mucha responsabilidad, cargar con cosas que no son su culpa y aun así asume las responsabilidades, una chica tímida pero que en el fondo trata de ser fuerte para seguir adelante. Benjamin, un chico que solo es apariencia, frío y sin sentimientos, pero que mientras lo conoces entiendes que fue su única forma de protegerse, que su vida nunca ha sido fácil pero que aparenta para sentirse normal y no caer en un espiral de dolor y sufrimiento. Este chico me gano completamente, lo aprendes a amar, porque aunque el no se da cuenta tiene mucho amor para dar y puede llegar a ser un chico dulce.
Recomiendo esta historia a las personas que quieran leer sobre una pareja dañada pero que para el uno al otro son una salvación, algo que ellos necesitan.
Recomiendo esta historia a las personas que quieran leer sobre una pareja dañada pero que para el uno al otro son una salvación, algo que ellos necesitan.
November 21, 2014
Es...lindo?
No se, no está mal.
Típico libro de instituto, chico deportista mujeriego, chica nueva.
Es como una telenovela liada y liada en un quiero y no puedo dramático.
La intención está ahí, los ingredientes (en exceso) están ahí, pero no logra remover nada, no lloras, no sonríes y no te enamoras. Sólo alcanzo a decir que es lindo. No profundiza así que apenas llego a entender nada ni a identificarme con nadie y echando la vista atrás no ocurre NADA.
Extremadamente monótono.
Eso sí, rosa, despreocupado, simple, rápido y sin sorpresas. Sí es lo que buscas para evadirte puede gustarte.
No se, no está mal.
Típico libro de instituto, chico deportista mujeriego, chica nueva.
Es como una telenovela liada y liada en un quiero y no puedo dramático.
La intención está ahí, los ingredientes (en exceso) están ahí, pero no logra remover nada, no lloras, no sonríes y no te enamoras. Sólo alcanzo a decir que es lindo. No profundiza así que apenas llego a entender nada ni a identificarme con nadie y echando la vista atrás no ocurre NADA.
Extremadamente monótono.
Eso sí, rosa, despreocupado, simple, rápido y sin sorpresas. Sí es lo que buscas para evadirte puede gustarte.
April 8, 2014
Be sure you have tissues handy! Cindy Bennett does a fabulous job of tugging at lots of heart strings with this novel. Finding out what happened to Charlie and Benjamin became extremely important to this reader! You will love this book!
May 2, 2017
Tenía expectativas bastante altas sobre este libro: no por la sinopsis, el título, la portada o las reseñas, que en general son lo que me motivan a inclinarme por un libro u otro, sino porque la autora es la misma de uno de mis libros favoritos: "Geek Girl".
Esta autora tiene el don de escribir historias con conceptos terriblemente clichés, en algo con un poco más que eso, saliendo bastante de lo que te podrías esperar del asunto. Por lo menos, contando este, en los dos libros que leí de ella, me demostró esta cualidad.
Claro que esto se trata del típico chico malo con muchos problemas familiares que cree que por eso puede swr un idiota y la chica buena, también llena de probmemas, por lo cual no le da bola desde el comienzo. Pero la autora supo darle tanta profundiad a los personajes que va más allá de, simplemente, la historia romántica cliché.
Lo que me gusta principalmente es que, si bien el romance tiene su protagonismo, no solo se trata de ello, sino que la amistad y los lazos familiares juegan un papel muy importante alrededor de la historia. Y no hablo solo de la sólida amistad que construyen los protagonistas y sobre la cual se va desarrollando su amor, ni de las complicadas familias que tienen y que en parte justifican sus actitudes iniciales, sino también de la amistad que se desarrolla con y entre los personajes secundarios, que les brindan a Benjamin y, principalmente, a Charlie, una gran red de apoyo.
Me agradó mucho también las relaciones familiares, el amor que demuestra Charlie a su madre y como va evolucionado su relación con su tía y la descripción de lo que era su relación con su abuela. Esta creo que es una de las cosas que más me gustan de la autora: sus personajes no son simplemente adolescentes que vagan en la historia lejos de cualquier supervición adulta, apareciendo, los adultos, como simples menciones de vez en cuando, como si los chicos fueran completamente ajenos a la influencia de ellos más allá de los inconvenientes que pudieran causarle. Quiero decir, en este caso, hay una dinámica con los adultos: incluso en el caso de Benjamin, con su madre ausente y su padre solo acordándose de él para usarlo de bolsa de boxeo (no es spolier, literalmente es lo primero de lo que nos enteramos, está en el prólogo ¿ok?), porque no es simplemente algo así como "mi papá es un alcohólico que me golpeaba así que huí de casa y me mantengo solo y esa es mi excusa para ser un imbécil" como suele ser la fórmula en estas historias. Benjamin todavía vive con su padre, no se escapó de él, lo sigue soportando día a día, todos los días, no es solo una sombra oscura de su pasado, es un monstuo al que debe enfrentarse de manera cotidiana, que está presente, no de una manera positiva, pero hay una constante interación entre ambos personajes, más allá de una simple mención para recordar el asunto de a ratos.
La autora no nos oculta a nosotros, los lectores, los secretos de los protagonistas. No es un secreto que, aunque lo vamos intuyendo, se nos revela ya muy desarrollada la trama, y lo descubrimos, si no es con los protagonistas, muy poco antes de que ellos lo hagan. Por lo tanto los padres no son solo la justificacion de los comportamientos extraños de sus hijos, que permiten aclarar todo hacia el final. No se los presenta como personajes difusos que cobran contraste solo en un par de capítulos cerca de la conclusión del libro, cuando los protagonistas han decidido revelar su trágica historia o como herramie tas para dar un giro a la trama, como suele ocurrir, sino que están ahí todo el tiempo, por lo que nos toca acompañar a los protagonistas en esa interacción y ver como se las arreglan para lidiar con ellos día a día mientras ocultan esas cosas al resto de la humanidad, y esto nos permite empatizar muchísimo más con los personajes, no solo con los protagonistas, sino también con sus padres, bueno, en este caso con Naomi, principalmente en la primera mitad del libro.
No pensé en llegar a las lágrimas con esta historia y en realidad no lo hice, pero debo admitir, como mínimo, que sí se me enpañaron los ojos cerca del final.
El final, final, me gustó. Me hubiera gustado algo así como un epílogo pero tampoco me parece sumamente necesario, no hay así como un final abierto o sumamente abrupto, sin embargo, tampoco estaría de sobra algo como eso, no se sentiría como algo sumamente innecesario, no sé si me explico.
Esta no podría calificarla como una de mis mejores lecturas del año, pero sí resultó ser una muy buena, realmente adictiva: la leí de un tirón, no pude soltarla hasta terminar con ella, tanto que me hizo trasnochar y amanecerme por su causa. Engancha fácil, es super ligera y se lee rápidamente. No le encuentro nada que criticarle realmente, no hubo nada que pueda decir que llegó a molestarme lo suficiente como para quejarme de ello. Más allá de que ciertas actitudes de los personajes me parecieran erradas, fueron comportamientos que en el desarrollo de la historia se fueron perdiendo gracias a la evolución de los personajes, por lo cual, realmente no es un defecto en la historia. Así que no me siento para nada defrauda por la autora, esta lectura llenó completamente mis espectativas en lo que se refiere a la trama y a los personajes. Bastante parecida a mi historia preferida de esta mujer en algunos sentidos, aunque lo suficientemente deiferente como para no resultarme algo así como una mala copia del otro o volverse por completo predecible para mí.
Mi puntaje para este libro son 4 estrellas ☆☆☆☆. A pesar que, como dije, no tengo quejas sobre él, no me provocó lo suficiente como para ponerle un puntaje más alto (aunque en un momento me haya empañado la visión y en otro me haya dado ganas de ir a abrazar gente♡). Pero lo recomiendo ampliamente de todas maneras, no tanto como Geek Girl (que es la ternura máxima hacha libro OMG! Cada vez que me acuerdo quiero repartir besos y abrazos por ahí), pero creo que disfrutarán bastante de esta lectura ♡♡♡♡♡
Esta autora tiene el don de escribir historias con conceptos terriblemente clichés, en algo con un poco más que eso, saliendo bastante de lo que te podrías esperar del asunto. Por lo menos, contando este, en los dos libros que leí de ella, me demostró esta cualidad.
Claro que esto se trata del típico chico malo con muchos problemas familiares que cree que por eso puede swr un idiota y la chica buena, también llena de probmemas, por lo cual no le da bola desde el comienzo. Pero la autora supo darle tanta profundiad a los personajes que va más allá de, simplemente, la historia romántica cliché.
Lo que me gusta principalmente es que, si bien el romance tiene su protagonismo, no solo se trata de ello, sino que la amistad y los lazos familiares juegan un papel muy importante alrededor de la historia. Y no hablo solo de la sólida amistad que construyen los protagonistas y sobre la cual se va desarrollando su amor, ni de las complicadas familias que tienen y que en parte justifican sus actitudes iniciales, sino también de la amistad que se desarrolla con y entre los personajes secundarios, que les brindan a Benjamin y, principalmente, a Charlie, una gran red de apoyo.
Me agradó mucho también las relaciones familiares, el amor que demuestra Charlie a su madre y como va evolucionado su relación con su tía y la descripción de lo que era su relación con su abuela. Esta creo que es una de las cosas que más me gustan de la autora: sus personajes no son simplemente adolescentes que vagan en la historia lejos de cualquier supervición adulta, apareciendo, los adultos, como simples menciones de vez en cuando, como si los chicos fueran completamente ajenos a la influencia de ellos más allá de los inconvenientes que pudieran causarle. Quiero decir, en este caso, hay una dinámica con los adultos: incluso en el caso de Benjamin, con su madre ausente y su padre solo acordándose de él para usarlo de bolsa de boxeo (no es spolier, literalmente es lo primero de lo que nos enteramos, está en el prólogo ¿ok?), porque no es simplemente algo así como "mi papá es un alcohólico que me golpeaba así que huí de casa y me mantengo solo y esa es mi excusa para ser un imbécil" como suele ser la fórmula en estas historias. Benjamin todavía vive con su padre, no se escapó de él, lo sigue soportando día a día, todos los días, no es solo una sombra oscura de su pasado, es un monstuo al que debe enfrentarse de manera cotidiana, que está presente, no de una manera positiva, pero hay una constante interación entre ambos personajes, más allá de una simple mención para recordar el asunto de a ratos.
La autora no nos oculta a nosotros, los lectores, los secretos de los protagonistas. No es un secreto que, aunque lo vamos intuyendo, se nos revela ya muy desarrollada la trama, y lo descubrimos, si no es con los protagonistas, muy poco antes de que ellos lo hagan. Por lo tanto los padres no son solo la justificacion de los comportamientos extraños de sus hijos, que permiten aclarar todo hacia el final. No se los presenta como personajes difusos que cobran contraste solo en un par de capítulos cerca de la conclusión del libro, cuando los protagonistas han decidido revelar su trágica historia o como herramie tas para dar un giro a la trama, como suele ocurrir, sino que están ahí todo el tiempo, por lo que nos toca acompañar a los protagonistas en esa interacción y ver como se las arreglan para lidiar con ellos día a día mientras ocultan esas cosas al resto de la humanidad, y esto nos permite empatizar muchísimo más con los personajes, no solo con los protagonistas, sino también con sus padres, bueno, en este caso con Naomi, principalmente en la primera mitad del libro.
No pensé en llegar a las lágrimas con esta historia y en realidad no lo hice, pero debo admitir, como mínimo, que sí se me enpañaron los ojos cerca del final.
El final, final, me gustó. Me hubiera gustado algo así como un epílogo pero tampoco me parece sumamente necesario, no hay así como un final abierto o sumamente abrupto, sin embargo, tampoco estaría de sobra algo como eso, no se sentiría como algo sumamente innecesario, no sé si me explico.
Esta no podría calificarla como una de mis mejores lecturas del año, pero sí resultó ser una muy buena, realmente adictiva: la leí de un tirón, no pude soltarla hasta terminar con ella, tanto que me hizo trasnochar y amanecerme por su causa. Engancha fácil, es super ligera y se lee rápidamente. No le encuentro nada que criticarle realmente, no hubo nada que pueda decir que llegó a molestarme lo suficiente como para quejarme de ello. Más allá de que ciertas actitudes de los personajes me parecieran erradas, fueron comportamientos que en el desarrollo de la historia se fueron perdiendo gracias a la evolución de los personajes, por lo cual, realmente no es un defecto en la historia. Así que no me siento para nada defrauda por la autora, esta lectura llenó completamente mis espectativas en lo que se refiere a la trama y a los personajes. Bastante parecida a mi historia preferida de esta mujer en algunos sentidos, aunque lo suficientemente deiferente como para no resultarme algo así como una mala copia del otro o volverse por completo predecible para mí.
Mi puntaje para este libro son 4 estrellas ☆☆☆☆. A pesar que, como dije, no tengo quejas sobre él, no me provocó lo suficiente como para ponerle un puntaje más alto (aunque en un momento me haya empañado la visión y en otro me haya dado ganas de ir a abrazar gente♡). Pero lo recomiendo ampliamente de todas maneras, no tanto como Geek Girl (que es la ternura máxima hacha libro OMG! Cada vez que me acuerdo quiero repartir besos y abrazos por ahí), pero creo que disfrutarán bastante de esta lectura ♡♡♡♡♡
August 30, 2017
My Musings
I thoroughly enjoyed this emotionally charged story from start to finish. I am so glad I found this book. I will be looking for other books by this amazing author. Happy ☺reading 📚!
I thoroughly enjoyed this emotionally charged story from start to finish. I am so glad I found this book. I will be looking for other books by this amazing author. Happy ☺reading 📚!
April 18, 2019
Good read
It was a great read not to much angst but it’s there. The story behind Ben’s family made me cry. The friendship and love between Ben and Charlie is relatable and real
It was a great read not to much angst but it’s there. The story behind Ben’s family made me cry. The friendship and love between Ben and Charlie is relatable and real
April 17, 2023
LOVED LOVED LOVED. The slow burn, Benjamin, the sorry line, EVERYTHING was so beautifully written. Such a fast paced book so I finished it in just a few days. 10/10
December 1, 2024
My heart. Truly!!
February 12, 2015
Ana: 5 stars! This is a story about secrets. It’s a story about how we can make assumptions about people and what their lives might be like. It’s a story about surviving all that life can throw at you. And, ultimately, it’s a story about how even a messy life can have a bright spot…and even people who believe they’re too broken can experience happiness. The emotion meter on this book is off the charts.
Both Charlie and Benjamin have baggage that other people their age don’t have. Benjamin deals with an abusive father in the only way he knows how and, on the outside, closes himself off from feelings to keep from being more hurt than he already is. He lives a life free of commitment and all the complications it brings. But, he also lives without love. The story of his life, both past and present, broke my heart slowly and completely. I was amazed by his strength to carry on and his determination to move forward and grab more from life than he currently had. Charlie, the new girl, deals with diabetes and tries desperately to keep a secret about her mom. When these two meet, they discover that what they may truly need first and foremost is friendship. But, lucky for us, what they get is love. I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow, seeing them realize how much they could help each other, and absolutely loved hearing the story from both of their points of view.
Parts of this book were tough to read but other parts made my heart glow. This story was treated with the utmost of care by the author. The characters were allowed to feel happiness, sadness, loneliness, shame and, ultimately, love. And you may be thinking that that happens in all books but I believe that, sometimes, it feels forced. Here it felt real and genuine. It felt like like these two were part of my world even though my life is very different from theirs. They needed each other and I needed them to find happiness. This book was a win win! So, would I recommend it? Definitely! I loved these characters and my heart enjoyed the roller coaster of the storyline and the wonderful ending. So, go on…give it a try…I think you’ll love it too!
Celeste: 5 huge puffy heart stars
I loved, loved, loved this story. I adored everything about it… yes, everything. The characters, the writing style, the romance, the sadness, the hope…every single page owned me. I read this from start to finish in one sitting.
I think the magic came from the beautiful way it was written. The words were so simple, yet I could feel each and every secret weighing the characters down. Without even realizing it, both Benjamin and Charlie became so so very real to me and I was embedding in their lives. Told in alternating POVs I truly knew the struggles both Benjamin and Charlie had to deal with…and wow, it was some very heavy stuff. These two were incredible strong people, total survivors with huge hearts, both just waiting to be truly loved. It turns out that was by each other.
Benjamin was all game at first glance, but in reality his life was far from perfect. He was still so positive, so confident, and so determined. I loved that about him. However, it was his realness that drew me to him. He let Charlie in even though it wasn’t his normal routine. He didn’t tell her his secrets right away, but he slowly opened his heart to her more than he had with anyone else. I could feel the trust building between them, even though it was fragile.
Charlie had so many things going on I don’t even know how she got up in the morning. She was so strong, so beautiful, but it turns out her beauty ran deeper than the surface and she was lovely inside and out. She too, kept her secrets from Benjamin, but step by step she let him in, and I loved how she was willing to put her heart on the line to find out if what they had was real.
Le sigh. I know…so romantic…
The ending was absolutely full of feels and I may have gotten a little misty eyed. I knew I’d get my HEA and my heart was warm all over when it happened. However, I do wish there had been a short epilogue. I know, I know…I’m so greedy…it’s just that I need to know everything turned out alright down the road.
Rec this? Yes, yes, yes! A sweet book that tugs at your heartstrings but makes you believe in love.
Both Charlie and Benjamin have baggage that other people their age don’t have. Benjamin deals with an abusive father in the only way he knows how and, on the outside, closes himself off from feelings to keep from being more hurt than he already is. He lives a life free of commitment and all the complications it brings. But, he also lives without love. The story of his life, both past and present, broke my heart slowly and completely. I was amazed by his strength to carry on and his determination to move forward and grab more from life than he currently had. Charlie, the new girl, deals with diabetes and tries desperately to keep a secret about her mom. When these two meet, they discover that what they may truly need first and foremost is friendship. But, lucky for us, what they get is love. I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow, seeing them realize how much they could help each other, and absolutely loved hearing the story from both of their points of view.
Parts of this book were tough to read but other parts made my heart glow. This story was treated with the utmost of care by the author. The characters were allowed to feel happiness, sadness, loneliness, shame and, ultimately, love. And you may be thinking that that happens in all books but I believe that, sometimes, it feels forced. Here it felt real and genuine. It felt like like these two were part of my world even though my life is very different from theirs. They needed each other and I needed them to find happiness. This book was a win win! So, would I recommend it? Definitely! I loved these characters and my heart enjoyed the roller coaster of the storyline and the wonderful ending. So, go on…give it a try…I think you’ll love it too!
Celeste: 5 huge puffy heart stars
I loved, loved, loved this story. I adored everything about it… yes, everything. The characters, the writing style, the romance, the sadness, the hope…every single page owned me. I read this from start to finish in one sitting.
I think the magic came from the beautiful way it was written. The words were so simple, yet I could feel each and every secret weighing the characters down. Without even realizing it, both Benjamin and Charlie became so so very real to me and I was embedding in their lives. Told in alternating POVs I truly knew the struggles both Benjamin and Charlie had to deal with…and wow, it was some very heavy stuff. These two were incredible strong people, total survivors with huge hearts, both just waiting to be truly loved. It turns out that was by each other.
Benjamin was all game at first glance, but in reality his life was far from perfect. He was still so positive, so confident, and so determined. I loved that about him. However, it was his realness that drew me to him. He let Charlie in even though it wasn’t his normal routine. He didn’t tell her his secrets right away, but he slowly opened his heart to her more than he had with anyone else. I could feel the trust building between them, even though it was fragile.
Charlie had so many things going on I don’t even know how she got up in the morning. She was so strong, so beautiful, but it turns out her beauty ran deeper than the surface and she was lovely inside and out. She too, kept her secrets from Benjamin, but step by step she let him in, and I loved how she was willing to put her heart on the line to find out if what they had was real.
Le sigh. I know…so romantic…
The ending was absolutely full of feels and I may have gotten a little misty eyed. I knew I’d get my HEA and my heart was warm all over when it happened. However, I do wish there had been a short epilogue. I know, I know…I’m so greedy…it’s just that I need to know everything turned out alright down the road.
Rec this? Yes, yes, yes! A sweet book that tugs at your heartstrings but makes you believe in love.
April 7, 2015
• 2.5 stars •
I'm gonna be very frank: I almost died from boredom because of this story.
Benjamin Nefer is that guy in school. He thinks he's God's gift to the female kind, he's a jock, he breaks hearts. He's the stereotype of what a popular guy is. But underneath that façade, he's an unfeeling bastard (ha!) and actually suffers physical abuse from his dad. He claims not to not feel anything after what he'd been through.
Enter new girl Charlie Austin. She doesn't fall with Benjamin's charms and whatnot but somehow they formed a friendship that both of them never expected.
The progress of the story was agonizingly slow. Nothing much happens until halfway of the story. Noting the slow pace, I expected a build-up to happen but the climax felt insufficient for me. The ending felt too abrupt too.
Also, even if the characters were close to my age, I couldn't connect with them. They were also very confusing.
My biggest issue here was Benjamin. He was one of those "tell but don't show" characters. He claimed to not feel anything and he once said that he couldn't care so he couldn't love or something along those lines. So of course I automatically assume that he would be indifferent with almost everything because he couldn't feel, right? He couldn't love, hate, or care at all. But no. I wasn't given that. He cared about Charlie's mom, he hated his mother, he liked treating girls he dated like doormats. I'm not saying that he shouldn't do those things save the latter but seriously, I needed consistency. Those contradictions made him a very unstable character for me.
Also, he was an enabler. Up until now, I still didn't understand why he allowed his father to beat him up almost every day. He could easily defeat him if he wanted to. For Pete's sake, he was a quarterback and a boxer. Playing those sports, surely he realized that size wasn't everything when it came to fighting. Add to that, his father was always drunk when he beat him up so what the fuck was up with that?
With Charlie, well, there were a lot of times when I said, "I told you so." Her friends kept on telling her not to fall for Benjamin's charms and she kept on saying that she wouldn't. The next thing they knew, she told them that she was Benjamin's girlfriend. And she still didn't expect that he would break her heart, after hearing her friend's story? Hahaha.
Overall, I was extremely disappointed. When I read the blurb, I expected something new because it had all of the ingredients for an NA book. (This is YA, by the way.)
He's Benjamin, Benjamin Nefer, the guy all of my friends warned me about. The guy who, on my first day here, tried to ensnare me. Who would use me and dump me at moment's notice.
I'm gonna be very frank: I almost died from boredom because of this story.
Benjamin Nefer is that guy in school. He thinks he's God's gift to the female kind, he's a jock, he breaks hearts. He's the stereotype of what a popular guy is. But underneath that façade, he's an unfeeling bastard (ha!) and actually suffers physical abuse from his dad. He claims not to not feel anything after what he'd been through.
Enter new girl Charlie Austin. She doesn't fall with Benjamin's charms and whatnot but somehow they formed a friendship that both of them never expected.
The progress of the story was agonizingly slow. Nothing much happens until halfway of the story. Noting the slow pace, I expected a build-up to happen but the climax felt insufficient for me. The ending felt too abrupt too.
Also, even if the characters were close to my age, I couldn't connect with them. They were also very confusing.
My biggest issue here was Benjamin. He was one of those "tell but don't show" characters. He claimed to not feel anything and he once said that he couldn't care so he couldn't love or something along those lines. So of course I automatically assume that he would be indifferent with almost everything because he couldn't feel, right? He couldn't love, hate, or care at all. But no. I wasn't given that. He cared about Charlie's mom, he hated his mother, he liked treating girls he dated like doormats. I'm not saying that he shouldn't do those things save the latter but seriously, I needed consistency. Those contradictions made him a very unstable character for me.
Also, he was an enabler. Up until now, I still didn't understand why he allowed his father to beat him up almost every day. He could easily defeat him if he wanted to. For Pete's sake, he was a quarterback and a boxer. Playing those sports, surely he realized that size wasn't everything when it came to fighting. Add to that, his father was always drunk when he beat him up so what the fuck was up with that?
With Charlie, well, there were a lot of times when I said, "I told you so." Her friends kept on telling her not to fall for Benjamin's charms and she kept on saying that she wouldn't. The next thing they knew, she told them that she was Benjamin's girlfriend. And she still didn't expect that he would break her heart, after hearing her friend's story? Hahaha.
Overall, I was extremely disappointed. When I read the blurb, I expected something new because it had all of the ingredients for an NA book. (This is YA, by the way.)
January 16, 2015
3.5 stars
This book was kindly provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this one. It took me a while to feel connected to the caracthers, even with the dual POV, I had trouble to really feel something for them. I did felt bad for their situations, but also felt nothing was really happening. Then at one point, I started to fell in love with this two exceptional kids. All of them. I know the hot guy/player/super athlete falls for the new cute girl thing is something we get constantly in the reading world. But the author made it work and not only that, she gave them deep. Not whinny kids here. Nope. People with real problems and dealing with them without extra drama. I could understand why Benjamin was how he was. And I felt Charlie was a girl smart enough to recognize her mistakes. The circle of friends...ah...refreshing. All good ones. No extra gossip or backstabbing. And frankly with the situations Charlie and Benjamin dealt with on daily basis was enough to keep the book rolling and yes...tears falling, btw...it's pretty much hell to cry in a waiting room while reading a book and to have an old man ask if you are right and then explain to him the book was the reason for the tears, his face clearly showed he thought I was crazy. I don't think he even knew what a kindle was. And I tried to be all brave and ignore his stare, but it was so embarrassing! But not enough to make me stop reading.
Anyway, on topic.
I loved Cora! So so so much! You need to meet her. Naomi was hard to figure out at first, but won me over.
But...and here I come with the real reason I can't give this a solid 4 stars. And frankly, if you haven't read this, dont read the spoiler.
End of rant.
Overall a sweet and touching book. The ending was abrupt. I spent a few minutes trying to understand if it was really done or I got an incomplete copy. No joke. But the last words, as soon as I re read them, left me happy. One of those books you read and even knowing they aren't real, you wish them happiness.
This book was kindly provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this one. It took me a while to feel connected to the caracthers, even with the dual POV, I had trouble to really feel something for them. I did felt bad for their situations, but also felt nothing was really happening. Then at one point, I started to fell in love with this two exceptional kids. All of them. I know the hot guy/player/super athlete falls for the new cute girl thing is something we get constantly in the reading world. But the author made it work and not only that, she gave them deep. Not whinny kids here. Nope. People with real problems and dealing with them without extra drama. I could understand why Benjamin was how he was. And I felt Charlie was a girl smart enough to recognize her mistakes. The circle of friends...ah...refreshing. All good ones. No extra gossip or backstabbing. And frankly with the situations Charlie and Benjamin dealt with on daily basis was enough to keep the book rolling and yes...tears falling, btw...it's pretty much hell to cry in a waiting room while reading a book and to have an old man ask if you are right and then explain to him the book was the reason for the tears, his face clearly showed he thought I was crazy. I don't think he even knew what a kindle was. And I tried to be all brave and ignore his stare, but it was so embarrassing! But not enough to make me stop reading.
Anyway, on topic.
I loved Cora! So so so much! You need to meet her. Naomi was hard to figure out at first, but won me over.
But...and here I come with the real reason I can't give this a solid 4 stars. And frankly, if you haven't read this, dont read the spoiler.
End of rant.
Overall a sweet and touching book. The ending was abrupt. I spent a few minutes trying to understand if it was really done or I got an incomplete copy. No joke. But the last words, as soon as I re read them, left me happy. One of those books you read and even knowing they aren't real, you wish them happiness.
October 5, 2014
I loved this book! I don't usually read contemporary or whatever the genre is for The End of Feeling, because I usually live for the high fantasy/paranormal etc, books. But every once in a while I stumble on books like these and I while I don't like all of them, but I ended up loving this one.
This is your typical story about a guy is a playboy-who breaks girls hearts and not interested in a real relationship- and the girl who is immune to his charms and not interested him at all. Benjamin pursues Charlie, short for Charlotte, and when she is warned away from him by the new friends she makes, she doesn't fall for his lies and charms and so Benjamin, thinking that she's into girls, decides to just become friends with her. And after a while, we begin to notice that they what they feel for each other is much more than friendship.
Now, on another note, they both have secrets that they don't want to get out and discovered, so they're all secretive and while we get to read from both their POVs, which was exceptional written so props to Cindy Bennet for that, we get to see what they're hiding exactly
It kind of seemed a little long and I get that it was dragged out so that they can take their time to fall in love with each other and not have it be instalove, but I think it could have been better if it was a little bit shorter ( and if they could have spent the time getting to know each other a little more instead of it being half-assed with all their secrets they kept from each other) but somewhere near the 75% is when they start revealing their secrets little by little and that makes it better. Near the end, when Benjamin comes to realize that those panic attacks that he was always getting was actually him feeling love, that he feels love for Charlie, and then he decides that he doesn't want to love her because he doesn't want to feel anything and doesn't want to see her get hurt, so he decided to break up with her, hurting her and himself in the process. That was one of the hardest things I had to read but it was nice seeing them grow because of it (don't worry they get back together and it's sweet and everything.)
Very well written and good story, definitely one of my favorites!
This is your typical story about a guy is a playboy-who breaks girls hearts and not interested in a real relationship- and the girl who is immune to his charms and not interested him at all. Benjamin pursues Charlie, short for Charlotte, and when she is warned away from him by the new friends she makes, she doesn't fall for his lies and charms and so Benjamin, thinking that she's into girls, decides to just become friends with her. And after a while, we begin to notice that they what they feel for each other is much more than friendship.
Now, on another note, they both have secrets that they don't want to get out and discovered, so they're all secretive and while we get to read from both their POVs, which was exceptional written so props to Cindy Bennet for that, we get to see what they're hiding exactly
It kind of seemed a little long and I get that it was dragged out so that they can take their time to fall in love with each other and not have it be instalove, but I think it could have been better if it was a little bit shorter ( and if they could have spent the time getting to know each other a little more instead of it being half-assed with all their secrets they kept from each other) but somewhere near the 75% is when they start revealing their secrets little by little and that makes it better. Near the end, when Benjamin comes to realize that those panic attacks that he was always getting was actually him feeling love, that he feels love for Charlie, and then he decides that he doesn't want to love her because he doesn't want to feel anything and doesn't want to see her get hurt, so he decided to break up with her, hurting her and himself in the process. That was one of the hardest things I had to read but it was nice seeing them grow because of it (don't worry they get back together and it's sweet and everything.)
Very well written and good story, definitely one of my favorites!
January 3, 2015
4.5 Star Review
This was a very unique story of the hot guy falling for the new girl. See Benjamin, said "hot guy" is really damaged and after being hurt, he refuses to feel. He uses girls and has quite the reputation, but they just can't seem to stay away from him. Enter Charlie, she is the new girl and like Ben she has her own secrets that keep her a little distanced from others. The two enter a relationship based solely on friendship but things change and feelings start to develop.
I loved that Charlie was a unique heroine. She had health struggles and her family dynamic was one that was very different from other stories. Ben was a little similar to other stories I have read but his interactions with Charlie and her family had me quickly warming up to Ben.
This story, despite the dark side Ben deals with daily was a rather sweet read. I found the friend group to be more idealistic than realistic. Normally the hot popular girls in school don't befriend the new girl who also has drawn the attention of one of the girls' ex boyfriends. Regardless, I liked them in the story and it was refreshing to not have too much catty behavior.
The ending did seem a little rushed to me. I know Ben had to find his way through his troubles and I am glad he was able to work things out somewhat with his family but I hated the way he treated Charlie. What was worse was the quick resolution to his treatment of her. I get he made somewhat of a grand statement in the way he sought her out but it just wasn't enough and she forgave him too quickly. A little more grovelling would have been appreciated. Overall, the book was still enjoyable and I would definitely read another book by Bennett in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very unique story of the hot guy falling for the new girl. See Benjamin, said "hot guy" is really damaged and after being hurt, he refuses to feel. He uses girls and has quite the reputation, but they just can't seem to stay away from him. Enter Charlie, she is the new girl and like Ben she has her own secrets that keep her a little distanced from others. The two enter a relationship based solely on friendship but things change and feelings start to develop.
I loved that Charlie was a unique heroine. She had health struggles and her family dynamic was one that was very different from other stories. Ben was a little similar to other stories I have read but his interactions with Charlie and her family had me quickly warming up to Ben.
This story, despite the dark side Ben deals with daily was a rather sweet read. I found the friend group to be more idealistic than realistic. Normally the hot popular girls in school don't befriend the new girl who also has drawn the attention of one of the girls' ex boyfriends. Regardless, I liked them in the story and it was refreshing to not have too much catty behavior.
The ending did seem a little rushed to me. I know Ben had to find his way through his troubles and I am glad he was able to work things out somewhat with his family but I hated the way he treated Charlie. What was worse was the quick resolution to his treatment of her. I get he made somewhat of a grand statement in the way he sought her out but it just wasn't enough and she forgave him too quickly. A little more grovelling would have been appreciated. Overall, the book was still enjoyable and I would definitely read another book by Bennett in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 4, 2015
This book was tolerable, and I say this as someone who used to love romance but now avoid it like the plague. That doesn't mean it's good. It's all right.
But seriously, let's talk about Ben's dad. No. Just no. I get that the author wanted to make his home life all sad and pitiful so that he could be excused for his womanizing ways, but if you're going to go the sad and pitiful route, you have to follow through and make it believable. And no, I don't mean that Ben is unbelievable, as others have said, because it can happen and I have no room to judge, but his dad's character was SO FLAT I just can't even...he literally had like 1 line of dialogue, which he repeated in each scene he was in.
Really? Just b/c he's a drunk a-hole does not mean he has to make paper look like a mountain range. I just got really annoyed reading the two or so scenes that involved him because I could tell the author didn't bother to think of him as a character and just made him the stereotypical angry drunk. PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one who thought this?
Call me crazy, but I take the time to think about even my a-hole character's backgrounds, personalities, quirks, ANYTHING that makes them more than a stereotype listed on Wikipedia.
I'm not even going to talk about the romance, because 99% of romance stories make me want to claw out my eyeballs, and so I don't know how accurate I would be. I'll just say that it was cute at first, but quickly turned pointlessly over-dramatic and why does high school love always have to be so freaking I-WILL-DIE-WITHOUT-YOU-BEFORE-I-MET-YOU-I-WASN'T-REALLY-LIVING-esque? Give me a break. There's such a thing as dating without all the rip-out-my-soul nonsense.
But seriously, let's talk about Ben's dad. No. Just no. I get that the author wanted to make his home life all sad and pitiful so that he could be excused for his womanizing ways, but if you're going to go the sad and pitiful route, you have to follow through and make it believable. And no, I don't mean that Ben is unbelievable, as others have said, because it can happen and I have no room to judge, but his dad's character was SO FLAT I just can't even...he literally had like 1 line of dialogue, which he repeated in each scene he was in.
Really? Just b/c he's a drunk a-hole does not mean he has to make paper look like a mountain range. I just got really annoyed reading the two or so scenes that involved him because I could tell the author didn't bother to think of him as a character and just made him the stereotypical angry drunk. PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one who thought this?
Call me crazy, but I take the time to think about even my a-hole character's backgrounds, personalities, quirks, ANYTHING that makes them more than a stereotype listed on Wikipedia.
I'm not even going to talk about the romance, because 99% of romance stories make me want to claw out my eyeballs, and so I don't know how accurate I would be. I'll just say that it was cute at first, but quickly turned pointlessly over-dramatic and why does high school love always have to be so freaking I-WILL-DIE-WITHOUT-YOU-BEFORE-I-MET-YOU-I-WASN'T-REALLY-LIVING-esque? Give me a break. There's such a thing as dating without all the rip-out-my-soul nonsense.
June 23, 2017
I received The End of Feeling from Netgalley for free for an honest review.
Charlie and Benjamin both have secrets they hide from others out of fear of what others will think of them. Some secrets are bigger than others. Charlie hides that she's a diabetic so no one will treat her like she's sick. She hides that her mom is like a child. Innocent. So no one will make fun of her, or think Charlie is the same way.
But Benjamin hides that his dad beats him nearly every single day. He hides by putting up walls and blocking all feeling. He holds everything in, and puts all his anger and pain into being the best football player and getting good grades so one day he can get away with a scholarship.
Along comes Charlie and throws all his plans aside. He tries not to let her in, but they both have a way of breaking each other down and helping each other belong.
These two were really perfect for each other. They accept each other with all their flaws. Benjamin loves Charlie's family like she was afraid no boy ever would. He was really good for her. I love Ben because he is good and kind hearted even though he tries to not feel anything. He plays with Charlie's mom, he worries about Charlie and her diabetes, and he learns to truly love.
Great book with a good message. People are more accepting of your flaws than you think. Give them a chance. And take a chance on this book and go read it now.
Charlie and Benjamin both have secrets they hide from others out of fear of what others will think of them. Some secrets are bigger than others. Charlie hides that she's a diabetic so no one will treat her like she's sick. She hides that her mom is like a child. Innocent. So no one will make fun of her, or think Charlie is the same way.
But Benjamin hides that his dad beats him nearly every single day. He hides by putting up walls and blocking all feeling. He holds everything in, and puts all his anger and pain into being the best football player and getting good grades so one day he can get away with a scholarship.
Along comes Charlie and throws all his plans aside. He tries not to let her in, but they both have a way of breaking each other down and helping each other belong.
These two were really perfect for each other. They accept each other with all their flaws. Benjamin loves Charlie's family like she was afraid no boy ever would. He was really good for her. I love Ben because he is good and kind hearted even though he tries to not feel anything. He plays with Charlie's mom, he worries about Charlie and her diabetes, and he learns to truly love.
Great book with a good message. People are more accepting of your flaws than you think. Give them a chance. And take a chance on this book and go read it now.
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