Johnny

Johnny #1

by Rachel Dunning

Life can change. So quickly, so suddenly. One day you're driving down the freeway, your face lit up by yellow sodium lamps, music blaring through the radio, and you're singing, and the guy next to you is singing, and he turns to look at you, just for a second, a moment, that final smile lasting forever in your mind afterwards--

And then you're upside down, and there are screams and moans, a shattered windshield, spinning wheels, the glug-glug-glug of falling gas, and the man you love is next you.

And he's not moving.

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Cat Ramsey has the perfect life -- a home in the suburbs, a loving family, the sexiest guy in school living next door.

And then it all changes: Her father's drinking shifts from the occasional beer...into a dangerous dependency.

He becomes loud.
He becomes angry.
He becomes violent.

Her world is turned upside down.

She turns to Johnny.

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The subject matter in this book is OF AN ADULT NATURE.

* Not suitable for readers under 17 years of age due to explicit sexual content. *

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Book 1 of 3

Genres:
Coming of Age
New Adult Romance
Mature Young Adult Romance

Genres: New Adult, Romance, Amazon, Own, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

266 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

They told me men can't write romance. So I wrote over 30 of them.

Reviews

[Cas · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a chance to win a copy click here : http://slitsread.com/2014/11/14/johnn...


I practically devoured this book in one setting. It was light yet heartwarming. It didn’t take long for me to connect with the story and the two main characters.

Explore and experience Catherine Ramsey a.k.a. Cat’s life… Starting at a tender age of six, growing up in a middle class family on a gated suburban community, with her typical All-American father.

Where her story began the day she met her new neighbour, Johnny….



And that boy became her best friend… and more.

It’s funny when a child notices every small things about her father or her parents yet in her eyes everything was perfect. But then the child grew up and see them for what they really are. In Cat’s case, her father’s drinking problem that turned her father into this loud, angry and violent person. When suddenly her world was not as perfect as she thought it was after all and wondered what went wrong…. And as she turns to her very best friend, Johnny.

I don’t want to say more, but I thought this was a beautifully written coming of age, new adult story. There are no over the top drama but a precise yet carefully constructed heart wrenching reality. Written in a way that I could easily relate to Cat’s feelings, her actions and reactions.

It’s about growing up….

And part of growing up is falling in love, your first kiss and heartache.

I love how Cat and Johnny’s friendship evolved into something more… something lasting and special.



Johnny is such a dream. He is the perfect best friend, boy friend and lover. I would have loved to read his point of view.

It was heartwarming, sweet, romantic and hot. My only complain here is that it ended too soon! I want more!!! I can’t wait to read more of their story.

I would definitely recommend.

This is not for young adults though but for MATURE young adult and older.



Copy of the book was kindly provided by Ms. Dunning….

[Jamie ♡♡ submits to books ♡♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** 4 "Best Friends" Stars ****

"Johnny kept me sane. Johnny kept me alive. Johnny got me through."



This book is the story of Cat's life told by Cat. It is fast paced and pretty much a young girl's diary of feelings and events that have shaped her life. Things you might not think of as important, are very much important to a young teen girl.

Cat meets Johnny as a child and they become best of friends from the start. Everything they do, it with each other. Johnny and Cat are inseparable and only become closer as time moves on.



Best friends to lovers, you would think and you hope, but this book as a nice play of boy wants girl, girl wants boy but is not ready and pushes boy away, then girl's hormones catch up and boy is wanted NOW.



"I love you, my love, my life, my soul."

What feels like a whirlwind love really isn't as Cat and Johnny's hearts have been waiting for this moment forever. Their attachment is perfect....until it no long is.

Life throws a few devastating curve balls at Cat and Johnny's love and patience are not enough to stand the test of their relationship.

The ending of this book, heart strings pulled and left with a cliff hanger. Losing Johnny coming my way. I need to know how this plays out for Cat and Johnny!!

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 very angry star - No. Just no. No just no.

This. Book. Made. Me. So. ANGRY. Seriously, seriously, hugely, RANTING ANGRY. I actually read this book a while ago. Read it, blew up Val's phone with my ranting, and then pretty much dominated our next phone conversation ranting about this book.

It wasn't even disappointing. It was INFURIATING.

But why? I should probably explain that.

Well. First of all. When I grabbed this book, there was no indication--NONE, zero, zilch, nada--of this being book 1 in a series (or trilogy or whatever it is). Not on Amazon, not in the synopsis, not even on Goodreads. Since then, this has changed. But then? I went into this expecting a standalone. Now, I don't hate series or anything. I mean, duh. Series are great. But THIS BOOK being the first in a series. Makes me mad. I'll get to why in a minute.

Second of all, that synopsis is a dirty liar. The first part, with the car accident? I was interested in that. I started this book to get to that. It seemed like it'd be emotional and interesting and hit me in the feels, ya know? OH WAIT NOPE. That part doesn't even happen until like 80% into the book--possibly farther. As I said, I read this book a while ago. It took me all that time in between to chill out enough to write this review. But I digress. That second part of the synopsis, about turning to Johnny? OH WAIT NOPE. This book is not about turning to Johnny for help. Or dealing that that car accident that seems so instrumental.

This book, my friends, is a LEAD ON into the rest of the books. It is all of the background information that is boring to read. It is setting up the troubled past we usually get the summarized version of in books. It starts where Cat (I seriously just had to check the synopsis for her name because I couldn't remember it) and Johnny meet. And then we're walked through that all the way through graduating high school.

Honestly, if this had been done well I probably wouldn't be so mad about this. Except it wasn't. It was done lazily. The characters were so flat, and the voice of this book was nonexistent. It was monotone. I felt nothing. The writing, the story Cat was telling, got literally nothing out of me, except anger once I reached the end of the book. It was as if the terrible situations Cat was in were supposed to be enough to create a reaction out of me. Only problem was that I didn't care about Cat in the first place.

And then. AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN.

There is a cliffhanger.

So there's this whole, boring, backstory book that should really just be a prequel and stop pretending anything else... and then we're left with this big, enraging cliffhanger. I don't want to go into spoilers (because you may want to read it, though I don't recommend it), but the way the entire thing was executed FELT like a ploy. Read this first book of boring, get to the end, and then BAM--DON'T YOU WANT TO READ ON TO GET TO THE HAPPY ENDING AND FIND THINGS OUT???

No. I don't. I never will.

And looking at the next two books, I know I'd just be swimming in more anger, so it's really a great thing I have no interest in finding out what will happen. I mean, besides the obvious...considering the books are NAMED AFTER Johnny, I can only assume how things will turn out...

Sigh.

I don't want it to seem like I'm hating on this book because there was a cliffhanger. That's not it. I read books with cliffhangers all the time and love them. I love series and reading on and all that fun stuff. So the cliffhanger isn't really the problem here, it was just my breaking point when it came to this book. The problem I have with this book is:
- flat characters
- lazily written, boring story
- attempt at emotional blackmail that was a fail
- the complete lie of a synopsis
- having to wait at least 80% of the book for half the synopsis to even happen
- terrible, non-swoon-worthy romance (you know how important romance is to me!)
- boring falling apart between characters
- nonexistent character growth
- ...AND THEN AN ANNOYING, USELESS, INFURIATING CLIFFHANGER

You see my point? There was all that stuff, and then it was topped off with a cliffhanger. Felt like a slap in the face. Thus, I got mad and ranty.

Sigh.

Overall, Johnny is normally a name I love. This book put a dent in that. I did not enjoy this book at all. I wasted two hours of my life on this book, and I regret every second. I'm not going to tell you NOT to read this book, because I can't tell you what to do, but I can say that I recommend skipping this one.


You can find more from me on my blog: Stuck in Books

[Coco.V]

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[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know where to start on this.


The premise seemed good. The synopsis caught my eye and I decided to give this author a try. Plus I got excited that the heroine has my name!



It felt like the story was rushed.. and that the whole mind works of Cat was just a jumbled mess (maybe this was what the author wanted. I don't know). Yes, she's a teenage girl going through some pretty hefty issues, but then it felt like someone flipped a switch and said "Hey! Let's put a whole shit ton of teenage melodrama into this small book!" Drugs, Alcohol, Sex, Abuse, Anger issues, Depression, Orgies, Gossip, Jealousy, Sexual Abuse.. it goes on and on. Frankly, I was surprised pregnancy wasn't thrown in there to even it all out.

The character of Cat, I found I wanted to hate her



I'm going to be honest, I skimmed over the poems. It just felt like they were tossed in for fluffing.

The end was so rushed for me. No real resolution. And the Author note claiming "Cat has matured"...



I don't see maturity as pushing someone that has stood by you. It's definitely not in telling them they were just a good fuck. Running away from life also doesn't seem like a real winner in the maturity level. Johnny is better off without you Princess.

So, I pushed myself to finish the story, rolling my eyes at the obvious new friendship born from tragedy

and, I just can't give this anything over a 1 1/2 star rating. It was...alright. But not something I'm going to tell people to read. It's the first time I've read from this author, and at this moment, probably the last.

[RedRedtheycallmeRed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nowhere in the description of this book does it say it's part of a series. CLIFFHANGER haters be warned.

Five minutes into this book and I was (unpleasantly) reminded of Tina Reber's "Love Unscripted" series and her excessive! use! of! exclamation! points! It happened enough to be distracting and annoying.

I never connected with Johnny or Cat, or really got their attraction, other than the fact that they were childhood friends. I felt like I was reading a summary of events instead of what should have been an emotional story. The pieces were there, they just never got connected. For me, the most interesting person in the book was Nicole, and she didn't become interesting until the book was nearly over.

At the end, we are left hanging about Johnny and Cat's relationship and I found myself not really caring enough to read the next book. Very few high school romances are meant to be forever and that's ok.

[Dia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. What was with all of the exclamation points? It drove me crazy!!! ;) Otherwise a really good book. Can't wait for the next one!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars
I will definitely be reading the next one!

[Charlotte Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really torn with this book. I willingly decided to stop reading this book at around 75-80% once I realized it was not a stand alone. Reading the blurbs of the remaining 3 books in the series led me to believe I would not find the happily ever after I sought for these characters that I'd formed a mild attachment to. So I chose to stop reading where they'd live forever in my mind in that HEA space.

Positives - the actions of the characters were true to their age, the cover is hot, i felt intense sympathy for the main character, Cat and I longed for her happiness, friends to lovers is a trope I really enjoy.

Negatives - I hated the formatting. The sub-chapters within the main chapters mess with the pacing and reading experience. They are sharp breaks, not seamless. I got tired of being in the head of the main character so much with pages and pages of no dialogue and interaction with others, which leads to a lot of telling instead of showing and letting me experience things through the characters. This book is misclassified as a romance. I want a HEA for the couple in question. Because I doubt that they actually achieve that in a satisfactory way, I'm not sure I want to invest $9 to be disappointed. I'm not negating the author's choice to tell the story in the way it unveiled itself in her mind. But I am doubting the ability of the remaining 3 books to leave me happy and satisfied with Cat and Johnny. So, for me, they'll forever be in high school and in love.

[Deb Blackbourn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a story that began when Johnny & Cat were children living across the street from each other. It took the reader through the years as they reached teenagers. Some of the book reminded me of neighborhood friends I had growing up and the things I had done - playing football, playing sports, music, parents' approval, disapproval, etc. It was a typical boy turns into boyfriend, girl becomes girlfriend. Then each of them grow apart while remaining best friends. It happens, some will deny that but it does happen. It wasn't one of my favorites by any means. I don't know who I would recommend it to - maybe young 20 somethings. This story did not end the way I had anticipated it would - but it was an interesting end.

[Zoila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I hate-skimmed this "book" more than I actually hate-read this. And I don't really know which is worst. The narration couldn't stay in character. It tried to lead with the end in mind and then unravel the story. But it happened so often and with small events, it lost its impact less than midway through. There was no plot to the book at all. It was basically as if someone wrote in their diary years after the fact with very limited recollection.

[Mary Winstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know I was only going to read the first few chapter go to bed call it a night nope stayed up 4 hours and couldn't put it down till I was done. Great story. Cat lives in a house Johnny moves across the street since they were kids and boom so much happens. I cried I laughed I got very mad. This book was awesome. Cannot wait to read the entire series.

[Veronica Albertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not happy about the way this book ended. I did however like the way it was written, a young girl finds love in the most tragic way, but the way the book ended I was not happy about, I guess I’m just going to have to read book two. You WILL NEED to read book two to find out what happens with Cathy and Johnny.

[Taria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't say I like led Cat all that much. I don't think she deserves Johnny so I don't care what happens to her. I hope Johnny marries someone worthy and lives happily ever after and she slowly pines away for him.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend? The person you've known since you were just a child, and played with everyday after school?

That's Cat and Johnny's story.

Johnny moved into the house across the street, and he and Cat became inseparable. They did everything together. The best part was their parents were friends too.

This story is told from Cat's perspective. In her mind she has the perfect life. Best friend across the street, parent's who seem happy, and a house in a great neighborhood. She want's for nothing.

Then her dad starts drinking. And yelling. Then things turn physical and ugly. Her world is spinning, but her constant anchor is Johnny.

This is a very sweet coming of age story. There is the usual teenage angst, but also some situations that cause Cat to grow up quicker than she expected. There's love, romance, teen angst, and drama that took me back to high school and made me remember those years.

I really liked Cat. She's a bit of an introvert, not wanting to stand out in the crowd. Johnny is also great. He's the epitome of a good guy, and he's cool without trying to be.

There was a minor cliffhanger at the end, and I'm very anxious to see where Rachel takes these two!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the first chapter of the book I though I knew what I was in for. Boy was I mistaken, the author managed to pull off a nice twist to the story line. Two neighbors grow up and fall in love, they stick together through the ups and downs until the last big one hits. Great story line, I wish Nicole would have had a bigger part in the last few chapters, but I think her story is coming. The ending leaves you on a big cliff hanger. There is some romance in this book, but it suits the age range (17 and up).

[Mick C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of a little girl and a little boy that grew up together and knew they were meant to be together. It takes a lot of hurdles to jump to try to make their love happen. A lot of obstacles, including family, to beat to be together. But in the end, is it all too much. Is it just better to be apart and just let each other live their own lives?....You'll have to read to find out.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I could really relate to Cathy and what was going on with her and her family and I LOVED Johnny! I can't wait to continue with the next two books!! If this book interests you, it's free for kindle on Amazon so go check it out!!

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's just me but couldn't get into this book stopped reading half way through it didn't hold my attention at all, as I was reading i kept thinking I need to find a better book than wasting my time with this one

[Charo · Rating 4 out of 5]

can't wait for the next book

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Michelle]

Great Book

I really liked this book. It's very well written and the characters are very believable. Plus, there are no errors. I highly recommend.

[Natalie Toledo-johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow wish it was one book not series.. Oh well.. Now just finding time to read next book in series..

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star

Did not like this book, target audience may have been late teen, may interest a young reader. Plot very simplistic and flat.

[Giseli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book! Great story line! I devoured this book !