Imperfect Love

4Ever #1

by Isabella White

At 24 years old, Holly Scallanger has the perfect life. Everything a girl could want; a beautiful man, a stunning home, as well as being in the midst of preparing for the wedding of her dreams. This all vanishes the night she catches her fiancé, Brandon Morgan, in bed with her worst nightmare, Donna Sinclair, just a week before Holly is set to walk down the aisle.

Attempting to recover from his betrayal, Holly swears off the affections of men in order to pick up the pieces of her crumbling life. Unfortunately, meeting Jake 'Hooligan' Peters is not part of her plan. The tall, dark-haired and handsome as hell med student, sweeps Holly away from the pain of her past and reveals to her the bright future that lies ahead. That is, until she falls pregnant just as Jake begins his internship at P&E; his family's hospital.

Will this love at first sight lead her to the fairytale she has always craved? Or, will she fall victim to a betrayal of the heart yet again?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Erotica, New Adult, Ebooks

480 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 27, 2015

About the author

Isabella White is a USA Today Bestselling author.
She published her first novel Imperfect Love in 2015, which is finally available in audio now, with Secret Love following two years later. Endless Love the third and final part was publishing in 2018.
Her newest is From a Jack to a King, with Finding Mr. Right coming in 2019.

When she isn't writing she is listening to audios as her time is limited and found a new way of reading books. Or she spends it with her family and pets, enjoying the journey that life takes them on.

To find out more about Isabella, visit her website.

Reviews

[Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Bee Puke Stars

*Spoilers*



Why? Why would you do this to me Isabella White? I freaking hate cliffhangers!!!!!!!!! It's like hell waiting for the next book to come out just to find out what is going to happen next, and I don't do good with waiting. OCD not big on patients, just sayin. OMG this book had me all over the place. It starts kinda slow, you get a nice relationship build up between Jake and Holly. Then shit started hitting the fan. This won't be one of my longer reviews, because if I say to much I will give away a huge part of the plot. I will say this I loved Jake. I thought he was great, sweet, funny, very romantic, and a all around good guy. I like Holly too, but she was a little immature at times, and pretty naive. Holly was also sweet and funny. They have a very sweet and loving relationship, the author did a great job of drawing me in and getting me invested in their love story. Loved all of Jake's family except for his mom. Jake's mom I FUCKING HATED!!!!!! God I hate that evil, crazy woman.



The thing I had the hardest time with was the fact that Holly believed the crap that Jake's mom told her, because even though the book doesn't say it, I know she is lying. No way did Jake do a full 360 like that. And Holly just runs doesn't tell anyone where she is going, or why. Doesn't ask if it's true, doesn't tell her best friend, doesn't even give herself a day to sleep on it? Nothing! She even gets rid of her cell phone for God sake. It just didn't make since to me. I mean I get it, it has to be that way to make the story but in real life it makes no sense.



This book was harder to rate for me the story was intriguing and good, but there is no HEA. The last 30% or so of the book is just sad. Like make me cry and scream sad. To know that lies and miscommunication causes so much damn pain, and loss and not to have it resolved by the end of the book, suck big time. But in the end I had to give it a 4 star because it keep me on edge and interested to the point where I am freaking out dying to know when the next book comes out so I can buy it and find out what happens next. A very good, but emotional read.






http://jessicasoverthetopbookobsessio...

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe in finishing what I started I was bored at first I even considered stop reading it, it starts really slow then DAMNNN ……. The story is about Holly Scallanger, a 24 year old with everything a girl could want . her life was nearly perfect but that didn’t last long, The book starts out with Holly finding out a week before her wedding that her fiancé “Brandon” was cheating on her with her worst nemesis “Donna”, Holly had enough with his bullshit and lies So she packs her things and went to her best friend Bernie.as the story progress Holly wanted to move on with   her life and quit throwing herself a pity party ,so she found herself going away for the weekend with her best friend Bernie and her husband  where holly meets jake Peters , he is a tall, dark-haired and handsome as hell med student, the chemistry between the two charcters is amazing , they fell hard and fast for each other but that didn’t last long because of third party “ his controlling mother”, I feel like I have already spoiled the entire book but the plot is really good ,It’s a tear jerker  insta-love book . It had me smiling one minute and crying my eyes out the next. I highly recommend it

PS :No HEA

an ARC kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley



holly (Katherine heigl)


Jake (josh duhamel)

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story Rating ~ 4 Stars
Hero Rating ~ 5 Stars
Heroine Rating ~ 5 Stars
Romance Rating ~ 4 Stars
Heat Level ~ 3.5 Stars
Ending ~ To Be Continued!
Overall Rating ~ 4.5 Heart Breaking Stars!

I read a really good review on this book and decided it was something that I just had to read. I was lucky it was still offered up as a read me now book at Netgalley. I can honestly say that I’m sure glad I went and got this book because it was a REALLY good read for me.

The story starts out with the heroine Holly finding out that her husband to be in just a week’s time has been cheating on her yet again. This time she is not going to fall for his apologies and promises that it won’t happen again no matter how much she loves him. So she packs all her things and goes to stay with her best friend Bernie.

After some time goes by, Bernie and her husband Leo decides to take Holly camping with them. While there Holly runs into some friends and eventually meets Jake. Jake is every woman’s dream, he is sexy, tall, has dark hair and the most amazing greens eye’s. They become attracted to each other and before the camping trip is over they already know that they will be seeing more of each other.

These two had a very sweet romantic time while dating. Jake proved to be the perfect boyfriend taking her on special dates and what not. There was also a lot of humor added in making me laugh and smile a lot. Everything seemed to be going so well for them so well that I was thinking something was bound to happen soon and boy did it ever. I can’t tell you what happened because it would give the whole book away. Just know that what did happened totally ripped my heart out of my chest. I was crying REALLY UGLY for about the last 25% or so of the book. To make things worse, I had NO idea this was a continuing story, I was so wanting a HEA. Does this book end in a huge cliffhanger? Not exactly but it does leave me really wanting to know where this story will lead to next because I’m certain there is still a whole lot of information that will be coming in the next book, Secret Love, which I want NOW but have no idea when it will be released.

So now the wait is on for the next installment. I seriously hope it won’t be too long of a wait. I really NEED to find out just how things will eventually work out.

*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Sharon ∞❥ is an emotional book junkie ❥∞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 - 4.5 ★'s

Security, trust, love...it's what Holly craves but doesn't know if she's worthy. And no wonder, after finding out her fiancé cheated on her, she's sworn off men. However, she can't resist Jake...and she's not the only one.

I was drawn to this book after reading my GR friend's, Kathleen (thanks Kathleen!), review. After reading for a while, I did have a few doubts. However, the last fourth of the book blew that out of the water!

And the reason for those doubts? Unbelievably, it's because everything was going so well that it was almost boring! Even worse, it's the thing that I'm always complaining about...that we don't get enough happy times! Definitely a case of be careful what you wish for! ;)

Thankfully, that all changes and it's all kinds of drama...the best and worst kind. I surely did not see that coming and it had me in tears!



But Jake and Holly are wonderful and HOT! There is no shortage of sex in this book! I did like the take on Jake's "problem" even if it was solved pretty easily.

There are some great secondary characters in this book. I just love Holly's best friend, Bernice, she is always there for Holly. I just wish Holly had left something! And later on, Dr. Edwards...OMG, I sooo fell for him. I can only hope there are doctors like him in real life!

So...the drama, what the frick?! Holly has to "deal" with psycho Mom and it's not pretty. Could his mom have lied? (YES!) Was Jake talking about something else? I don't know...I want to give him the benefit of the doubt especially since there is another book(s?). Otherwise, how could this possibly work out? I finished this book a week ago and it is still driving me crazy thinking about what's going to happen! (But I LOVE it!)

It does end in a good spot. Now, if there was only some word on when the next book is coming out! Luckily, the author included the first chapter!



Favorite quote:

♥ “It is what it is, Holly. I’ve got to go.”

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copy provided in exchange for an honest review

Why? Why did I start this book without noticing that there isn't even a release date for its sequel??? As you can probably guess, this book ends in a cliffhanger and I'm extremely disappointed!

I'm not going to get into the plot because I want people to read the book, however, this review contains some spoilers. BE WARNED!!

I almost DNF'd this book. For the first 15-20%, all Holly did was go back and forth about whether she should have just stayed with her lying, cheating ex-fiance. She was soooooo freaking weak!! And her reasoning was absolutely asinine! Her inner monologue was annoying and all other characters made her interesting. I didn't even like the story until Jake appeared. He was the reason I kept reading. I really wish I could have seen some of his POV but I guess that would probably defeat the purpose of leading us to the cliffy.

Was anyone else pissed off by Holly's actions towards the end? I get her initial anger when Jake answered the phone and told her "it is what it is", but she has a brain right? She did no further investigation, didn't even consult her bestie, and took off??? Knowing she has an at risk pregnancy??? WTF??!! And to abandon her bff without notice or a phone call for over 4 years was completely unacceptable. She showed her ass with her actions!

I hope that not only does Holly smarten the heck up in book 2, but that also the horrid plot device of miscommunication doesn't get dragged out for too long. Otherwise I might have to DNF that book too.

XO

[Katelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review was originally featured on my blog, Hounds and Habits



Imperfect Love by Isabella White (Goodreads | Buy) is the first in the 4ever romance series. It was a painful read. The plot itself was enjoyable, but the author's obvious lack of knowledge on multiple major topics within the story, the poor writing, and the blatant sexism detracted from the story so much that I never would've finished Imperfect Love if I weren't writing this review.

Grab a drink. Sit down. We're going to be here a while. If you don't have a while, read the bolded points. Sometimes you just have to rant about a book that took two whole days to read.

This review has spoilers! Click to read:



What would improve this book the most?
I wish the author/publisher would've found a better editor for the novel. The story itself was endearing despite being poorly written, and would be so much more enjoyable to read if there were someone to fact-check and re-write where necessary. The only plot point I didn't like was that it was way too convenient for the uneducated protagonist to first be fully supported by her super rich boyfriend and then when that went south she could go run to her super rich dad who was never a part of her life until now.



Obvious Lack of Knowledge
There were so many descriptions of job responsibilities, basic facts, and other random tidbits that were completely off-base. I don't mean stuff that's super technical, I mean no one bothered to Google basic restaurant roles.

"A fox may change its fur, but never its color." - Chapter One

Actually, they do. That's precisely what an arctic fox does.

In an emergency-room situation, Holly's doctor chooses to wait for her pain killers to set in before bothering to check on her baby. Who cares if the baby lives, right? I'm sure s/he's fine even though the mother is in extreme distress.

Holly has just had a C-Section but still manages to throw chairs and destroy a room without injuring herself in Chapter Thirty.

Holly supposedly works at a restaurant-lodge combo (a nice hotel, perhaps?) where she is uneducated and not a manager, yet only works Monday - Friday, has the option of working from home, and gets four weeks vacation in a single year. I call bologna having worked in a restaurant for nearly two years with many career servers who had never seen opportunities like that.


Poor Writing
While there were a few typos and misspellings, I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that they were fixed prior to publishing the final version. That's not what I'm critiquing here.

Discrepancies in passage of time

In Chapter Twenty-Seven, it has been both a "few weeks" and just one week.

The author frequently writes afterthoughts out of chronological order to insert both relevant and frivolous details. For example, the writer went out of her way to tell us how Holly was so bad with names and couldn't remember this girl's name and she had no idea who she was until:

"Leo and Jake followed quickly, along with Sonic - the beautiful brunette with legs that went on for days - right behind them. Holly had finally learned her name when Leo had walked over to refill her drink earlier." - Chapter Four

Why didn't we know Holly learned her name before Holly used it? Why give us a past-tense description of an event instead of just throwing in two lines before this where Leo goes to refill Sonic's drink and uses Sonic's name? This after-thought fix happens so often, it's quite jarring to read.

Discrepancies in Character Description vs Action

Holly's mom is supposedly an incredible nurse who can get work easy-peasy. Yet she has to wait for her daughter to wake up and ask her where in the room her chart is kept. (No, it's not hidden, it was just on the wall.)

Holly has to explain to her fantastic-nurse-mom that the circled thing on her chart means the doctor thinks it's important. Which is why he circles it.

"He circles things that are important." - Chapter Twenty Eight

There are many unnecessary statements that add nothing to the story other than to make it drag on.

"It wasn't a five minute drive to Madley's like it was for Holly. It was more of a half an hour drive." - Chapter One

If the length of time of the drive is so important (spoiler: it's not. The author already describes Holly waiting in the coffee shop for a while day dreaming) it should've been condensed to one short sentence. The number of references to how long a drive is, was enough to put me to sleep. We get it. Someone drove somewhere. Skip to the part where something actually drives plot or character development, please.

Show not tell

"Holly's hands gesticulated around her head as she talked, showing Bernie how disgusted she really was with what had happened." - Chapter Two

Gesticulated? That doesn't sound any smarter than "gestured" if that's the goal. I'm not sure how a gesture around a head equals disgust, though.

Awkward & Out of Character Sentences

"He was a head taller than Leo, with arms and shoulders that looked like they could hug ten kids at the same time." - Chapter Three

You know, the first time my friends or I see a cute guy, we definitely measure it in how many children he could hug at one time. ????? Holly has no interest in motherhood at this point in the novel.

"And then, as if her life depended on it, Holly rode him like a mechanical bull, not that she'd ever been on one before."

The entire novel is from Holly's PoV. Why is Holly comparing it to riding a mechanical bull if she hadn't been on one? This entire sentence hurts my brain.

Poor & Wrong Diction

"It wasn't really a question, at least one where an answer was expected."

Rhetorical. Rhetorical is the word you are looking for. Also, an editor, because it's okay if you can't remember a word off the top of your head but you're supposed to go back and fix it or hire an editor to do so for you.

"[Holly] nodded her ascent."

Consent. Consent is sexy.

I could go on, but I'll spare you. Any of these things by themselves wouldn't be that bad, but all together, over and over again? It makes a horrible reading experience. I was constantly pulled out of the story by the awkward lines that never seemed to mean anything at all.


Outdated, Sexist Views
Slut shaming.. but still being worried other people might think she's a slut for doing the same activities.

"Even though that would have been slutty." - Chapter Two

"Meaning she doesn't use her brain, shakes what God gave her, and makes money wearing almost nothing." "It's a living." "One I'm so over." - Chapter Four

"Holly decided she would become the slut in those movies where the couples had sex on their first date, even though she'd always hated those kinds of girls." - Chapter Six

"She couldn't tell him what she really wanted now or he would think she was cheap, and that was the last thing she wanted Jake to think about her." - Chapter Seven

Body Shaming

"Holly wasn't even sure if any of the woman's body parts were real [not plastic] anymore." - Chapter Twenty Seven

The women in the book are expected to be submissive to men. Not in bed. Not just the main character.

"Marabella was that type of woman, one who believed that women had just as much of a say as men did." - Chapter Six

And you.. don't?

Fully grown women with their own doctoral careers and studies relying on their eldest brother to pick their mates.

"Jake made a deal with us when we were younger, to sort of be the judge and jury when it came to our boyfriends."
"Do you guys have to approve his girlfriends?"
"No." - Chapter Eighteen

Food Shaming

"'They only ever ate salads, accompanied by low calorie wine.' She rolled her eyes. 'So Annoying.'"

Because a woman's diet is always up for debate, right?

Stereotyping All Women

"They laughed like typical women would." - Chapter Seventeen

What does a 'typical woman' laugh like? Every laugh is different. I love reading descriptions of different types of laughter. Half of the entire population of the world does not laugh identically.

Female doctors intelligence being questioned because they could potentially be friends with her boyfriend maybe.

"What if Jake bonded with another blond-haired bimbo[?]" - Chapter Nineteen

Men are also slut-shamed and required to act masculine and use masculine words

"Yes, Holly was sick of double standards; if women were called whores when they slept around, men should be labeled in the same manner." - Chapter One

"The breast-to-breast rule applied to Charles as well, except Dr. Edwards called it chest-to-chest, for manly reasons." - Chapter Thirty

Anti-Abortion Rhetoric

It felt very much like the author was preaching her own righteous views to the audience as opposed to building realistic views that a family filled with award winning, best-in-the-world, science-loving doctors would hold. If the Peters were a middle-class church-going family (instead of spending every Sunday at home), it would be much more believable.

I would've been so much happier to see the author pick a different cause for everyone to bond over, like animal rights, which is much more widely accepted and less likely to turn off readers.

 

Both Holly and her boyfriend's family's anti-abortion views came up several times outside of the entire chapter dedicated to making banners for an anti-abortion fundraising event. Their discussion shamed women saying they just "couldn't believe" women would do "that."


Diversity & Mental Health
Unsurprisingly, the entire novel consisted entirely of white, straight, cis-gender, able-bodied people. Except for one black nurse whose appearance lasted one page out of 480. I was, however, surprised to find in the excerpt from the second book that one of the main characters is supposedly (??) gay and has interracial parents. I'm not convinced this will be a good representation given the author's lack of research on other, simpler topics, but I'm hoping it's a sign of better things to come.

There were other blunders as well, like painting depressed people as all acting the same way and making it seem like depression is something you can tell as easily as hair color:

"She'd only just met him, but he didn't seem like the I'm-depressed-kind-of-guy." - Chapter Five

Imperfect Love earns one star for being sexist throughout the whole novel, a complete lack of diversity, belittling mental health, poor writing, and numerous factual errors.

 



Why have you given books one-star reviews?
Leave a comment or let me know on Twitter

[Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five 'HOOLIGAN' Stars

Where to begin from?

Holly Scallanger


It was easy to lose oneself in a relationship where only one half of the people gained from it, and Holly had had plenty of those relationships.
A week before Holly's wedding, she decides that she's done with her fiancé's cheating ass and leaves him to go live with the only real family she's ever had, her best friend Bernice. After being betrayed not only by her father, as a little girl, but by her fiancé too, she swears off men and she decides to get her life back on track by standing on her own feet...that was before she met Jake Peters. He was everything she ever wanted but never had in a man. She fell deep and fast, but so did he. However when circumstances changed and became heated his controlling mother got what she wanted and Holly was in a position where she had no choice but to ask for help from the person she least wanted to ask from.

Jake Peters


Who's Jake?
Every girl's dream, and every guy's worst nightmare.
Jake is everything a girl would want. He's hot, yummy, caring, smart... everything basically. When he met Holly things progressed very fast between them and he, just like Holly, fell deeply. However having his controlling mother control his life he was struggling to make time for Holly as his medical school took most of his time.


For me this book was such a roller-coaster of emotions. In the first 3/4s of the book I loved the character and I, just like Holly, fell in love with Jake's character. Because come on, he is super HOT, at least in my imagination.

Isabella White made Jake seem flawless.

However, the last 25% the book had me like:

I was crying, and not the 'tears-streaming-down-my-face-slowly' kind of way. I was 'ugly-crying'. Like I couldn't stop. I'm angry at how stuff turned out and how naive Holly actually is. UGH I hate Jake's mother and how can Holly just leave her phone. UGH I'm angry, and deep down I want to hit that bitch Mara.

I must admit I loved this book, it was written beautifully by the author. The 5 Stars are well deserved, because I wasn't expecting the ending of the book to be the way it was. I'm also extremely angry at the litleeeeee cliffhanger there, but this gives me a good reason to look forward to the second book. And to be honest I WANT IT, RIGHT THIS SECOND

I can't wait to get my best friends all over this book.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

***5 this book is AMAZING stars!***

HOLY F**K!!!
WOW I'm speechless! This book has knocked me for six, it took so many emotions from me, I smiled, laughed, sat here with a goofy grin on my face, but I also cried, sobbed and clutched my heart trying to stop it from breaking!
it was truly an emotional roller coaster for me and that doesn't happen very often!
This story has so so much packed into it, the writing was brilliant, I've not read anything like this for awhile, the only complaint I have about this is that it's a cliffhanger and I hate hate hate cliffhangers *sob*.
By the time I got to the end I was a mess emotionally, seriously I needed a hug so bad, there's a part at the end that's very close to my heart and I think that made it so much worse when you have been in a similar situation it hits you hard.
I would recommend this book to all my friends, and if your reading this then GO GET THIS BOOK!! You won't regret it :-)
I seriously cannot wait for book 2 to be released, I'll be jumping all over that asap!

Arc provided by Netgalley for an honest review

[Yukari Watanabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really hate to write a negative review when I received ARC, but this novel needs so much work to make it readable. The most problematic thing is "character development". The main characters are just not deep or special enough for readers to care.

Third-person narrative doesn't work in this novel, either.

It's one of my DNF.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/18/2019)! 🎁

[Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A week before their wedding, Holly discovered that her fiance Brandon Morgan had and still have a clandestine affair with Donna Sinclair. Holly's formidable enemy. Fed up of his promises and lies, she broke up with him and abandoned their wedding. And because Brandon was an a-hole, he actually pushed through with the nuptials, but with the slutty Donna as his bride. Idiot!

Holly swore off guys from then on. A blind date gone wrong sealed her decision to forget about men and dating and marriage. But she didn't expect Jake Peters to come along. Punching and probably breaking another idiot's nose one night in camp brought Holly to Jake's care and before she knew it, she already fell for him and broke her rule to never fall in love again. Bummer!

Life's a peach with Jake, Holly soon discovered. They called each other Bee Puke and Hooligan for fudge's sake! But of course, it wasn't always red roses and dining feasts, especially after she met Jake's mother. Dr. Mara Peters was so overprotective of her son even though Jake was already of age and was already a practicing neurologist. His mom didn't want anything nor anyone to interfere with her son's success. Holy cow!

A whirlwind yet definitely romantic love affair, complete with surprise dinner dates and flowers cemented Holly's love for Jake. Until she soon found herself clinging for dear life when they discovered she was carrying his child. Mommy Mara was none too pleased. Tsk. Tsk.

As much I want to continue with the story, I have to stop. Divulging more of their tragic will only result to cussing, profanities and probably mental torture, which I couldn't bear to tell anymore. Damnit!

I swear I went to the moon and back just to hide the tears falling from my eyes. Holy cow, this book kept surprising me until the last chapter, and it wasn't the end yet. There's more! I wonder how much more tears I could take. I want to gut Jake's head and fry his brains just so he could have a taste of what he's done to Holly. Oh gosh, I can't believe I'm getting carried away. FuckU Jake, scums like you deserve to have brain damage. Ugh.

Sorry about that. I swear I'm not this emotional when it comes to book boyfriends. As a matter of fact, Jake isn't part of my list of book boyfriends, but damn, he's so damn close! I really can't forgive him for what she's done to poor Holly, but I bet a million pesos that his uncaring mother was behind all these ruckus. As a matter of fact, his mom should be the one whose brains deserved to be fed to the wolves. Another Ugh.

Okay, I know I've been giving some bad vibes here. Here's just what I have to say. Imperfect Love may be an imperfect book, but darn it, the characters, the setting, the story-line, the feels - they all felt perfect to me. Perfectly emotional, empowering, aggravating, gripping. Just perfect. Isabella White needs to release the second book already because I can't wait to get my hands on Jake's brains. Seriously.

This book is beautiful, I have no more words. I love everything in it. Thanks to Netgalley & FireQuill Publishing for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC provided by publisher in exchange for honest review.



DNF @ 30%

I always hate when I have to DNF a book, but I also don't want to force myself to read a book that I know will only infuriate more than actually enjoying it.

Imperfect Love is the first book in this series and based off of the description and the beginning of the story, I was intrigued.

Then, some weird things started to happen with the story and the characters.
I was struggling to read.
I felt zero chemistry between Jake and Holly...but that didn't stop the instalove from happening.
Holly went from being this quiet mouse, who was talking about the Bible to flinging the F-word every chance she got, slinging shots and booze down her throat and just not being appealing At. All.

Then we have Jake. I felt nothing towards him. Maybe his "voice" (pov) was too feminine and I felt like he was not masculine enough.

The H and h combined was one big childish game play, with less than three words spoken to each other at a minimum.

So, before I read further and completely got annoyed with where this story would go (I've read some reviews), I'm going to just place it down and perhaps, one day, will pick it back up. One day.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first book in the series was ok...

As many people realize my biggest pet peeve is a book/characters that drag on and on, or that just and talk and talk and talk.

This book did exactly that. And sometimes I overlook my little pet peeve, but this seemed a little too excessive in my opinion.

The book started out great. I love the plot, the characters themselves, and the hot scenes. The beginning was perfect then the middle started to break apart because of all the many, many monologues brought on by the main character.

Again the Author wrote the great characters, and a great story to write up into something great. The thing that I saw, or that bugged me so much, was all those little unnecessary monologues.

Sorry to be so blunt, but we got your point very well!

Even with that little pet peeve of mine I was still entranced by the story. As always, I have a theory about this ending, and the outcomes that happened in the last maybe 80% of the book. Now am I going to express my theories? NO! Of course not! Because I really do not want to spoil anything for anyone who wants to read this book/series.

Even though, yes, I was entranced by the story, I still have to give this one of 3.5 stars. If you plan on reading this book just get ready for those monologues we all love!

Will I suck it up and read the next book in the series? Yeah, I probably will. I really need to see if my theories are true....

**ARC provided by Netgalley**

[MELISSA *Mel Reader*]

*Recommended by Sharon*

[Carolina Godinho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a copy in exchange of a honest review.


It's hard for me, to rate this book. Though I do love a insta-love story, and sometimes I even like the "poor little heroine" story, I couldn't connect with Holly nor Jake, their insta-love doesn't have me convinced. And I think their relationship and problems was kind of forced.

Holly has 24 years when she meets Jake, a 27 years old med student. They´re botth running from complicated relationships.

His family is formed by doctors and his mother is a batshit crazy woman( At least, I think she is, since the story finishes before things get clear between Holly and Jake).

She is extremely jealous of Jake´s relationships, and asks Holly to go on pill, so she doesn't get pregnant, which she does.
But, Holly does get pregnant and her pregnancy is high risk. She have to go in a trial medicine so she and the baby doesn't suffer or die. Jake´s father is the responsible for the trial.
Jake´s mother tells Holly Jake doesn't want Holly or the child anymore and tell her to abort, and says all his family stands by his side. Holly doesn't believe but Mara, Jake´s mom calls him from her phone so he can talk to Holly and he says "It is what it is" I spend the rest of the book waiting for them to discover that was Mara´s fault only, that wasn't even Jake on the phone. But the situation only gets worse. Holly goes away, her medicine finishes and she gets really bad, and then she discover she´s pregnant with twins little girls.
She only gets until 24th week of gestation, and they have to deliver the girls or they all will die. Holly gives birth to Jamie and Romy. Unfortunately Romy dies.
After all this, without any contact from any member of Jake´s family. She decides to go to med school, so she can help other women in her situation. Three years after, she´s back in Jake´s town and interning in a hospital close to his family hospital, Jamie is now 3 years old, and doesn´t know his father family. The story finishes without them seeing each other.
And that´s why this book is hard for me to rate. While I did enjoyed some part of the plot. It wasn't well delivered to the reader.But I Think the author made her point, because I am anxious to read the next one in the series.


É difícil pra mim classificar esse livro. Embora, eu adore um insta-love e aquelas mocinhas sofredoras. Eu não consegui conectar com a Holly nem com o Jake, o insta-love deles não convence e a relação deles era meio forçada.

Holly tem 2 4 e Jake tem 27 quando eles se conhecem. Ambos fugindo de relações complicadas.

A família de Jake é formada por médicos e eles teem um hospital. Jake tá se formando pra ser neurologista e sua mãe põe dificuldade pra ele se relacionar, com medo de atrapalhar os estudos dele, pelo menso essa é a desculpa que ela dá. Ela chega ao cúmulo de falar com Holly pra começar a tomar anticoncepcional, #metidanãoocão .
Mas, apesar de começar a tomar a pílula, Holly acaba engravidando, e sua gravidez é de alto risco. Ela precisa entrar num tratamento experimental promovido pelo pai de Jake que é ob/gyn. Ela reage bem e tudo está indo às mil maravilhas, com exceção da mãe de Jake que não aceita a gravidez.
Holly recebe uma mensagem ddo celular de Jake, pedindo pra ela c=encontrar com ele na casa da mãe dele, pra eles conversarem. Quando Holly chega lá, a mãe dele fala que Jake quer que Holly faça um aborto, e que toda a família está ao lado dele, e que se Holly resolver continuar com a gravidez, eles não vão mais dar o remédio que ela precisa pra sobreviver. Holly não acredita, mas Mara Monstravilha, a mãe de Jake, liga pra ele, do celular dela e passa pra Holly, que pergunta pra Jake o que está acontecendo e ele responde " É o que tem que ser."
Eu passei o resto do livro inteiro esperando que Holly descobrisse que tudo isso era uma armação da Mara, mas eles não se encontram mais até o livro acabar.
Holly vai embora, sua gravidez quase mata a ela e a suas filhas, uma delas não sobrevive ao parto super-prematuro, apenas 24 semanas de gestação.
Depois que Jamie consegue sobreviver, Holly decide fazer medicina pra ajudar mulheres que passam pela mesma situação que ela passou. Depois de 3 anos, Holly voltou pra cidade de Jake e vai fazer residência em um hospital que fica a pouco tempo de distância do hospital da família dele. E a história acaba.

Embora eu tenha gostado de algumas partes do enredo, eu acho que a história deixa um pouco a desejar na forma como ela é contada. Mas, a autora conseguiu me deixar ansiosa pelo próximo

[❤SanaReads❤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Now what!!!



Should I start counting the torturing days before the release of book 2. This waiting game will definitely drive me insane.

Oh My God!!



I've never cried "I mean really really cried" while reading a book.

It was just unfair how these guys treated Holly.

What and where to start with?!

I would start with the pchyso bitch mother who was so mean and selfish to think better with her brain. She just left me speechless.
Or may be her horrible father. Good God! That poor girl had so much to suffer.

I can't get over the idea that Jake just left like a coward without even explaining...

After that endless love, lust and caring he just shut off his phone and what!!! wiped her from his life like this. I just can't believe he would be such a horrible dick.

The story started so right and so warm with Holly getting over her cheating fiancé or ex-fiancé. When she met Jake everything felt different. He worshipped her body , cared about her and gave her all the love of his heart.



There was so mush heat between these two characters. They stood by each other and supported one another in a so beautiful way.

I have so many question like a million to ask Jake but it looks like I will have to wait for the second book to have the answers I hopefully need to read.

Thank you Isabella White for such an amazing book but please bring us the second book. It's an emergency :)

Thank you NetGalley for the provided copy.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5
(I received a free ecopy from the publisher, Fire Quill Publishing, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)
***Minor spoilers***

Holly is looking forward to her wedding to her fiance, Brandon, until she finds out she has been cheating on him for a while with a woman he promised not to talk to ever again. When she finds out, she decides enough is enough - she won't let him try to sweet talk his way out of it. She leaves to live instead with her best friend, Bernie, while she tries to get herself back on her feet. She's basically sworn off men after what happened to her. It only lasts for a few months before she goes camping with Bernie and her husband Leo, and she meets a man named Jake, who seems perfect, but she's wary after Brandon. They get together before the end of the camping trip, but there are some unforeseen circumstances that could make or break their relationship.

I've seen this book lurking around Netgalley for quite some time and finally decided I would give it a read. I was in the mood for a romance novel, so I think I enjoyed this more than I normally would had I not been itching for one. My biggest critique for this book is how insta-lovey it was. I'm not complaining about how fast they got together - it's not that abnormal. It was how quickly the word "love" came into the equation that I was skeptical. Before the end of the trip, even, Holly was thinking that she loved Jake. I just don't understand how she could love him so quickly - they just met!

Mara's character really annoyed me. Her son is 27 years old - let him do his own thing! Something big went down near the 3/4 mark of the book, and I actually have a theory about what happened. So, Holly got a text telling her to go to Mara's immediately and that it's an emergency. It was a text from Jake, but Jake wasn't there when she arrived. When she went to talk to Mara, Mara told her that Jake didn't want the baby anymore and that she should abort it, and to call Jake if she wanted proof. She called him, and he basically said "What's done is done." and hung up. Here's what I think. Mara met with Jake already and told him that her and Holly spoke and that Holly decided to abort the baby, and had already done so. While they were together, Mara quickly took his phone and texted Holly without him knowing. He left, and Holly arrived. Mara told her to abort the baby, probably hoping that she would do so if she said it was what Jake wanted, also knowing that without the Peters' help, Holly would likely die. When Holly called Jake, he said what he said because he thought she already aborted the baby. It made no sense for Jake to suddenly go from loving the baby to wanting to get rid of it and Holly. This seems like the most likely scenario in my eyes.

One other thing was bothering me about this book, actually. How come every time Holly and Jake kissed, she would say her ears started ringing? It was basically inevitable - almost every single time, she would mention it. I was actually wondering if it would end up being a part of the story, and that she had something wrong with her ears. It didn't, so it was quite weird.

Overall, I didn't expect to enjoy this so much. Things got really intense in the last quarter of the book. This is a series, so don't go in expecting a happily ever after. I do wish that this book wrapped things up a bit more nicely, however. This definitely sated by need for a romance novel, and it's still available on Netgalley as a "Read Now" so if you're interested you can get it right away here: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book... but it archives on March 31st so you'll have to be quick!

[Kayla Jamison · Rating 1 out of 5]

*ARC received by net galley in exchange for an honest review*

I found it a struggle to finish this book. The biggest annoyance to me was how it was written. It was written in third person and that was annoying. It was like some random person we don't know is telling Holly's story and I did not like that.
"I did it," Holly blurted.
That was how most of the talking went and it annoyed me. And I don't know what the writers deal is but the name Holly, Jake, and Bernie were all used more then 200 times in this book. That is so weird to me. I just could not stand the writing style at all.
Also something that is clearly obvious is the author is not from America. The words they used are not words an average American uses. Such as holiday instead of vacation. I don't like authors who write books from different countries and get it wrong. If the person was born in america then they would talk like an american. Just a little pet peeve I have.
Another grievance I had is the fact that Holly fell in love with Jake less then a day after meeting him. That is an immature thing to say, and I didn't see any reason why she fell in love with him so fast. I had a hard time connecting to or even liking Jake. He was a weird character that needed his mothers approval for everything and seemed to be scared of her. Why was he so scared of his mother seeing him with Holly at the hospital on two separate times? And Holly's and Jakes relationship seemed based more on sex then anything else. There was no romance that I saw. And what was the weird thing about Jake having problems orgasming? It is mentioned once and then forgotten and it never happens again. I just did not understand why it was included in the book.
This book was a huge miss for me, and I hated that it ended on a cliffhanger. I either have to suffer through another bad book or I just have to forget about it and not worry about what happens to Holly.

[Nadine Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW...just WOW! What a friggin ending.

Holly is fed up with men and seriously who could blame her, she caught her fiance in bed with her worst nightmare, but when she meets Jake she starts rethinking things and decides she's going to give it a shot. Jake is gorgeous, sweet, wealthy, studying to be a doctor, and a momma's boy. All pretty good qualities until things happen that he isn't ready to deal with or so we are lead to believe...I have a feeling there is much more to what happened there then we were told.

I have to say that Holly is one heck of a lady, she is stronger than most people give her credit for and when everything crumbles around her she picks herself up by the boot strings and does what needs to be done. I went through a half box of kleenex during the second half of the book. I had to put the book down a couple of times just to regroup. I am NOT giving any spoilers as to what happens just know that you should have some tissues handy and maybe forgo reading on public transportation after the halfway point.

This book has left me with more questions than answers...when is Secret Love being released?!?!?!?! I seriously need to know what happens next.

***I have received this book from Fire Quill Publishing through netgalley in exchange for my honest review*** https://www.netgalley.com/

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through NetGalley

Will this love at first sight lead her to the fairytale she has always craved? Or, will she fall victim to a betrayal of the heart yet again?

3.75 stars

Finally a book in this genre that has a plot!

My expectations were pretty low going into this but I was pleasantly surprised by how invested I became. I did find myself a little bored in the beginning but as the relationship between Holly and Jake began to heat up and we found out a bit more about their lives, the pace picked up and the story really started to flow. This took an unexpected and upsetting turn which in terms of story was really great but was hard to read given how much I ended up liking Holly.

Whilst I wouldn't say this ended on a cliffhanger as such, I am most certainly hanging out for the sequel to find out what happens with Jake and Holly.

[Yamina -Women Who Stare at Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided by NEtgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I really don't know what I think of this book. At the beginning , I found it difficult to relate to the characters but then I found myself yelling and cursing. I am not a fan of Cliffhangers and even less when I have to wait ages for the next book. Please Isabella White, we want to read the next two books soon!

If you like HEA, this book is not for you- it will suck you in , anger you.. it is an emotional rollercoaster but the ride is worth it! I need book two in my life!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

I should start out by saying, this is not my genre, not at all. I find all contemporary romances, or at least the ones I've read, follow the same boring formula. Heroine suffers from failed past relationships, the last one leaving her saying "no men, ever". -> Prince charming with zero faults steps in -> heroine falls in love -> sex -> heroine is constantly insecure -> break up -> lots of crying -> more crying -> back together, yay! The End. While Imperfect Love's story isn't without said stereotypes, it's so much more than I expected. I'd say the first few chapters are about worthy of a 3-star thanks to the fun banter between the cast. It isn't until about 50% that this novel began jumping to the 5-star I feel it deserves. The feels man, the feels.




Holly Scallanger has sworn off all men after being cheated on, multiple times I might add, by her fiance. She moves in with her best friend, Bernie and family and tries to pull her life back together. Enter: Tall, dark, intelligent, rich and handsome. Holly is a pretty typical 24 year old. She's fairly insecure throughout their relationship. It can get annoying at times but I think the reader has a pretty good understanding why she's so afraid to be abandoned: Her father left her family when she was young.


I really love how Holly grows throughout her challenges. She learns forgiveness. She becomes stronger and finds her purpose. I really loved Holly's character by the end of the book. The characters are great and all memorable. So did Jane and Dr. Edwards ever go on that date? :wink: I loved Bernie and Jake's family. The interactions all seem genuine and the dialog will make you laugh... and cry... and mad.... ahhh, emotions.


Things I'm looking forward to:

So after Holly decided to go to Med school, I was so so so hoping that she'd be force to get an internship at P&E. While my wish didn't quite come true, I'm excited to see what will happen with her being at a hospital only 15 minutes away.

What did heaven-Jaime mean by "find out the truth"? I think it's safe to assume it has something to do with Jake and his motives. Or maybe p47. I guess we'll find out.

Two more books? Does that we'll have to wait until book 3 for Holly and Jake to get back together? Although, he's got a lot he has to do to earn forgiveness. He could not have left her at a worst time in the worst way.

I hope :fingers crossed: there's no custody battle in any of the books. Hate those.

Bonus: Am I the only one that wants to know more about Jake and this married woman? The topic is simply brushed over quite a few times in the novel with no true detail. Not that it really effects anything, I just want to know.


I highly recommend this book, especially to those who love contemporary romance. Have patience, the novel begins a little slow but it'll be worth the wait. I will definitely be reading the book 2.

[Sissy Lu {Book Savvy Reviews} · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holly Scallanger is a 24-year-old who is engaged and works at a lodge of sorts. Brandon, her fiance - the man she is supposed to marry soon, cheats on her with a reoccurring woman named Donna. Holly calls it off for good and begins to grudgingly move forward with her life.

The beginning of this book had promise as we see Holly take the initiative and break up with the man that has betrayed her trust on several accounts. However, as Holly begins to dip into the dating pool again and only about 8 weeks later [is it me or is that too soon for someone who had been on the verge of marrying the love of their life? *shrug*] The quality soon begins to swiftly fall and so does Holly's strength and what I mean by this is she succumbs to drinking to bury her misery, she's often seen whining. Yes, it's a difficult time but here is where she could have proved herself.

We then meet Jake Peters - a friend of her friends, he has dark hair and ice green eyes in case you thought to forget - we are not meant to forget how dreamy and perfect Jake Peters is. He comes off as a Gary Stu, he's all that and a bag of chips. A prior cage fighter and due to an accident he's now in school to become a Neurologist.

The moment they meet its sort of an insta-love deal, not just chemistry which I found they lacked any real chemistry. Now, keep in mind they're only officially dating for just roughly around two months. So everything happens insanely fast and soon Jake's mom is nagging him about meeting his new girl. He does well to keep them apart for about a month and a half or so but when he finally does bring Holly home to meet his mother there is a serious WTF moment. His mother - Mara Peters and a highly prestigious doctor and one of the best in the country [the entire family has the last name Stu, I swear.]

Mara ends up snagging Holly into the kitchen and boldly asks if she's on the pill because her son is in school and cannot and will not be having a child disrupting his studies when his future is so bright. From the start Mara's relationship is odd with Jake and borderline creepy, even the characters in the book pick up on this and seem off put by it. It's just odd, creepy and just... bizarre.

Flash forward to Holly telling Jake she's going on the pill and he's put off by the idea, keep in mind that they're only a month [or so] into their relationship and he says. "I wouldn't mind if you got pregnant." What? Um.. okay...

I guess that's a good deal, because even though she winds up going on the pill she becomes pregnant and what happens after that is so infuriating for me... I won't be reading the next book, it put me off that much because Holly was so immature in the end, she didn't even give Jake a chance - not to mention Mara is known to be psycho. Who is to say she didn't meddle? I'm sure she did because this book was fairly predictable.

~ Website ~ Instagram ~

[Raine · Rating 3 out of 5]

****ARC provided by the publisher Fire Quill Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.****

The story started out really boring with the heroine Holly going on and on about her cheating fiance, Brandon, and all the steps you go through after breakup. I was almost to the point of putting it down and in my DNF pile, but powered through it. I thought she spent too much time dwelling on Brandon and the woman he cheated with named Donna. I wasn't too thrilled with the type of character that Holly was turning out to be because she couldn't seem to get over and let go of Brandon.

Then finally she meets Jake and I'm expecting fireworks, but all I feel is lukewarm running water. Yeah, he's gorgeous, but he seemed like kind of a mama's boy that he had to check Holly into the emergency room under a man's name because he didn't want his mother to find out because he family is rich and wealth and all happen to be doctors who own the hospital. I think the author tries to portray him as not a mama's boy by saying that he was willing to skip the family lunch on Sundays to be with Holly, but I think with the whole initial trip to the emergency (and him also changing Holly's followup appointment to a different time so his mother wouldn't be able to meet Holly) already tagged him as a weak character in my mind.

The story finally started to get interesting in the end when she ends up leaving because of Jake and his mother and the tragedy that ends up happening after that. Of course as soon as the story ends the last chapter fast forwards 4 years and then abruptly ends on a cliffhanger.

I do want to say I thought there was redemption for Holly's dad, Charles, but the last chapter proves, even though what he is doing is to deter Holly from seeing Jake again, he once again becomes the asshole he was at the beginning of the book. However her mom, Judy, does manage to redeem herself in my eyes by staying and taking care of Holly.

I do notice on GR that the 2nd book was supposed to be out in 2015 (this book was published on 7/27/15), but I don't see any new updates on the release of the 2nd book in the trilogy.

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly had the right mindset in the beginning when she finally kicked her cheating ex to the curb, but did she misplace the angst of that relationship on any chance at a future with someone new. That was until she meets Jake, again. She just cant seem to place the one man that could change her life for her. With all that she endures and some interference from some well meaning friends she find that Jake may just be that needed ray of light. Things are not all a bed of rose once the two find each other. There are tears. WTF moments. Happy in the moment. There was an ending for now but there were things left open. You wonder why, how and more.

I enjoyed the journey. I found the writing fresh. I loved the array of characters. I found interfering an mother with good intention to be a life thing. I could relate and make connections.

Narrator brings to life the host of characters that are encountered during this life lesson on love, loss, growth, renewal. I found that Stefanie Kay gave each character their own distinction. I found that she pulled me in further to a story that was good on its own. I looked deeper. Felt more. Embraced the chemistry. the characters were at times confusing but things cleared up.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Isabella White. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

[Livros A Go-Go ~Joyci ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Holly quer distância dos homens depois de descobrir a traição do noivo dias antes do casamento mas nos meses seguintes, depois da fase da raiva, ela conhece o Jake, um estudante de medicina conhecido como destruidor de corações, por ser um homem doce e não assumir compromisso com ninguém. Eles então passam a conviver e o esperado acontece, se apaixonam e tem olhos apenas um para o outro. Como não poderia faltar, vem o conflito, a mãe do rapaz, médica renomada e que não quer que nada atrapalhe a carreira do filho e que ele desvie a atenção da medicina. A Holly então se descobre numa gravidez inesperada, cheia de riscos e assim segue a história.
Acompanhamos a trajetória dessa gravidez , com o início das residencias médicas do Jake, com o tratamento médico da Holly e a pressão vinda com tudo e todos ao redor.
Eu adorei! A história é escrita em terceira pessoa com foco apenas na Holly e é muito detalhada e bem escrita.
É bem novelística, com todos os conflitos e dramas apresentados mas uma delícia de se ler.
O ruim é que é uma trilogia, cujo segundo livro nem data de lançamento tem.
A história parou em uma parte de deixar o leitor descabelado de ansiedade! :/

--

* ARC cedido por NetGalley em troca de uma resenha honesta*

[Mindy Lou's Book Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I liked this book. This book had a good storyline and it did leave me wanting to know more at the end, however, I did feel Holly and Jake were a bit immature for being twenty something adults. My biggest hang up about this book was that I felt it was a bit unrealistic that both wanted to have unprotected sex despite her first relationship cheated on her, him being a med student and they just started dating. Of course the result of that was the reason for the drama and cliffhanger at the end. I still liked the book enough to want to read the next in the series.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

First read of the year for me!!! I'm so happy my book mojo is slowly coming back. Just hoping this is a good one.....

DNF @15%.

Well, this was obviously not what I was hoping for. I could tell from page one it probably would be a DNF for me. Hoping with better luck for the next one!

[Rejane]

Just read 1 and 2 stars reviews.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

***ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
2.5 "Bee Puke" Stars

*Spoilers*

I had I hard time with this one. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or the dialog or the lack of connection to the characters as a whole. Maybe a bit of all three. But I struggled to finish it. Which really disappointed me because when I read the description on NetGalley I was intrigued. It seemed like such a promising book.

But throughout the whole thing I felt:


So it starts off with Holly finding out that Brandon her fiance is cheating on her a week before their wedding. But the real kicker is that it is with someone who he has already cheated on her with and she finds out through emails that are dated months previous. And she goes through this whole I still love him and maybe should take him back even after he marries the other woman on THEIR wedding day at the wedding she planned and paid for...and she still says she may have been better staying with Brandon...WHAT the Heck is wrong with you woman!



After that whole fiasco, her best friends Bernice and Leo set her up on a blind date that didn't go over so good. She then runs into Stewart the blind date at a camping event and punches him in the face breaking his nose and hurting her hand as the same time. I think here is really were the dialog and writing could have been stronger...I didn't feel like the blind date was all that horrible as Holly makes it out to be. And then all Stewart was doing was asking for another chance granted Holly said no several times but I didn't feel it warranted punching him in the face. But that's just me. Maybe if it was re-worked a little more I would have bought it.

But the whole punch in the face hurting hand deal opened up the story line for Jake to come in and save the day so to speak. Jake is Leo's best friend and low and behold also a spitting image of Holly's dream man. So he takes her to the ER and signs her in as a guy because of course his family owns half of the hospital and he has a crazy mom that would just flip if she found out he brought a girl into the ER for some help. (sarcasm intended) I has a hard time following this here. Everyone in the hospital was more than okay with forging medical records and all that to keep some girl that Jake isn't even dating a secret from mommy dearest just didn't add up.

So her hands not broken, just a hairline fracture, they go back to the camp site but she is too drugged up to know what is going on for the most part. The next day a lot of confusing stuff happens, but Jake does make his move on her and she stays the night with him making out and talking. There was a lot of referencing this major connection with zinging and getting lost in the moment that seemed off. It was like White was trying to sell us on their connection a little to hard.

"Their lips met and before Holly could count to ten, her ears had started to zing again."

But then she leaves in the morning before he wakes up. Which makes him furious and he insists that he will see her later. He skips out of Sunday family lunch to come and see her again and pretty much stakes his claim on her.

So this whole whirlwind relationship begins but wait only on the weekends because his parents (mainly mother dearest) doesn't want anything to interfere with his studies during the week. And what mother wants mother gets even if her kid is a 27 year old man in his last semester of medical school. But you know that makes sense right....nope not really.

Anyways there is a lot of sex but even that is weird at times. He claims he hardly ever orgasms during intercourse, but can get himself off no problem. So she makes it her personal mission to give him the best sex of her life by preforming all these crazy Kama Sutra positions. And they never use condoms because it's hard enough for him to climax with out them and it would be nearly impossible to with one. And of course she is not on the pill either, but is not ready to have a kid. But he would totally be okay with her becoming pregnant even though they have barely been together a couple of months. Coming from a med student who is about to enter into his residency and a woman just out of a longer term engagement none of that made any sense to me.



She meets the family and for the most part they all love her. Mother dearest is a little crazy and requests that she goes on the pill to prevent any further distraction to her son. (which she does and it really is the responsible thing to do but for the reasons she does is dumb.) And the family dynamic itself felt forced. I had a hard time connecting with them as a whole....but times goes on Jake graduates and they spend practically a whole month before he starts his residency attached to each other. Their time together is even more sparse when residency starts, but they make it work. And they seem to be in a very good place.

But of course nothing good can last right, there has to be some sort of drama and from all this leading up to it you can probably guess Holly is pregnant. But to add even more drama, not only is she pregnant, but she has gestational hypertension and preeclampsia symptoms. Which normally only occure later in the pregnancy. So it is either her life or the babies life. But she refuses to think of an abortion. So low and behold Jake's dad Gus is the top Gynecologist in the world and has been working on a new drug "p47" for just these symptoms, but it's not even in it's trail stage so no one knows what it will do. But they are going for it.

Everything is great, Jake is over the moon about this baby, so is his dad, and Holly is coming to terms with it as well. But the one and only obstacle is you guessed it MOM. Who has a tantrum when told and refused to speak to Jake for what seems like weeks. The "p47" is working and all seems to be going well until mom decides to break her silence and requests a visit from them to discuss their plans.

But Jake isn't there when Holly shows up and she is left to deal with mom on her own. Which of course isn't going to end well. Mom pretty much breaks up with her for Jake and tells her that getting an abortion is her only option if she wants to live. Pretty much saying she will no longer be able to get the "p47" and that Jake and her family decided they are better off with the baby gone and her out of their lives. AND SHE BELIEVES HER!!!!!

She calls Jake and he tells her "It is what it is. Deal with it." and hangs up on her. So she takes off...runs away literally runs away. She doesn't even bother to speak to her best friend about any of this or even try to talk to Jake again. She just packs up all her stuff, leaving her phone behind and takes off to her dad who has been MIA for most of her life....


The rest of the story is more of the same confusion crazy drama mama stuff. Her dad turns out to be some rich guy living in Seattle not really sure what he does, but she goes to him pretty much to use him for his money. And then because having a high risk pregnancy isn't enough, she only has so much of the trial "p47" left and seems to go through hell once it's gone. Only to find out that she is pregnant with twins and that she has to have an emergency c-section of they all three will die.

She refuses to tell anyone who the father is but then mom shows up and figures it out and talks her out of making any contact with Jake. Even though she wants to on more than one occasion. And then she's so bitter and angry with him but she never even spoke to him about any of it...just ahhh....


There's a little bit more but I wont spoil the whole thing for you. I wanted to scream at this book honestly it could have been so good. And I'm not gonna lie I want to know what is going to happen to them all because of course this book has a cliff hanger ending. It seems like this is the first book by White and if so I understand the roughness of this one. And I truly hope that her writing improves with the next one.

I want to give this a better rating I really do but it will have to stay at a 2.5 but I have rounded it up to a three star rating since it kept me hanging in there to see what would happen. I really wanted Holly to go all crazy white woman on Jake's mother and maybe just maybe we will be able to see that in the next one.

So if you made it this far in my review thank you for reading my rantings I don't usually post so much. There was just something about this one though.