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The Game Has Changed
Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last. At the tender age of seventeen, Jaime Johnson feels as if she's lived a thousand lives. Tragedy has struck her household and her father has been unexpectedly taken from her in the most horrific way. Lost within her grief, she's unsure as to whether she'll be able to bounce back from the pain that threatens to consume her every day. Yet for the sake of her beloved family, she's determined to find the strength within herself to continue on, no matter the cost. Her life soon takes a sordid turn when the beautiful and enigmatic Evan Baedeker crosses her path. Bruised and bloodied from an obvious car accident, Jaime knows she needs to stay away from him. Yet with him standing smack dab in the middle of her path to freedom, her only means of escape is practically non-existent. Kidnapped and catapulted into a cross-country trip against her will, she knows she'll need to think of something, and fast, if she's to make it out of the situation she now finds herself in unscathed. Evan certainly doesn't make things any easier for her. In his eyes, Jaime is his ticket to making it back home in one piece before the authorities catch up with him, once and for all. Unfortunately, the more time she spends with him, the more she finds herself falling under his very spell. Something she knows she shouldn't allow herself to do if she's to keep her heart from being broken in the long run.
- GenresRomance
324 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2015
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 29, 2012
This book written by D.L. Wu which takes you into the life of 17 year old Jaime Johnson as she is trying to heal from tragedy in her life. As she is dragged into another life altering experience that she may never come back from. As her journey takes her cross country with a unknown man that is running from something. Will Jaime find what she is lacking in Evan the mysterious man? As the mad dash brings them closer to the end will they both find out what love is together? Will Jaime be able to go on afterwards? To find out you need to pick up this amazing book. I really liked it,but in some parts it got kind of long. But other than that I was really impressed with D.L. Wu style of drawing you into the pages as Jaime and Evans story unfolds. So what are you waiting for get your copy!!!!
August 21, 2018
Review originally published on my blog: https://literaryportals.blogspot.com/...
What Made Me Read It
I was asked to be a beta-reader for the original manuscript. Even though this isn’t my preferred genre I decided to give it a try.
The Plot
Evan Baedeker is a 26 years old professional movie stuntman. After a drug deal gone wrong and a brutal murder, Evan is on the run from the authorities, driving from New York City to Malibu. After a car accident on a stormy night he's left injured and without a car. Desperate, he heads to the nearest town looking for a new ride.
Jaime Johnson is a 17 year old girl who just lost her only remaining parent, living with her uncles and trying to get her life back on track. On her first day back at school she stops by her favorite ice scream parlor when Evan walks in and offers to buy her car. When Jaime refuses to part with her father's car, even for an astronomical amount of money, Evan forces her to join him on his run across the country at gun point.
The Good
"The Game has Changed" is an exciting story that holds your breath from start to finish and draws you to the characters and their respective journeys of self-discovery. The narrative is neither boring and needlessly long, nor too short and meaningless but to the point, keeping you focused, interested and wanting to know what happens next. The dialogs are witty and smart, some will make you laugh at times and side with one or the other character.
Both Evan and Jamie are flawed characters, trapped in their own problems and different objectives. You feel ambivalent at first as to whether or not to like them, each of them can really get on your nerves sometimes. As the story progresses during the long journey across the country you can't help but empathize with their conflicting feelings and emotions as their relationship develops through a roller coaster of ups and downs. Whether it’s a typical example of a Stockholm Syndrome case or real love, it’s still a fun believable read. Both characters grow in ways they never expected and the person they start as is not the same at the end of the journey.
The Not So Good
There is an attempted rape scene about halfway through the plot so if you’re particularly sensitive to the subject you might want to skip this small section of the story.
Final Rating
4 of 5 stars
All in all and enjoyable ride that spikes your imagination and leaves you wanting for more. Recommended for those who enjoy young adult romance and on the run stories.
What Made Me Read It
I was asked to be a beta-reader for the original manuscript. Even though this isn’t my preferred genre I decided to give it a try.
The Plot
Evan Baedeker is a 26 years old professional movie stuntman. After a drug deal gone wrong and a brutal murder, Evan is on the run from the authorities, driving from New York City to Malibu. After a car accident on a stormy night he's left injured and without a car. Desperate, he heads to the nearest town looking for a new ride.
Jaime Johnson is a 17 year old girl who just lost her only remaining parent, living with her uncles and trying to get her life back on track. On her first day back at school she stops by her favorite ice scream parlor when Evan walks in and offers to buy her car. When Jaime refuses to part with her father's car, even for an astronomical amount of money, Evan forces her to join him on his run across the country at gun point.
The Good
"The Game has Changed" is an exciting story that holds your breath from start to finish and draws you to the characters and their respective journeys of self-discovery. The narrative is neither boring and needlessly long, nor too short and meaningless but to the point, keeping you focused, interested and wanting to know what happens next. The dialogs are witty and smart, some will make you laugh at times and side with one or the other character.
Both Evan and Jamie are flawed characters, trapped in their own problems and different objectives. You feel ambivalent at first as to whether or not to like them, each of them can really get on your nerves sometimes. As the story progresses during the long journey across the country you can't help but empathize with their conflicting feelings and emotions as their relationship develops through a roller coaster of ups and downs. Whether it’s a typical example of a Stockholm Syndrome case or real love, it’s still a fun believable read. Both characters grow in ways they never expected and the person they start as is not the same at the end of the journey.
The Not So Good
There is an attempted rape scene about halfway through the plot so if you’re particularly sensitive to the subject you might want to skip this small section of the story.
Final Rating
4 of 5 stars
All in all and enjoyable ride that spikes your imagination and leaves you wanting for more. Recommended for those who enjoy young adult romance and on the run stories.
October 25, 2012
LOVED IT!!! It was a total roller coaster, but I loved every minute of it. Even when Jaime got on my nerves with all the crying, I was still enthralled with the action going on. The ending was brilliant. Just when I thought I had everything figured out and even a back up ending thought out, Wu totally threw me for a loop. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this book tonight. I just had to know how it ended.
And boy did that ending have my heart in my stomach. I kept telling myself, "Don't cry. Don't cry." I tried my best to hold it in. I think I started to feel physically ill at one point when I was expecting the worst to happen. I'm not going to give anything away. Just believe me when I say it's all worth it just for the epilogue.
Jaime and Evan were fabulous characters. The whole stockholm syndrome played out just as expected. But there were many twists and turns along the way. This book sparked my natural curiosity into psychology again. Can people really fall in love in 10 days? I don't know. But I do know that Jaime and Evan's circumstances were unlike anything I've ever experienced (or care to experience), so I really can't answer that question.
I absolutely loved the air of mystery that Wu created with several parts of the story. For instance, the very beginning sucked me in because I just had to know who this man was and what his story was. Then the biggest mystery of all, what Evan was running from. It just added to the thrill ride and made reading the book that much more enjoyable.
Surely you can look at certain plot elements and become cynical. Like things were "too perfect" or "too predictable", but I despise people who do that with books. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride this book took me on so I'm more than willing to dish out a 5 star rating!
I'm so glad I forked over the $2.99 on Smashwords to buy this ebook. Probably the best $3 I've spent lately! I'm also glad I happened to log into Smashwords to post a review of another book and saw this one as a recommendation. So, thanks Smashwords for the awesome thrill ride!! :D
And boy did that ending have my heart in my stomach. I kept telling myself, "Don't cry. Don't cry." I tried my best to hold it in. I think I started to feel physically ill at one point when I was expecting the worst to happen. I'm not going to give anything away. Just believe me when I say it's all worth it just for the epilogue.
Jaime and Evan were fabulous characters. The whole stockholm syndrome played out just as expected. But there were many twists and turns along the way. This book sparked my natural curiosity into psychology again. Can people really fall in love in 10 days? I don't know. But I do know that Jaime and Evan's circumstances were unlike anything I've ever experienced (or care to experience), so I really can't answer that question.
I absolutely loved the air of mystery that Wu created with several parts of the story. For instance, the very beginning sucked me in because I just had to know who this man was and what his story was. Then the biggest mystery of all, what Evan was running from. It just added to the thrill ride and made reading the book that much more enjoyable.
Surely you can look at certain plot elements and become cynical. Like things were "too perfect" or "too predictable", but I despise people who do that with books. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride this book took me on so I'm more than willing to dish out a 5 star rating!
I'm so glad I forked over the $2.99 on Smashwords to buy this ebook. Probably the best $3 I've spent lately! I'm also glad I happened to log into Smashwords to post a review of another book and saw this one as a recommendation. So, thanks Smashwords for the awesome thrill ride!! :D
August 11, 2016
Review coming soon.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews