Book one of the New York Times bestselling Shattered Hearts Series, re-edited and re-released for a young adult audience.
After years of being tossed from one foster home to another, Claire arrives at the home of Jackie Knight and her son, tattooed guitarist Chris Knight. Chris becomes Claire’s first friend and first love. But Chris's dreams of musical stardom and Claire’s need for a stable home put their love at odds. Chris struggles with his plans for the future, entirely reluctant to leave Claire behind; until Claire does something that may break their love — and the only home she’s ever known — forever.
i think i actually hated this book. it was so fast-moving (they said i love you within the first 20ish percent) so i felt the characters were rushing and were very unlikable. both the main characters were annoying, jealous and not understanding at all so the book just dragged on. i wanted to force myself to finish it but i really did have to force myself and probably skim-read most of it.
altogether the romance was cringe and the characters were really unlikable.
can’t really think of any trigger warnings (except cringe) and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone i know.
This book was a quick and easy read, because it is less than 200 pages. I finished it in only an hour and a half.
I liked the authors writing and at first I wasn't sure how I felt about the time gaps. I felt like I was missing a lot of the characters relationship growth and that is something I thrive off of when I read cheesy romance novels. Because this is such a sort book and it took place over the course of five or so years, it felt somewhat rushed and I feel like I would have appreciated the story more if it had been stretched out a bit more.
I did not really like the relationship between Chris and Claire, they were both very insecure and always fought when they even talked to someone of the opposite gender as them. You could tell that it was their first real relationship by how possessive they were of each other and how they only wanted to be with each other 24/7. It reminded me of my first relationship with a boy who I spent over a year with, and I know from experience that their relationship was not healthy and would not last long if they were going to be so insecure and afraid of their significant other cheating on them.
-spoilers-
The ending is something that I could have predicted from the start, I feel like the author wanted it to be more heart wrenching then it actually was. I was happy for Claire because she was finally learning to live for herself and not for Chris and I was happy that Chris did not let anyone hold him back from his music career.
This was a super quick fun read. I felt myself starting to get into a reading slump so this novel was just what I needed. It wasn't the best writting or plot, but it was quick, fun, and enjoyable.
It's very common place live story, but it will grab you in it's turns and twists not letting you go till the end of the book. As this book is a series, it finishes with a wanting-more taste. Chris and Claire's characters grow during the book. He wanting Claire and his dream: be a rock star. She wanting to surpass a difficult foster kid childhood and becoming someone in life, goi my to college and making a life for herself at Chris side. She wants to support him , doesn't matter the sacrifice, to reach his dream. Isn't the price too much? It's not a fluffy reading, and be aware that it will continue into other books of the series.
This has one of the worst insta-love scenarios I've encountered & I felt like the story progressed far too quickly for such a short book. Could have been a good book if it wasn't for the jump-cuts, rushed storyline and glossed over difficult topics. I continued reading until the end just to see what would happen, so in that sense it kept my attention, but the ending itself irritated me and it wasn't what I wanted.
There are spoilers in this review but honestly it doesn't matter.
Why did I read this? Because it was free.
Should I have finished it? No but it was easy to read a page or two and put it down.
I had hopes going into this book but none of them were met. First let's talk about the time jumps. I understand adding time jumps in books but when it's a few months almost every chapter, it makes it hard. One minute she is moving in, the next thing I know she is going to college. Yes there were dates at the top of the chapters but they didn't help at all.
Second, we don't get to know the characters at all. We know Claire's mom is dead and honestly that's all I can remember about her. Chris lives with his mom (I can't remember if they mentioned his dad) and is in a band. I can remember more about him but honestly, nothing else really matters. With the time jumped, we don't get a chance to connect to the characters at all.
Third, their relationship. What even happened? It starts with Chris saying he can't date someone his mom is fostering. Then he has a crush on her to all of a sudden they are secretly dating? And not very well. The time jumps made it seem like everyone at school knew but the mom didn't. Which if the school knew, they very well would have told his mother. I feel like we didn't really see a good relationship here either. Yes we saw some lovey moments but it seemed like every chapter they were fighting. This book ranged over 3 years? Maybe 4? I don't even know but it felt like all they did was argue and apologize.
I should have DNF this book but I really want to see if it would get better. Spoiler: it didn't.
I was in all... until the book ended and I realized I'd have to buy 3 more volumes to read the whole story. It's not like there was an actual ending to the story at all. Just left in open space waiting for you to get the next book. At least try to end one story before ending the book. Absolute pet peeve of mine and I won't be buying any more. What a shame.
I appreciate the attempt at a series of vignettes from each character's point of view to set up the romance, but man, was this painful to read. There's no narrative reason why Claire should have trusted Chris, no resistance from Chris's mother about dropping out of high school to become a musician, no development to explain the sudden changes in personality we get.
It felt rushed, and that meant I didn't really get invested in the characters. It felt like a simplified love story, not much depth or feeling.
I finished it, but only because it was so short, and I hoped that it would get better. Unfortunately it did not, I seriously thought that I had skipped some pages because it ended so abruptly.
Omg so many harsh reviews. I liked the book, though I never DNF a book. While I like a slower burn this is a series, so I know in reality, their tale (though starting fast and ending fast) has only really just begun Four stars cuz I hated the ending but I am reading on to book 2! I need to know more!
This is such a good story. It’s about falling in love and what you do after your can be with the person you love. How do you cope, how do you move on? I can wait to find out!
There was nothing I didn't like about this story, but it was very even. There was no real tension until the very end. Pleasant enough reading but I won't be rushing out to buy the sequel (but I would read it if I got it for free).
I really did not like this book the ending was so sad and because it was a really short book you didn't have time to get to know the characters but then again I do want to read the second book in the series just to know what happens in the end.
Well written with very lovable characters. I love how I felt while I read the story of Claire and Chris. You know those books you read and can say "Yup....I can totally see that happening in real life"? Well this was one of those.
Uh. How do I start...? Honestly, the romance was a bit meh. The main character (damn, I forgot her name already- OH I REMEMBER NOW-), Claire, didn't click very well with me. I mean, I understand why she is the way she is, but she's a bit too wimpy for my taste. And then when her "love of her life" walks in and now she's clingy. Their break-up was weird too. Overall, the story itself wasn't bad, but it could be better. 3/5 stars.
Very rarely did we get insight into the characters thoughts or feelings it was mostly just events recounted to the reader. Ended on a cliff hanger but I won't be picking up the next book.
This book started out good, and I was interested. Somewhere around be middle I started to get annoyed by the characters. Overall there wasn't enough meat to the story, and it ended abruptly.
Gag me. Progressed way to quickly with not much details. I thought it was gonna be great and got to the end and was like ‘that’s it?’ Disappointed. Quick read Though.
So wanted to stay up all night and finish this sooner than I did, very good book to keep my attention and wanted to read the whole set but didn't have them.