It was hate at first sight…AfftonI hated Cable James McCaffrey.He was entitled, spoiled, a user…and an addict.He was out of control and didn’t bother trying to hide it.He had everything anyone could want but still seemed miserable and lost.Every move he made, every mistake he stumbled his way through, rubbed me the wrong way. However, I couldn’t stop myself from trying to save him from himself … way. However, I couldn’t stop myself from trying to save him from himself when no one else would. In the sweltering heat of the summer, Cable taught me that having it all means nothing if you can’t have the one thing you want more than anything else.
Cable
I was obsessed with Affton Reed.
She was rigid, uptight, and no fun. There was something about her innate goodness that called to me.
She acted like she was above all the normal faults and failures that clung to the rest of us like the scent of smoke after a fire.
I was infatuated with her, but that didn’t stop me from acting like she didn’t exist.
In the scorching heat of summer, Affton taught me that there is always a way back from the brink of despair. She showed me that the trick to having it all was realizing that it was already there, in my hands. All I had to do was hold onto it.
The road to recovery is full of twists and turns no matter who is in the driver’s seat.
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Recovered by Jay Crownover is perfection!
This books takes us back to what New Adult should be about.
Cable, struggling with life and addictions and Affton, struggles to love a guy that at times is just unlovable.
Recovered is the perfect story of two people trying to navigate through life and finding that love is not always easy but worth fighting for.
A MUST READ!!!
Texas Hugs and Happy Reading
An utterly devastating raw, poignant and honest story of life, love, healing, and redemption. Jay Crownover completely blew me away with Recovered as this book was so real and emotional that it pulled the heartstrings right from the start. Addiction. It is a stigma that society will always label an individual. It’s sad but true. As a society, we often judge hard or brush aside a person suffering and struggling with addiction.
And so in Recovered, Crownover showcases the bond and pull of two individuals whose life were to collide once again. Cable is the rich boy who had everyone wrapped around his fingers. He lived the life that everyone envied. He was popular, rich, and could get away with anything. Everyone practically bowed down to him. Except one.
Affton is the girl that stayed in the shadows. She knew what it was like to live with an addiction. She first hand experienced the loss of losing her mom to drug addiction. And so when she sees Cable, she recognized the signs. So can Affton save Cable from his self destruction?
Honestly, this book is a must read. It was so intense and raw that it cut you to the core. It made you bleed for these characters that there are so much more behind the facade they portrayed. We have always been told to never judge a book by its cover and in this case, Crownover allows her readers to peel the layers of both Cable and Affton and see that people who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones. We all have our problems and for some, their problems runs deep with addiction. And so if you are looking for a book that doesn’t sugarcoat anything but tells a raw, honest, harsh, intense and soul-searching perspective on the road of recovery then this book is for you. Hands down one of my favorite reads written by Jay Crownover.
Recovered is Jay Crownover’s newest angsty, rollercoaster of emotions, book. I always know Jay is going to bring out all of my emotions from happy to sad. From despair to elation. From lust to love. From heartbreaking to hopeful. Recovered isn’t a hearts and flowers romance. It’s painful. It’s maddening and it’s real. Cable is infamous. He’s handsome, rich and an addict. No one seems to care about his downward spiral except for Affton. She’s not his friend, she doesn’t bow down to him like the others. She actually hates him. But she can’t keep quiet. She recognizes the signs and she won’t be able to live with herself unless she says something. Unfortunately for her, that lands her trapped with him for the summer. In his family’s beautiful beach house. She’s off to college in a few months and she never stopped to have fun. She’s been working toward her future and nothing is going to get in the way. Now she’s stuck with him as his babysitter. She needs to make sure he stays clean and sober and she’s not going to let him or herself down. Cable is a moody bastard. He paid for his sins, but they are still haunting him. He’s fighting the need to just bury himself in women and drugs but Affton isn’t going to let that happen. He doesn’t want her there. Until he can’t seem to think about anything other than her. Affton and Cable need to come to an understanding. They are stuck with each other and they can either fight all summer or call a truce. She’s not leaving him and he’s not going to give up. So, they form a friendship. He teachers her how to surf and have fun and she helps him study and find something good to focus on. Turns out, she’s the good. Cable feels so much when he’s with Affton. Things he’s never felt before and it’s the lifeline he needed. But she’s too good for him and he’s afraid he will destroy her like he has everyone else in his life. Affton quickly learned she never hated Cable. She saw something in him that no one else saw. The potential to be everything. Will Cable and Affton be able to make it out the other side…together? How fine is the line between hate and love? I loved this story! It was tough to read at times. I felt for Cable and his demons and I was praying he made the right choices. Affton is badass! She doesn’t let him get away with anything, but she’s still calm and sensitive to his feelings. Cable is broody and sexy but vulnerable and smart. Affton is smart and beautiful with a heart of gold. Together their chemistry is on fire! I loved watching them both grow, learn and recover together. Sometimes it’s not the hand you’re dealt but the way you play your cards. Anything is possible if you believe in yourself and trust someone to love you.
“You’re a stunner, Reed. It’s actually pretty annoying.”
She was the place I wanted to go and maybe, just maybe, she was the play where I wanted to stay.
“You gotta know that I don’t need to be looking right at you to see you. You’ve always been there, every time I blink, I can see you on the back of my eyelids. I could draw you from memory.”
I lost my heart a long time ago to Jay Crownover’s bent but not broken bad boys, and while Rule will always be my favorite because he’s the one who introduced me to the awesomeness that is Crownover’s stories and characters, each one of her fractured alpha males finds his way into my head, into my heart, and even sometimes, into my soul, and for all his jacked up issues and addictive tendencies, Cable James McCaffrey found a way to make me understand him, want better for him, and be proud of him for all that he worked through as his and Affton’s story pushed them both to their limits and left readers amazed at just how strong both Cable and Affton were as they journeyed through Cable’s addictions and vices as well as the contradictory and overwhelming feelings that consume them when it comes to each other and what they seemingly want and need regardless of their thoughts and spoken words to the contrary.
I have to say that it was a dark, bitter, and lonely time when Crownover allowed readers inside Cable’s head, especially at the beginning of Recovered. He had so much self-loathing and misplaced anger as well as addictions that consumed every facet of his psyche and his body. It was extremely difficult to be forced to witness his downward spiral and not be able to do anything for him. Cable’s last name absolutely allowed him to get away with an horrendous amount of illegal activities, but I don’t think Cable really cared about getting caught; in some ways, I think he was acting out so abdominally to see if anyone would call him out and the fact that no one did, except a girl from his school who barely talked to him spoke volumes when it came to who he had to help him fight his addictions.
What’s also interesting is the fact that Cable would probably be the first to admit that he was and perhaps even still is a user but not for the reasons some might expect. His destructive choices continually numbed his emotions, helping him to escape the maelstrom of feelings and consent badgering that never seemed to be fully silent inside his head. Cable truly didn’t care what the drugs did to him because the freedom he felt while being on them is what kept him from having to deal with a barrage of complicated and contradictory emotions that no one else would understand.
Affton is an incredibly complex character, partly because her past is what guides every aspect of her present and partly because it’s rather difficult to understand some of the choices she makes, not only when it comes to Cable, but to herself as well. In Affton’s experience, addiction never loses; it always brought those in its clenches down to their lowest point, refusing to surrender them, so if she focuses on that idea, she shouldn’t care…she shouldn’t be angry at Cable for destroying his life with addiction…she shouldn’t want him to get help…she should have seen Cable as a lost cause and moved on. But for some reason, Affton couldn’t, and even after she’s forced into being Cable’s sobriety companion, for lack of a better term, her feelings towards Cable lead to complications that she doesn’t want or can handle because they put her right back into a situation that has the ability to overwhelm her again…to fight against and for someone who would much rather give into their addiction than fight it.
Affton doesn’t, truly, allow anyone past the walls that she has built around her heart because the love she had for her mother scarred her in life-changing ways – ones that for most of the story, I don’t see her getting past, and I can’t say that I blame her. What Affton experienced with her mother is not something that anyone should have to endure, especially at such a young age, so the fact that she holds steadfast to her mission…to her goals…to her future makes sense but because she didn’t factor in just how much Cable would get under her skin and compel her to do things she never would have done without his influence and her feelings for him, she finds herself on a path she never wanted to be on and now it’s one that she doesn’t know how or if she wants to find a way off.
Recovered is a rather interesting title for Cable and Affton’s story. For one, I don’t know if Cable will ever truly be ‘recovered’ from his addictions. He can stay clean and he can maintain his sobriety, but those demons don’t just disappear…they’re always there hoping that Cable allows them back into his life. And, there is no way that Affton has recovered from her mother’s neglect due to her addiction or the fact that Affton gave her whole heart to someone who always let her down. That kind of past…that kind of treatment can never be erased, and the fact that she had to go through someone else’s addiction with him and fight for him when he couldn’t or wouldn’t fight for himself is not something that can be forgotten.
The lessons that Affton and Cable teach each other are brutal and heartbreaking. She’s had a front row seat to Cable’s downward spiral and because she was the only one who intervened, she now finds herself responsible for his sobriety, and even though the situation was forced upon her, the days and weeks they’re together redefine her feelings for Cable, forcing her to readjust her life, in some ways, while still maintaining the parts she deems most important.
But these two bent but not broken characters can move forward, knowing that what they’ve been through, both individually and together, will continue to define them but it no longer has to hold them back or make them feel like they need to put up walls and keep people out because it’s clear that if there is someone fighting right along side the addict then there’s every chance that they will finally see improvement…finally see the light that has been submerged in the darkness for far too long…finally feel like they’ve somewhat recovered and regained control of their life, even in the smallest of ways.
4.5 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)
When I first read the Introduction notes in this book it initially made me unsure of what to expect, to explain that better I have read books by other authors who have thrown aspects in from their personal life and it didn’t work and ended up just totally cringe worthy. HOWEVER Jay Crownover has nailed it with this one! I simply just could not get enough.
These characters have taken over my life for the last 2 days and I was cursing at my teenage kids for constantly making me put this book down because they are bone idle lazy at times. Cable and Affton are the type of characters that will most likely be relatable to a lot of people who have been in the same circumstances as Cable was, simply because addictions are real and this story is as real as it gets.
Affton was mature and sensible and was determined to exceed her aspirations in life, after losing her mum to addiction she grew up fast and didn’t want to fall down that same hole. Cable felt lost and unhappy at a young age in life which led him to his addiction, he came from rich parents who sometimes failed to recognise they had a child because they were too busy bringing each other down and being socialites.
The story itself is a roller coaster of emotions, it has a couple of twists that pop up from nowhere but they add more flare to the story and are relevant to Cables circumstances. I loved the fact that the majority of the story really concentrated on the main characters and the side characters that were in there didn’t play much of a part in person.
Jay Crownover is fast becoming one of my top authors and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
I am a HUGE Jay Crownover fan and have been since Rule and the Marked Men series. There was something about him that blew my mind and still affects me years later. So when I heard that the author was releasing Recovered and it was in the same NA vein as Rule but with a more edgier feel, I could not jump on it fast enough. Affton and Cable were pure FIRE!!! I loved everything about this story and honestly could not get enough of the moody and broody Cable and all of his demons and the strong and sassy Affton who took no prisoners in her approach to dealing with him.
Affton Reed’s immediate goal in life is to live under the radar. Still dealing with the effects of her mother’s death she just wants to keep her head down and do her best to graduate High School and get out of Loveless, Texas. But a wrinkle in her determined plan? Cable James McCaffrey. As the elite and spoiled Prince of the town, Cable cares about no one but himself and his next high. But his downward spiral with drugs and alcohol brings back painful memories for Affton and she is moved to try to help him before it’s too late. But through one selfless act to help, Affton inadvertently causes an avalanche of consequences which affects her future with Cable and his path to recovery.
I LOVED this story and was consumed from the get go. Anyone who knows me knows that Enemies to Lovers stories are my jam!! Cable was sexy, raw, intense and so compelling to read. His devil may care attitude and his immediate spark with Affton was so fiery. Likewise, I loved that Affton was strong and bull headed about people she cares about and was everything Cable needed in his life that he never had growing up. She was stable, kind and considerate and everything solid he needed. All in all, this novel was an absolute joy to read and I feel the author did a fantastic job portraying an honest depiction of addiction and recovery. 5 stars! ~Ratula
I really love Jay’s books. You can’t help but love the characters. Affton and Cable’s relationship is very rocky from the very beginning and I love the hate they have for each other. (seems odd but you’ll understand once you read) This book brutal honesty and moving on from the past and moving forward and doing the best you can everyday.
“With those final words, she disappeared out the door and out of my life, leaving me alone to make the right choice for myself.”
“I had no idea, but I was positive this was going to be the best and worst thing that happened to me.”
Recovered by Jay Crownover is not a warm and fuzzy story. It dealt with the heavy topics of drug addiction and depression.
The reader is treated to Affton’s recount of her childhood. Her mother, once great, turned into an abusive drug addict after a car accident.
Then there is Cable. A seventeen-year-old privileged boy with a dysfunctional family. For him, drugs, sex, and cutting school were typical until Affton intervened. The “incident” is a spoiler, but it’s a doozy.
The road Cable and Affton needed to travel was long and arduous. I will say I was never so glad for a happy ending!
Though the novel is interesting and a page-turner, it’s ninety percent sad and left me begging for a bit of levity. That said, Recovered is a five-star novel; just have the tissues ready.
Addiction can lead even the most unsuspecting on a road of trials and tribulations. For Affton – the vices of this desperate disease have stretched through many facets of her life. With a mother that succumbed to the deadly disease, Affton knows just how tragic the road to addiction can become.
When the local high school heartthrob shows the classic signs of addiction, Affton decides to step in and create a curve on Cable’s path to destruction. Little did she know how that one decision would alter Cable’s fate. Fueled by his demons, Cable makes a decision that has lasting consequences that extend beyond that one night. With a debt that must be paid, Cable finds his life is no longer the carefree existence that was a part of his high school days.
Stepping into Cable’s life that day will come back to bite Affton in the butt. Cable’s mother is looking for a ‘keeper’ for her son and decides that Affton is the rock that can anchor his destructive behavior. Determined to keep her son from backsliding, Cable’s mother makes a demand that Affton cannot ignore. Now the duo finds themselves thrust into a living situation for the summer that neither wanted. Affton finds the situation a challenge, but is determined to see things through. In spite of their aversion to the situation, Affton and Cable quickly realize there is more brewing under the surface of their circumstance than meets the eye.
Cable only has one chance to stay on the straight and narrow. Can Affton guide him to make the right choices in his life? Is the attraction between the two valid or just a product of being thrown together for the summer? Only time will tell where these two will stand when the summer ends…..
Recovered is the novel that you didn’t realize you needed in your life. Author Jay Crownover shares that the story is loosely based on an important individual in her life. It is a work of fiction, but a glimpse into a world that is all too common for many people in the world.
The writing literally transported me into the lives of Affton and Cable with such ease and interest. I devoured every single word!! As I read each chapter, I found myself visualizing this story like I was actually in the room with these characters. It was an amazing and painful look into the repercussions of addiction. Why didn’t I read this book sooner? Well….the only excuse I have is the fact I am just now getting into the obsessive work of Jay Crownover!!
Simply put……Recovered is an amazing piece of writing that is full of the heart and soul of the author. Do yourself a favor and dive into this novel without any prejudices. FEEL the emotions that will pull you deeper into Affton and Cable’s situation. The angst, heartache, and pure adoration of the novel will touch your soul in the most unimaginable ways!!
When I randomly come across a story that pokes my interest from the blurb and the cover and I end up obsessed and longing I’m forever grateful. That’s how I feel about this wonderfully dark side of human nature and the human condition it takes to withstand that kind of storm Jay Crownover presents in Recovered.
This is a tale of ruin and rising. It’s a story of strength and redemption. One of brutally honesty and the toughest love. Ultimately, it’s a hard fought story of kindness and forgiveness. Affton Reed ensnared me in her clutches of decency, understanding, compassion and tough love, much like she did Cable James McCaffrey, and she never once let go. Affton Reed is a heroine for whom I admire and strive to model behaviors after. Her core belief system and unwavering faith in something, someONE, that she fights so hard against was as astounding as it was beautiful. Cable James McCaffrey is not an easy person to get along with let alone love. But there’s something inheriting magnetic about his presence. The way he and Affton collide was wondrous.
I could feel the truth in Jay Crownover’s writing. I could feel her pain and her glory through these two polarizing characters. Her story is more than a love story to me. It’s a cleansing, an understanding. It’ll take you out of comfort zone in a subtle way that allows to really take in the motives and find a deep passion of your own. I loved every single word and am so happy I came across Recovered. It’s one I won’t soon forget.
I love everything Jay writes, but this book really is amazing!
Jay Crownover wrote another story that knocks one off their feet. This NA novel deals with some very heartbreaking themes, such as addiction to narcotics and depression through the main character, Cable. He’s a classic bad boy, but has much more going on beneath his tough exterior: he’s hurting, and truly, the author portrays his pain in a heart wrenching manner.
“Some souls were never meant to be saved. They might end up on the right path, but without fail, they will veer off. It’s all they know how to do. No matter how badly they might be hurting other people, they still lose their way. Honestly, the hurt they cause will never compare to how much hurt they inflict upon themselves.”
Personally I never had any close contact with addicts/addiction, but I was really impressed how the author managed to describe it through this story. There was no drama, but there was a lot of angst and really intense emotions. From depression, sadness, to elation, from the lowest low to the highest high, from hurt and pain to gentleness, and love.
Affton’s a girl who feels truly conflicted about Cable. She wants to hate him, but she also feels a great deal of sympathy. Trying to help someone who doesn’t want your help builds a great deal of resentment, and they start their relationship as enemies. However, as they inevitably see each other through good days, bad days, laughter and tears, happiness and pain, their differences create a strong bond, and since the attraction had always sizzled between them, they soon become lovers. The author managed to describe their physical relationship in explicit way, but in the same time make it beautiful and intense and full of emotions. Both characters are very open and not shy, and although this physical aspect is important in their relationship, in no way does it dominate in the book.
“We ignited.
We went up in flames.
We burned and singed each other over and over again.”
While I really sympathized with our tortured, broody bad boy Cable, Affton’s the one who stole my heart. She is very opinionated and determined to carve her own way through life, even though she never had it easy. She has her own heartbreaking story, but she used it only to strengthen her self. She stands up for herself. She’s kind to others, but doesn’t allow anyone to put her down. She is truly an extraordinary girl, who falls in love with a tortured boy – not and addict, as she mentioned multiple times, but a recovering addict . And there lays a crucial difference.
“The boy was so lost I wondered if he could ever be found. He was the one I was going to let in. He was the one I’d never been able to keep out.”
There is a lot of struggling and pain, but Jay Crownover has the manner of writing that pulls you in, that combines internal thoughts with as much dialog and action, and never bores you, but makes you turn page after page in anticipation. It’s a beautiful NA story with so much angst and pain, but ultimately gives hope in better tomorrow and faith that not everything lost must be lost forever. Recommended read.
“Everyone else had been a distraction, but Affton Reed, she was a destination. She was the place I wanted to go and maybe, just maybe, she was the place where I wanted to stay.”
Jay is definitely a one click author for me and even though this was originally written in her newsletter I waited to read the final edited version and can honestly say I have yet another book boyfriend! Cable and Afton are not perfect, they are real and those are the characters that make the best stories! You will not be disappointed with this book!
This book was wonderful. It was raw and emotional and simply a beautiful love story. I definitely recommend this book, and this author.
The story the author writes about in this book is a personal one for her and I was expecting some heavy angst. While the subject matter of depression and addiction are no laughing matter the book is not as dark as I thought it would be. It’s not bright and cheery either but I thought the author did a great job of showing us the ugly side of addiction while also keeping a little white light in the corner where you knew it was going to eventually be ok.
RECOVERED is a new adult standalone that deals with some tough issues that may be a trigger for some. That being said, this story is SO beautiful even in the ugliness it sprouts from!
Cable and Affton had been classmates since middle school but never really liked each other. In fact, Affton firmly hated Cable and Cable usually just ignored Affton. They’ll find that they’re actually pretty good for each other when they’re forced to spend the summer together.
Affton and Cable are about as opposite as you could get! Affton is driven, serious, ernest and determined to get out of the small town of Loveless. I loved how strong and independent she was despite the horror of losing her mother to addiction. Cable is spoiled, entitled, frivolous, rich and addicted to drugs just like Affton’s mom was. He takes his status for granted without apology. But of course, there’s more than meets the eye. I won’t give away any spoilers but I will say that Cable’s story is just so sad! My heart broke for him as weird as that sounds considering how big of a jerk he could be. Yeah, I may have even shed a few tears! I absolutely ADORED watching Cable’s raw and emotional journey to sobriety.
This story is about forgiveness, redemption, CONNECTION. It’s about finding the strength and courage to move on from the past and the willingness to love yourself. It’s sexy and sweet, brutal and honest. Definitely my favorite from Jay Crownover so far and an addition to my READ AGAIN E-SHELF! Told from dual POVs with a happy ending. I received, read and voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book (and then I bought it!)