When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops. I was the awkward musician, and she was the high school queen. The only things we had in common were our music and our loneliness. Something in her eyes told me her smile wasn’t always the truth.Something in her voice gave me a hope I always wished to find. And in a flash, she was gone. Years later, she was standing in front of me on a … she was standing in front of me on a street in New Orleans.
She was different, but so was I. Life made us colder. Harder. Isolated.
Caged.
Even though we were different, the broken pieces of me recognized the sadness in her.
Now she was back, and I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting her go again.
When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.
When we met again, I became her darkest storm.
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I have never been so emotionally moved by a book in my life. I didn’t just fall in love with these characters, I walked 300 pages in their shoes, I BECAME then, and I am forever changed. Behind the Bars is true Brittainy C. Cherry magic. 5 achingly beautiful stars!
* A review copy was provided by the author for the Blog Tour *
I truly can’t give this book enough stars for how AMAZING this story truly is!!!
Behind the Bars is only my second book by Brittainy C Cherry that I have read and I have to say it was beyond AMAZING!!! Her books just suck me in and all the feelings that her stories invoke are incomparable to any other book I have read.
This is the first standalone novel to her newest series and I think this series is off to a great start. I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
I don’t want to talk too much about the storyline, because this is a story that you need to FEEL for yourself. I will warn you though, this book does cover some really tough subjects and although it isn’t overly graphic, some parts were tough for me to read. I know I had to take several breaks to get my heart back to normal. This story was a roller coaster of emotions for me. It hit close to home in some aspects, I truly felt a personal connection to this story.
This is a standalone novel and is told from Dual POV. I felt it was a friends to lovers style book because she created an amazing friendship between Jasmine and Elliott. But it is also an opposites attract type story. You’ll understand that once you read the book. Even though Jasmine and Elliott were opposites they were also so much alike. I loved getting to know them as young 16 year old high school students but also following them into adulthood 6 years later and they are young adults. I thought this was the perfect way to write this story and to build the perfect connection not only to these two characters but also all the secondary characters.
I can honestly say this is one of my ALL TIME favorite books of 2017 and I believe this book is a MUST READ for everyone. The characters were captivating and the storyline was intriguing, emotional, heartbreaking and heartwarming all in one.
You don’t want to miss this AMAZING book!!!!
One of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read. Brittainy C Cherry has a way with words. Words that give all the FEELS. Words that are soo soo true they hurt.
Absolutely magnificent! Mind blowing and Heart touching.
Brittainy C Cherry definitely has a gift for writing and touch the hearts of their readers. I’ve read your books for a while and every new book she brings a story unique, exciting and that brings up a tornado of emotions.
Behind the Bars brings the story of Jasmine and Elliot and is told in two parts.The first met them as a teenager and to me that part of the story that touched my heart for the purity of these two characters and also the part that I shed a few tears.The second part of the story is told 6 years later and when these characters meet again, but a lot has happened in the lives of these two and aren’t longer the same.The journey of these two isn’t easy, but it’s beautiful to read.
Like all books of this author, in this book each character touches our hearts. I fell in love with Jasmine and Elliot, and the others but in particular for Ray and TJ. Jasmine and Elliot both are great, but who stole my heart it was Elliot. How not to fall in love with shy, loving boy that I met? I want to hug him in good parts of the book.
Behind the bars brings a fantastic love story, but the book is more than that,He tackles subjects that we should give a little more attention, brings a story of forgiveness, acceptance, second chances and find your truth. A unique, emocional and fantastic story and that will certainly to my favorites list of 2017.
5 Emotional Stars
What an emotionally filled fantastic Book!!! Brittainy C. Cherry has nailed the ability to write a beautiful book that sucks you in from page one, leaving you raw by the end of the book.
Jasmine wanted to live. Live the life she had dreamed of. Yet her mother was set on having Jasmine live the life she never had.
Elliott was the music to Jasmine. The shy, stuttering young man who suffered daily in school.
“Because I’m pretty sure judging someone based on what they have is just as awful as judging someone for what they don’t have.”
As we read into this wonderful story, we quickly realize that maybe family isn’t always blood related…
Family. We take care of one another.
Riding the wave of feelings is what this book does for you. From the little waves to the tsunami sized waves!
“Just give it a minute. Feel what you need to feel. You can’t rush feelings. You just gotta let yourself ride the wave of them.”
True acceptance meant learning to live again.
Boy oh Boy, did Jazz and Ell learn to live again! It wasn’t an easy road for these two. With the key to home always there, it was just finding the right lock to unlock. Never giving up until the door opened.
Fantastic Book that Everyone should read!!!
*More than 5 stars* – “Music was a reminder that I was never really alone”
I really don’t know how to start this review ‘cuz I just want to do it the justice it so deserves. I’ve read other books by this author and every time her words just get to me but this book, this story is just in another league! My heart was just breaking and I had to stop reading at some point ‘cuz I couldn’t see the words through the tears I cried. There’s a theme in this book that was hitting it so very close to home for me ‘cuz I went through it too and that makes a story like this even more heartbreaking but in the end the author mended my breaking heart.
This book is definitely one of my top reads for 2017 and an absolute must read!
Jasmine seems to have it all. The designer bag, being the popular girl at school, … but inside she is dying every single day. When she meets Elliott, something she thought was buried very deep in her soul started to come alive and through the one thing they have in common, music, they feel a connection they don’t feel with anyone else. But her mom drags her away from school and she has to leave Elliott behind. And when one tragic night changes everything, the one thing that was keeping Elliott afloat, dies along with it. Years later, Jasmine finally breaks free from the hold her mother has over her and she returns home but things aren’t the same and Elliott isn’t the boy she used to know. Will they both get a second chance or will their past drag them down…?
Wow, this was some ride with this couple. This romance centered around music. I received this for free and I voluntarily chose to review it. This is not for the under 18 readers because of violence and sexual content. There was a lot of action, but not always in a good way. I must say this has a lot of feels in it and you might want to keep a tissue handy. There was a lot of growing and healing and sometimes, just moving on. There are a couple interesting angles with how people view music in this and sometimes I just wanted to do something to a couple characters in this story. So much so, I read late into the morning a couple of days, just to get to a stopping point just to be able to sleep. There were a whole lot of issues being addressed here. It was almost too much to take in. I’ve given this a 5* rating. This is not for the faint of heart.
This is another good one from Brittainy C. Cherry. Love and music….. What more could you ask for?
I finished this book over a month ago and I still don’t have the right words to describe how damn wonderful this story was. Then I realized that I don’t really even need to say much because well, it’s Brittainy Cherry. She’s the best!
I just loved these characters. They made me laugh, they made me cry, they even had me ready to throw my kindle across the room because I was so upset.
It’s not even just the main characters who I love but the secondary characters in Brittainy’s stories always leave an everlasting impression on me as well. They stand out. I mean, you don’t hardly ever get that in other stories. Sure you get the hero’s best friend or the heroine’s sibling but we get a tiny bit of them. Not with Brittainy. We know them. We even love them as much as we love the main characters. Sometimes we even hate them yet feel sorry for them at the same time.
This girl just knows the way to my heart. Her books make me so happy. I can always count on her to pull me out of a book slump. If you haven’t read this one yet then I highly recommend it!
Sweet. Characters still found love!
I have no idea how anyone can give this less than 5 stars. I know that I WANT KEYS!!! I wish I had read this story earlier in my life so I could have given loved ones keys to ensure they always knew they had a home! I loved this sentimental idea, along with so much in this book. Tear jerking, sweet, and complicated that made my heart hurt and soar. This author really knows how to weave her words to provide one heck of an experience for her reader! If more people in this world knew that they were loved no matter what their scars looked like, it would be an incredible place…one filled with love in stead of hate, one filled with people who weren’t afraid or criticized to be themselves.
Brittainy Cherry does it again! What a breathtaking read. I’m always so in awe of the emotional depth Brittainy works into her stories, and this one was no exception. The love her characters experience feels big and real and beautiful, even if it’s not always pretty or perfect. Behind the Bars tackled some very difficult topics, but ultimately managed to send a message of hope and forgiveness that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished the book.
I love a Brittainy C. Cherry book, I love them all and Behind The Bars is no exception. I love the depth she gives each character and how she explores them. I’m excited to see what other stories come out of this series!
It is a heartbreaking amazing story from Brittainy C. Cherry again. The plot was slowly unfolded and the characters have been given the most common property of the world. The authoress shows and teaches us how important the family is or the lack of it. If you have a family you are never alone, even if somestimes you feel it.
Read more: http://inbookeden.blogspot.com/2017/12/brittainy-c-cherry-behind-bars-arc.html
I enjoyed this book very much. I loved the fact that the characters had flaws and learned to love themselves and others in spite of those flaws. The book made one realize that everyone has a need to just be held; sometimes without conversation, or judgement. The author made you feel the music in the way she described it, and made you realize it is ok to love who you love the way you need to love them.
I was in tears yet again after reading another book by this amazing author. Behind the Bars was so amazing. I loved Jasmine and Elliott. These two characters formed the best and most beautiful relationship ever. I loved watching them fall in love and how much they were willing to do to protect one another. Elliott was so perfect and innocent and made it damn hard not to fall in love with him immediately. Jasmine was so sweet and I felt so bad for her situation, but Elliott makes life and music her beacon of love and passion. He is her home.
It broke my heart to see how much Elliott changed when Jasmine returned to New Orleans, but she breathed life back into him and it was utter perfection. I also really loved TJ, Elliott’s mom, and his sister. I can’t help wanting to get emotional just thinking about this book. It was so beautiful and I loved every moment reading this book. Brittainy C. Cherry is such a poetic writer who will get you so lost in her books.
I have read just about all her books and they all fascinate my mind and sense of story.
ALL OF THESE STARS for this PHENOMENAL READ!
WOW! This was definitely the best book in 2017 and one of the most touching I’ve ever read. I was blown by how emotional and realistic it’s been written. I don’t even know how to begin to explain how phenomenal this book was because no words would do it justice. Brittainy C. Cherry’s writing is so touching and beautiful; she has a true talent and is one of the very best writers that I know of.
The blurb didn’t give much away and left me curious at what I was getting myself into. In no way could I have been prepared for this amazing story. It showed me what it meant to be beautifully sad and taught me about real strength.
I usually write something about the story in my review but I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll just tell you to open up your heart and let yourself be moved by this incredible read.
Elliot’s character reminded me a lot about myself, though he has a lot more strength than I will ever have. He’s the most perfect character ever written, not because his life was perfect – it was far from it – but because he had a heart of gold.
All these characters, Elliot, Jasmine, TJ, Ray, Laura, Jason, Katie and all the others had so much love to give and cared so much about one another like a big family. They were definitely rich of love.
This was no easy tale but an emotionally painful and heartbreaking story about the most wonderful and realistically written people.
There was so much pain and heartache but also deep, pure and honest to God love. These innocent and vulnerable teenagers had it rough in their lives early on for different reasons, but they had found each other and gave each other strength, love and trust in their friendship. Elliot was such a sweet boy. My heart ached for what he was put through at school and I was amazed at how selfless he was despite everything. He didn’t care what was being done to him as long as his loved ones were okay. He brought me to tears with his big caring heart and it broke my heart how horrible he was treated in school by those bullies.
Jasmine was a sweet girl and I could easily understand that she wanted to help Elliot. Her situation wasn’t so much easier with her mum blaming her for things she wasn’t at fault. I was just glad that she had Ray.
Their grown up selves were not as innocent anymore, had a lot more baggage to carry and to work through a lot, but no matter how thick the wall was they’d built around their hearts, a lot of re-strained emotions were flowing through them.
Conclusion:
I don’t need alphas, MCs or overdramatic storylines but exactly this! An honest, real life kind of story with genuine characters so humble and perfect, you can’t imagine that someone just made them up. A story so authentic and touching, you feel almost suffocated by all these overwhelming emotions swamping your body. This is an absolute must-read and re-read!
This book has been in my TBR for a while and I finally read it. Brittainy Cherry does not disappoint.
There is so much emotion in this book. Emotions that young teens should never have to experience. Insecurity. Inadequacy. Fear. Sadness. Desolation. Guilt. Loss. Nothing.
Even as young adults these traumatic life experiences and extreme emotions have molded Elliott and Jasmine. He’s a shell. She’s in denial. Both alone. Both barely coping.
Music. Music is an outlet for everything you feel. It can be happy. It can pour out sadness and cry. It can fill with rage. Music expresses emotion. The listener feels. Listening with their ears and mind, heart and soul. Music is an escape. It’s is healing.
For Elliott and Jasmine music is all of that. OST importantly it’s healing. It’s hope.
This story is also about forgiveness. Forgiving yourself. Forgiving the ones who violated your trust, your childhood. It’s not easy and it’s not without pain. But the journey to self-forgiveness is also a journey to love.
This book was amazing.
Brittainy Cherry owns my heart and soul!!!! Behind The Bars is one of the most extraordinary, compelling and captivating books I’ve ever read. It’s so beautifully written, it’s heart wrenching and emotional(I cried seven times while reading it). I felt like I became a part of this book and it continues to linger in my mind. Jasmine and Elliott are everything!!! They met while in high school, Jasmine being the popular girl with an beautiful soulful voice who had an unhappy life at home and was being driven by a very demanding mother. Elliott is the sweet, shy, nerdy and talented boy who’s a genius at playing the saxophone. They developed a friendship and connected through their love of music. Both of them are full of passion, talent and soul. Their connection and chemistry is unparalled and they are very easy to fall in love with. Certain events happen that cause immense pain and suffering to them. It’s heart breaking reading their pain and struggles but it’s written so well that you can’t put it down. Their love for each other definitely conquered all. Kudos to Brittainy Cherry for writing a good, strong and supportive secondary characters as well. I literally loved every single word, sentence and chapter of Behind The Bars; especially the epilogue.