‘When my heart met yours, it knew.’Some truths are hard to ignore and Elijah Cooper’s truth is that he has loved Amy Brown for as long as he can remember. Since the first time he saw her outside a history class his life was never the same again. His first love, his soulmate, the woman he adores.Amy Brown has loved Elijah Cooper since they were teenagers. Since he crashed into her world and turned … he crashed into her world and turned it upside down with his charm. He was her first and her last. Until one night changes everything. A night where they will both lose the most precious thing to them – each other.
Five years later and separate lives have taken them further and further apart. Nothing is the same, apart from every feeling that they’ve ever had. This is a story of young love, heartbreak, and maybe second chances. Can you trust your heart though when first love comes calling again?
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Why haven’t I read this book sooner! It had me reading late into the night and talk about being on the edge of my seat. I wasn’t sure if Elijah and Amy would ever get it together because they seemed to continue drifting apart and determined to move on with their lives. At one point I didn’t even want them together because they just seemed so unhappy when near each other and I felt like the damage and hurt from what Amy believed happened 5 years ago was too much to overcome.
The story is told from the dual POV of Elijah and Amy. It also flips between the past and present as we see the lead up to what eventually separated this couple. I liked how the author didn’t reveal everything at once and we also got to see how the couple separating affected not just them but also the people around them. Nikki Ashton really knows how to show what her characters are feeling and having the reader experience it along with them. She shows that life isn’t perfect and some people make choices or decisions that may not make sense to others. She shows the reality of life and how we all make mistakes.
I want to address the negative reviews I’ve read for Elijah as I’m shocked by how a small group of ‘reviewers’ seemed to band together and set out ensuring others wouldn’t pick up this book and make up their own mind by reading it. Not every book is going to suit every reader. There’s going to be things in a book that you don’t agree with. You may not enjoy a book that someone else has loved. All of that is fine. BUT it’s not fine to pick apart someone’s hard work in delivering a book they spent hours putting together. It’s not fine reviewing a book that you haven’t even read just because your friend didn’t like it. And then to make comments about the readers who do enjoy this book is also low. These so called ‘reviewers’ need to give up reviewing if they’re going to be bullies when they come across a book that they don’t like. Move on and spend the time on finding a book you do enjoy instead of attacking an author and their work. It’s people like them who make authors want to give up on writing and it’s wrong!
For me, this book was a hit and I enjoyed it because it’s realistic and shows the reality for some people. It shows how we all make mistakes and sometimes try to ignore what our hearts really want because of the fear of being hurt again. It shows how what we do doesn’t always make sense to others even if it makes sense to us at the time. It shows that life isn’t a fairytale and not all love stories or romances are butterflies and roses. It shows just how crappy life and love can be. So hats off to Nikki Ashton for writing reality rather than fairytale!!!