Liam James, boy next door and total douchebag, is my brother’s best friend. I can’t stand him. Well, that’s not strictly true, at night I see a side of him that no one else does. Every night Liam becomes my safe haven, my protector, the one to chase the demons of my abusive childhood away and hold all the broken pieces of me together.He’s cocky, he’s arrogant, and he’s also some sort of playboy … of playboy in training. With his ‘hit it and quit it’ mentality, he’s the last person you’d want to fall in love with. I only wish someone had told my heart that…
The international bestselling novel, and finalist of the Goodreads choice awards YA fiction 2012.
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I’m not even sure where to start! I have sat on the writing of this review for 2 days because I’m struggling with what to write – other than – LOVE!
For some reason I had not even heard of this book until about a month ago. And I am so ashamed of not knowing of its existence.
Liam James fast became my newest addition to the book boyfriend Hall of Fame. He is an incredibly sweet, caring and well written character. I fell in love with him almost immediately.
His relationship with Amber Walker is one dreams are made of. Her past traumas ruling her life – all except life with Liam. He somehow has what it takes to break her walls and make her feel safe. Something she has dreamed of and craved, of all her short 16 years.
This story is incredibly romantic, sweet, funny, nurturing and reminds you what it felt like falling in love for the first time.
Am just so in love with this book and am so excited to read more from Kirsty
I love the premise of this story!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration:
Romance:
Heat/Steam:
Story/Plot:
World building:
Character development:
The heroine: Amber – When she was young, her Dad got a new job and changed completely. He was physically and sexually abusive which colored her world for years to come, even long after he was gone.
The Hero(s): Liam – The bad boy of the school, best friends with Ambers brother Jake. Jake and Liam are hockey players and they are the guys who all other guys want to be and all the girls want to be with. Many of the girls have.
The Story: One night when Liam was outside, he sees young Amber crying in her room and climbs in the window to comfort her. They fall asleep and in then morning, Liam crawls back out the window and into his own. The same happened the following night and the night after that. Fast forward eight years and they have rarely spent a night apart and neither is able to sleep alone.
Though Amber and Liam spend every night holding each other, they don’t get along at all during the daylight hours. Amber sees Liam as a player and an STD waiting to happen, her brothers best friend and the guy that lives to torment her. Nothing sexual had ever happened between them. She thinks maybe Liam has a dual personality and categorizes him as day Liam (cocky arrogant jerk) and night Liam (the guy that comforts her and keeps her nightmares at bay).
This is a re-read for me and I loved the book when I read it years ago. Now, after 1500+ books in between, I saw it a bit differently. The beginning of the book was so immature I almost stopped listening. I could really tell this was her first book. Some of the scenes were beyond belief. Like when Amber is totally amazed Liam remembers her McDonalds order and in the next second we find out that she gets the same thing every time and that the three of them had been to McDonalds together hundreds of times in the past.
Another example is when Liam touching her sends her into a tailspin at one point and then her inner commentary reflects on the fact that she hates to be touched by anyone other than her brother, her mother and Liam. The book did get much better as it went along and I still liked it quite a lot, just not quite as much as I did the first time around. Though, I think I just love the thought about two kids sleeping together innocently every night and eventually falling in love. I also liked how sweet and protective Liam is over Amber.
As for the narration, I didn’t like the female narrator (Leah Mallach) because Amber is supposed to be 16 years old and I would have liked a voice that fit that age a bit better. I know that narration isn’t acting and if you just listen to audiobooks to have someone read the book to you out loud, then she did a good job. However, for me I like the voices to match the characters.
When I asked an author why she started writing, she said it was because of this story.
I can see the appeal.
I thought it was good too.
This is a story about young love and so much more.
It was very in grossing from the start.
I loved how the story pulled me in.
There’s some very serious situations I would caution some readers about.
I thought the story worked through theses issues though to a certain degree.
This is the most basic romance story I’ve ever read, however it was a good read. The title is a little creepy though.
This is one of my most favorite books. I read it whenever I get frustrated and it always calms me down!!
Love this story
Oh the feels. That was an emotional ride and the author wrote the story beautifully! Some sensitive topics written perfectly in my opinion. Everyone needs a boyfriend like Liam. A lovely read!
This was a great read. I look forward to reading more from this author. I definitely recommend this book, and this author.
Loved the idea, hated the execution.
Awesome