Can't Hardly Breathe Review

    Can't Hardly Breathe was such a fun book for me! I've been in a bit of a reading slump so I decided to pick up  this book. I'm a sucker for romance novels, even the cheesy ones. This book was far from cheesy. I loved every minute of it. 
The book starts out sharing a glimpse into Dorothea (don't call her Dottie!) and Daniel's past. Beginning the story the way she did, I think Gena Showalter set the tone for the rest of the book very well. Dorothea is tough as nails but because of things in her past, she has convinced herself otherwise. Her self-esteem is lower than lower as we meet the present Dorothea. It's very easy to relate to and sympathize with her. Who hasn't had  a moment of feeling like they weren't worthy? 
One of my favorite things about this book is that Dorothea doesn't just think she's not the traditional standard of beautiful, she really isn't. Every guy in town isn't falling all over themselves for her attention. Well, not at first, anyway. She's beautiful to Daniel. He sees her in a way that the other characters in the book don't and while it thrills Dorothea, it scares her too. Throughout the book her confidence and self-worth grows as she grows as a person. She finally breaks out of the shell she's been living in and makes an effort to live in the real world, even when it's hard and scary.    The characters are fleshed out well. Most of the focus is on Dorothea and Daniel but you do get a glimpse into the personalities of the other characters and what makes them tick. It's a really good set up for the rest of the series. You learn just enough about them to keep you interested. 
I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down until I was finished! Gena Showalter has been added to my favorite authors list and I cannot wait to read the rest of this series! (Especially Brock, he was one of my favorite characters!)   

BOOK BLITZ: NEIGHBORS WITH BENEFITS - MARISSA CLARKE + REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!!

***Disclaimer:I received this book via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest opinion. Any thoughts and opinions are my own.***

Book & Author Details:

Neighbors with Benefits by Marissa Clarke 

Published by: Entangled: Lovestruck

Publication date: June 30th 2015

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

A satisfying category romance from Entangled’s new Lovestruck imprint…

Love thy sexy jerk of a neighbor…

CEO Michael Anderson might be something of a “control freak.” Still, he’s not quite sure why his therapist thinks dogsitting will fix anything—especially since he and the canine share a kind of mutual loathing. And to make matters worse, a house sitter moves in next door disrupting his peace—and his dates—with the worst possible music at the worst possible time… every time.

Free-spirited artist Mia Argaropolis has settled into the perfect gig—housesitting in NYC’s Upper West Side while working as an art therapist. Too bad she’s stuck living next door to a bossy control freak with a penchant for calling building security when she blasts music to drown out the noises coming through his bedroom wall.

Post-apocalyptic dinner rolls that nearly take her kitchen with them, a douchebag ex, and a Shih Tzu with the personality of Godzilla attack Mia in one day, and her unlikely neighbor comes to the rescue. Like it was her fault. And now, somehow, they find themselves engaged? Both agree, this neighborly feud just got taken to a whole new level.

Goodreads

Purchase:

Amazon | B&N

Review: 

I like Marissa Clarke's writing style. It's engaging and entertaining and keeps you in the story. This is the second book in the Anderson Brother series but it can be read as a stand alone. 

Michael is straight-laced and a little uptight. Mia is the complete opposite. The story is a little cliche'. The guy is uptight, the girl is a free spirit. They can't stand each other and then all of a sudden they're all the other can think about it. BUT it's a great spin on the story, thanks to a dog Michael is talked into sitting by his psychiatrist. The way that Marissa Clarke wrote this common story makes it very interesting. You don't feel like "Oh, I've read this before" or "Oh, I already know what's going to happen." It's very refreshing and entertaining. 

I enjoyed this book so much but it's very hard for me to talk about it without giving away a lot of spoilers because it was so good I just want to talk about the whole book! I will say that at the beginning of the book I was very turned off by Michael. I thought he was a complete jerk and was hoping that someone else was going to swoop in and steal Mia. But once things started heating up between them, I quickly changed my mind!! They're a great match once they were able to get over their differences. I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to checking out the rest of the series! 

AUTHOR BIO:

Marissa Clarke lives in Texas, where everything is bigger, especially the mosquitoes. 

When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, husband, and a Cairn Terrier named Annabel, who rules the house (and Marissa's heart) with an iron paw.  She loves to connect with readers, so follow/friend her on Facebook and Twitter or shoot her an email from her website "Contact" page.

Author links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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WARNING! NEGATIVE REVIEW: Fallen - Annie Lobert

**I received a copy of this book via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Any thoughts and opinions are my own.** 

Warning: This is going to be a negative review. 

I do not like doing negative reviews. To date I think I only have two negative reviews posted on this actual blog. I usually save negative reviews for Goodreads/NetGalley. But, in this case I feel like I need to post about this book and why I am giving it a negative review. I actually threw this book away. I am one of the most enraged people when I hear about someone just throwing a book away but I threw this one in the trash with no hesitation. That is how much I hated this book. 

I would have rather read Fifty Shades of Grey in Russian sitting naked on an ice cube in the North Pole while getting a root canal than to ever read this book again. 

If you've seen some of my other reviews on here or Goodreads, at some point I've reviewed other Christian books and I even mention my own faith. Let me start this out by saying I am NOT a perfect Christian and I do not pretend to be one. I'm an ugly sinner just like everyone else. This is not a post to be pious. 

I was really excited to have the opportunity to read this book. I first learned about Annie Lobert and Hookers For Jesus a few years back when my husband and I were watching a documentary about the sex industry. The whole idea seemed really great to me and I thought it was something that was an opportunity to be an amazing ministry and way to reach a lot of people that most churches shun should they attempt to darken a church door. I am a sucker for a powerful testimony and I love seeing how far people have come from where they were before their relationship with God. It's an amazing, emotional blessing to see God working in others' lives. I thought I was going to be reading a story about redemption and how she found her way to God and how she's now helping other women who are hurting, struggling, aching for God in their lives. This was not the story I got. 

I knew that I was going to be getting Annie's history at the beginning of this book. That is how most books like this begin. You need to know the sinner in order to appreciate the saint. Within the first two chapters of the book I was already starting to lose interest because she immediately starts blaming other people for her poor life choices. I'm okay with people making bad mistakes in their lives. I've made plenty. But I accept responsibility for my actions. I've had some pretty dark things happen to me in my life that weren't necessarily my "fault" but had I made better decisions I wouldn't have gotten myself in those situations to begin with. Annie blaming the fact that her father was strict and didn't often physically show affection as part of her reason to become a hooker just left a bad taste in my mouth. And then she compounded that blame onto past boyfriends. She slept with her first serious boyfriend and he didn't want anything to do with her afterwards, so she became a hooker. She went to wild college parties and got completely trashed and had drunk sex with random men, so she became a hooker. She and her best friend went to this nightclub and met an older man who looked like he had lots of money, so she became a hooker. 

The last one is what really got to me. She mentions in the book that she flies to Hawaii to see her best friend after her best friend starts dating this older man and before she even got on the plane she knew she was going to be hooking in Hawaii. I tried to go with it. There are a lot of women who do porn just because they enjoy it. No one enticed them, they made up their own minds. Women's lib! I thought after the first mention of this, it would quickly progress into "I was a hooker, I got into some bad stuff, I found Jesus, and now I'm helping other hookers find Jesus, Amen." (A little simplistic, but you get the point.) Instead, the first TEN chapters of this book went on and on about she was such an amazing hooker and was soooooo good at what she did that she was pulling in all of this money and she was practically sleeping on stacks of dollar bills because she was such a hot, amazing hooker. I wish I were exaggerating this, but I'm not. She literally spent ten whole chapters talking about what an awesome hooker she was. And how much money she made. And then talked about her abusive boyfriend who beat the crap out of her in front of people more than once and once beat her so bad that she couldn't work as an awesome hooker and stayed in a bed for weeks trying to re-cooperate. Pimp was cutting into her money. This guy loooved her so much that he shoved her face in dog crap. And what did she do? Stayed. But why did she stay? Not because she "loved" him as she claims. If you read a few sentences past the "but I loved him's", you'll see that she stayed with him because he had all of her fancy jewelry and she wanted it back. She actually LEFT him and then went back because she wanted the jewelry. 

So, this book rocks on...more awesome hooker-y stuff until she talks about her sister's death and her self getting sick with cancer. Somewhere in the midst of this she had already made a "deal" with God that she would straighten her life up if he would help her. God followed through, she didn't. (Haven't we all done this? The "spare-tire" religion promise?) I thought, "FINALLY, I can relate to her!" I've been there in those dark moments begging for God to help and promising something that I knew I wasn't really going to deliver on. I don't know many people who haven't. But here's where the book got weird for me on a Christian stand-point. She talks about seeing her sister's ghost and some other strange things  happening in her sister's house after her sister died. And that's what brought her to Jesus, again. That's not a Biblical thing so I'm not really sure if she dreamed (she swears she was awake) or if she hallucinated it out of exhaustion and grief. The other thing that got me was her saying that she received the Holy Spirit before she accepted Jesus into her heart. That's definitely not Biblical. And then stops hooking, because she's straightening her life up, right? But then she starts stripping because that's not the same thing as hooking and she can still make big bucks. And then she goes back to hooking because she needs to make more money because now she is sick and she can't get a regular job with benefits because hooking pays way more money for less hours so she can just hook her way through cancer treatment and then give it up once she's better. Logic. She even goes to meet "Johns" with open wounds from her chemo radiation because she would rather not go and get a real job with health benefits because she makes so much money hooking. Oh and at this point she's been hooking for 15+ years but not because she's being forced into it. It's because she likes the money. Money, money, money was also a main theme for the majority of the book. 

Somewhere in the midst of all of that she also gets with a guy who tells her she doesn't have to be a hooker anymore and that he will take care of her. So she stops hooking again. But then she starts gambling. And then goes back to hooking so that she can pay off her gambling debts. Her boyfriend finds out and instead of being mad, he just makes her promise not to do it again and they go back to their normal lives. But then they both make a bad business deal and lose a lot of money and are about to lose the "castle" that she lives in so she gets hooked on cocaine. And in order to hide the fact that she's on cocaine she starts hooking again to pay for it so that her boyfriend doesn't know. And then somewhere in there she just decides one day that she's not going to do it anymore and she gets right with God again. It was such a quick progression that I almost missed it. 

And then we get into her pursuit for a rich husband. And the fact that she prayed to God to send her husband almost immediately after she got saved. A rich husband because men are supposed to provide for their wives and she shouldn't have to work. Or something like that. And so she landed a "rock star", Oz Fox, whom most people of my generation have never even heard of. (I actually had to ask my husband who he was.) But instead of being incredibly grateful that God did in fact send her a rich husband, she went straight into talking about how great it was for her to have married a rock star because she's always wanted to make music (I forgot to mention that she bragged about hanging out with Prince in the beginning of the book) and that being married to a rock star would help her live out that dream. Never once does she give God any credit for any of this. It's all about making more money. 

And then finally we get to the part about salvation and giving your life to God. If you blink, sneeze, drop the book, etc., you will miss it. It was very disappointing because Ms. Lobert had a real opportunity to reach a lot of people that mainstream churches do not reach. And there are a lot of people in this world who, when debating about whether to give their lives to God, will read books like this to see how God has worked in their lives. First-time Christians probably aren't going to get much out of this one. 

Let's go over what I DID learn from this book: 

• Hookers in Hawaii can make a lot of money if they go after all of the Asian businessmen because they are not intimidating and they are usually smaller in stature so you can give them a beat down if they try anything funny. 
• If you're blonde, have long legs, and look younger than you really are,  you will make A LOT of money being a hooker. 
• Hooking makes you a lot of money but eventually a Pimp will "break" you and you will have to give him all of your money. 
• If you decide not to give him all of your money and become a "rogue" hooker, you're going to have a bad time. 
• If a pimp has all of your expensive jewelry, you should go back to him and be his "bottom chick" again so that you can get your jewelry back. It doesn't matter if he beats you. 
• Buy a condo, let said pimp move himself and his other hoes in and then just leave. 
• Cancer is not a reason to stop hooking. 
• When asked why you started hooking, blame everyone but yourself. 
• Get a rich husband who just happens to be a rock star with music connections so that you can finally record your own album since you didn't get to record one with Prince because your friends were concerned about your hooking.
• If I want to make a lot of money in a short period of time, I should become a hooker. 
• If I need a lot of money, I should become a hooker. 
• If I want to know how to be an awesome, amazing, super hooker, I should look up Annie Lobert because that's what her book is about. 
• If I want to sell a book about what an awesome hooker I was, I should throw in the last few pages something about God. 

That last bullet point. That's how I feel about this entire book. I do not feel like Annie Lobert was genuine in anything that she wrote in this book in regards to trying to turn people on to a relationship with God. I know as a Christian you aren't supposed to judge people. It's something I struggle with every day. Even this post, it's hard not to pass judgement on her as a write this review because this book was essentially about her life. If I look at this book as a work of fiction, it would basically be eyeroll after eyeroll of "seriously?", "you've got to be kidding me!", "how many more tropes can you throw in here to make it even more fantastical?". This isn't a book to bring people to God. As a matter of fact, if I didn't already know something about God and Christianity, I wouldn't even want to be a Christian after reading about how amazing and glamorous her life was before Christ. It honestly felt like she just wanted to write a book about her amazing hooker life and thought she would sell more books if she used the Christian angle. Very disappointed. 

I give it negative 5 "nope, it's in the trash" stars. 

REVIEW: Bitter Sweet Love - R.C. Stephens

**Disclaimer: I received this book via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Any thoughts and opinions are my own.**

BOOK DETAILS:

Bitter Sweet Love by R.C. Stephens 
(Twisted Series #1) 
Publication date: January 18th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis: 
After enduring an abusive childhood and having her heart broken by the only boy she trusts, Alexis White vows to never let anyone hurt her again. She’s left her troubled past behind and starts a new life at college. For the past seven years, her social calendar has been filled with frat parties, drinking, and meaningless sexual hook-ups. Until one night she unexpectedly gets saved by a tall, dark, and handsome French foreigner, Luc Blanchard. He’s charming, sophisticated, and very interested in Lexi, who has presented herself as a challenge when she tells him relationships aren’t her thing.

She finds herself sucked in by his own intriguing past. But everything changes when Dylan Priestley, the gorgeous boy who broke her heart and shattered her faith in friendship and love, suddenly shows up in her life again while back home on a visit. Dylan doesn’t hide his feelings for Lexi, but she can’t forgive or forget being betrayed by the one person she ever truly loved.

Despite the pain Dylan’s caused her, Lexi is once again drawn to the blue-eyed-boy-next-door. Will Lexi choose the man who seems perfect but hides a dark side or the boy who smashed her heart into pieces so many years ago?
Review: 
I wanted to like this book. I really, really wanted to but it just didn't happen. The synopsis made me a little wary but I thought I'd give it a chance and I wish I hadn't. 
I'm okay with love triangles. They make a lot of stories worth reading because it's a mystery of  "Will they? Won't they?". I'm okay with characters who have traumatic pasts doing things because of their fear of the past repeating itself. I'm not okay with a young woman using someone breaking her heart as an excuse to party and hook up with every man who looks her way. I am not okay at all with this kind of dangerous behavior being acceptable because some boy in her past broke her heart. It's been seven years since she's been in a relationship. SEVEN years is a long time to still be blaming someone else for your poor judgment and bad behavior. 
I guess it's the mother in me coming out but I am really disappointed in the amount of books I see these days where this kind of stuff is the "norm" and gets rave reviews. What about teaching a young woman how to deal with heartbreak in more positive way? What about teaching a young woman to take responsibility for her own actions instead of laying the blame on some guy who didn't even really do something that terrible? Why is it okay for a young woman to blame a guy for SEVEN years worth of risky behavior? 
I didn't even finish this book. I hated it that much. I give it zero stars. With a society that promotes promiscuity in every media outlet that it can, without teaching young adults to be safe, we NEED more books, authors, etc., who write better characters. Life imitates art. Look at all the young women who are just hooking up with whoever they can wherever they can because some guy broke their heart or upset them or whatever other excuse they can come up with. 
Lexi's character has no self-respect because of the abuse she suffered and because she felt rejected by some man. And what changes all of that? Who rescues her from her hard-partying ways? Another man! (Insert eye roll here) Can we not have strong female characters who decide that they're going to be independent and love THEMSELVES and just be strong women? I just really hated that this is how that character was written. I felt like I was reading a Lindsay Lohan diary entry. It was just awful and disappointing. 

REVIEW: Glenn Hates Books - Glenn Conley

Recently I was approached by Glenn to review my book, The Letters and when he mentioned his book, I agreed to review it. I must say I was more at ease with agreeing to review his book than I was to let him review mine. And the reviews in this book (and the ones on his blog/Goodreads) are precisely the reason why I was scared to let him review my book. 

Glenn claims to hate books. If you read just his one-star reviews, you might really believe that he is telling the truth. He's not, though. I'm on to him. Glenn doesn't hate books. He actually really likes and that's why he's so damn critical of what is put in front of him. His attitude towards books starts changing in his three-star reviews and by the five-star reviews, Glenn's affection for books really shines through. He loves 'em. 

I will say these reviews are not for the faint of heart, though. Or for anyone offended by foul language or jokes that can be a homophobic or make light of sexual assault. I honestly cannot say that I found all of Glenn's jokes funny but I didn't take them to heart, either. Yes, he's crass and abrasive but his tone is full of humor. You can tell that he doesn't really want to "ass-rape" an author but you can feel his frustration at how amazingly awful the author has managed to write the book. If Gordon Ramsey and a sailor were to have a love child and that love child grew up to review books, it would be Glenn. That is the best way I can describe his reviews. He gets incredibly frustrated with how much a book sucks and lets them have it. Which, being completely honest, some authors really need a review that scathing. 

"Brutally Honest Book Reviews" is not a lie. It tells you everything you need to know about this book before you even open it. And yet, I was still surprised by just how brutally honest they were. And that is why Glenn is now on my list of Go-To reviewers when I'm interested in a book. If he says it sucks, I'm probably not going to waste my time reading it. You can also use his book to play a drinking game. Take a drink every time you see the word 'fuck' and you should be good and schnockered before you ever even get to the three-star reviews! 

Check his book out on Amazon! 

BLOG TOUR: Empty Cup - Suzanne Costigan + Review + Giveaway!

Title: Empty Cup

Publication date: November 3, 2014

Publisher: Rebelight Publishing Inc.

Author: Suzanne Costigan

Mom’s new boyfriend is creepy.

On the night of her seventeenth birthday, Raven finds out he isn’t just creepy, he’s dangerous. He leaves Raven broken and bleeding, but Mom blames her for what happened. She kicks Raven out of the house with nothing but a blanket to protect her from a frigid winter night.

Alone.

Devastated.

Abandoned.

As Raven struggles with the aftermath of the ultimate betrayal, she seeks solace in her imagination and a teacher who seems to understand her situation. She ultimately discovers that her world won’t change if she relies upon someone else to do it. Real change begins within.

“…Sure to prompt reflection and provocative discussions on important issues.”

-Allan Stratton, author of Leslie’s Journal

“Not an easy story, but an important one. Compelling, powerful, and engaging.”

-Eric Walters, author of Power Play.

Goodreads Buy: 

Chapters Indigo | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD | IndieBound


REVIEW: 

Empty Cup is a book that will tug very hard at your heart strings. And if you're anything like I am, it will make you cry. A lot.

Raven's home life is terrifying and is a tragedy that no child should ever have to live through. Unfortunately, for Raven and children like her, it happens far too often. Raven's mother takes her anger out on Raven and often blames her for the life that she's living. Raven tries to be strong and tries to endure the abuse that's thrown her way but once her step-father crosses a very dangerous line, Raven can't take anymore. After being kicked out of her house by her hateful mother, she ends up at her friend Lyla's house. Lyla's mother does what she can to help Raven and to nurture her in order for Raven to understand that not all people will let you down.

Lyla and Raven's relationship takes a turn for the worse when Lyla's crush on their friend Cole drives a wedge between her and Raven. Throw in an inappropriate relationship with a substitute teacher and you've got one heartbreak after the other.

Suzanne Costigan's ability to write this book in a teenage girl's voice is amazing. Raven's character is believable and when I read this book I could really hear that teenage voice in my head. The dynamic between Lyla and Raven is a great one and I honestly think that Lyla saved Raven's life by being there for her at just the right time. The petty fights between the girls reminded me of being a teenage girl and having arguments with my girlfriends about guys.

My favorite part about this book would probably be the relationship between Raven and Cole. They've all been friends since they were kids but Cole promised himself years ago that he would protect Raven and when he finds out what really happened to Raven he blames himself. They both are going through a lot in their young lives and they try to save each other which I think in turn helps them save themselves.

The subject matter of this book is really dark and it can be very depressing. It's hard to say I enjoyed this book because of the subject matter but I did honestly enjoy this book and how Suzanne chose to portray the characters, their issues, and how they resolved those issues. Books like this really serve a purpose to bring awareness to the fact that things like this happen to young people far too often and far more frequently than people realize. I enjoyed Suzanne's writing style and I sincerely hope that she plans to write more books in the future because I would love to read more by her. You will not be disappointed if you choose to pick up this book! 

ABOUT SUZANNE COSTIGAN:

Suzanne Costigan is a child welfare advocate, supporting high risk children in her home, and an active member of the Winnipeg writing community. Empty Cup is her first novel.

Connect with the Author: 

 Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Information:  Winner will be drawn March 27, 2015

·        Two (2) winners will received a physical copy of Empty Cup by Suzanne Costigan (US/Canada)

·        Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Empty Cup by Suzanne Costigan (INT)

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**Disclaimer: I received this book via Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. Any thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Book Review: Remember Me Like This - Bret Anthony Johnston

 A gripping novel with the pace of a thriller but the nuanced characterization and deep empathy of some of the literary canon’s most beloved novels, Remember Me Like This introduces Bret Anthony Johnston as one of the most gifted storytellers writing today. With his sophisticated and emotionally taut plot and his shimmering prose, Johnston reveals that only in caring for one another can we save ourselves.

Four years have passed since Justin Campbell’s disappearance, a tragedy that rocked the small town of Southport, Texas. Did he run away? Was he kidnapped? Did he drown in the bay? As the Campbells search for answers, they struggle to hold what’s left of their family together.

Then, one afternoon, the impossible happens. The police call to report that Justin has been found only miles away, in the neighboring town, and, most important, he appears to be fine. Though the reunion is a miracle, Justin’s homecoming exposes the deep rifts that have diminished his family, the wounds they all carry that may never fully heal. Trying to return to normal, his parents do their best to ease Justin back into his old life. But as thick summer heat takes hold, violent storms churn in the Gulf and in the Campbells’ hearts. When a reversal of fortune lays bare the family’s greatest fears—and offers perhaps the only hope for recovery—each of them must fight to keep the ties that bind them from permanently tearing apart.

Goodreads

Buy: 

Amazon | B & N | Kobo

I won this book from Goodreads. I'm very picky about books that I pick out for "pleasure reading" and I don't think that this would have been a first pick for me. However, after two days of staring at it's cover from where it sat in the floor next to my couch, I picked it up and thought I'd casually read a chapter while waiting on dinner to cook. Thanks to Bret Anthony Johnston, dinner almost burned. I was hooked from the very beginning. 

As a writer, one of the first things I notice when reading a book is the writing style. Johnston's style reminded me of a mix between Gillian Flynn and maybe John Grisham? It's honestly hard to put Johnston in a box with other authors that I've read. I really liked how well he painted the Texas shore town of Corpus Christi and how he developed the characters. 

I will say that if you read the reviews on Goodreads like I did after I read the book, you might see some disappointed readers. I *HATE* to be one of those people that says, "Well, you just didn't get it," but in this case, I really can't help it. If you think that this book is going to give you gory details about the abuse and relationship this missing child had with his captor, keep moving. Don't even waste your time flipping through the pages of this book. Remember Me Like This is not a story of abuse and torture ripped from the headlines. It will leave you with several questions about Justin and what happened to him. And if you just HAVE to have a gory detail, well, Johnston does a good job of alluding to what happened towards the end of the book. 

The point of this book is not about Justin, the missing boy. It's not about his time away from his family for four years. It's not about what happened to him during those four years. It's not even about HIM when he comes home. It's about the lives around him that were affected by his disappearance. It's about how his parents' marriage fell apart after he disappeared. It's about how his little brother spent four years lying to the police and his parents and blaming himself for his brother being gone. It's about his father losing himself in an affair in order to get his mind off of his missing child. It's about a grandfather who feels like he's failed his family. 

Until I read this book I've honestly never thought about what the families of kidnapped children go through. Like most people, I focus on what the media puts out about the kidnap suspects and the details of what happened to the child. And of course, I feel happy and excited when a child is actually returned home. But I have never once thought about how those families carry on their day-to-day lives all while wondering where their missing child is. I've never once thought about how difficult it might be to adjust to having that child back home. Until reading Remember Me Like This, I always thought that the happy ending was just that; happy. I never thought that maybe it wasn't that simple. 

A lot of the reviews I've read about this book really ripped it apart because even though Johnston gives you the point of view of all of the other family members in Justin's life, you never get to see his point of view. That reason is one of the biggest reasons why I loved this book. By focusing on Justin and the events surrounding him, you lose the point of the story; the family. They're too scared to ask why he came home with a limp or how he overcame his fear of snakes. They don't want to think about what terrible things he might have gone through while he was gone for four years. They are scared if they ask him too many questions he might disappear again. And that, in my opinion, is what Johnston wants you to feel with this story. He wants you to feel like you're walking on eggshells when Justin is in the scene. He wants you to feel the tension between him and the rest of  family. He wants you to feel their uneasiness and guilt. 

I highly recommend Remember Me Like This if you are interested in reading a story about the effects having a child kidnapped can leave on parents and their other child and grandparents. Johnston's writing evokes several emotions all at once that give you that same mixed up feeling that Justin's family has while trying to adjust to having someone they missed for four years entering back into their lives. His writing gives you that same sick, nervousness that his parents walk around with because they once thought that their son might have actually been dead. Just keep in mind that sometimes a happy ending isn't always happy....