ARC BOOK REVIEW ~ BREAKING NOVA

Title: Breaking Nova (Nova, Book One)

Author: Jessica Sorensen

Expected Release Date: September 3, 2013

ARC provided by NetGalley

Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

Book Review

There must be something wrong with me. It seems the more effed up a character is, the more I enjoy the read. What is it about these dark, tormented, and slightly unbalanced characters that attract me to their story? 

Nova Reed has met the love of her life at such a young age. Landon, her neighbor, started out as her friend. And that friendship bloomed into something more. Nova was attracted to Landon's artful soul and the sadness reflected in his eyes. She wanted to help heal his tortured soul, but never had the strength to reach out and demand the truth to all the hurt and angst he seemed to perpetually carry on his shoulders.

But now it's too late to help Landon. 

And over a year later, Nova is left feeling alone, abandoned, and her grief has left her lost. Lost in a world surrounded by counting and numbers; an obsessive compulsive disorder that brings her a bit of solace in her shattered world. 

But when she meets Quinton, she sees a similarity to the boy she once loved. Can she reach out to help him, when she had failed in the past? Or will the bitter pain that still resides inside her prevent her from helping Quinton, and in essence, impede the healing of her own heartbreak? 

Quinton and Nova are deeply troubled and reach out to drugs to numb their painful pasts. How can these two tortured beings help each other. Can they? 

This is a heart wrenching tale, one that had me in tears during some horrific back stories. It is not for those who think that all should be healed with a lick and promise and some flimsy band-aid. Their wounds are deep, their heartache is palpable on the written page. And how they deal with it is dark, twisted, and not for the faint of heart. 

I cannot wait to continue this painful journey with Nova in book two as she struggles to reach out to Quinton before it is ultimately too late.