This book will take you on one heckuva journey. I was spell bound and thoroughly entertained by this story.
SYNOPSIS:
“So you fix broken hearts, do you?” I ask. “Seems a little
ironic.”
Noah Carter is
one of the best cardiothoracic doctors in the country. He’s incredibly
intelligent, funny, kind and he’s a beast in the bedroom. He has scars that
drizzle down his chest and painful memories of an unforgettable night that
plague his every waking hour.
Seven years
ago, Noah stumbled upon me at the side of a grave and saved me in one of the
most compassionate ways another human being can save another. I will
always love him for that. Always.
He loved me in
a way that no man has ever loved me since, and I gave him everything. I gave
him it all until my secrets and lies tore us apart, forcing me to shatter his
heart into a thousand little pieces.
Seven years ago
he loved me, but now he hates me. And I hate that he hates me. Leaving Noah is
my biggest regret in life - and I have a lot of things that I regret. A lot.
I’m Ariel
Miller and this is the story of Noah and Me.
I narrow
my eyes at his back.
“Alright,”
says Ben. “But I’m still going to make my own mind up about her. After all,
people can change, can’t they?”
“I’m
still here,” I remind them.
“Unfortunately,”
mumbles Noah.
I turn to
Ben. “Some people can change,” I say, “but some people still act like
idiotic teenage boys.” I nod towards Noah.
Neither
of us says anything after that, and with each floor we pass, the tension and
awkwardness grows between us. I decide to stare straight ahead and sip my
coffee. I know he’s pissed off with me for just leaving him like that, but what
else was I supposed to do? I was doing it for him. Surely after all these years
he can see that.
The lift
pings and the doors slide open. None of us move.
“I think
this is your floor,” says Ben.
I look up
and see the signs for the labour ward. “Oh,” I say.
“See you
around,” calls Ben. “Hope your first day goes alright.”
“Okay,” I
reply. “And thank you.”
I don’t
look at either of them as I walk out of the lift. When I hear the doors close
behind me, I feel my shoulders sag in relief.
“Ariel,”
says Noah.
I jump at the sound of his voice. I hadn’t realised
he’d followed me out of the lift. “What?” I snap, turning around to face him. I
wish I hadn’t. Now that he doesn’t have an angry scowl smothering his features,
his handsome face is like a slap to my own. All those images I have of him in
my memory don’t begin to do him justice. His blue eyes look like a snapshot of
a midnight sky, complete with twinkling stars. They stare into me, but my gaze
has travelled from his eyes down to his angular jaw. He’s got a twitch in in
it, just underneath his ear, which means he’s grinding his teeth. Wow, he’s
still really angry.
“Stay
away from me,” he says, breathing his minty toothpaste breath all over my face.
My eyes
flash down to his hand, but there’s no ring. Hmm. What happened there then?
“So you
fix broken hearts, do you?” I ask. “Seems a little ironic.”
I see a
flicker of confusion on his face before he composes himself and then frowns at
me. “Ariel,” he warns. “I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to see you
and I don’t want to hear about any of your antics from my mates.”
How does
he know about my antics?
“Stay
away,” he says again.
“That’s
exactly what I was intending to do nearly seven years ago, Noah.”
“Is that
so?” he says. “Well, you shouldn’t have come back.”
“You
weren’t supposed to be here,” I tell him, and now he’s the one that looks as if
he’s been slapped in the face.
REVIEW:
★★★★ 1/2 stars
This book has left me reeling. I'm not even sure where to begin. The story is powerful. It's told in alternating chapters for the most part, going back and forth between the past and the present. I was gripped by the story and didn't put it down once, not even to wipe my tears when it became hard to read.
My heart broke for Ariel, very early on in the story. I really like I was there as she went through so much. I wasn't sure if what she was hiding and running from was so devastating, but when I found out the entire truth, I was gutted and enraged. Every time a little piece of the story was revealed, I wanted to find out more, but even my guessing couldn't have prepared for me what I was going to read.
Noah was a bit of a mystery for me. I was ambiguous about how I felt about him. Sometimes I liked him and sometimes I really disliked him. However since I at times felt similarly about Ariel, it was hard to gauge my feelings towards either of them. I can't deny they had chemistry and history in spades though.
I found discrepancy between their ages. When Noah and Ariel first meet, they're 23 and 18 respectively. When they meet again, they're 30 and 23. I was also disturbed by their intial interactions with each other. It was hard to see where they'd fallen in love with each other. I also would've liked to see more elaboration with the identity in one of the scenes in the climax at the end.
Honestly, even though there were times I didn't like the characters or their actions, I could not stop reading the book. I had to know what happened between them and made them almost hate each other. It was full of drama, angst, and emotion. It was dark but still full of hope. I think this book is going to be very polarizing. You're either going to love it or hate it, but you can't deny it's captivating. This is my first novel by Beckie Stevenson, and it won't be my last.
*Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*
AUTHOR BIO:
Beckie's real name is Rebecca, but she get’s called (and
answers to) any of the following…Beckie, Bek, Becca, Rebecca, Pip, Pippy or
Stevo.
Beckie is the author of 'Sorrow Woods,' the 'Existing'
series and 'Noah and Me.'
She is due to publish more YA and NA novels in 2015/16.
She lives in Staffordshire, England, with her partner
and two children.
Beckie likes putting music
on in the house and dancing around like a mad woman.
When she isn’t playing with
her children, doing housework, dancing around the house like a mad woman,
walking, cycling reading or writing, then she can be found working in an
investment bank. Or sleeping.
You can find Beckie here…
You can find Beckie here…
Twitter:
@BeckieStevenson
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BeckieStevensonAuthor
Instagram:
BeckieStevo
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