Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Review: Until You by Penelope Douglas

20541295
Original self published cover
20803962
New cover published by Penguin
Rating: ★★★★★ stars
Date Published: November 13th, 2013
Publisher: Self published/Penguin Intermix
Synopsis: NEW ADULT ROMANCE---UNTIL YOU (Book 1.5 in the Fall Away Series) ***This book contains graphic sexual content, harsh language, and violence. It is intended for ages 18+. Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or so numb that you actually felt high? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between. Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don't care about anything or anyone. Except Tatum. I love her so much that I hate her. I hate that I can't let her go. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn't trust her or anyone else. So I hurt her. I pushed her away. But I still need her. She centers me, and I can pool all of my anger into her. Engaging, challenging, bullying her--call it what you will--but it's my food, my air, and the last part of me that feels anything human. But then she went and screwed everything up. She left. She went to France for a year and came back a different girl. Now, when I push, she pushes back. *This is Jared's point of view and a companion novel to BULLY. It can be read as a stand alone, but reading BULLY first is strongly encouraged. Having Tate's point of view will help you appreciate Jared's side more. This is NOT Bully re-told. This is Jared's story.


What I Thought:

I first read Bully last year and immediately understood why so many readers were gaga for it.  I absolutely loved the book and fell in love with Jared and Tate.  I had purchased Until You immediately after, but was unable to read it due to a number of reasons, and with the upcoming release of Aflame, another Tate and Jared centered story, I figured now was a great time to catch up with them before the series potentially ended. 

I've got to be honest, reading from a guy's point of view, really does it for me.  There's something about being in a guy's head that makes them seem more open and vulnerable.  I'm not sure if it's knowing men are taught they can't be emotionally expressive and still be men or if it's something else.  I loved being inside Jared's head.  I finally got to find out what he was thinking when he did the things he did.  And not everything he did was motivated by hate and pain, and some of the things he started with those intentions turned out to be quite nice and romantic. The tattoo thing, totally made me swoon, and earned Jared a lot of redemption points in my book.

There were some moments that were really hard for me to read, especially with Jared's poor excuse of a father.  I wanted to reach in through the book and beat that man silly or worse.  I also wanted to reach into the book and protect both Jared and Jax.  Seeing Jared change into the man he wanted to become with Tate by his side was wonderful.  I also loved seeing Tate again, although I didn't like seeing her hurt again either. There were some light moments that made me laugh and smile, which was great to counterbalance all the heavy emotions I felt.

I'm really excited about reading Madoc's story and falling in love with him as well. He's got some real potential to go from bullying goofball to romantic hero.  Penelope Douglas did a great job at letting us into Jared's head and doing his story justice and I can't wait to see what she does with the rest of the series.


Purchase Links:

About the Author
Penelope Douglas is a writer in Las Vegas. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, she is the oldest of five children. Penelope attended the University of Northern Iowa, earning a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, because her father told her to "just get the degree!" She then earned a Masters of Science in Education at Loyola University in New Orleans, because she hated Public Administration. One night, she got tipsy and told the bouncer at the bar where she worked that his son was hot, and three years later they were married. To the son, not the bouncer. They have spawn, but just one. A daughter named Aydan. Penelope loves sweets, The Originals, and she shops at Target almost daily.


*My review is based from the self published paperback I purchased.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*

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