Scars

I finished this book yesterday, but was struggling with how to review it. I have mixed emotions. I didn't know if I even wanted to finish it, but I recommended it to my book bestie based on some recommendations from other readers, so I felt it was only right to push through. I'm glad I did, but I will warn you this isn't a walk in the park, you are going to struggle with this one. 

"I had the perfect school, the perfect friends- the perfect life...At least that's what I thought. But you changed all that. You are always there..Always watching..Always waiting in the shadows. You send me flowers and messages. You stalk me, trace my every movement..Until that one day, in a silly game of seven minutes in heaven, when I finally get to feel you- have a taste of you..It left me wanting more. One catastrophic day, my wish is granted. Just past my eighteenth birthday, tragedy strikes and I watch my family die before my eyes. You are there. You rescue me. You choose my life over my older sister's, and I hate you for that. I hate you for taking me and imprisoning me. You say it's for my sake, but I know it's for your own. You make me see that my life could be much worse without you in it...You make me see true darkness. It is in that darkness you make me desperate for your presence, your touch, your caress. You make me need you..You make it impossible for me to live without you..And then, eventually..You make me fall in love with you. Secrets will always wound the ones twisted within their web of lies..But the ones i'm tangled in..are deadly. WARNING: Although this book (overall) is not a dark read, one chapter is an exception, and contains the following triggers: childhood sexual/emotional abuse with some intensity in one particular scene."

"I am what you need, what you crave, and what you desire. I can give you anything you want, but only if you're willing. If you want me gone, I will go, and you will never have to see me again." 

Lily is being stalked. She is a 17 year old highschool senior, who seems to have it all going for her. She has a great family, a great house, and great friends. The only hitch in her perfect life is that she has a stalker. He has been leaving lilies on her front porch every day at the same time, during the week, right after school, when he knows she will be the one to receive them. My first problem with this story was that Lily did not seemed to worried that she had someone stalking her. She told no one about the flowers, and she really seemed to have no intention too. One night she goes to a party with her best friend Christine, and she ends up playing seven minutes in heaven. Her stalker is in the room with her, and instead of using common sense and running screaming from the room, she makes out with him. After this horrible decision, her choices seem to go downhill from there. 

While Jarrod seemed like he had potential to be a great guy, I couldn't get over the fact that he was a stalker. There is an air of mystery surrounding what his intentions are, and who this mysterious "Charlotte" is that he is trying to protect. It was hard to feel all swoony towards him, when there were so many questions. And I could not wrap my head around that fact that Lily just trusted him so easily and fell in love with him like she did. 

"Because when the heart dies, what else is left? One way or the other, it can't change anything. It won't change the fact that what's done is done, and you can never repair a dead heart." 

I almost gave up on this book. I just couldn't get on board with this young girl making out with a guy in dark places. Let alone a guy that had been stalking her, a guy that she had no idea what he looked like, a guy that she didn't even know his name. It just seemed unreal to me. I pushed through, because I recommened this to someone and I wanted to follow through. Once I got to about 60% the story started picking up and I really wanted to finish so that I could see what was going on. I had so many questions and I was counting on the author to answer them for me. 

I'm glad I finished, because the suspense in the story was top notch. While I couldn't get on board with the romance, I did enjoy the mystery surrounding the story. You wanted to trust Jarrod, but you weren't sure you could, and you were dying to find out why he was doing the things he was doing, and what his story was. If you can get past the part of this young girl falling in love with her stalker it really is a great read. 

"Lily, a dream will always remain a dream unless you push it towards reality." 

Overall, I'm giving this book 4 STARS. The whole romance aspect of the story is what kept me from a 5 Star rating. I just couldn't get how uncomfortable I was feeling when she was meeting up with this strange guy in the dark. The thrill and mystery in the story were top notch, and if thats your sort of story you will probably really enjoy this!