Switching Places

I do a lot of things on KindleObsessed. I review books, or share excerpts. I announce new titles and gush over book trailers.  Hell, from time to time I even bow down to my own fangirl geekdomness and honor some of my favorite authors with a full-page rant about how awesome they are. What I don’t do is series stalk. I read series novels, there’s no denying that, some of my favorite books out there are part of a “group” of  books, but review anything other than the first book in a series? Nope. Been there, done that…not going back for the t-shirt. (Ok, I may have faltered once or twice when I really had something to say, but…you get my point.) To be honest, I don’t really see the point. I’ve already expressed my views on whether or not I think the series is worth your time and energy…what you do with that is your own problem. (That sounded harsh, sorry.) So why is it exactly that I am taking the time to write a review of Chelsea Fine’s novel Awry when just 9 short months ago I spent a pretty large amount of time going ape-shit over its predicessor Anew? Because it’s that damn good!

It’s no secret that I adore Chelsea. Not only is she obnoxiously pretty, but she has this uncanny (completely brilliant) knack for writing emotional sequences. Scenes that have a tendency to reach right down to the pit of your stomach and yank like there’s no tomorrow.  Sophie & Carter and Anew (especially the last 50 pages) are brilliant examples of this, but Awry….it had something else.

Gumption.

And gumption deserves credit.

“Three curses. Two brothers. One love triangle.
Sometimes love is meant to be. But sometimes…love is the death of you.

Seventeen-year-old Scarlet has just died. Only, dying isn’t unusual for a girl under a centuries old curse that left her semi-immortal. 

This time, though, she comes back to her current life instead of awaking in a new one, and she realizes her curse is changing. With the help of the immortal Archer brothers, Scarlet tries to piece together her life and break the curse before her impending death comes again.”

I’ll try my hardest to write this review from a broad perspective (as in no spoilers) but be forwarned that I might slip. (Eeek…keep reading at your own risk.)

So…gumption. What does it mean and why does Awry have it?

Gumption (for those of you that don’t live in Texas and use this word frequently) means spirited initiative and resourcefulness.

At the end of Anew, Chelsea left her reader with a TON of questions.  Who were these brothers? Why do they love the same girl? Why is Scarlet irresistably drawn to one while shacking up with the other?

We were told of the curse that has bound their existence together. 1 arrow, bad luck. Total suck fest. (<–that’s me being eloquent.) The curse was NOT a secret, but their back story was. What was it exactly that bound these three individuals together…emotionally? This is where the gumption comes in.

Unlike in Anew (in which Chelsea only alluded to the past) in Awry she had them live it.  The present was no longer the gold standard.  It was not the be all end all of the novel, instead it was only the platform which Chelsea dove off of in order to tell us the “real” story.  The gut wrenching. Holy crap I hate evil Kings. Please…please don’t fall in love with her “real” story. The story of two brothers who were thrust into making difficult decisions that ultimately changed their ENTIRE lives.

In short…if finally answered all of those questions Anew flippantly spoke of.

That’s not to say Awry’s “present day” plot didn’t intrigue as well.  Quite the contrary.  Chelsea’s choice to provide her readers with so much background (514 pages of it to be exact) added so much depth to the overall intentions of the story that I found myself utterly captivated. I read it in 1 day and found myself in a state of debilitating despair when I flipped the final page and realized I’d have to wait months for closure.

To say I’ve fallen in love with these characters would be an understatement.  I think of them as a part of me. That, and that alone is the indication of a well crafted book. A book, that even though it is part of a series and goes against all of my predetermined rules, NEEDED to be mentioned.

Happy reading my fellow kindle-ites and remember: “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu

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[Rating:5/5]

 

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