Review: Following Me by K.A. Linde

Title:     Following Me

Author:     K.A. Linde

Release Date:   June 21, 2013

Rating: 5 Star *****

My Review:

First of all, let me say this is the month for emotional reads. Some of my favorite authors are pulling out the big guns and tackling some pretty heavy topics. That is not a complaint. Every book can’t be about super duper hot over-the-top (and totally fictional) sex and all unicorns & rainbows. That said… K.A. Linde really put it all out there in this book. If you are a fan of the Avoiding Series *jumps up and down waving hand in the air* you will see some hints of the familiar… she still weaves the past & present together flawlessly… and her heroine has a fabulous bestie with a larger than life personality… but that is where the similarities stop.  This book won’t have you picking a “Team” or screaming for the next in the series. This book will make you think. This book will make you feel. This book will scare you a little.

How well do you know the people in your life? Your mother, daughter, sister, best friend, lover??? Could you tell if they were putting on a happy face for you? Would you be able to tell if they were lying to your face? If they were falling deeper and deeper into something dangerous and needed help… could you save them? We all like to think so. I mean your best friend tells you EVERYTHING and if she was in any kind of trouble you would be the first to know and the first to kick ass and take names. 

Devon seems to have it all. She attends the college of her choosing, she is studying in the field she is passionate about, she has a handsome and doting boyfriend who is going to be starting med-school, her family loves her, she is young & beautiful and she is in trouble. She is running from something or someone. Consumed by nightmares and trying to escape her life for just a little while, she runs to her best friend Hadley.  Hadley graduated early and moved from St. Louis to the Windy City so pretending to be on a quick summer trip Devon heads to Chicago on a one way ticket. Hadley is everything Devon remembers beautiful and vivacious with a great new job and the perfect boyfriend, Garrett. Devon settles into the guestroom of their condo and tries to become distracted with her friends and the city. Speaking of distractions… Brennan Walker… he is a bartender at the local “hot” restaurant, Jenns. He is a friend of Garrett and Hadley’s and what a distraction. Brennan is a handsome struggling musician. Devon is instantly drawn to him. He seems to see right through her… it’s a little unnerving but she likes his eyes on her… but she has a boyfriend that she loves back at school. How can she be attracted to Brennan when she has the perfect relationship with Reid?

Seems that Devon isn’t the only one hiding, Hadley has some issues of her own and seeing an opportunity to use that to her advantage, as well as being genuinely concerned for her friend, Devon manipulates her way into staying the rest of the summer. She is not ready to head home and face her demons just yet. She gets a job and sets out to repair her life and figure out what to do next. Losing Hadley, leaning on her new friendship with Garrett and growing closer to Brennan her mask is starting to slip. Maybe she can finally trust and let someone in. Maybe she can get to the root of those nightmares. Maybe she can be free. That is if her nightmare doesn’t catch her first.

I fell in love with the cast of characters in this book. Each one is facing their own “something” and they are all trying to help and protect each other. Oh they mess it up royally and hurt one another but it is real. I also loved how the city of Chicago felt like a character itself. Like I said, this book hits on several very heavy issues, but it is also about falling in love, letting go, standing up for yourself, being a friend, when to forgive and then when not to forgive. It scared me and it touched me and it made me take a deeper look at the relationships in my life. There are conversations I need to have and you can bet I’ll be having them now. Thank you Ms. Linde!

Links:

Add to your TBR...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831372-following-me

Pre-Order on Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/Following-Me-ebook/dp/B00D8GWPDI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370618859&sr=1-1&keywords=following+me

Favorite Quote:

“I think I knew you were running the first time I saw you” he said “those big stormy eyes telling me you were lost with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. I just didn’t know what you were running from. But I think all along you were running toward me.”