Review: Left Drowning by Jessica Park

Title:     Left Drowning

Author:     Jessica Park

Release Date:    July 16, 2013 by Amazon Childrens Publishing

Rating: 5 Star *****

My Review:

Ok so I finished this book yesterday and said I “needed a minute” before I could write a review… so I took 1,440 freaking minutes… I just had to really think about what I was going to say. I don’t think I can do this story justice but I will try. So here goes…

Do you believe? Do you believe in anything?? God, destiny, fate, human interconnection, love??? Or do you think that life is random… that we are all just hamsters on our little wheels and that everything that happens to us is by pure chance and that people in our lives are interchangeable?

Blythe McGuire is lost… drowning in the past… standing still in the present… and avoiding the future. Why? Guilt. Guilt has great power. It is strong enough to make us weak… to make us run from the people we love. It can eat a person alive from the inside out. Guilt can alienate you and kill you slowly and without detection. Blythe lost her parents in a devastating accident 4 years ago. For too many reasons to count she feels guilty for what happened that night. She shut down emotionally and withdrew within herself. If you never connect with anyone you can’t loose them right? So she meanders her way through college life never really living just existing. Existing miserably until she meets Christopher and the rest of the Shepherd clan. They are a reckless, witty, unabashed group and they immediately take Blythe under their wing. The connection is instant and deep and alive. It is also scary as hell. What draws her to them?

The Shepherds have had a painful past of their own. They are scarred by the memories. Each one has their own guilt to live with. On the surface they are happy and functional… but it is a mask… and all masquerades come to an end eventually. Christopher is the pillar of strength and determination but he is barely keeping the house of cards he has built standing and the slightest breeze will bring it crashing down.

In blows Blythe… she is so fragile and Chris is drawn to her… but why? Why does she need him so much and why does he feel so much when he is with her? They don’t know how to be together but they can’t be apart. The closeness is terrifying but the separation is debilitating.  They can say things with their bodies that they can’t put into words. Touch is a great comforter. Sex can be a powerful connection. It’s not just a physical thing. It is healing and trust and letting go. Mind, Body and Soul bonding. Love. It helps them both remember things they have buried within themselves. Is it enough to keep them together or will it tear them apart? Can someone heal you and break you at the same time?

Okay I know I asked a lot of questions. This book had me asking a lot of questions. Questioning myself and my beliefs and had me feeling a lot of freaking emotions. I laughed, I was turned on, I was angry enough put my kindle out in the garage, and I felt unimaginable grief… I lived it through these characters… with these characters. I was wrecked and I was put back together but not the same.

It is no secret how much I love Jessica Park’s writing - Flat-Out Love will always be one of my all time favorite books – but this book is different. The writing is some of the best ever put to page. The sex scenes were HOT and the emotions jump off the page and take hold of you.  Needless to say I LOVE LOVE LOVED it. I can not wait for you all to read it.

*** This is an Adult Book and the content is definitely for readers 17 years+.

Favorite Quote:

“Shitting Rainbows”

Links:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17325147-left-drowning