Bows & Bullets Book Blog

Sky Davis’ life is pretty average, apart from her mother’s strict ban on anything technological. Then Dean Holder comes into her life and she is fascinated by him. Sky has never been attracted to a guy. Sure, some of them are pleasant to look at and the kissing isn’t so bad, but no guy has ever made her desperately want to kiss him like Dean does. But the more time she spends with him, the more very old memories start to surface, things that were better left buried and after it’s all out in the open, will she find a way to keep going?

Okay, so before I get to gushing, I want you to go and look at this review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/540107777. Seriously, go, I’ll wait. You see that comic strip she did? That’s the most accurate depiction of my feelings. Holy fuck this book will screw with you head in the best way possible. It’s just….I can’t even….


Sky is a character I instantly loved. I can see why a lot of people wouldn’t like her, but I could relate to her on so many levels. The further into the story we get, the more I love her. I love that she doesn’t let people walk all over her and how whenever Holder yells at her, she doesn’t try to defend her actions, just tells him simply that she’s in control of her own life and it’s none of his damn business. Then when the kids at school make fun of her and try to be mean to her, she just smiles and doesn’t let it get to her. She’s strong and brave and tough and I adore her.

Then there is Holder….



Holy fuck. I think him and Lucas from Easy need to have a fist fight and whoever wins will be my top swoonworthy fictional male character because I honestly don’t think I can pick. Dark hair that hides his devastatingly blue eyes and a lean muscled body, yes please! He’s personality is a bit all over the place in the beginning, but trust me when I say there is a great reason for that. It’s kind of like Fight Club in a way, you just want to read it again to see how much sense his reactions make after you learn the truth. I love him, just fucking hell, yes, okay? He’s fuckloads of awesome.

Then there are all the side characters. Six, Brecken, Karen, and Jack are have things I love about them, but I especially adore Six and Brecken, for each accepting Sky for what she is and just being awesome themselves. The relationship between Six and Sky is that epic friendship we all salivate over. You know that girl who somehow gets you completely and is always there for you, even when neither of you know how to help your problems. One of my very few complaints about this novel is that when the shit starts hitting the fan, Sky isn’t sure she wants to tell Six. I understand that your past is beyond fucking twisted, but I guarantee you that Six would find a way to help…or at least buy you tons of snickers and ice cream as comfort food.

The writing is just as good (if not better) than Colleen Hoover’s previous novels and the plotline had that awesome thing where it is both predictable and unexpected. I saw a lot of things coming especially the stuff about her dad and her relationship with Holder, but there was one major plot point that just blew me out of the water.

My only other issue was the sex one. Not that this novel has sex in or anything like that, I mean, I read romance for fuck’s sake, but the way it was handled between Sky and Holder. I’m trying hard to explain this in a nonspoilery way but basically I just think that it would have taken Sky longer to get over her issues. In my mind, just because Holder explains that he loves her and everything he is doing to her is because of that and no other reason, it would overcome what I believe her conditioned responses would be. I could be wrong because I’m not in her shoes, but it just feels like that hurdle was jumped too easily. That was my only major issue and since I could very well be wrong, I refuse to allow it to make me love this story any less.

This novel is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. You will laugh, you will cry, you will shout, and you will love every single second of it and be completely dying for the next installment (which will be from Holder’s POV, only adding to the excitement). Thus far, it’s definitely my favorite new adult novel of the year!

****Thank you to Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc, for providing me with an eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review****