Breaking Nova by Jessica SorensenMy rating: 4.25/5.0
I enjoyed Breaking Nova if it can be said that you enjoy a novel where the character actually does break before she starts to mend. I don't enjoy pain in characters, but somehow in New Adult it works. Though this is the grittiest New Adult novel I have read to date. If you don't like drug use (I don't mean personally, but in books) then this may not be the book for you. I actually wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but Ms. Sorensen makes it work. As a reader you understand why the characters feel they must do it and you go with it. But there is always the hope at least in this book that Nova will find her way out.
I liked Nova, Quinton and Tristan. I really felt that though they are all stuck in a downward spiral of guilt, drugs and alcohol that there is always hope for each of the three. This book focuses on Nova and her spiral after finding her boyfriend had committed suicide. The book focuses on summer break after her first year of college. I felt engaged in the book, felt like I got to know the characters and the situation well. At times I felt like I was truly there with them.
After I finished Breaking Nova I could not wait to start Saving Quinton because I had to know what would happen next. This is a great start to what I think will be an interesting series. And I plan on trying out Ms. Sorensen's other books after I finish this series (or maybe before, because I'm now waiting for Nova and Quinton: No Regrets, please hurry up and get here April!
Saving Quinton by Jessica SorensenMy rating: 4.25/5.0
Jessica Sorensen does gritty very well. As the second book in the Nova series, this was even grittier than the first. Talk about hitting rock bottom. However I think I will now have a lot of respect for anyone who takes rehab seriously.
Saving Quinton starts roughly a year after Breaking Nova. It's summer break after Nova's sophomore year and she can't seem to get Quinton off her mind. Nova has cleaned up with help of her Mom and her friend Lea. She's finished her second year of school and is dealing with her feeling now instead of burying them. Everything is not perfect for her, but life is definitely on an upswing. But the one thing that tears at her, is how she can help Quinton who she walked away from that day. She doesn't want him to end up like her boyfriend Landon, someone she regretted not being able to help.
So that is what the majority of this book focuses on. Told from alternating point-of-view of Nova and Quinton. The reader sees how hard Nova will go to help Quinton and how dark things have really gotten for Quinton. This book is not for the faint-of-heart, but if you enjoy gritty New Adult and don't mind getting a bit grittier, I promise this book has a lot to offer. Raw emotion, addiction, guilt, love, all are themes and contributed to a book that was well worth the time to read. I now cannot wait for the third installment Nova and Quinton: No Regrets where I hope everything will finally come together for these two, but I don't expect it to be easy. But that's what really makes these books.
Love New Adult, or edgy books in general. Don't mind drug use in books (but someone is always trying to help those using). Like that things don't resolve easy, yet you can kind of see there might be a happy ending eventually, then this is a book series for you. I have enjoyed both Breaking Nova and Saving Quinton and cannot wait for Nova and Quinton: No Regrets (April 15, 2014). I am hooked on Jessica Sorensen and can't wait to go read her other series.
About the Books:
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Breaking Nova (Breaking Nova #1):
Pub Date: September 3, 2013
Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.
Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?
Saving Quinton (Breaking Nova #2):
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Nova Reed can't forget him-Quinton Carter, the boy with the honey-brown eyes who made her realize she deserved more than an empty life. His pain was so similar to her own. But Nova has been coming to terms with her past and healing, while Quinton is out there somewhere, sinking deeper. She's determined to find him and help him . . . before it's too late.
Nova has haunted his dreams for nearly a year-but Quinton never thought a sweet, kind person like her would care enough about a person like him. To Quinton, a dark, dangerous life is exactly what he deserves. And Nova has no place in it. But Nova has followed him to Las Vegas, and now he must do whatever it takes to keep her away, to maintain his self-imposed punishment for the unforgivable things he's done. But there's one flaw in his plan: Nova isn't going anywhere . . .
Future Installments:
Pub Date: March 18, 2014 (novella)
Delilah Peirce: the Invisible Girl. Men crane their necks around Delilah just to catch a glimpse of her bombshell mother. Delilah knows looks of indifference, of friendship-but never of desire.
Then she meets Dylan Sanderson, the impossibly gorgeous guy who thinks she's beautiful. When he looks at her, she feels needed. When he kisses her, her troubles disappear. And when he tells her he will never hurt her, she believes him . .
Pub Date: April 15, 2014
Today is the first day of Quinton Carter's new life. The toxic guilt of his past left him in pieces-but one girl unexpectedly put him back together. Thanks to Nova Reed, Quinton can finally see the world with clear eyes. She's the reason his heart is still kicking behind the jagged scar on his chest. And he would love to have her in his arms every minute of the day . . . but he's not ready yet.
Playing drums in a band and living with her best friends are just some of the highlights of Nova's life. But the best new development? Talking to Quinton on the phone each night. She wishes she could touch him, kiss him, though she knows he needs time to heal. Yet shocking news is on the way-a reminder of life's dark side-and Nova will need Quinton like he once needed her. Is he strong enough to take the final leap out of his broken past . . . and into Nova's heart?
***I received these books from the publisher through Netgalley for honest reviews. I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free. ***
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