Letting Go by Molly McAdams
Synopsis:
The New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author returns with a sizzling novel of love, loss, guilt, and forgiveness.
Grey
and Ben fell in love at thirteen and believed they’d be together
forever. But three days before their wedding, the twenty-year-old
groom-to-be suddenly died from an unknown heart condition, destroying
his would-be-bride’s world. If it hadn’t been for their best friend,
Jagger, Grey never would have made it through those last two years to
graduation. He’s the only one who understands her pain, the only one who
knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving when your dreams
are shattered. Jagger swears he’ll always be there for her, but no one
has ever been able to hold on to him. He’s not the kind of guy to settle
down.
It’s
true that no one has ever been able to keep Jagger—because he’s only
ever belonged to Grey. While everyone else worries over Grey’s
fragility, he’s the only one who sees her strength. Yet as much as he
wants Grey, he knows her heart will always be with Ben. Still they can’t
deny the heat that is growing between them—a passion that soon becomes
too hot to handle. But admitting their feelings for each other means
they’ve got to face the past. Is being together what Ben would have
wanted . . . or a betrayal of his memory that will eventually destroy
them both?
About the Author:
Molly McAdams grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband and furry daughter. Her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling and long walks on the beach, which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. When she's not at work, she can be found hiding out in her bedroom surrounded by her laptop, cell, Kindle and fighting over the TV remote. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies, fried pickles and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm...or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren't really happening.
Molly's Website: http://www.
Molly's Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Molly's Facebook: https://www.
Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/1tugTnj
Source: eARC for Honest Review from Williams Morrow/Harper Collins via Edelweiss
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
My Letting Go Review ...
Let's start with that I'm a huge fan of
Molly McAdams. *Squee* Though as I was reading this I started to
question the predictability of this book which is so unusual for Molly
then all of a sudden BAM! comes the Molly plot twist which I have grown
accustomed to. Phew I was worried for a bit.
Grey
LaRue (which by the way is an awesome name) was living her fairytale by
marrying one of her best friends to only have it all ripped away in an
instant. After this loss Grey is having a hard time coping but
thankfully her other best friend Jagger is there to support her and help
her move forward along the way.
As it's now two years
later and time for Grey and Jagger to graduate, Grey still isn't 100%
but it's time to return home and face her loss and keep moving forward.
As her and Jagger spend more and more time together Grey tumbles across
Jagger's real feeling towards her. Which puts Grey in another tail spin
not knowing how to deal with it so she runs away. While she runs away
she's forced to realize that she's the only one who didn't realize the
depth of Jagger's feelings. With these new emotions, she realizes they may be
returned. But her inner conflict and guilt of her first love is
crippling for her, causing her not to keep moving forward. But Grey isn't the
only one conflicted, Jagger may have loved Grey is whole life but he
was also loyal to his best friend so it's hard for him to get what he
wants and being unloyal to Ben's memory at the same time.
As
Jagger and Grey come to terms with these new feelings they're forced
with so many obstacles that are trying to rip them apart and gutting them
at the same time. With each obstacle Grey pulls away hurting Jagger a
bit more each day. If only they can find out who is being so cruel to
them. During this time I was wondering why they were being so daft that
they couldn't figure it out when it was way obvious to the reader.
However, once that detail gets cleaned up we think all will go well for them after. But no, we get more angst from so many
other outlets, with each challenge they grow stronger which is great
because when we least expect it we get the holy shit Molly McAdams
moment that you didn't see coming. With this bomb so many things can go
wrong and blow apart. It is the truest test for Jagger and Grey.
I really did enjoy this book. It had tons of
angst and drama. There were times where it was too predictable but the
story was good and I was reeled in from beginning to end.
4 Angsty Thumbs up!
Lauren
Prologue
Grey May 10, 2012
“Then over there is where
the girls and I will be waiting before the ceremony starts,” I said, pointing
to the all-seasons tent just off to the side. “I think the coordinator said
she’d get us in there when the photographer is taking pictures of Ben and the
boys on the other side house, so he won’t see me.”
I glanced to my mom and
soon-to-be mother-in-law talking about the gazebo behind me, and what it would
look like with the greenery and flowers, and I smiled to myself. They’d been
going back and forth on whether we should keep the gazebo as it was or decorate
it ever since Ben and I had decided on The Lake House as our wedding and
reception site. And from the few words I was hearing now, they were still
undecided. I honestly didn’t care how it was decorated. I wanted to be married
to Ben, and in three days, I would be.
“Grey, this place is
freaking gorgeous. I can’t believe you were able to get it on such short
notice,” my maid-of-honor and best friend, Janie, said in awe.
“I know, but it’s
perfect, right?”
“Absolutely perfect.”
I grabbed her hand and
rested my head on her shoulder as I stared at the part of the property where
the reception would be. Ben and I had promised our families that we wouldn’t
get married until we’d graduated from college, but that had been a much harder
promise to keep than we’d thought it would be. School let out for summer a few
days ago, and we wanted to move off campus for our junior year … together. That
hadn’t exactly gone over well with my parents. They didn’t want us living
together until we were married. I think in my dad’s mind it helped him continue
to believe I was his innocent little girl.
I’d been dating Ben since
I was thirteen years old; the innocent part flew out the window over three
years ago. Not that he needed to know that. After a long talk with both our
parents, they agreed to let us get married now instead of two years from now.
That was seven weeks ago.
Even though Ben had asked me to marry him last Christmas, we’d officially
gotten engaged once we’d received the okay from our parents, and had started
planning our wedding immediately. Seven weeks of being engaged. Seven years of
being together. And in three days I would finally be Mrs. Benjamin Craft.
With how the last few
weeks had dragged by, it felt like our day would never get here.
My phone rang and I
pulled it out of my pocket. My lips tilted up when I saw Jagger’s name and face
on the screen, but I ignored the call. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I
kept my other hand firmly wrapped around Janie’s and walked over to where the
rest of the bridesmaids were. My aunts and grandma had gathered around the
gazebo-debating duo, and were helping them with the pros and cons.
“So what are we going to
do tonight?” I asked, hoping to get some kind of information about the
bachelorette party.
“Nice try.” Janie
snorted. She started saying something else, but my phone rang again.
Glancing down and seeing
Jagger again, I thought about answering it for a few seconds before huffing out
a soft laugh and ignoring the call a second time. I knew why he was calling. He
was bored out of his mind and wanted me to save him from the golf day Ben and
all the guys were having before the bachelor party. Normally I would have saved
him from the torture of golfing, but today was about Ben. If he wanted to go
golfing with all his guys, then Jagger just had to suck it up for his best
friend.
Almost immediately after
ignoring the call, I got a text from him.
Jagger: Answer the
goddamn phone Grey!
My head jerked back when
the phone in my hand began ringing just as soon as I’d read the message, and
all I could do was stare at it for a few seconds. A feeling of dread and unease
formed in my chest, quickly unfurling and spreading through my arms and
stomach.
Some part of my mind
registered two other ringtones, but I couldn’t focus on them, or make myself
look away from Jagger’s lopsided smile on my screen. With a shaky finger, I
pressed on the green button, and brought the phone up to my ear.
Before I could say
anything, his panicked voice filled the phone.
“Grey? Grey! Are you there?
Fuck, Grey, say something so I know you’re there!”
There was a siren and
yelling in the background, and the feeling that had spread through my body now
felt like it was choking me. I didn’t know what was happening, but somehow …
somehow I knew my entire world was about to change. My legs started shaking and
my breaths came out in hard rushes.
“I—what’s happ—” I cut
off quickly and turned to look at my mom and Ben’s. Both had phones to their
ears. Ben’s mom was screaming with tears falling down her cheeks; my mom looked
like the ground had just been ripped out from underneath her.
Jagger was talking, I
knew his voice was loud and frantic, but I was having trouble focusing on the
words. It sounded like he was yelling at me from miles away.
“What?” I whispered.
Everyone around me was
freaking out, trying to figure out what was going on. One of my friends was
asking who I was talking to, but I couldn’t even turn to look at her, or be
sure who it was that had asked. I couldn’t take my eyes off the only other
women currently talking on a phone.
“Grey! Tell me where you
are, I’m coming to get you!”
I blinked a few times and
looked down at my lap. I was sitting on the ground. When had I sat down?
Janie squatted in front
of me and grabbed my shoulders to shake me before grabbing my cheeks so I would
look at her instead of where my mom and Ben’s were clinging to each other.
“What?” I repeated, my
voice barely audible.
Just before Janie took
the phone from me, I heard a noise that sounded weighted and pained. A choking
sound I’d never heard from Jagger in the eleven years we’d been friends. The
grief in it was enough to force a sharp cry from my own chest, and I didn’t
even struggle against Janie when she took the phone from me.
I didn’t understand
anything that was happening around me, but somehow I knew everything. A part of
me had heard Jagger’s words. A part of me understood what the horrified cries
meant that quickly spread throughout every one of my friends. My family. Ben’s
family. A part of me acknowledged the sense of loss that had added to the
dread, unease, and grief—and knew why it was there.
A part of me knew the
wedding I’d just been envisioning would never happen.
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