Full Tilt
I would love you forever, if I only had the chance...
Kacey
Dawson has always lived life on the edge--impulsively, sometimes
recklessly. And now, as lead guitarist for a hot up-and-coming band, she
is poised at the brink of fame and fortune. But she is torn between
wanting to be a serious musician, and the demons that lure her down the
glittering, but alcohol-soaked path of rock stardom. A wrecked concert
in Las Vegas threatens to ruin her career entirely. She wakes up with
the hangover from hell and no memory of the night before, or how she
ended up on her limo driver’s couch...
Jonah Fletcher is running
out of time. He knows his situation is hopeless, and he's vowed to make
the most of the handful of months he has left to him. His plans include
seeing the opening of his glass installation at a prestigious art
gallery…they do not include falling in love with a wild, tempestuous
rock musician who wound up passed out on his couch.
Jonah sees
that Kacey is on a path to self-destruction. He lets her crash with him
for a few days to dry out and get her head on straight. But neither of
them expected the deep connection they felt, or how that connection
could grow so fast from friendship into something more. Something deep
and pure and life-changing…something as fragile as glass, that they both
know will shatter in the end no matter how hard they try to hold on to
it.
Full Tilt is a story about what it means to love with
your whole heart, to sacrifice, to experience terrible grief and soaring
joy. To live life with all its beauty, and all its pain, and in the end
to be able to smile through tears and know you wouldn’t have changed a
thing.
Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Trillian via NetGalley
Genre: NA Romance
Part 1 of 2
My Full Tilt Review . . .
It has been
awhile since a book devastated me. If you loved the Bright Side by Kim
Holden or A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole, then this book is for you. But be
prepared and have tissues near by.
Emma Scott is a newish author to me and so far everything that I have read I have LOVED!!!!!! Her ability to weave a tale of heartache and beauty is awe inspiring.
I love how she pulls you win from the beginning and then you can't put the book down. The choice of quotes woven into the story also help show the emotions so much more.
I Love how Dena's wisdom with her Rumi quotes helps shape the story and help us understand their moment so much more.
"That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquility, " Rumi
From the beginning you know that both Jonah and Kacey have some baggage but you aren't quite sure what it is at first. Then when you find out you are gutted but you can't put the book down because their love is so pure and so right.
I accidentally deleted my original review so when I had to go back to the
book to grab my favorite quotes just remembering this story caused me to
get choked up all over again. It is one of those stories that will sit
in your heart forever.
Kacey was out of control and
she's hitting rock bottom where she meets Jonah. Good looking Jonah who
is the limo driver but also her saviour. Kacey is miserable because
she doesn't want to be living her life as she is. Jonah is also
miserable for his own reasons. Everyone says misery loves company. The
misery pulls them together but loves keeps them together.
Jonah is about routine and when Kacey gets dumped into his life his routine is shattered.
This
type of story can't be reviewed well because it is a story that needs
to be experienced. If I give too much away in the book I feel it will
lessen the experience.
This book is about love and
heartache. About hope and living in the moment. About being happy when
that's the last place you want to be.
Here are just a few of my favorite quotes that help you fall in love with this story.
"And
I know you want to leave a beautiful piece of art in your wake. Your
focus is solely on the destination, not the journey." Dena placed her
palm on my cheek. "Shouldn't you also try to do the most important
think along the way?"
I covered her hand with mine. "What's that?"
"Be happy."
We do not remember days, we remember moments. Cesare pavese
"Listen to me. I'm more afraid of not being with you than I am of being with you. . . "
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop." Rumi
"Not
yet. Not tonight. We might not have months or years, but we have
moments. Thousands upon thousands of them. Let's take each moment,
seize it and wring it dry. Okay?"
"It happened and all
we can do now is take care of each other. Live in the little moments,
right? Just like we promised. The little moments. We have so many.
Thousands upon thousands."
"Brave or scared shitless, I
don't have a choice but to love you." She raised her head and
sniffled. "It's all your fault, really. You're so damn loveable."
"Because loving her is the best thing I've ever done."
"My
heart's breaking," I said. "And I'm so happy. You make me so happy.
Your love's made me strong. You've made me a better person . . ."
"Being loved by you, Jonah . . . it's the greatest honor of my life."
5 Beautiful Heartbreaking thumbs up!
Lauren
All In
SPOILERS FOR FULL TILT....
Reeling
from her loss, Kacey Dawson is grieving and heartbroken, her addictive
demons hauling her back into the alcohol-soaked abyss she worked so hard
to crawl out of. Kacey teeters on the edge of oblivion, and must fight
her way through the pain, to build a new life for herself with her
music, and somehow fulfill the promise she made to Jonah…one she feels
is impossible to keep.
Theo Fletcher has a secret burning in his
heart, one that he holds close, while he struggles to keep strong for
his family that is falling apart. His mother’s health is fragile and his
father’s disapproval is breaking him down. Theo is afraid if he follows
his heart, he’ll fail, and not just himself, but his brother who
believed in him when no one else did.
Drawn together by their
pain, Theo and Kacey slowly build a friendship, re-forge old ties, help
each other to heal, and give one another the courage to reach for their
dreams. Together, from the depths of grief and guilt, they learn to
laugh again, to trust again, and quite possibly find something beautiful
and lasting amid the shattered pieces of their broken hearts.
PLEASE
NOTE, this novel is NOT a standalone. It is highly recommended one read
Full Tilt first to get the entire arc of the story and to avoid
spoilers.
Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Trillian via NetGalley
Genre: NA Romance
Part 2 of 2
My All In Review . . .
Gah! After I
finished Full Tilt I WAS GUTTED!! I wasn't sure how my heart was going
to heal again but Emma took the band-aids and stitches and mended my heart.
Full Tilt ends with Jonah saying something to both Kacey and Theo but we weren't privy to what he said to Theo. We knew what he said to Kacey but I wasn't sure how she was going to be able to fulfill his promise.
Once we found out what he said to Theo we were able to see Jonah's wishes. His selfless pure wishes. I'm not sure how anyone can have that much heart to see the truth of others when his truth was so daunting.
"No,
my dear, "Olivia said. "You can't let go, but what is not the same as
stuck. When you hold tightly to something behind you, you cannot move
forward. The answer is to unclench your heart from the past. Close the
door. Open a new chapter. Only then can you be free of the pain that
haunts you."
Kacey can't be around Jonah's family so she leaves to try and start over. Unfortunately the past can't be let go and now she has to find a different version of the past that can be with her.
Again Emma has written another amazing book and here are some of my favorite quotes:
~ Lost in my head, unable to fathom the
depth of my brother's heart. A man who told the love of his life, at
the moment of goodbye, to love someone else.
And to his brother, a promise to love her...
You
will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have
suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. -
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
"The
feeling you have in that moment right as you wake up, before your brain
mucks it all up with thoughts and words? That very first feeling is
where the truth lives."
"Time is the great healer," she
said. "But you can't put your life on hold until the rest of the world
accepts what you know is true in your heart."
"Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure." She gave me another of her knowing smiles. "It's one of my favorites."
"
. . . You're strong and brave, and you'd take all the pain if it meant
making those you love feel it less. You shoulder that burden by
yourself. You put on armor and put up walls. But inside, you have this
gentle, loving soul. . . ."
I saw where this book was going and I saw glimmers of the this truth in Full Tilt but truthfully I wasn't sure how Emma was going to pull it off but she did. And she did it beautifully.
I truly loved this book but I loved Full Tilt more so that is why it gets a bit less rating. :)
4.5 Second chances loving thumbs up
Lauren
