REVIEW: Connecting Strangers (Discovering Emily Series, #1) by Rachel Carrington

Connecting Strangers by Rachel Carrington

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This copy was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book could have been so freakin' great. They synopsis reeled me in like a moth to a flame. Books that deal with real life conflicts are my thing.

Family issues. Cheating. Abuse. Alcoholism. Addiction. Bullying. Suicide. Murder. I can't enumerate all of them, but you get what I mean right? And Connecting Strangers was along that category, so I picked it up from netgalley. And come on, doesn't that cover look oh-so-good? Good synopsis + Good cover = drooling-i-want-that-book-Sandee

Connecting Strangers started with Emily running away from her boyfriend, Mark. Emily made the mistake of staying with Mark for so long. She had been patient, because it was easy. Because she was used to it. Them. She was used to having Mark, since she doesn't have anyone else. Her parents died when she was nineteen, so Mark was the only one she had left. But something happened, she just couldn't take it anymore... She ran. Everything happened so fast, that she didn't even bring her purse. Luckily, she ran out of gas in a small town, where she immediately made a friend how convenientand also, caught the eye of the hot local sheriffyou are such a lucky bitch.

...

Now where do I start?

I've always had a thing for books that stir my emotions. I like my books raw, painful, and unbearable. I like reading about the character's grief, misery, and dispair. I like reading about them getting trampled on by their problems, only so I could read about them rising up from being trampled on. When the characters in the book cry, I want to cry with them. I'm a masochist when it comes to the books i read. I thought this one would fit that description.

Loving someone who hurts you is heartbreaking. But I Love Him by Amanda Grace is one good example of a nicely executed story about an abusive relationship. That book is one of my favorites even up until now, and I read that book a couple of years ago. The story was sad, but how their story was written, and the characters were made, made the book beautiful. I was kind of hoping that Connecting Strangers was going to be like that only in an new adult version, but I was so wrong. This book disappointed me.

The writing was good. I liked how the author wrote. My main problem was everything else, other than her being in an abusive relationship. Seriously. I think the first chapter of the book is the only thing I really liked about it. The plot was just so wrong for me, and extremely unrealistic.

He sounds so genuine, but I can't trust myself let alone someone else. He shifts his stance, brushing his hard thighs against my legs. Raw sexual energy exudes from his skin. It's tangible, and I want to touch it. Get lost in it.

I don't know man. Just a few hours or was it the next day, after you've been marked like a cow by your boyfriend, you meet a panty-dropping guy, and this is how you feel? No. Just NO. If this, was how Emily is when she sees a hot guy, then I think there's a valid reason why her boyfriend's always angry.

I didn't hate Emily's character. There were times I do sympathize with her situation. It's not easy to lose a loved one - with her, she lost two at the same time. I'm sure it must have been dreadful. She didn't have any relative. She didn't have any siblings. There was just Mark. So I get why she held on to him. He was the only thing in her life that was still there. That part of her life I get, but the rest... I don't get at all. Like her so-called relationship with Adam right after running away.

I HATE INSTALOVE It would work on some stories, but not on this one. I would have loved to see how Emily and Adam's relationship develop over the course of Emily bringing herself back together. I would have loved to see him support her in ways that Mark couldn't. But.. No. That didn't happen. They fuck on the what? Second day? No. No. No No.

I really wanted to like this. I'm so sorry, but I don't want to lie about how I feel about this book. It just didn't really work for me. Guess, it started with the insta-love thing. If it wasn't for that in the beginning, I would have really liked this.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE:

1. STOP INSTA-LOVE. Would have wanted Adam and Emily to have a real developing relationship. The sex was already good. Just wanted to see the relationship grow.

2. Francine. The friend was too... Understanding?

3. Would have wanted more background on what she had experienced with Mark.

4. Ending.

So I guess, that's it.

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