This was such a bittersweet read! Check out my full review and enter the giveaway below...
Suffer Love
by Ashley Herring Blake
YA Contemporary
Hardcover & ebook, 352 Pages
May 3rd 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Summary
Hadley St. Clair's life changed the day she came home to a front door covered in slips of paper, each of them revealing the ugly truth about her father. Now as her family falls apart in the wake of his year-long affair, Hadley wants everyone-her dad most of all-to leave her alone.
Then she meets Sam Bennett, a cute new boy who inexplicably "feels like home" to Hadley. Hadley and Sam's connection is undeniable, but Sam has a secret about his family that could ruin everything.
Funny and passionate, Suffer Love is a story about first love, family dysfunction, and the fickle hand of fate.
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My Review
SUFFER LOVE was a story full of heartbreak, friendship, and love as two teens struggle to find some happiness after their worlds have been blown apart. It was an emotional story as the reader feels for and cheers on these characters and their circumstances. If you enjoy contemporary YA and don't mind the content, this is a story well worth the read.
The story started off a little rocky for me. I have a tough time liking characters who are partying a lot and messing around and that's how this starts. However, Hadley has a lot more to her than her initial actions and it's clear almost right away that she's dealing with some serious stuff in her life and trying to figure out how to handle it all. Really, she's not handling it at all. She was a rather depressing character in so many ways, but then she starts to find herself and to find happiness again. She also realizes some important things about what she really wants and doesn't want. Then there was Sam who also has a heck of a lot going on in his life and it also finding it hard to deal, but is trying to be there for his younger sister. He won me over with his sweetness and the way he protects his sister. He's really the glue holding his family together even if his mother doesn't realize it.
So, here I am trying to skim over the things I don't like (swearing, messing around) and then there's a scene... I didn't know if I wanted to keep reading, honestly. I like my books cleaner and I was worried that it was going to get heavier in the content like a lot of these do. This one surprised me. I was curious enough to give it another shot and then held on to the end and ended up being glad that I did. There were parts where I wanted to rail at Kat, Hadley's best friend, and definitely at both Hadley's and Sam's parents. Then parts when I wanted to shake Sam and Hadley. It was a bittersweet story and endearing, but also an honest look at what happens when parents cheat and the ensuing fallout. I wanted to know if Hadley and Sam would get their happily-ever-after even if the version they got wasn't what they would have originally envisioned.
Content: Lots of swearing including multiple f-words, innuendo, one short but descriptive scene, other making out, suggestive comments.
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Edelweiss, which did not affect my review in any way.
The story started off a little rocky for me. I have a tough time liking characters who are partying a lot and messing around and that's how this starts. However, Hadley has a lot more to her than her initial actions and it's clear almost right away that she's dealing with some serious stuff in her life and trying to figure out how to handle it all. Really, she's not handling it at all. She was a rather depressing character in so many ways, but then she starts to find herself and to find happiness again. She also realizes some important things about what she really wants and doesn't want. Then there was Sam who also has a heck of a lot going on in his life and it also finding it hard to deal, but is trying to be there for his younger sister. He won me over with his sweetness and the way he protects his sister. He's really the glue holding his family together even if his mother doesn't realize it.
So, here I am trying to skim over the things I don't like (swearing, messing around) and then there's a scene... I didn't know if I wanted to keep reading, honestly. I like my books cleaner and I was worried that it was going to get heavier in the content like a lot of these do. This one surprised me. I was curious enough to give it another shot and then held on to the end and ended up being glad that I did. There were parts where I wanted to rail at Kat, Hadley's best friend, and definitely at both Hadley's and Sam's parents. Then parts when I wanted to shake Sam and Hadley. It was a bittersweet story and endearing, but also an honest look at what happens when parents cheat and the ensuing fallout. I wanted to know if Hadley and Sam would get their happily-ever-after even if the version they got wasn't what they would have originally envisioned.
Content: Lots of swearing including multiple f-words, innuendo, one short but descriptive scene, other making out, suggestive comments.
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Edelweiss, which did not affect my review in any way.
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About the Author
Ashley Herring Blake is a poet, teacher, and YA novelist. Her debut novel, SUFFER LOVE, follows two teens as they attempt to wade through an intense relationship complicated by their parents' infidelities. Ashley lives in Nashville, TN.
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