Published December 13, 2012
Publisher: Sphere
Format: e-book - own
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Rating: 4 STARS
(From Goodreads) There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.
Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.
For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.
Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.
I love reading book reviews. I mean, obviously, right? They help me select books that I might want to read, and sometimes they help me avoid books that I think I may not like. I read reviews before reading nearly every book. For some reason I didn't for The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden. So, I was totally unprepared for the last page.
The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden was so good. Callie was equal parts pitiful and heroic. It was fun trying to figure out which version of her was going to come out in the situations she was put in. Callie had such an awful thing happen to her. Something like that, and then the six years after would destroy anyone. Yet, she keeps jumping in to save Kayden. Why does she do that? How does she find the strength? It's intriguing and made this book very, very hard to put down.
What are the chances that two people with such broken pasts would find each other? It's the whole question risen in the title - is it coincidence? Is it fate? Makes you wonder, really.
Kayden, too is both amazing and sad. The way he protects Callie and tries so hard to help her come out of her shell is inspiring. And takes him to the top of the Best Book Boyfriends list. He meets all the necessary criteria - hot, flawed, supportive, great kisser. The "flawed" part, Kayden has in spades. His home life is beyond dysfunctional. He deals with it as poorly as Callie deals with her stuff. And, yet, when they are together, they find peace. It's the stuff a really great romantic story is made of.
But, something else that a really great romantic story is made of is a great ending to the story. And, this is the only place that The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden is found lacking. Believe me - I have no problem with cliffhangers. They make stories so exciting sometimes. But, even books with great cliffhangers have a good ending. This book had no ending. It was a cliffhanger with literally no ending. I clicked the advance button on my Kindle and saw the acknowledgments, I was kind of shocked. I thought I had a defective file. But, when I finally went on Goodreads to check out the rest of the reviews, I saw that I did, in fact, have the full version.
If it hadn't been for that, this would've been near a 5-star book. And, worse yet, no one seems to know when the next book in the series is coming out. I definitely recommend this book. But, I think it would be best to wait until all three in the series are out so you can read them all in a row. It will cause far less mental anguish that way.
Thanks for a fantastic review! I have this one waiting for me on my nook but now, having read your review, I think I'll wait a bit longer. :) I am glad to know about the ending...I hadn't read about that in a review.
ReplyDelete