BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Lost in Us (Lost #1)

Welcome to my stop on the Lost in Us Blog Tour, organized by Xpresso Book Tours. Read on for my review, then don't forget to enter the giveaway. And, don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour for more good stuff!

Lost in Us (Lost #1), by Layla Hagen
Published February 14, 2014
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-book, provided by the author and Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  3 STARS

(From Goodreads) Serena has learned to live with her past, locking her secrets and nightmares deep inside her. But when her boyfriend of six years abruptly leaves her, she’s catapulted back into pain, nursing a broken heart. When indulging in mountains of chocolate doesn’t work, Serena decides the best way to deal with her shattered heart is to indulge in something else. A rebound . . .

The night she swaps her usual Sprite for tequila, she meets James. The encounter is breathtaking.
Electrifying.
And best not repeated.

James is a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. A man who has amassed a fortune by taking risks. A man who has shunned commitment completely, and still does. He’s the exact opposite of Serena. But sometimes opposites attract. Sometimes they give in to burning passion. Sometimes opposites are perfect for each other.

James is everything her damaged soul could want. His kisses are intoxicating, his touch out of this world. He makes her forget. He grants her peace from her pain. But as they grow closer, Serena discovers she isn’t the only one with a past. James carries the scars of a past much darker than hers. One that has left him damaged, hurt, and wary of love. A past that gives him the power to shatter her.

Now James and Serena must find a way to mend one another. Or risk losing each other forever.

Up and down and up and down. Lost in Us was another roller coaster ride where, when things between the MCs were good, they were very good. But, when they were bad, they were horrible. 

Serena led a perfect and proper life with her boyfriend of six years until he cheated on her, effectively devastating her and her trust in others. She decides to let loose and live a little, but she didn't count on the product of that wild living to be falling in love with a gorgeous technological wunderkind. James is a womanizer who is incapable of commitment or love. Serena breaks through that, though, and all of a sudden, he wants more. She has hardened her heart though, and it seems as if he can't break down her walls, no matter how much he wants her to. 

Serena's been through some crap. I can't imagine what it would be like to give six years of your life to a man, only to have him throw it away so callously. It would certainly mess with my heard. I can also appreciate her desire to finally let loose and live a little after he's gone. So, yeah. If I had made eyes with a gorgeous guy across a bar, and he invited me to hang out with him the next day, I probably would've gone too. Go, Serena! 

James is... complicated. There's definitely more to him than what meets the eye. He has baggage of his own that has caused him to use women and extreme sports to feel alive. He intends to use Serena as simply a distraction when she captures his attention. But, then she proves to be unlike all the other women he's ever played with before. She gives him more purpose and drive and selfless love than he's ever had before. And, it scares the crap out of him. He makes mistakes. But, the thing that made James so endearing is his drive to right his wrongs. 

It is in this part of the book where I started having a few problems. James jumped through hundreds of hoops to try and make Serena happy. And, he would succeed for about 24 hours or so. But, when the afterglow of their makeup sex started to wear off, Serena would flip her bitch switch and decide that there's no way they could be together because of this reason or that reason or another reason. This happened again and again. The last reason she gave for why they couldn't be together was the one that inflamed me the most - he wouldn't say the words, "I love you." Serena even admits to herself that, by that point, his many loving actions spoke to the contrary.  Yet, those three words meant absolutely everything to her, and because he couldn't say them yet, she tossed him aside. 

Words are just that - words. It's actions that define a person and really tell others who you are. This was never more clear than in Lost in Us. James' actions showed how much he loved Serena and wanted to be with her forever. They showed he has a lot of drive and fun and romance inside of him. Serena's actions demonstrated how much of a coward she was and how spiteful and withdrawn her past had made her. How she treated both her friends and James was absolutely infuriating and the fact that this relationship was almost entirely one-sided almost from the beginning made me feel really stabby. 

I will say that there is a HEA, although it didn't happen until there was no less than 3% left in the book. The resolution of the drama was satisfying, and thank goodness for that. 

About the Author

My name is Layla Hagen and I am a New Adult Contemporary Romance author.

I fell in love with books when I was nine years old, and my love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.

I write romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.

And I drink coffee. Lots of it, in case the photo didn’t make it obvious enough

Learn more about Layla --> Website / Facebook / Twitter

Giveaway

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