Review: Reflection by Jessica Roberts

Reflection by Jessica Roberts
Publisher: S/P
Release Date: Feb 17, 2012
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Bright, spunky Heather Robbins has escaped her small hometown and is anxiously beginning her freshman year of college. Rising above her rocky childhood, she’s found a place where good things are finally starting to happen: her own private apartment, refreshing college classes, and an intense attachment to a mysterious and rugged classmate, Nick Richards.

But when her dreamy college life turns out to be nothing more than a wonderful dream while resting in a coma, questions threaten.

Now, Heather must press forward to unlock the real past, and find the answers buried deep in her mind. What she unlocks instead is a roller coaster ride through flashbacks, embellished memories, and a whirlwind romance.

And when it’s all over and she comes face to face with the truth, will she lose everything she’s fallen in love with?

My Thoughts:

What an emotional ride!  This book will take you on the emotional ride of your life so make sure you have plenty of tissues at the ready when you pick it up.

Heather finally able to leave her small town not so happy life behind her moves away from home to start college. Leaving behind her best friend is the hardest thing she has ever done, but she knows she has to escape her life if she wants to become something to be proud of.  A few months after she arrives she has an accident that leaves her in a coma and with only patches of her memory.  What we get to experience next is her not so perfect life in college and how she meets the greatest love of her life.

I have to give the author major credit for her thorough research because she totally nailed it with all the medical stuff.  I totally bought into everything and I have no idea if it is all fact or not but it felt real to me so I went with it.  It was neat to see those theories play out while Heather tried to recount her life. Like she would remember her alarm clock going off, but really it was the heart monitor in her room.  Little things like that were very interesting to me and I am glad they were in the story.

I will say that I kept waiting for the big climax of the story to come.  And while it did it wasn't the one I was expecting.  I guess I have been reading too many sinister books lately because my brain automatically went to the "whodunit" scenario and really this book is just about a girl trying to put her life back together.  I did enjoy this but there were a couple of things that bothered me.  For one I didn't understand why Heather never came clean with Nick about who Creed really was.  After a month or so after they started really hanging out I just wanted her to tell him the truth about everything.  I didn't like that she lied to him even after he showed he cared about her so much.  I also really wanted her to give Nick as much as she got from him.  He opened up to her about a lot of stuff and she seemed to just pull away for no good reason.  Yes I know she had a bad childhood, but from the information we are given I didn't see that it was something she couldn't tell Nick about.  I guess I just expected more from her.  Plus maybe it is just me but if you have read this please tell me, did you think there was more to Creed than what was showed??  Again it could be my brain turning to the dark side but I really felt something weird about him.  This brings me to the ending and oh what an ending it was.  A huge bomb is dropped and I don't know how I feel about it.  I never thought the story would go in that direction so I am a little lost as to how I feel. I am hurt on so many levels as a reader and I am scared to pick up the sequel.  I did read the first chapter in the sequel and it didn't get any better.  This will be one of those books where I will have to read the ending before I start it.  I have to know the outcome because I am already so emotionally involved with these characters that if it doesn't turn out the way I hope I will be crushed.

So I will say that I did enjoy this one.  The writing is really amazing and I really enjoyed Heathers story.  My 3 snowflake rating is only because I was not happy with the way things ended and I wanted Heather to own up to a lot more than she did.  Nick deserve better in my opinion. I usually tend to shy away from books that have this much emotional pull, but I have to say after reading this I might pick up a few more emotional ones throughout the year.

*A copy was provided by the author, thank you so much for letting us read Heathers story*

                                                              3 Snowflakes
                                                     
                                                    

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