This book made me fall in love. Will is the ultimate hero- he is kind, sexy, funny, smart, and honest. Sarah is an equally likable heroine – she is sweet, sincere, and has believable weaknesses such as her insecurities and determination to protect her heart from being broken again.
This story is a creative blend of the past and present day. Two stories unfold as Heywood expertly gives readers a glimpse into the high school romance of two best friends and the circumstances that pulled them apart. At the same time the story reveals their present day lives years later when they are forced back into contact at Sarah’s brother’s wedding. Will is the one guy that Sarah cannot get out of her mind. The one guy who is the reason she has not returned home in seven years. The one guy that can still break her heart. If only she can get over Him.
Will and Sarah first met in middle school and a delightful friendship blossoms. This story is so realistic that it brought me back to my own school days – first kisses, hanging out with friends, the social hierarchy of high school, trying to fit in, dealing with parents, and first crushes. The post high school story has a similar realism and shows the distance one will go to try not to think about their first love, the heartbreak, the choices we make, the past that we cannot let go of. The writing is exceptional.
Lucy Rivers does an outstanding job in the narration of this novel. Sarah starts out as a high school senior and in some areas, mostly where Will is concerned, she has not grown up. Her character is very likable, but could easily be portrayed as whiney or immature by the wrong narrator. Lucy gives her conviction, strength and a very believable hesitancy where Will is concerned. In the narration Sarah comes off as heartbroken and afraid, but never whiney. Will’s narration is expertly done as well. I found the narrator added depth to the story and was very engaging. Rivers was easy to listen to and always made it very clear who was speaking. I would highly recommend her as a book narrator.
The story as a whole is completely gripping. I could not put this audiobook down. Both the narration and the content are excellent. I do, however, have the following warnings for other listeners: 1. Some of the dialogue between Will& Sarah is so funny it made me laugh out loud at times. This resulted in strange looks from the people around me on the train who were not enjoying this delightful audiobook. 2. You cannot help but cheer for Will and Sarah. This may result in smiling like a crazy person when Will and Sarah are together at various points. The story is so moving that I was genuinely happy when they were happy. It could not be helped. While I tend to be on the klutzy side in general, this is the first time I actually walked into a wall while listening to a book (OK, so I slightly misjudged a door frame and my shoulder collided). So just a word of caution for those readers like me who tend to get absorbed into a “book world”. This story is a wonderful adventure that you can become totally absorbed in. I cannot wait to listen to the next book in this series “Her” – which is actually the same story told from Will’s perspective instead of Sarah’s.
MAKE SURE YOU GRAB HER BELOW!!