Book Name: Emerge
Author: Lila Felix
Publisher: Self-Published
Release date: September 1, 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Warnings: Mature content.
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Other Novels: Perchance
Book Trailer: Unavailable
Social Networks: Twitter, Facebook, GoodRead
Author Site: Website
Buying Locations: Amazon
Jenna has spent too long being complacent and accepting. Her mother and step-father constantly belittle and berate her for simply being alive. She passes through life keeping everyone and everything at arm’s length because it’s just not worth the questions or the pity party. She takes what they dish out and just tries to survive.
She has thought up a million different ways to get away from them, but lacked the motivation and the sheer will. Like a fast moving tornado, her motivation comes in the form of a boy who cares for her as none other has and who shows her a glimpse of hope, a glimpse into a life she never thought she could have.
But is her new motivation enough to get her out…
(Excerpt from GoodRead)
This book was generously gifted to me by the author in return for a fair and honest review.
I’m not a huge fan of contemporary. I get enough of real life that I find stories with real events boring, depressing and outright overlooked if I’m at the bookstore. I’m a fan of the paranormal. Give me vampires, demons, monsters. Give me the dark and twisted evils hidden in the night, under your bed, with a chainsaw. Those are my stories.
So when I noticed Ms. Felix had a blog tour and was recruiting people, I figured, meh, why not. I love helping another author. It’s only one day and just because I’m not a fan of the genre, doesn’t mean someone else isn’t.
Best decision I ever made.
Not only is Ms. Felix one of the nicest, sweetest people I have ever had the honor of calling a friend, but Emerge is hands down one of my top favorite contemporary romance.
I was gifted with both this novel and Ms. Felix’s second novel PERCHANCE. I read that one first because it was part of the tour (review to come Oct 24th). But Emerge is my favorite of the two. It isn’t fast paced or action packed. What it is, is intense. It is solid. It is incredible and warm and touching. It’s one of those books that grip you with emotions, then slams you in the gut with heart wrenching anger. Time and again, I wanted to grab Jenna and just shake her… or hug her. Her self-worth –or lack thereof– was agonizing. It was pure torture to read. I won’t lie, the first part of the book, I hated it! I hated the situation. I hated her mother. I would have killed her in her sleep if I were Jenna. She was a monster, evil and vicious. I wanted to throttle her.
And then we meet Carlos… and wow. I have a ton of book-boyfriends (don’t tell hubby), but Carlos is… he is amazing. He isn’t perfect. He isn’t a superhero or a vampire. He is a normal boy in love with a broken girl. It really twisted the story around. I couldn’t stop reading. Ms. Felix did an amazing job weaving this plot and the characters. I will definitely be looking for her next book.
In conclusion:
Will I read the next book? Yes.
Will I tell my friends about this book? Yes.
Did I enjoy it? Yes.