Title: Until Alex
Author: J. Nathan
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Sensuality Rating: Sensual
Source: review copy provided via NetGalley
Published: June 17, 2014 (self-published)
On the outside, Hayden is every girl's fantasy, brooding and devastatingly gorgeous. He spends his nights losing himself in alcohol and faceless girls, but it's all just a facade. An elaborate cover for the emotionless shell of a man he is. One who harbors too many secrets and destroys lives the way his was destroyed. It’s the reason he avoids relationships and keeps everyone at arm's length…Until Alex
Alex’s life just shattered into a million pieces, leaving her with more grief than she knows what to do with and guilt so deep it’s destroyed the carefree girl she once was. Now she’s hundreds of miles from home, living with an aunt she doesn't know, finishing senior year at a college she’s never been to, and trying desperately to get through a single day without breaking down. She's never felt more alone in her life...Until Hayden
The trouble with Hayden is who he wants to be and who he is are in constant flux. And though he’d die before letting Alex learn the truth about him, he can’t be sure he's strong enough to let her in…or push her away. She’s the one person who just might see the real him.
Reviewed By: Laura
Why I Read This Book: The “two broken people falling in love” trope is fairly common, but I still love seeing how things play out. There are so many things to take into consideration when reading this description: Why the sudden move for Alex? What about Hayden’s “destroy[ing] lives the way his was destroyed”? So many unknowns and yet something still called to me. There’s no better way to describe it.
What I Liked: I loved the writing and pacing of this book. It wasn’t too fast because they didn’t take an instant likely to one another. It also wasn’t fake because their relationship was rocky and real in ways that many authors leave behind for the more romanticized elements. This was a true, hard-won love that tested the limits of each participant’s psychological and emotional needs.
It was also refreshing not to get lost in the flesh. While my reading tastes definitely run the gamut, the pacing of their physical relationship (and to the extent that they engaged) was right alongside their emotional availability. There was no immediate need for the other person and I rather enjoyed the build up.
I honestly preferred Hayden’s backstory to Alex’s. Since the book is told in alternating points of view, we get to see the book’s events through both sets of eyes. While Alex’s story is definitely tragic, Hayden’s held more tension. Maybe that’s because his torture was ongoing, whereas Alex’s issues stemmed from an over-and-done-with kind of event. To be sure, they’re both heartbreaking, but his story just got under my skin more, in a good way.
What I Didn’t Like: There was really only one thing that stood out as rather odd. Hayden gets a tattoo of Alex as his “angel.” That kind of action is usually a red flag to me. I have tattoos and of the firm opinion that unless they’re your children or it’s a memorial, names and likenesses shouldn’t really happen in tattoos. It was just….weird.
Overall Impression: Until Alex is definitely a to-read book. I honestly think it’s worthy of re-reading when you’re in a brooding kind of mood and want something with a bit more to it than wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.
Laura’s Rating:
Sounds really good - I love that there isn't insta love and that the relationship goes through a natural progression as well. I mean, I enjoy the wham-bam at times, but something deeper like this I definitely prefer. Great review!
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