Book Review: ReCAP/Okay by Danielle Pearl

Review:

ReCAP by Danielle Pearl/Okay by Danielle Pearl


This is more of a two-in-one review. Okay is the sequel to my last review. In between the two books is book 1.5, which is cleverly titled ReCAP. It's a play on words, you see. Not only is it a recap of book one from Sam's POV, Sam's last name is also Caplan. Also also, he was the captain of the football team and everyone calls him Cap. 
My point is ReCAP is probably the most clever title I've ever seen. 
I probably should've review ReCAP with Normal but I didn't, so get over it. 
YA KNOW WHAT I'M SAYIN'?
Anyway... 

You already heard the story. The one of how Rory and I fell in love, supposedly, even if she couldn't handle it in the end. You know how it all went.

Or you think you do.

You only know her side. But I have my own point of view, and even Rory couldn't know my thoughts in those few months it took for her to go from being a stranger to my whole entire world.

Every moment is permanently ingrained in my memory. In my goddamned soul. From the moment I stumbled upon the girl panicking outside of calculus - the one with the tight little body, the angelic face, and the fierce attitude - to the night she abandoned me in Miami. It was the sum of those moments that changed me irrevocably.

Our story isn't over. I won't let it be. But this, this is what happened so far, the way I saw it.

I'm Cap. Or Sam, to Rory. And this is my story.

*****SPOILERS AHEAD*****

I'm a creature of habit. Every morning, I kiss Chris, feed my cats, and force myself to get in my car and drive to school instead of staying home and reading books. I love dual POV books, so I was slightly disappointed when I read Normal and the entirety of the book was Rory's POV. Sometimes the mystery of not getting the male POV is awesome, but sometimes I really need to know what the men are thinking... 

So, Danielle Pearl obviously only published ReCAP because she knew I needed Sam's POV in my life. 

It wasn't as much of a story like Normal. It was literally just a rehash of most of the scenes with Sam and Rory (which, conveniently, is all I wanted to read about). It was nice because, hello, Sam's POV. Eventually, it dragged on a bit too much. I read Normal, ReCAP, and Okay back-to-back all within the same day or two (since they were all published already), so it felt repetitive. I'm sure if I wouldn't have felt the same way if I had to wait for them to be published like other readers. I would've preferred to have Sam's POV in Normal but I'm not complaining. 

I loved reading from Sam's eyes. He's a special kind of high school boy, you know? While things like sex, football, and drinking are important to him, so is this new girl he met by accident. I loved that Sam was sideswiped by Rory. Some of my favorite books are the ones where the guy totally doesn't believe in love and love is like "excuse you" and throws his words back in his face. 

Sam is on a different level of awareness too. You can an in-depth look at how he's so affected by his past (because, you know, Rory's not the only one with issues). He fears his anger. He fears himself. ReCAP was a great 1.5 book. 

Rating?

Three out of five stars.

*I'm only rating in three stars, not because I hated it, but as I previously said, it would've been awesome if it was weaved into Normal as opposed to being a separate novella. It had nothing to do with the writing at all, which was perfect.*

And now I present to thee the actual book I said I was reviewing in the title. 

This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN: B00SSMCZX2.

After the horrors she’s survived over the past year, Rory never expected to find the one thing she certainly wasn’t looking for – love. But after the painful realization that her past has left her a dangerous liability to the person she cares for the most, she finally understands that for her and Sam, love means letting go. 

Can two people hopelessly in love with one another ever revert back into just friends? Neither Rory nor Sam know for sure. But the one thing they do know – it’s the only choice they have.

As Rory recovers from a devastating assault, Sam will do anything to make sure it never happens again. But how far will he go to keep her safe? Their choices will change everything, and they will either bring them back together or destroy them irrevocably. 

OKAY is the follow-up to NORMAL and Book 2 of the Something More series. It is not meant to be read as a standalone novel.

*****SPOILERS AHEAD*****

I get all emotional when I finish up a couple's story. I just want to read about them 24/7. What did they eat for breakfast? Did their car break down in the middle of rush hour? Did Rory even brush her hair this morning? 

Off track again... sorry.

Okay picks up right where Normal left off which is nice for people like me who don't have a life and read the sequel right after. Following the aftermath of Robin finding Rory and attacking her, we see our two babies broken-hearted after Rory thinks she can't handle being with Sam. In her defense, she thinks she's not good enough (which we all know she totally is) and Sam will suffer the same fate as Cameron if he sticks around.

This book is beautiful because it shows how much Sam and Rory love each other. I love that no matter what, they are friends first. Sam always wants to just be there for Rory. At first, you want to smack them because they start to drift away from each other (Sam thinks she needs space. Guys, ugh). 

The back and forth did get boring after awhile, but all I really wanted was a HEA for them and it's exactly what I got, so who am I to complain? 

Rating? 
Four out a five stars. 



Side note: My folder with my star rating pictures has seemed to disappear. I'm all about consistency, so it's driving me insane that these stars don't really match the other rating stars.

XOXO 

Kaysee Castor

No copyright intended. Use of the material in this book is for an honest review only. I do not own anything here except my opinion.

Book Review: More Than This by Jay McLean

Review:

More Than This by Jay McLean

I purchased Kindle Unlimited because I was spending WAY too much money on books. (Side note: is that even possible?)
Anyway, a Kindle Unlimited membership is $9.99 a month and coming from a girl who used to spend way more than $9.99 on books every month, I’d say it’s definitely worth it.

Though I’ve had the membership for a few months, and I’ve avidly read books for years and years, I finally found the book (or series, in this case) that made me want to write a review. I wanted to find the author and tell her exactly what I thought of her book. I wanted to tell her how it made me cry and how I drove my boyfriend insane because I’d gasp every two minutes, then give him a quick synopsis of the two minutes I had read, rinse, then repeat.
Kindle Unlimited is kind of a hit and miss. You can either find a great book that has you in tears or you can find some strange book where a girl’s teacher brings her a cucumber and well… never mind. More Than This by Jay McLean is in every way, shape, and form the former.

More Than This is book one in the More Than series.

When Mikayla imagined her prom night, she envisioned a fairy-tale evening full of romance. So when betrayal and tragedy come in quick succession, Mikayla is completely destroyed. Suddenly, everything she loved and everyone she relied on are tragically, irrevocably gone.

Jake, a handsome boy she just met, happens to witness her loss. With no one to turn to, Mikayla is forced to depend on this near stranger and his family, and he in turn is determined to take care of her. But Mikayla-thrust into adulthood with no one to guide her-is desperate to contain her grief and hide what she considers to be her weakness. Mikayla and Jake both want more, but despite their growing closeness and intense chemistry, she tries to keep her distance and protect her heart. As he does everything in his power to win her trust, Mikayla must choose between remaining alone and safe or letting love in.

 ***** SPOILERS AHEAD*****

I have no idea where to begin with this book. This book RIPPED my heart into tiny microscopic pieces. Our main characters are Mikayla (called Kayla by her family, Micky by her friends) and Jake.
Within the first few pages, you meet Mikayla’s perfect, loving family, her asshole amazing boyfriend of four years, James, and her whore best friend, Megan.
While eating a pre-prom dinner, a guy named Logan (more on this magnificent man in my next review) pours beer down Mikayla’s dress in an attempt to talk to her. Jake and Logan are best friends and Jake tells him to cool it. (It’s also worth mentioning that Jake has an Australian accent which obviously makes everything he says 1,938,457 times sexier. It’s a scientifically proven fact.)
Long story short, James (totally amazing beau) and Megan (bestest best friend ever) have actually been hooking up for the last two years and oops, they just hooked up in the bathroom while Mikayla is on her way to clean up the beer.
Switching to Jakey’s POV, he is leaving the bathroom after attempting to salvage his beer-stained shirt (thanks Logan. No seriously, thank you). He witnesses Mikayla’s heartbreaking as she fights with James and Megan in the hall. Jake comforts Mikayla and she ends up going his prom with him and his lovely group of friends. (Logan, Lucy, Cameron, Dylan, and Heidi)
This marks the beautiful loving beginning of a happy fairy tale ending.
Laugh out loud, JUST KIDDING.

After having a great time with this group of strangers and trashing James’ truck, everyone gets dropped off and Jake stays with a pretty drunk Mikayla to make sure she gets home safe (aw). After some cute kisses between the two, it seems like the rest of this story is going to be the cutest thing since a basket of kittens.

Except, no.
The limo can’t get further down the street because of ambulances and police cars.
Why?

Mikayla’s family was murdered.
You read that correctly.

The setup for this story was fantastic, though slightly unrealistic. I understand Kayla totally not wanting to go to her own prom, but getting in a limo with six strangers and drinking with them doesn’t seem that bright either.
Her family getting murdered also seemed so random, but it does tie into the story well. A few other things that bugged me about this book was the timeframe in which Kayla and Jake seem to trust each other and not want to leave each other’s sides. I get he was there for two extremely life-altering events and he was her rock throughout it, but they were still strangers. I also hated how insanely jealous Jake was. Sometimes it was cute, but other times I wanted to smack him. I should also note that when they fought, they did it in front of everyone. That annoyed me, get a room you guys.
Overall though, I’ll gladly look passed those blips because they created the characters and made them who they were. Obviously, those things were a good idea on Jay McLean’s part because it made her characters stick in my brain and tons of other people’s too.
It became my favorite book (until I read the next book in the series).

I finished this book in one sitting because I literally couldn’t get enough of these two. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves romance/new adult as much as me.

Rating? 

Four out of five stars.

XOXO 

Kaysee Castor

No copyright intended. Use of the material in this book is for an honest review only. I do not own anything here except my opinion.