Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Hootie's Review: Forever Jack (Eversea #2) by Natasha Boyd

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Publication Date: November 25th 2013
Series: Eversea #2
Pages: 372
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased from Amazon



A feisty small-town girl and the Hollywood star who broke her heart An all-consuming love threatened by fame One last chance at FOREVER Keri Ann Butler's life changed on the night she met movie star, Jack Eversea. She thought she knew a Jack that was very different to the man adored by fans the world over. In the wake of his betrayal and abandonment, Keri Ann has had to pick up and move forward with the life she was supposed to live and has put off far too long. Suddenly Jack is back, and his explanations for why he left seem more and more plausible, and his declarations more seductive. But being Jack's latest tabloid accessory isn't on Keri Ann's career agenda, no matter how much she is attracted to him. And how can she can ever trust him again? Jack knows he let the only 'real' thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers. And his hands have been tied to try and stop it. Until Now. Jack is now fighting to save his relationship with Keri Ann, even as his crazy life threatens to tear them apart. Again. The question is, can he convince her she can have it all? And have him? Forever?




My Review:


Sometimes sequels can be unnecessary and ruin the story you fell in love with in the first place. Disney has cornered the market in pointless followups but there have been flukes in their line up occasionally. With Forever Jack it was absolutely needed and just as good if not better than it's predecessor.


After Audrey shows up and drops the "Bambino Bombshell" forcing Jack to leave town, Keri Ann has to pick up the pieces and try to move on. She finds out that falling in love with a celebrity is harder to handle than any normal relationship because of all the added pressures and prior commitments Jack has in Hollywood. She knew their time was short and he would eventually have to return when his next movie began but she wasn't prepared for the way things ended so abruptly. Keri Ann hasn't seen or heard from Jack since he left so when he shows up after several months in a chivalrous moment she does what only Keri Anne can. Leaves him on the side of the road standing  in the rain watching her leave this time. These two love sick characters have so much to overcome it's almost too much to hope that everything will work out for them. Jack is bound by a contract to keep up appearances with Audrey for the duration of the movie they star in, Keri Ann is desperately trying to move on with little success and Jacks playboy reputation while away isn't helping. 



I was thrilled to get a Jack POV in this book however limited it actually was. He's more than just a pretty face and his character opens up more about his past issues involving his abusive father and the repercussions that came with handling that situation. I fell more in love with Jack in this one than I did in Eversea. He's dealing with so much all while nursing a broken heart and trying to do right by Keri Ann the entire time. Seeing what Audrey's deception has done to him was brutal and made me feel protective of him even when I thought he was up to no good when the press turned him into the villain. Beneath the veneer of his celebrity I found that he's just a man, plain and simple and I loved seeing that side of him. My stomach was in knots, believing the worst about my sweet Jack. This really highlights the sway the media has over the public because "Seeing Is Believing" right? There's a reason you can't always believe what you see, read and hear. I held high hopes that the Jack I got to know in Eversea was the real deal and I wasn't disappointed.



Keri Ann was harder to crack this go around. After opening up to Jack once before she's skeptical of his intentions when he comes back to town wanting to explain his absence. She wasn't easily swayed so she took a little longer for me to warm up to and see her side of things. I was hoping she would run right into his arms and forgive him but at the same time I understood why she didn't. After finally opening herself up she's realizing who she is and what she wants to do with her life, pursuing her art career and going to school for design for starters. Keri Ann doesn't want to get so wrapped up in Jack's celebrity and become just another extension of him. I admired her strength and determination to make a name for herself based on merit and not Jack's name but I felt she put Jack through unnecessary angst with her hot and cold attitude at times. She wasn't easy to like sometimes but no woman is who is growing into a more independent version of themselves and despite her momentarily abrasive freak outs I really liked her.



The chemistry that drew me into their love story was even more potent in this one because absence really does makes the heart grow fonder. A delicious push and pull of will they or won't they work out kept me on the edge of my seat. Thankfully they both had amazing friends who did what what was needed to get them pointed in the right direction. I failed to mention how much I adored Keri Ann's friend Jazz in my review of Eversea. She was a funny, saucy little minx that cared for Keri Ann and gave her sage advice and never let her doubt herself. The built in story between Jazz and Keri's brother was something I hope the author capitalizes on in the near future because that really got me excited for what's hopefully to come. Forever Jack was a little bit more intense than the first one with the drama of Jack's chosen profession but I couldn't have asked for a better ending than what we got. Jack and Keri Ann grew into two amazing characters and I loved watching them work through their problems together. Strong couples give me a freaking boner and the strength it takes to overcome the obstacles in this story was herculean. This was just a simple and sweet love story with mild angst and great characters that make you laugh. They are the kind of books that suck you into the story 100% and leave you unable to put them down. 




Quotes:

His smile was so sad and beautiful, it pulsed like a solar flare and shattered my crudely mended heart into a million tiny pieces. Kindle 13%

“You do know me,” Jack said, his voice rough. “You know me better than anyone on this planet. And I pegged you for more honesty than that. I know you felt something real, not based on the illusion of Jack Eversea. I can see it. I can feel it. It is real. The only real fucking thing I've felt in forever.” Kindle 17%

“You have to know there’s no going back. Don't do this unless you can take all of me. You know who I am. What I do. I can’t hide it from you, and I’m not sure I can hide us. I’ll try. But you have to give me all of you. If you're still with Colt, I need you to step back and leave. Don't come here unless you're free. I need you to be mine. Fully. All the damn way. Because I’m yours,” Kindle 50%

It occurred to me that the moment in space and time before lips touch, the small exquisite sting of wanting, a beat of thirst, of yearning, was the most underrated part of kissing. There should be sonnets and epic poems written about the space before a kiss, and the thrilling rush that comes with the moment of contact. Kindle 74%




About The Author:


Natasha Boyd is a writer with a background in marketing and public relations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and lives in the coastal Carolina Lowcountry, complete with Spanish moss, alligators and mosquitoes the size of tiny birds.  She has a husband, two sons and a cat named Tuna.  Eversea is her first full-length novel. 

Links:






2 comments:

  1. I liked Eversea, and can't believe I still haven't read this. I'm glad the characters showed a lot of growth and that the ending made you happy!

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  2. Skimmed the review, because I really want to read these now. Glad you liked it!

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