REVIEW; Losers Weepers (Lost & Found #4), by Nicole Williams

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Genre: New Adult, Drama, Romance, Contemporary

Recommend: Yes- if read previous in series 

Summary:

Garth Black has finally accepted love in his life and is on his way to building a better and brighter future with his girlfriend, Josie. Competing in the Bull Riding Championships, Garth has positive prospects to earn a lot that'll set him up. Just before proposing to Josie, tragedy strikes that puts their future in jeopardy and changes Garth's life completely. 

Feeling that, once again, Garth cannot give Josie the life she deserves, he attempts to prove that he is not deserving of her love. Both are sent into a battle of emotions and feelings and who can defeat the stubborn Garth Black.

My Thoughts:
I feel bad only rating this two stars but it was not up to par with the previous novels and I had them at 3 and 4 stars. 

Firstly, I absolutely love Nicole William's stories and her writing. 
I've raced through the Lost & Found series and have fallen in love with Willow Springs and all the characters. So where did this fall down?

Garth. Aaahhhhh! I wanted to shoot him at times- he was just so frustrating and the self pity was NOT endearing. Whilst it is an expected/common response for someone that's endured what he has, for his character it didn't fit. We'd already been through 300 odd pages in Finders Keepers of him shutting Josie out and pushing her away, after being through the same with Jesse and Rowen, so at this stage it wasn't going to go well. 

It was the first time I found myself fast-reading the story to just pass by a lot of it. A lot of it morphed into one scene rather than many changes. The only stand out scene for me was the meeting of Josie and Garth with Jesse and Rowen at the restaurant - and that was possibly because of Jesse and Rowen being back. 

Drama and heartache was to be expected but for some reason it just didn't get me this time, it just irked me. I think it would have been better for Garth's wake up call and change of attitude to change sooner and focus on different things, than his depression drag on and on as he hurt Josie. It was the first time I felt the characters had lost themselves as Garth just seemed like a whole new person and I didn't understand how easily he gave up on Josie- especially after all the drama in Finders Keepers.  

Overall: 
Whilst only giving this two stars, I would still recommend it to those that have read the prior three novels. It is a relatively enjoyable read but it simply frustrated me following the drama of the previous three installments to their story. The repetitive sense and reuse of emotional actions concluded to a dull read.

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REVIEW; Finders Keepers (Lost & Found #3), by Nicole Williams

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre: New Adult, Drama, Romance, Contemporary

Recommend: Yes

Summary:

Focusing on Garth Black, the bad boy from Lost & Found, his life has fallen into the "easy" or "happy" category. Steering clear of any form of love, he has dealt with everyone in his life with a cold and defensive wall in place. Getting close to anyone means getting hurt.

Following a tragedy Garth is forced to be around the one girl that makes him doubt everything about himself, the girl who gave him his first kiss of any kind, the girl who was the only person to ever show him kindness, the girl he is slowly falling in love with- Josie Gibson. 

Add in drama and chaos that's synonymous with Garth's life, will he accept her love or do what he knows best, and push her away?

My Thoughts:
Hrm, so I was slightly disappointed this was marketed as the 3rd book in the Lost & Found series but was focusing on Garth rather than Rowen and Jesse- I was excited to read more about their story. 

However, Garth's story was a truly heart-warming read. He was still the cold and hard bad boy from the previous two stories but with an adequate insight into his mind showed his way of thinking. Nicole Williams has a great way of depicting characters in a different mental light, and they're immediately distinguishable.

Whilst I love Jesse (and prefer him), one can't help but fall for Garth but in a different way. You really feel for him for his upbringing and how he goes around with such a stereotype attached to him that sets everyone against him, and still he manages to stay strong.

One really has to admire his determination though; after being left alone and homeless, he still stays true to himself and dices with death - all to avoid being close to Josie. This novel depicts so well the cyclic nature of being stuck in self-destruct mode and being unable to allow yourself happiness and love. It reinforces the message in the last two books about deserving people and it not being down to deserving someone's love but just accepting their love.

In saying that, it felt slightly repetitive too from the previous books; the traumatic childhood story and the mental barrier to accepting true love, regardless of what you believe you deserve. It seemed at times a rehash of Rowen and Jesse's story. 


Overall: 
This was a great dramatic read, but it did fall slightly short for me. A little too predictable and repetitive for my liking and at times too stereotypical as well. Still a brilliant book and I look forward to going on to next installment! 

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REVIEW; Near & Far (Lost & Found #2), by Nicole Williams

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genre: New Adult, Drama, Romance, Contemporary

Recommend: Yes

Summary:

In this second installment of Lost & Found, Rowen Sterling is off studying in Seattle, whilst boyfriend Jesse Walker remains back in Willow Springs, Montana, working at his family's ranch. Their long distance relationship is difficult, but manageable, as they take it in turns to visit each other.

But Rowen is moving up in the art community at her college whilst Jesse is kept busy at the ranch, and their lack of contact is taking its toll. Can their love overcome the distant, can they put their relationship before their individual futures and dreams? 

As people surrounding the two of them are whispering in their ears and offering their take on things, both come to face to some truths and realisations about their relationship, and wonder if it's at all realistic to continue.

My Thoughts:
So I delved right into this straight after finishing Lost & Found. A follow on book from a perfect romance always suggest the pair will face more hardship and drama and that their relationship faces challenges and I was eager to see what Rowen and Jesse would face. 

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. 
It was refreshing to get more of an insight into Jesse's world and past, and also haunting to realise the extent of the horrors he'd endured. But we'd already read through Rowen pushing Jesse away and it seemed a little over done for him to do the same. Although it worked as it felt everything came full circle, at times it was just dull and inane over dramatic. 

The timing of the whole novel seemed a little off. One chapter would've just skipped weeks ahead and others only be a day. Understandably, there weren't going to be repetitive chapters of them dealing without each other, but even the week Rowen spent with Jesse seemed to skip parts and we got less of an insight into their lives like in Lost & Found.

Their love and devotion for each other though, was just as palpable and adoring. They're so in sync with each other it's crazy and I was so glad their connection continued on in this, despite all the setbacks. 

It was great to see another side of Garth, without him becoming a whole new person. His transition to Jesse's friend seemed realistic from the person he'd been in Lost & Found. He is a great addition to Jesse as he understands females compared to Jesse being blind to them around him. 

Overall: 
I really loved this but it just didn't grab my heart as much as the first novel so I couldn't rate it as highly. It had a good balance of plot twists and drama and the change of settings was enjoyable. I'm so excited now to read the third installment and see what can cause more drama, especially after that ending!

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REVIEW; Lost and Found, by Nicole Williams

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: New Adult, Drama, Romance, Contemporary

Recommend: Yes

Summary:

Rowen Sterling is on a Greyhound Bus to Willow Springs Ranch, in the middle of nowhere, to work for the summer to prove to her mom she deserves to go to the Art College of her dreams. Covered in dark clothing and make-up, Rowen has self-defence walls built high and strong around her. Collected by the ranch owners' son, Jesse Walker, Rowen is surprisingly attracted to the tight jeans and boot wearing cowboy but is determined not to let him in.

For the first time she gets a glimpse as to how it feels to be a part of a family of love, as she falls for Jesse at the same time. In attempts to keep him out of the train wreck of her life, Rowen only makes Jesse more determined, as he's more familiar with her situation than she thinks. 

But every time Rowen believes she is strong enough to trust Jesse and allow herself be happy, the world has other ideas.

My Thoughts:
I've read books by Nicole Williams before so knew I'd love this regardless. I love her style of writing and character execution. There were definitely some pros and cons to this book though.

Cons: Thankfully there aren't too many issues I had with Lost and Found. The main downside to it all is how Jesse and Rowen fall in love. I can understand the instant attraction from both sides; both are different to what they normally go for- Rowen is overwhelmed by Jesse and his quirk attitude and Jesse is intrigued by Rowen's humour and self-defense. However, there was no real build up or increase of chemistry between the two. Apart from the laundry room scene, Jesse just jumped the gun asking her out and Rowen fell for him. The insta-love thing is just one of my pet hates and if there had been a little more before they fell for each other, it would've been so much better. 

There was a good bit of predictability with the story-line too. The Jesse/Josie/Garth saga was all too obvious and Garth was just bleh. Rowen of course jumped the gun and got the wrong impression of what was going on with Jesse and sometimes her self-defense spiel about pushing people away was a little too much. 

(The ending was a little sudden/quick, but that's not too bad as there are more books in this series for their story to continue on)


Pros: On the other hand, there were a lot of pros to this too! All the little gems of wisdom from Rose and Jesse were actually really enlightening. The majority weren't the usual responses and some have really stuck with me. 

"Don't waste your time trying to be someone else. Just be the best you you can be."

That quote in particular really struck a chord with me and it's been one of the first times a "chicklit" romance novel has gotten to me.

"We don't deserve anything, Rowen. We don't deserve punishment, we don't deserve happiness, life owes us nothing. Realize that." His voice wasn't gentle anymore: it was as strong as I'd ever heard it. "So we have to take what we want because life sure as shit isn't going to freely hand it over."

The raw truths that were spoken about life and self-treatment throughout really hit home with me. Some of these have just acted as such an epiphany for my outlook on life and I feel I've read this at such a great time in my life.

Rowen was a great heroine. A breath of fresh air. She knew who she was and wasn't out to impress anyone or hide who she was. She wasn't the usual heroine of being naive and shy and doesn't realise how pretty she is etc who gets the most wanted guy around. She just seemed so real and she was definitely someone I could relate to. Her story really highlights how no matter how many walls you construct, you can meet someone worth knocking them down for. I only hope I can meet my Jesse. 

Jesse... ooh la la!! I'll start by saying I love the book boyfriends from Williams' mind. Jude Ryder  from Crash is one of my favourites and Jesse really lived up to his standards. He's just so suave and cool and has a wicked sense of humour, but he is proof you can have had a rough life and beat it. Your past does not define you and that's one thing that I've really learned from this novel and his character.

It was just such a beautiful read. Rose was so lovable with her mothering nature and love for Rowen and she really is a kick-ass woman! 

Overall:
I would so recommend this to any romance/drama lovers. Nicole Williams really has lived up to my expectations from reading Crash and there's just such a great balance of love and heartache in her novels. I want to continue their story so much right now that I've bought the second one and about to get started!

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