Saturday 11 April 2015

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!