Melissa West writes young adult and new adult novels for Entangled Teen and Embrace and Penguin/InterMix. She lives outside of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her coffee addiction.
Miles from Kara by Melissa West
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Colt may be my new favorite….
Miles From Kara by Melissa West is the second book of the Charleston Haven series and a companion novel to the first book. I love that West includes real topics in her New Adult books – don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of the swoony and naughty bits but these stories are more than that and that is what really got me invested. I’m going to do this review with no spoilers so don’t hold it against me if I don’t give you a ton of detail.
If you recall, in book one, we met Kara as Olivia’s roommate. She is introduced as the fun and carefree character but we quickly learn that underneath she has her own demons. In high school, Kara made a decision (pushed along by her mother) that she can’t get beyond and now she is continually faced with things that remind her of it.
Kara has been dating Ethan since high school and now that they are at different colleges, Kara is realizing just how much they are growing apart. I have to admit, I was never a huge fan of Ethan’s and as soon as Colt was introduced, I kept waiting for Kara to step up and realize she needed to let go of Ethan. Not just because of the things she was starting to feel toward Colt but because she and Ethan didn’t have much in common any longer.
As Kara begins to come to terms with the end of her relationship with Ethan, she is also trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. As I mentioned, the decision she made in the past has weighed heavily on who Kara is, her relationship with her mother, and what she wants to do with her life. Because of these things, she decides to take a role at a counseling center called Helping Hands. Although it does help Kara realize what she wants to do with her life, it also pulls her into a situation that ties right back to the thing she has been running away from since high school.
On top of all of this going on, the relationship between Kara and Colt definitely changes and I loved it. While they had already developed a friendship, they were continuing to learn more about each other and I found myself getting pulled into Colt’s story. He is smart, caring, and protective. On top of all that, he happens to be from Australia so there’s an accent involved. Trust me when I say that West knows how to write a hero. She won me over with Preston in book one and I finished this book loving Colt. I honestly can’t decide who is better….both are on the swoony boys list, no question.
Definitely check this book out and if you haven’t read book one of the series, do it now. I can’t tell you enough how much I love the characters that West develops not only for these two books but for the future characters. We were introduced to some additional characters throughout the book and nearing the end of this story, I think I have an idea of the next installment and I have to say, I can’t wait to dive into it. With that in mind, I have to say, if you enjoy a story that has great characters, swoony romance, and a story that will pull you in, you should read these books!
Thank you to the author for the review copy!
Recent Comments