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.
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
This book is a perfect example of why I continue to come back to the New Adult genre. It has complex characters and a story that wouldn’t allow me to put the book down until I finished. Preston is extra swoony…which everyone should know I love.
I loved everything about this story and absolutely look forward to the next book in the series. Definitely check this one out when you get a chance!
Full review to come closer to release date – for now I leave you with this because it pretty much captures my afternoon activity after starting this book.
Review Updated May 2014
Pieces of Olivia by Melissa West is the first of the Charleston Haven New Adult series and I have to let you all know that this book is an example of why I keep coming back to the New Adult genre. This review will not have any spoilers as I don’t want to give anything away but know that there are interesting and real characters, a plot that kept me interested, and of course, plenty of swoon.
Olivia is starting college and it is clear that things aren’t exactly what she thought they would be. She isn’t at Columbia (like her parents had hoped) – instead she is at the College of Charleston and moving into the dorm. It is also clear that she is running away from something…we just don’t find out exactly what until later in the story as this is told real time and we pick up with Olivia the day she is moving into her dorm.
I liked Olivia as the main character. She is clearly struggling with something and she isn’t completely ready to move on. Despite that, she has decided to try to start completely over in a new town where no one knows about her past and the reason for the scars she has – both physical and mental. As she opens the door to her dorm room the first person she meets is Preston Riggs and boy does he make an impression.
Olivia also meets her roommate, Kara and they quickly become friends. Kara is definitely more outgoing than Olivia is and through her, Olivia begins to meet people and get out of her room and her head. She is also Preston’s best friend and knows things about him that no one else does. Olivia doesn’t take advantage of this but she definitely feels that there is something they are keeping from her at certain points of the story. I am absolutely looking forward to her story as I thought she was a solid character and based on the end of this book, I am intrigued to see what happens.
Preston is officially on the swoony boy list…no question. Despite Olivia’s initial impression of Preston, he isn’t really the playboy she assumes he is. Yes, he has issues with commitment because of something that happened in his past and he sticks to his rule around no serious relationships…until he starts to get close to Olivia. I love that he calls her “Small Town” and when they go fishing and when they are almost busted at the party and he tells her “I’ve got you”….I could definitely go on and on but I think everyone needs to experience him for themselves so I will leave you with this:
One of the things that Olivia had to agree to before her parents would let her go to school was that she would see a therapist. This agreement introduces Rose and she pushes Olivia to face the things she has been avoiding for a long time. I thought she added a layer to the story that was critical and without her; the story would have been very different.
As friendships and relationships begin to develop, the story unfolds and I enjoyed every minute of this book. West did a wonderful job of creating these complex characters and revealing their stories in a way that kept me turning the pages just to find out what was really going on. As her first story in the New Adult genre I have to congratulate her as she has created a wonderful and intense story that is exactly the reason why I continue to come back to it. If you enjoy NA, definitely check this one out when you can – I am positive you will enjoy it. I myself am absolutely looking forward to book two of this series and will pick it up as soon as I possibly can.
View all Erin’s reviews
Recent Comments