BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY ~ EASY BY TAMMARA WEBBER

Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl’s struggle to regain the trust she’s lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.

With the current NA boom in the book industry, it’s often times difficult to distinguish the truly phenomenal stories from the ones that ride on the coattails of the genre. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve last read Easyand yet it still manages to capture my attention: completely riveting with achingly real characters and a second chance romance that left me breathless! I said this a year ago when I first read it and I’m going to say it again…this book is amazeballs awesome!!!

Enter the heroine Jacqueline, who’s just been dumped by her longtime boyfriend of three years for the most selfish reasons. She attends a party and as she leaves, is almost raped but thankfully saved by Lucas, the hero. Suffice to say, the first chapter was pretty harrowing to read. One thing I loved about the book was that the author portrayed the effects of sexual assault in a tasteful and realistic manner, emphasizing that rape is never a woman’s fault. I liked that alongside a slow-building second chance romance, there was this deep and positive message consistently highlighted through the book. Anyways, after Lucas saves her, they don’t officially introduce themselves or anything so there’s always this air of mystery and curiosity surrounding him whenever Jacqueline sees him on campus.

At the same time, Jacqueline has to catch up in her studies after missing class, a result from her breakup with her ex Kennedy. She quickly develops a steady acquaintanceship with her tutor Landon through their back and forth emails and often times compares Landon, her internet friend (who might be something more) and Lucas, the very real, very badass, and very interested-in-her bad boy. I don’t want to say anything else on the romance front because it’ll be a minor spoiler and first-time readers should experience it on their own, plus it’ll be super obvious from the beginning in regards to Jacqueline’s relationship dynamics. And no, there’s no love triangle.So while the book somewhat sounds like any ordinary NA book, it really isn’t and one of the major reasons for me is that every character in the book is likeable and easy to relate to. Aside from the douchebag ex-boyfriend and the obvious antagonist, all the other characters are charming, endearing, and I couldn’t help but connect with them on a certain level. It’s rare for me to really like both the heroine and the hero. The author didn’t overdo the heroics on Lucas’s side and Jacqueline isn’t a weak or simpering female lead either. All conversations and any scenes of them together are quirky, humorous, and simmering with just the right amount of sexual tension, which to me, is the perfect combination. The story isn’t all butterflies and laughter, though; there are some very real-life issues gently addressed through the progression of the story and I loved how well it was paced out so nothing felt rushed or too drawn out.I’m almost ashamed to say that though it’s only been a year since I last read this book, I barely remembered any details about the book, which was one of the reasons why I chose to re-read it. After finishing this late last night, I’m literally kicking myself and asking how the heck could I have forgotten anything about Lucas, this gorgeous, tortured hero and a sophisticated heroine like Jacqueline?! Anyways, though this is a standalone and questions were answered in here, I’m sensing there is much more behind Lucas’s character and can’t wait to read his book Breakable!