Review Of Take My Breath Away

Finally the anticipated duet is here. I will write this book review in a slightly unqiue fashion by dividing into categories: 1) My initial reaction as I finished it- I was happy. There was a wide smile on my face and I started envisioning how my own future down the lane would be. It left me with pleasant feelings and also 'hope' to grab a guy like Sam :p He definitely comes in the list of top Book boyfriends but more on that later ;) 2) The second book as compared to the first - If I had to compare the two, then this definitely bags the award. Not that the first book was bad but this was definitely much clear and neat with a proper storyline and good pacing. The first was pretty messy with me having a hard time figuring out who the nice guy is and where the story was headed. This had good, solid storyline and the execution was also flawless for the most part and very satisfactory. I didn't have any complaints as such and it melted my heart at certain places 3) Writing - Beautiful. It flowed so elegantly without being too flowery or sophisticated. it had the right amounts of action, monologue and descriptions. I particularly loved Sam's POV. It was heart-warming and funny at the same. I loved reading this book and the writing/tone was just perfect without being over-the-top. Faith Andrews retains her spot as one of my favourite 'writers' 4) Plotline/story- It was solid with a clear start, middle and end. It's not necessary for every book to follow such a framework but it worked perfectly for this book. The pacing was also good with right amount of romance, action and drama. It had bits of everything. The best part was- It was kept very realistic. The author had chances to make it action packed and more thrilling but that would take away the realistic nature in which everything unfolded. So yeah for me, this worked fine. And there is uniqueness and emotional appeal to simplicity as well and this book had that!! I could connect with everyone without them having to do something extreme to gain my hatred or love. And yet it proved to be a very cute and heart touching love story. 5) Characters- I Looovvvvveeeeedddd Sam. I stared to like him in the last book especially when I could read his POV but he just blew me over with the book. He is a perfect friend/lover/son/ everything!! I really wish to have someone like Sam in my life, at least like a friend. He is such a sweetheart and whatever he does for London is so selfless?!! In love with this guy!! London was level-headed and smart in this book. I didn't like her too much in the first book, but this book she did manage to win over me. I could understand her actions and her fears but she never acted hastily. She keeps her emotions in check without giving into her extreme emotions. For that alone I think she deserves Sam Henry was in the real sense a limelight hacker. He stole the show for sure and gave a pretty good competition to Sam in everything he said and did:p Ella's pretty lucky to have found him!! I really think the author used his character to strengthen the story very well. He wasn't wasted and ended up being a reader's fav character Hunter gets to play an important role but I don't want to give too much away about his character. He had his reasons for leaving London but overall it doesn't make that much of a sense. He could have chosen a different path and acted more wisely. His return brings a lot of drama that was essential for this book to progress so in that sense his actions are understandable but still his character didn't gel that well with me. Same holds true for Memphis. he was a lost cause for most part of the book. Allie was a nice addition and I am glad that as London's friend she got a good role to play. Verdict: As sweet and cute this book was, I still felt something was missing--some more fun or decisive actions? Sam always chose London but I wanted London to do something and choose SAM over something or anyone else. That would prove her love for him. For this book I will go with 4.5 stars and for series as a whole - 4 delightful stars.( I still don't get the whole deal with Bryce. I think he had the potential to be an ace player but was wasted)