Title: The Other Side of Blue
Series: The Other Side of Us #1
Author: Anna Bloom
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: November 12, 2020
BLURB
Once he was all she wanted, first kisses and forbidden desires. Once she was his only hope when the rest of the world had turned their back.
For Lyra, the boy with cuts and bruises was everything she loved, everything she craved, a teenage fantasy in a bitter and cruel world. Until the night he left.
Now, heartbroken and unwilling to let go, she sets out to fulfill a promise she once made; to play her violin and become a star.
Jack Cross has spent four years escaping the events that forced him to leave his home and never go back. He has a new existence now, one filled with freedom from the destructive cycle he once called life, and one where he has long forgotten what it feels like to be her Blue. He’s changed, hardened and cruel he’s nothing like the boy who ran away.
Until Lyra appears.
Things have changed.
Once he was her brother’s best friend.
Now she’s his secret.
Between them lies a web of secrets and regrets.
But some things never change... can they resist one another, or will the call of their twisted love story finally break them both?
REVIEW
Rating: 3.5*
I finished this book a couple of days ago and wanted to take a step back before writing my review so I could process my thoughts a bit more. I am still confused about how I feel towards this book. At the heart of the story is a love story that has been on another path until this point. A second chance to be together between Lyra and her brother's best friend Blue. They were on their way to being together when they were younger until he just disappears. These two are brought together in the past and now in the present by music.
There is a lot background noise that interferes with their story: Blue thinking that Lyra knew and was in on the reason he left; Lyra's loss of musical talent (not sure how she got such a high profile scholarship given this fact); a roommate who wants to party all the time; a nightclub with interesting ownership; the world of the rich; family dramas and much more. All of it combined sometimes drowned the essence of the story for me. It was too loud and too much.
That being said the essence of the love story and the second chance for Lyra and Blue kept me with the characters. These two are obviously meant to be together despite the past and the gauntlet of challenges they have to face together. Their story is by no means complete and I do want to see how they over some of the unresolved challenges and the new ones that will come their way.
PURCHASE LINKS
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
He hesitated, it rippled through the air. His fingers lifted, running through the length of one of my curls. “When I first saw you with Greene that day, I thought I’d hate you. When I first heard you couldn’t play, I thought I’d take pleasure in it. But if you go home, that means I won’t ever get to see you again. And I don’t like the way that makes me feel.”
I frowned up into his face, my throat painfully tight. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t go home, Lyra. Ever.”
“Why?” He stared at me as he battled himself. “Jack?”
Could I stay and play violin here with Jack… is that what he was saying, that he didn’t want me to leave? But why?
“You’re my teacher, you’ve told me numerous times. You’ve made the way you feel about me perfectly clear. Since I’ve been here you’ve acted like you don’t know me. Why would you want me to stay?”
Jack dropped his head, a small huff of breath exhaling through his nostrils. “Because I always want what I can’t have. You should know that by now.”
It all made perfect sense. I’d always be a toy to Jack. Little Lyra Bird, too afraid to fly.
“And you can’t have me.”
“Don’t you see, Lyra. I. Can. Never. Have. You.”
It should have hurt. Even after everything that had changed, the stretch of time that had bridged from then to now. Strangely it didn’t.
“You don’t want me.” I nodded.
I turned to leave, but Jack caught my hand, reeling me back in.
His fingers cupped my face, his nose skimming along the edge of my cheekbone, trailing a pattern it used to know. Then slowly, he pressed a kiss against my cheek. A taste of a kiss. My stomach tightened three knots. I waited with baited breath, suspended in the moment, waiting to see what he would do next. “I’ll get you back to campus if you don’t want to stay here for the rest of your shift.
I pushed my palms flat against his chest, shoving him back. “No way. This is my job. If you don’t like me being here, you can leave. Go drink more bourbon, yeah? Don’t think I can’t smell it on you.” I stalked for the door. “You know what, Jack, I always thought you were nothing like your dad, but now I’m seeing it for what it is. Maybe you are just a controlling bastard too.”
It was a low blow, but in the moment it made me feel better, victorious, vanquished. Once he’d walked away from a little girl. She was long gone.
COMING SOON
Releasing January 14
AUTHOR BIO
A book hoarder and coffee addict by heart Anna Bloom loves to write extraordinary stories about real love. Based south of London with her husband, three children and a dog with a beard, Anna likes to connect with readers, fan girl over her favourite authors and binge watch Supernatural and Superhero movies while drinking lots of wine.
AUTHOR LINKS
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