Blog Tour: Book Review ~ The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe

 

Welcome to my stop on The Darkest Part blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood )
by Trisha Wolfe
Release Date: 08/06/13

Summary from Goodreads: 
Pressing the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love.

Sam Wintry’s life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler’s fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she’s losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. Despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn’t count on is Holden’s relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Especially from Sam, the only woman he’s ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her.

New Adult Contemporary coming this year.

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Kobo│iTunes

Review:

This book was intense. It's no secret that I read a lot of intense books but once in a while one comes along that is even a bit too intense for me. And I don't mean this in a bad way. I actually mean it in a good way. It was so intense that I had to stop reading it at times because the emotions were strong and intense and I felt them so strongly that I almost couldn't take it. And since it was a book I could step away from it. Trisha Wolfe certainly has a way with making you feel emotions as her characters do; as real people would. This book also deals with mental illness; something that I personally don't see often in NA (or YA). One of my minors in college was Psychology so of course this part interested me a lot. 

There is also the element of mystery with wondering whether Tyler is really there or not. Is Sam really seeing him? You think "Yes." and then "No." You just can't quite decide. And that is not revealed until the end of the book. 

The characters were very real as well. The book was told in Sam and Holden's persepctives which allowed us to feel the emotions more readily and for them to be more raw. The relationship also wasn't I expected it to be. What I mean is, the way Sam and Holden once looked at each other wasn't what I expected. I know that's hard to understand but I can't decide if it is a spoiler. 

I think what Trisha also did well was the new developing relationship between Sam and Holden. I think a road trip with Tyler's ashes was a great way to do this. And the fact that Sam and Holden are both artists gives them something to bond over; leading to bonding over more things. 

This was my second or third NA book. It was certainly the most intense one I've read. But I think that you should give this a try for sure if you enjoy NA Contemporary. Maybe even if you don't, because this one seems to have a different twist to one. (Even though I haven't read many). I give this one 4.5 stars. 

About the Author:

 

I’m the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing), ASTARTE'S WRATH NA Historical/Supernatural, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. My NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.

I’m the creator of YA Bound, a promotional site for the Young Adult genre. Also a member of SCWW and The Apocalypsies.

A proud business owner, I'm partnered with my partner, my husband. When I’m not busy doing all of the above, I’m a wife and the mother of a gorgeous teen boy who's the sounding board for my male characters.

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Tumblr│YouTube│Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway