Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Review: Wished Away, by S.P. Cervantes



Synopsis
Imagine that you were married to the love of your life and had a happy family. Now imagine everything was destroyed in an instant, making you question who you are and how you can possibly go on once the one person you truly love is gone.

It is a rare thing to find your soul mate, but Jess found true love in Dave when they were only teenagers. They've built a happy life together in a small shore town, becoming pillars of the community and making everyone around them envious of the seemingly perfect life they have built together. Jess has always been the life of the party, and Dave was always there to reel her in and keep her safe. But one night, while on duty as the town Sheriff, the unimaginable happens, altering the directions of their lives forever. 

This is a story about finding love, having it all taken away, and discovering that moving on doesn't mean forgetting the past.

**DUST TO DUST is the first book of the series and introduces you to the close relationships these five friends have with each other. This is the second book of the series, but can be read as a stand alone.



Review
5 out of 5 stars

Have you ever read a book that completely takes you by surprise, one you thought sounded good, but it was by an author you haven't read before so you didn't know what to expect; but then you finish the story and find yourself completely blown away by just how much you loved everything about it?   Well, that is exactly how I feel about S.P. Cervantes' newest release, Wished Away.  To be honest I'm a little intimidated to even write this review because I don't know what words to use to encourage readers to just go ahead and one-click this amazing book!

When I read the synopsis I figured there would be a few tears shed on my part because let's face it, reading about death isn't typically easy.  What I didn't realize was the wide range of emotions this story would evoke; happiness, grief, love, excitement, frustration, definitely sadness, but most of all hope.  I also never expected to find a perfect balance of laughter to my tears.  Yes, I was one of those sappy girls whose eyes were like a constant waterfall throughout the entire book.  But they were all brought on by such a beautiful story told in the most clever and unique way imaginable.  

Typically when I review a book I like to talk about the actual story, but this time I'm going to forgo those details, because this is one of those times you need to experience absolutely everything, you need to go into the story knowing nothing other than this will be one of the best books you read all year.  Wished Away completely grabbed my full attention from page 1.  S.P. Cervantes managed to fill each chapter of this book with so much emotion that you will find it impossible to not connect to the characters.  I absolutely fell in love with Jess, Dave, Gage and the entire gang of friends.  The connections between each of them strengthened the bonds of love they all shared and provided the perfect opportunity to connect, to feel as if you truly understood the inside jokes, it's almost as if you become a part of the inner circle and I found myself experiencing Jess's fears of  moving on when life suddenly took her on a very unexpected journey.

S.P. Cervantes managed to take heavy subject matter and breathed new life and light into it, in such a way that didn't discount the original sadness of the material.  Without a doubt this love story goes above and beyond the norm found in most new adult books today.  My time spent with these characters will not be soon forgotten.  S.P. Cervantes outdid herself with this book, she completely blew me away.  I can also go ahead and declare, Wished Away will be one of my top read books of the year.

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