Synopsis:

If I closed my eyes, I could still see them—all blonde sunshine, ocean-blue eyes, and long limbs. The glint of Lake’s gold bracelet. Pink cotton candy on Tiffany’s tongue. My scenery may have changed from heaven to hell, but some things never would: my struggle to do right by both sisters. To let Lake soar. To lift Tiffany up. The sacrifices I made for them, I made willingly.
A better man would’ve walked away by now, but I never claimed to be any good. I only promised myself I’d keep enough distance. If I’d learned one thing from my past, it was that love came in different forms. You could love passionately, hurt deep, die young. Or you could provide the kind of firm, steady support someone else could lean on.

Lake was everything I wanted, and nothing I could ever have. I was nobody before I knew her and a criminal after. The way to love her was to let her shine—even if it would be for somebody else.

Favorite Lines:

“How was it possible to look up and see the same immovable stars I had a year before when so much had changed?”

“I looked up. The night sky spread out behind her. The stars weren’t as clear as they’d been up in Big Bear, but it didn’t matter. She was the only star I saw.”

“Her beauty fucking radiated when she hurt like this. She couldn’t control her pain, so it just seeped out of her.”

“You should have the world. Fuck the world–you should have the universe, the sky, and every star in it.”

“You’ve always known my heart doesn’t function right without you, that food doesn’t taste the same and the air is too thick, and my mind is always wandering back to that night on the lake, because I’m all wrong without you, because I’m in love with you.”

My Opinion:

Book 2 in the Something in the Way series, this books continued the character development that was seen in the first book of the series. It continues to follow the love story of Manning and Lake with the unwanted third point in the love triangle being Lake’s sister. While I would love to be closed minded and say that I don’t like Lake’s sister Tiffany and I think Manning is stupid for keeping her as an option, if I force myself to think more deeply about his motivation and the underlying reasons for Tiffany’s behavior, it’s more complicated than it seems. My ship is clearly Manning and Lake, rightfully so I might add, but Hawkins makes it a point to make readers pause and truly analyze the reasoning behind the characters actions.

Personally, this book made me quite frustrated with Manning because I’m the reader sitting there thinking “What are you doing?!?! Pick Lake! Pick Lake!” As two years have passed in the timeline and its now placed in 1995, Lake is turning 18. There are more Lake and Manning moments now that they aren’t going back and forth wondering what their feelings mean. But be warned, this doesn’t mean they are good moments. With the time that has passed, some subtle and not so subtle changes take place throughout the story that lead up to a quite devastating climax to the book. If you choose to read this, you will know exactly what I am talking about and probably hurt right along with me…and Lake and Manning. Seeing as how it’s only the second book in the series, I hope that Hawkins will have something up her sleeve to soothe us broken-hearted romantics.

Summary:

Overall, Somebody Else’s Sky frustrated the crap out of me (in a good way) but still presented me with a lot to reflect on and forced me to once again look at the bigger picture for the deeper meaning to all the actions that take place throughout the story. What I like so much about this series so far is that it isn’t just handing you a love story. The story line is very accurate in the sense that in real life, sometimes we don’t get what we want and sometimes there are so many outside factors that can affect a relationship. Sometimes love isn’t enough and if you want something bad enough, you truly have to sacrifice for it and fight for it. Hopefully, the next book stops taunting us and gives us what we want

Somebody Else’s Sky

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Synopsis: 
It was a hot summer day when I met him on the construction site next to my parents’ house. Under the sweat and dirt, Manning Sutter was as handsome as the sun was bright. He was older, darker, experienced. I wore a smiley-face t-shirt and had never even been kissed. Yet we saw something in each other that would link us in ways that couldn’t be broken…no matter how hard we tried.

I loved Manning before I knew the meaning of the word. I was too young, he said. I would wait. Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through his struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights—I would wait. But I’d learn that life isn’t always fair. That no matter how much you achieve, none of it matters if you suffer the heartbreak that comes with falling for someone you can never have. Because even though I saw Manning first, that didn’t matter. My older sister saw him next.

Favorite Lines:

“There’s no hidden prize or anything. Just understanding that comes with time and age.”

“…but we had this-the stars, the lovers, the night.”

“All this time, I’d thought he was asking me to read between the lines, to hear the things he couldn’t say.”

My Opinion:

I stumbled across this book on a random Facebook sponsored ad. When I went to look it up, I expected it to be another Kindle book that I wouldn’t have access through on my Nook. It was actually available in the Nook store for the low price of $3.99. It was hard to pass up a book as cheap as that and bought it right away because it sounded like a good read for a good deal.

This book is just one in a series of 4 books (so far), I will admit that it was written in a more simple format than I was used to and I finished it in just a few short hours. However, despite being a quick read it was still a well written tale. The story revolves around a girl falling in love with an older guy in the 90s’. It wouldn’t be a romance novel without a love triangle, the girl’s sister is the third piece of the puzzle. I also love love love when they show dual POV, seeing what both characters are thinking brings so much more depth and emotion to a plot. By seeing what she thought about him and what he thought about her, you get to really become a part of the world. Often times, books only show the story play out through one characters eyes; its always a special treat to get to see what goes through both main characters heads. Throughout the story, you see different sides of the characters as more aspects of their pasts and personalities are revealed. Character development is something that I always find interesting throughout stories and I’m a sucker for a quiet, seemingly weak character turning into someone strong and sure about themselves. As the lives of these characters become more intertwined, their character development becomes more predominant.

I can’t tell you what I don’t like about the book without too many spoilers so I will try to be as cryptic as possible and if you read it, you will end up knowing what I mean. If you don’t read the book then just hang in there for a second. I didn’t like the almost stereotypical personality of the sister but I did like the underlying side to her personality. Being a huge romantic at heart, I had difficulty reading about the love triangle when I thought the choice was so clear. The distinction between protection and interest was too wide when I personally feel it should be both. I get the whole forbidden love thing so I understand it was an important aspect of the story, it just rubbed me the wrong way. For those of you who never get around to reading the book, that probably will make no sense to you. But for those of you who do, you’ll see what I mean.

Summary:

Overall, Something in the Way had a lot of relatable aspects to it that forced me to reflect on some of my life experiences and how I have viewed decisions I have made in the past. Having been in a position where I just want to please everyone without making decisions for myself, I feel for the main character and I hope that she will learn to grow on her own just as I have been learning to do.

There are 3 more books (so far) to read in the series and I hope to not only see my ship together but also see the characters develop further into their potential selves. If you do decide to read this book, I urge you to look at the characters and try to understand their actions at a deeper level. This book is definitely a good book for self-reflection if you want to think more deeply or just as a casual, quick read for entertainment; the choice is yours to make but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Something in the Way

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