⭐⭐⭐⭐4 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was so not expecting what I just read. Wow! The feels are too real right now! I just don’t know what to do with myself. Seriously, I fell in love with the crazy world of Jo and Evan. There love was tangible. I could feel it from the pages to real life. Loved it!

How to Save a Life by Emma Scott was such a brilliant read. I want to put it out there that I adore Emma Scott’s writings and so far she has done no wrong in my book. If she did, you guys will be the first to know.

I’m going to keep it pretty with this one. I might throw in a wee bit of messiness from time to time so bear with me.

Let’s start with a word from the author…

Synopsis

Josephine Clark is trapped. A harrowing past haunts her every time she looks in the mirror, and she can’t escape the violence of her everyday life. More and more, her thoughts turn to Evan Salinger, the boy she knew in high school. The boy they called a mental case. A loner. A freak. The boy who seemed to know things no one could know. For a few short weeks, Jo had found perfect solace in Evan’s company, sneaking every night to meet him at the local pool. In the cool of the water and the warmth of Evan’s arms around her, Jo had tasted something close to happiness.

Cruel circumstances tore them apart, and four years later, the sweet memory of their time together is dissolving under the punishing reality of Jo’s life now. Evan seems like a fading dream…until he reappears at the moment she needs him most. Guided by Evan’s strange intuition, they flee her small Louisiana town, and Jo begins to suspect there is something more to his sudden return than he admits.

Over twelve days across America’s heartland, deep secrets come to light, buried pasts are unearthed, and the line between dreams and reality is blurred as Evan and Jo fight to hold on to their soul-deep love, and discover that there is more than one way to save a life.

*********************************************************

Let’s get started, shall we?

I’m going to start with Jo, yeah? This girl broke my heart. Her story, her pain, her past, everything was just pain, pain and more pain. It was difficult to read at times. The poor girl’s heart had been broken so many time in her young life, I felt for her.

There was a rare and raw beauty to her. It was one of those situations where her imperfections were the most perfect things about her. She was a fighter, there was a quiet strength about her that was so profound. She couldn’t see her strength but I could and so could Evan.

What pained more than anything was the child molestation she suffered at the hands of her uncle. That kind of stuff just kills me. The self-hatred she developed afterwards broke me. The way she allowed other males to treat and use her body to have things on her own terms brought tears to my eyes.

My terms. My call. Always, my call. – Jo

I’ve met a few females like this over my lifetime and never gets any easier for them. Jo made it a point to be known as a slut before anyone could give her the title.

He tried pushing me down to kneeling but I was already on my way. – Jo

Then there’s Evan…

This sexy as hell, crazy as fuck, guy at her school. He was the outsider. He was the cast away. He was the kid everyone was afraid of yet loved to make fun of. Everyone except for Jo, that is.

Evan looked like he’d spill the deepest secrets of his heart to the first person to show him any kindness – Jo

Evan didn’t want much of anything from anyone. He just wanted family, love, and acceptance. Sounds like the rest of us, right? The sad thing is he never received that from anyone, ever. How shitty that must have been for him.

The way he loved Jo so inspiring. This book didn’t need all that rich man falls in love with poor girl fluff. No, just the presence of the love was enough. There are only a handful of books that can do that. But hey, we are talking about Emma Scott so there’s no surprise there.

Are seeing why this book is so touching? If not, keep going. Well, I hope you keep reading anyways because it gets better.

When Jo decided to step outside the box and not give a fuck about what anyone thought of her being friends with Evan, he didn’t know how to accept it.

“I’m fucking serious, Jo. Why are you here? Why are you hanging out with the town freak at a waterpark in the middle of the night? Tell me the truth, please. Please.” – Evan

Sidenote:

I’m not going to tell you what. Let’s just say when Evan uses 2 pleases in a row, it means so much more than anyone could know. You’re going to have to read the book to find out what that is exactly.  🙂

Just like Emma Scott says in the synopsis, when a tragedy, beyond and tragedy tears them apart – my fucking broken heart… the feels… oh, I felt it all. I felt it just as if it was happening to me.

No matter what, Jo and Evan needed each other in more ways than one. I was so stressed out and on the edge of my seat and not knowing what to do with myself.

At the end of it all this is more than a love story. I don’t know how to describe it without giving anything away. This is a book that was written for each individual to find their own feelings about. There is a love story here but trust me when I say that there’s so much more. There’s pain, heartbreak, lust, laughter, tragedy, angst, healing, loving, and giving. It’s so beautiful. It’s mirrors real life.

This is where I need to speak with Emma Scott for just a moment. I promise to go back to my review………… Maya Angelou, she was meant to write poetry. If she didn’t the world would have lost out on a beautiful gift. Adele, she was meant to sing. Can you even begin to imagine a world with, “Someone Like You.” I sure as hell can’t. You were meant to write. I would hate to think of a life without Full Till or All In. Don’t ever stop writing. One day I may not like one of your books and that’s okay. But so far, I love them all. Please don’t ever stop.

Okay, now back to my review…

Let me explain why I am giving 4 STARS instead of 5 STARS. For me it’s simple. I’m the type of girl that needs a rational for everything, it’s what makes me good at my real job (not blogging). When something paranormal is going on, I still need to understand the how and why behind it. If I can’t get an answer that satifies me then my mind doesn’t work the same. You can ask any person with ADHD. It’s big thing for me.

There’s a wee bit of paranormal in this book, not overly but it’s there. It’s explained in the book but I needed more. Others may not and that’s okay.

Would I recommend this book? Hell,yeah.

Am I glad I read it? Fuck, yeah.

Would I read it again? Yep, I sure will. There is no “would” I because I am.

For the 2 most important questions…

Is there a cliffhanger? Nope, just how I like it. Call me selfish, I prefer impatient.

Is there an HEA? Yasssssssssss!

I didn’t get messy at all, I kept it all the way pretty. TTYL! But can I leave you with a quick little poem from the book?!

My body is not my own

He showed me that

In the secret nights

private parts

now

public property

Give it away before they

take it

so you can pretend

it doesn’t

hurt

– Jo