One of the Book Nerds for Lent challenges was to read a stand alone book. After scanning my TBR list I quickly determined that out of 135 books available to choose from, there weren't too many stand alones. Katie Kacvinsky is the author of Awaken, which is the first book in a series that I reviewed and loved. While researching questions for our Interview with Katie, I discovered she had a stand alone book coming out this May. I immediately added it to my TBR list. You can only imagine my excitement when Flo sent me the link for the First Comes Love ARC tour sponsored by Southern Book Bloggers. I would sincerely like to thank the ladies at SBB for the opportunity to participate in this tour.
Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what's next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract. What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other.
But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they're going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you're sorry (Goodreads Overview).
At first it reminded me of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares because the narration constantly switches between the two main characters. I loved this style of writing in both of these books because we get to experience the story from both of the main character's perspectives. With so many trends constantly evolving in literature, this is one that I would LOVE to see more often.
When we first meet Dylan and Gray they are attending summer school at a local community college in Phoenix. Gray is barely holding on after losing his twin sister in a car accident several months prior. He and his family have emotionally shut down, he turned down a full ride baseball scholarship, and he has no direction in his life. Dylan is there for the summer visiting her aunt. She is a free spirit looking to experience everything life has to offer.
Dylan first approaches Gray because she witnessed him sulking around campus looking empty and lifeless. She asks him to give her tours around the area. Gray thinks she is ridiculous, but he can't think of a good excuse not to. Slowly Dylan starts to breath life back into Gray and their friendship slowly develops. The two of them could not be more different from each other, but they are a perfect match. They are constantly striving to surprise each other, which I found to be very cute and romantic. The surprises are not your typical flowers, candy, cards types of things. They are very genuine and heartfelt...appealing to the other person on the most personal of levels.
The ending was left open, so I can only hope that some day Katie will let us continue to experience Dylan and Gray's journey. While I began reading with the thought that it was refreshing to have a stand alone book...I now understand why most of the books on my TBR list are part of a series. I get attached to characters and just can't let them go. These are two characters that I certainly don't want to let go of. Even though I am passing the book onto the next lucky recipient in the tour, this book will not leave me any time soon. There are a lot of very good messages that I have taken from it and can only hope to implement into my own life. I felt much the same way after reading Awaken. Katie has such a powerful way of sharing life lessons without coming across like she is trying to do so.
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