Author: Addison Moore
Series: Beautiful Oblivion #1
Age: New Adult
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: October 20th, 2013
Page Numbers: 320
Format: E-Book
Source: Amazon Kindle
Purchase: Amazon | B&N
Synopsis:
Some people just don’t belong together, or at least that’s what the world would have them believe.
It was supposed to be just for the summer…
Reese Westfield comes from a world of old money, country clubs, cotillions, and expensive cars. She’s tired of dating Warren McCarthy just to make her father happy. Reese has long since had her eye on someone else, and this summer she’s determined to make it happen.
Growing up in Lake Loveless there has always been a strict monetary divide—there was the rest of the Lake and then there were the Waterman’s. Ace Waterman has worked for everything he has, and he doesn’t have a lot. He breaks his back doing grunt work while putting himself through college. He’s used to life passing him by.
Reese has loved Ace from afar for as long as she can remember. The summer of her freshman year she comes home with plans to land Ace in her bed at least for a few short weeks, and, if she’s lucky, forever.
Ace has loved Reese for as long as he can remember, but their friendship has never graduated beyond platonic, so when Reese comes home from her first year away and proposes the two of them have a summer fling, Ace is quick to comply. The rules: no strings, no expectations, just something hotter than the sun to set the sheets on fire.
But when their worlds collide, and neither of them is willing to admit to having true feelings, it becomes clear to Ace he’s nothing more than a dirty little secret—that the summer fling was just something meaningless to pass the time.
Reese wonders if she can ever stop trying to please her father, and it’s only through her mother’s letters that she finds the answers she truly seeks, but will they be the ones she wants to hear?
As summer draws to a close, Ace and Reese are still very much enraptured even though the time has come to douse the flame and move on—but neither one of them is prepared to leave this BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION.
My Rating: ★★★★★
Quote(s) I Like:
"People -- relationships -- scatter like birds, leaving you with dusty memories, empty beds, bones in a casket. We don't get to choose who stays and goes on the planet. We can't control who stays in our life and under what conditions. Seasons come and go -- time presses on." - Reese
"...find the ecstasy where you can -- catch it by the tail. It's in those moments you really live. All those other gaps in time are just filler until the next bout of delirium. You could as easily find ecstasy in the silence as you could in a scream, it could be locked in a beautiful flower, the scent of a fragrant spring morning. It could be in a kiss from a beautiful boy. All of those sweet moments make one hell of an adventure. And if life doesn't offer you an adventure -- make one happen." - Reese's Mom
"Sex is just an act, Reese. If there's no meaning behind it, it's just some mechanical event, a timed session, a chore." - Ace
My Thoughts:
Oh My Gosh! This was freaking marvelous from page one to end! Addison Moore is now an auto-buy author for me. I was completely blown away by her writing style and captivated I was. This is the first book I've read from her and definitely plan to read more from her.
Best friends from different sides of the money pool who secretly love each other, but decide to not only keep their true feelings hidden, but also share a summer fling together. The summer fling was for Reese for her to become a "woman" to Ace. The premise was excellent and written so well. It was smooth and fast paced.
Reese was an awesome character for me. She lived in a world of wealth, but she didn't care for the lavish things of life. She cared for the simple things that didn't cost much or anything at all. I love how she stayed true to her own feelings and not that of her fathers. Her dad wanted her with Warren, but she absolutely had no emotional connection with him.
Ace was the perfect guy. Not wealthy, hard worker, excellent student and compassionate. The love he had for Reese was undeniably pure perfection. He never allowed himself to treat Reese as any random girl. He showered her with affection and taught her things she desired to learn. My favorite thing he did was go camping with her and showed her to play marbles -- absolutely romantic without spending money or being physically intimate.
The romance and intimacy between Reese and Ace was unforgettable. I loved the sex scenes equally as I did the simply activities they shared. Even though the romance was insta-love, it still had a build up that lead to an unbelievably perfect ending.
Brylee was an awesome best friend. She was friends with both Reese and Ace to the point that they each confused their love for one another to her. I liked how she advised them both to confess their feelings to one another without spilling how the other actual feels. It was outstanding how well of a friend Brylee was.
Gavin was a secondary character that didn't have many scenes, but when he did arise I totally loved him. He was funny, sweet, hardworking and strong minded. He was the perfect dupe of Ace in his own way.
Warren, the delusional "boyfriend", is a douche-bag -- king of them. I hated the way he spoke to and treated Reese, especially his drunken advances. Just unbelievable how he really thought money made him "the man" for Reese. I'm glad Reese proved him wrong.
Neva was such a desperate and sad young lady. I didn't get why she stopped being friends with Reese or why she was even rude. I'm glad Reese kicked her butt. I also hated her for what she did to Reese with Warren -- just absolutely crazy! Neva was just pathetic to me.
That ending bought a smile to my face -- I loved it!
I am excited to read Beautiful Illusions to find out more about Gavin and his love life.
Have you read this book?