Be My Downfall
Read for Review
Rating
Back to this installment. I was so happy with the fact that this book was from a male POV- specifically from Toby's who I think has had a bad reputation in the 1st book. I haven't read the first so I dunno what he did but I know it was something shady. I dunno I liked read reading from his POV a lot. And he didn't seem like a jerk that people were making him out to be. I found him serious, honest and mature for a 19 year old. He was a dedicated student. Now he has had a broken /damaged past and I dunno I truly felt the pain, the hopelessness, the frustration, the love when I was reading this book. So kudos to Lyla for doing that. I truly liked this book. From the two books that I have read by Lyla. This took the top spot.
Where By Referral Only was a good read. Be My Downfall was a great read. And I don't say that much about NA books. But I was seriously surprised by how much I liked the characters in this installment. We had recurring roles in the shapes of Emilie and Quinn form Broken At Love and Ruby and Cole from By Referral Only along with Audra (Cole's sister) and many others.
The book majorly focused on Toby's point of view but in between it would have Kennedy's (third-person) narrative. Those were painful but gave us an insight to why Kennedy was the way she was. I really fell for Kennedy. I liked her a lot. I am so glad Toby was there for her and I was so angry but sad more for her when she wouldn't accept his help because she had to accept her help first. She was a girl who lost her parents at a young age and then due to her grandma she began to live in guilt. She thought she didn't deserve to be happy. She stopped feeling. Which is just sad.
I thought this book was genuine and with NA novels I don't feel this emotion that much (I have only felt this emotion with J. Lynn's NA titles and some H.M. Ward's).
We have a book with two leads who have a connection. The male lead Toby has had dealt with someone similar from his past with a problem like Kennedy and he knows he should disengage but he can't fail our female lead because he has come to really care for her and also wants to save her from her own downfall but also live with letting her go and living his own life.
This book dealt with deep stuff. Like seriously we have seen such individuals dealing with addiction depicted in TV shows and what not. The ones we love have gone down the spiral and lost themselves forever. We know just like Toby that first they need to save themselves in order for us to save them.
Also I am quite pleased that this book didn't focus that much on sexy stuff. There have been other NA books out there that focus more on that stuff rather than the story and the genuine feels.
I would have given this book five stars if only it had made me laugh.- it was a sad book. And I like to laugh once in a while. But it gets four stars for its genuineness and making me want to finish it even when my eyes just wanted a shutdown.
Will I recommend this installment? Yeah. Why not?
Teaser:
Thanks to the author Lyla Payne and Kelly Simmon at Ink Slinger PR forgiving me the opportunity to read this great book.
Toodles.
Happy Reading.