You'd Be Mine: A Novel

***4 Stars*** The description hinted that there would be some...heavy situations, but the reality of what went on in the book with all of the characters was a quite intense. It was a bit of shock, but one that drew me in and had me wanting to not only see where these characters would find themselves in the end. Annie and Clay were interesting characters. More weathered than their ages would suggest, haunted by their pasts and yet still young, despite it all in how they deal with the world around them. Annie, I really liked. She has this light, this goodness, inside her that comes through regardless of the demons from her past that chase her. Clay, I really liked as well, but he had his moments where he put the most petulant toddler having a temper tantrum to shame. His mercurial mood swings definitely kept me on my toes, but when he was ‘good’ he was a charmer and quite compassionate which had me rooting for him to figure his issues out and work at becoming more. As for Annie and Clay’s romance, it was that perfect mix of angsty and sweet. Music was what tethered them to each other, and despite a good dose of push/pull going on, I really enjoyed watching their relationship evolve throughout the book. They both had some huge demons riding them hard and I liked how they ended up being each other’s safe place, even as they tended to be triggers for some heart breaking moments. I have to give the author props for going big on her debut novel with the issues that are brought up throughout the book. Some will definitely be triggers for some readers, but I felt as if they were handled realistically as it pertained to the characters they impacted. The writing was engaging, though there were a couple spots where things dragged a bit for me and I liked the dual first person POV’s. The various characters that populate this world were all well written and brought a lot of depth to the story and I really liked Fitz, Kacey and Jason and definitely wouldn’t mind catching up with everyone in the future to see what they’re all up to. ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~