Blog Tour Review: The Unloved by Jennifer Snyder

Author: Jennifer Snyder

Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound

Sometimes the love our heart needs to heal can be found in the familiar eyes of a childhood friend...

Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.

Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive.

Mature Young Adult, contains violence, language, and sexual situations.

REVIEW:

Nick had an abusive father and Jules had an alcoholic, absent mother with perverts for boyfriends. They both escaped from their horrible home lives and found comfort and safety with each other. They looked out for one another. But then Nick had to move away to live with his aunt and uncle. Jules was left behind and still had to fight off the hands of her mother's groping boyfriends. She started wearing baggy clothes, hiding herself from everyone.

After two years, Nick is back and the story starts with him and Jules reconnecting and attempting to cross the line between friendship and love while still trying to deal with H.H.L.M.s (Horrible Home Life Moments) 

Julie is trying to push him away because she doesn't want to get hurt and her heart broken again.

I’d learned as a kid that once you let people in, they hold the power to disappoint you, upset you, and break you.

 But Nick wants to be more than friends and he is determined to do so.

I was heartbroken with the pain that Julie and Nick had to suffer. Childhood should always be filled with love. It really amazes me how some people can live with themselves after doing such terrible things. It's infuriating that Jules had to live a life where she felt dirty and tainted everyday. She was not at fault. The sick people who do such things don't need reasons. What she was wearing and where she was, cannot be a defense. I so hated Vincent. He was so creepy and disgusting. I wanted Nick to beat him more. He stopped too soon.

The book is honest, raw and real. The author has done a great job with character development. She doesn't shy away from showing the ugly truths and the harsh realities. I was shouting at problems to stop coming their way. One unfortunate event after another, it was emotionally exhausting, really. 

But the book isn't entirely hopeless even if it makes you feel that majority of men are sex crazed jerks. Jules and Nick have some great friends who were always there and sometimes I wished Jules had shared what she was going through with them. I loved Emily and Blake. They made me happy.

The romance is all you need to mend your broken heart. Jules and Nick are perfect together. I'm glad Jules decided to take the leap of faith and that Nick never gave up on them. I liked Nick from the very first scene. He is adorably cute. I loved that he always knew the right words and he is just a nice guy who is kind, forgiving and caring. All the bad boys, watch out! 

“I love you, Jules. Even with all of the baggage that you claim comes with you, even with all of the shit that you've been through. You’re not a reminder of my past, not a stain or a scar that won’t let me forget… you’re my sunshine. A reminder that with you by my side I can get through even the darkest of my nightmares. Our childhood was proof of that, Jules. We were the unloved—you by your mom and me by my dad—and now it’s our time to finally be loved.”

I really liked the book. I was hooked and completed it in one sitting. There are few things that I have a problem with but they didn't make me want to put the book down or anything so I guess they aren't big issues. Mainly, I wanted to see more of Cole. When you suffer through an abusive relationship together, you are bound to develop a strong bond, right? So it made no sense to me why Jules wasn't close to her brothers Cole and Logan. Even if Logan has left and gone away, he could still check on his siblings. 

[SPOILER ALERT: And in the end even Jules left Cole behind. I mean, she doesn't even think about him once. It wasn't right because in the beginning of the book she said that she couldn't make herself do it and then what *poof* she gets a boyfriend and she forgets about her little brother.]

Barnes & Noble || Amazon 

The Unloved is on sale this week only for $0.99 only. 

About The Author:

I live in a small town nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my husband and two small children. Growing up, I was always an avid reader. My mother spent way too much money on R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike books!

Writing a novel of my own wasn't something I'd ever given much thought to. It seemed like an unobtainable, far-fetched dream. Then, in late 2007, I attempted to put pen to paper for the first time. What came out wasn't pure gold. And what came out next wasn't either. Things didn't work that way for me. I had to write and rewrite and learn more about my 'voice' as an author first. 

It took me a while to find that. Roughly about two years.

I did make a stab at going the traditional route to getting a novel of mine published, but it didn't work out. Some might say I gave up too quickly, some might not. You can look on the 'For Writers' tab to read my post on why I went the way I did to hear the full story.

I will say, I don't regret my decision to Self-Publish. It was right for me. I'm loving that fact that I am able to still be a stay-at-home-mom even though my kids are both now in elementary school. I thank my readers for that. Seriously, a million times over I thank you!

SHATTERED SOUL was my debut novel and no, you haven't seen the end of me yet...

Blog || Twitter || Facebook

  

||GIVEAWAY||

a Rafflecopter giveaway