Back to You - Review

Back to You

By: Priscilla Glenn

Published: October 20th 2012 by CreateSpace

328 pages

Source: Author (Thank you so much Priscilla Glenn!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--When Lauren Monroe first laid eyes on Michael Delaney back in high school, she had every reason to stay away from him; within minutes of their first encounter, his volatile actions confirmed his notorious reputation. But Lauren saw something in him that caused her to question his bad-boy persona, and against her better judgment, she took a chance. She had no way of knowing that the unlikely friendship they formed would become so important to her.

Or that it would end so painfully.

Eight years later, when Lauren begins her new job at Learn and Grow Day Care, Michael is the last person she expects to see. Refusing to revisit the hurt and confusion of their past, Lauren vows to keep her distance from him. But staying away from Michael proves to be more difficult than she thought, despite her lingering grief and her instincts for self-preservation.

As Lauren and Michael recall the friendship that changed them forever and the events that tore them apart, will they finally be able to heal? Or will the ghosts of Michael’s past prove to be too much to overcome?

I started reading Back to You the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. Due to an upcoming party at our house, I had major projects on my to-do list that needed to get done. However, Back to You consumed me from the moment I picked it up until the moment I put it down Wednesday night. Well…with the exception of the time I spent asleep and at work on Wednesday. I had tons of responsibilities and chores that needed to get done. But they were sadly all neglected so that I could finish this book. I finally did finish it at 9:00 pm Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. And I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders….for about 15 minutes. I’d finished the book that felt like it had taken over my life. Everything that was important was finishing that book.

After I finished it, I set about taking a shower and such knowing I wouldn’t have much time in the morning because we were travelling to my grandparents’ house in Mobile (a 3 hour drive away) first thing in the morning. And then WHAM!!!!!!! I slammed back into reality and remembered that I had yet to cook the dish I’d promised to bring to my grandmother’s house. AH!!!! I would have just skipped it, but Nanny’s getting older and she’s not able to go all out on Thanksgiving any more—at least not without help. So I had to bake my casserole at 9:30 that night. But it got done.

Obviously, I said all of that to say that this book was really, really, really good. Lately, I’ve felt like it’s taken me a really long time to get into the books I’m reading. I’m not exactly sure why, but I’m just not getting hooked early on. That wasn’t the case with Back to You. I looked down at page 38 and realized I was already well hooked into this story.

Back to You alternates narration between Lauren and Michael and it also alternates between present and past. I’m normally not a huge fan of books that don’t exactly happen in chronological order. However, the setup of the book revealing the date at the beginning of the chapter definitely helped keep me straight on the order of events. There wasn’t too much bouncing around to get me confused.

There weren’t really any surprises for me, but believe me, this book did not suffer for it. I was completely invested in these characters and their story to keep that from being a factor. Priscilla Glenn wrote Back to You in a way that allowed me not to feel the need to figure everything out before the story got there. I was of course curious as to what Michael actually did to Lauren, and I wasn’t able to completely guess what happened while still not being surprised when I found out. From the beginning, she writes in a way that piques your interests. You need to know what happened to these two characters who apparently cared so deeply for each other at one time. How did they get where they are? And where are they going from here?

Priscilla Glenn adds to the suspense by adding in the completely loveable character of Adam, Lauren’s chiropractor. I actually wouldn’t be upset if we heard more from Adam in the future. (His own book maybe????? IJS!)

I don’t really want to say much else because I want you to experience this book. Out of all of the books that authors have contacted me requesting me to read their work, so far, this is my favorite. And to think I almost turned it down because it’s labeled as adult fiction. *shakes head* Thank you so much to Priscilla Glenn for contacting me about reading and reviewing Back to You. This is definitely going down in my list of Top 2012 Reads.

Check this one out guys! Please! Think Beautiful Disaster, but less unhealthy. Back to You gets 4.9 Stars from me. Have you read Back to You? If so, what did you think? Let me know!