Bring Down the Stars - Review

Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts Duet, # 1)

By: Emma Scott

Publication: August 19th 2018 by Amazon Digital Services

292 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Retellings

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon $3.99 | Book Depository )

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Goodreads description--I fell for Connor Drake. I didn’t want to; I fought against it, but I fell in love with him anyway. With his words. With his poetry. With him. The gentleness and beauty of his soul that speaks directly to mine. He writes as if he can feel my heart, hear its cadence and compose the exact right lyrics to accompany every beat and flow.

I’m in love with Connor…so why do I feel an inexplicable pull to his best friend, Weston? Grouchy, sullen, brooding Weston Turner, who could cut you down with a look. Fiercely intelligent with a razor sharp wit and acid tongue, he’s the exact opposite of Connor in every way, and yet there’s electricity in the air between us. The thorny barbs Weston wraps around himself can’t keep me away.

But the more time I spend with these men, the more tangled and confused my emotions become. When they both sign up for the Army Reserves during a time of increasing strife in the Middle East, I fear I’ll never unravel my own heart that sometimes feels as if it will tear straight down the middle…for both of them.

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Bring Down the Stars is an emotional, angst-filled novel of unrequited love by bestselling author, Emma Scott, and is inspired by the classic tale, Cyrano de Bergerac. (Roxanne) It is Book I in the Beautiful Hearts Duet, coming this summer. Book II, Long Live the Beautiful Hearts, to be released a few weeks later. THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL LOVE TRIANGLE #confusedhearts #notamenage

When I read the description of Bring Down the Stars, I was sold that it was a book that I needed to read, but I wasn't sold that it would start or end in a place I'd be happy with. I mean the story of Cyrano de Bergerac is well known. A man speaks for another man in love with a woman. I mean obviously there's more to it than that, but I could tell immediately from the description that it was likely Weston was the one giving his words to Connor in order to woo Autumn. But that would mean that Weston wouldn't be with Autumn, yet Weston would be the one I should be rooting for. Starting a book off knowing that inevitable conflict (well all books have conflict, but this particular conflict is what I mean) is ahead had me hesitating.

Despite my hesitation, Bring Down the Stars hooked me quickly. I easily felt the connection between Autumn and Weston. And even the gravitational pull toward Connor and his easygoing charisma. Each character has depth. Connor's struggles to live up to his family's wishes for him. His family is so gracious to Weston and his family, and even Autumn's. They weren't black and white characters. Weston's history with his father and even how his mother's words shaped his view of himself, his worth, and his options for his future. Autumn's romantic history and her family dynamics. All of these characters were more than surface level. Even the side characters like Connor's parents, Weston's mom, Paul, Ruby, Edmond (who I imagine was fashioned in some ways after Javier from Felicity), and Weston's poetry professor.

I was a little frustrated with Autumn. I mean such a large point of this book is the retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac so this couldn't really be avoided, but how much Autumn struggled with the back and forth of Connor. How he felt so different in person versus the poetry, letters, or words he gave her when they weren't together...It seems to me that you've got to go with how you feel when you're together in person versus words shared when apart. So I struggled a little with her indecision. But all of that was necessary for the story.

It's actually hard for me to separate Bring Down the Stars from Long Live the Beautiful Hearts considering I started book 2 immediately after finishing this one. I read in the car on a day trip 3 hours away from home (and then 3 hours back). I basically finished both books in two days total--unheard of for me this past year.

I also want to say that the last poem of Bring Down the Stars did not disappoint. Often times when I'm reading a book that builds up a character's talent in songwriting, poetry, writing, riddles, etc, I end up being disappointed with the lyrics or samples of their art included in the book. That was not the case with the main poem of this book. It was beautiful in every way and I could read it over and over again. I won't share it with you guys, but I will share a few of my other favorite quotes:

-"I can't help myself. I don't want casual. I want electricity. I want someone I can talk to for ages, someone who sets my blood on fire. And not just physically, you know?" Ruby pursed her lips. "Gee, don't expect much, do you?" "Only everything," I said. "And why not? That's exactly what I have to give."

-I wouldn't touch you so quickly, I thought. I'd wait. Draw it out. Build up the moment so that when it happened--when each of us feels the other's skin for the first time--it'll be something sublime. Something earned.

-"I'm starting to memorize you," he said. "Not just your words but how you talk. The silences between words. The sound you make when you're thinking. The quiet where you try to hold back, and the little floods where you don't."

Bring Down the Stars was more than I expected it to be. I hoped I would like it. I hoped I could make it past the inevitable conflict that was expected from the book description and the very beginning of the story. And Bring Down the Stars exceeded my expectations. Knowing what was going on in Emma Scott's life during the time of writing these two books made these books even more emotional. My heart goes out to her. Bring Down the Stars gets 4 Stars. Have you read Bring Down the Stars? What did you think? Let me know!