Title: Breaking Nova
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: September 2013
Genre: New Adult Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Series, Book One
Synopsis can be found here.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review:
Nova and Quinton. Both broken souls trying to find their way back. But between bad influences, drugs and meaningless sex, the road to redemption is not easy.
This book was actually a little hard for me to get through. Don’t get me wrong. The characters are intriguing and while the plot is predictable, it’s didn’t bother me.
No, what made it hard was possibly the subject matter. Recently, most New Adult books are focused on very broken characters finding a happy ending. Oh, and a lot of hot steamy scenes in between. So I knew what I was getting into when I started reading the book.
But this story was on a totally different level for me. And that’s mostly because both characters were so incredibly sad. Quinton and Nova’s pasts are so dark and bleak, it’s no wonder that their presents are spend in a haze of drugs and depressions. Traumatic events aside, Quinton is so down on himself, thinking he’s unworthy as a human being that it’s hard to feel anything except sorry for him and wish he would get some help. Nova is hurt differently, injured almost beyond repair.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the book. It’s full of darker themes and deep characters and a lot of tough subjects.
But it was also really hard for me to read. Subject matter aside, there is no joy in this book. No light-hearted funny characters, no solid best friend. Even the supporting characters were depressed, tainted with pain and darkness.
I don’t mind reading these books once in a while, but I usually want at least one of the characters to be a fighter, fiesty, to have some direction. I felt like most of the story was wallowing in the dark, and even at the end there was so little light. Just a tinge of hope breaking through the surface. Even Nova’s realization seemed slightly forced to me.
Overall, fans of New Adult will enjoy this novel. Sorenson is a good writer and captivates her reader by drawing complicated characters and challenging situations. But it left me feeling dark and alone.
Rating 5 Okay
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
I haven’t gotten into a lot of NA, because of some of the concerns you listed in the review. I guess I like my books to be a bit happier.
I do too. This was just a little too sad for me. Thanks for stopping by!
I understand what you’re saying. Sometimes books/characters are so bleak that it’s just hard to get through. It’s like a really good but sad movie that you saw once but never ever want to see again. I like my books to have a little light to temper the dark. That said, I do have this one and will be giving it a try.
Let me know what you think. Maybe i’m just not in a great place to be reading it!
My first NA book was by Jessica Sorenson. I enjoyed it, I just hated the cliffhanger endings. The books are very deep and dark though. Most NA books have at least some happy moments. I enjoyed your review, it was honest.
I reviewed this book on my blog and I fell in love with the book. It was definitely dark and definitely a LOT of heavy subject matter. I cannot wait to get a hold of the next book in the series.
The dark and depressed characters where something that I realized that nearly all of the NA books have. I’d like to read a fluffy and cute NA book, but I don’t think that will ever happen. But nonetheless, this book is on my TBR list.