Live, don’t exist!

“I watched the way our fingers intertwined, and I thought, what are hands made for but this? For holding. For holding on.” – James Patterson, First Love

First Love by James Patterson and Emily Raymond… Where do I begin? Let’s see, I read the sample from my kindle and decided that it was worth reading on paperback. So I went to look for it and it was not at my favorite book store. A total UHRG! moment. But I was not discouraged. I looked around a lot. In fact I did not only look around, I went on a daily forage. To all book stores. And then I found it….a year later. Yes, a year later. *Insert intensive nodding*

As you can imagine, I was so happy that I never bothered checking the price. Who cares about price anyway? I do! Student budget.

After paying this was me… Well, there no actual fireworks and a glass of apple juice white wine champagne  whatever that is.

Okay, back to the novel!

The novel was REAL, RAW and HEART-WRENCHING.

I felt all these after finishing the novel as the story line was gripping. I mean, you honestly forget to react because you are so taken by the story. Taken by the adventure. The tragedy. And I loved every letter, every word and every paragraph. It is a James Patterson novel after all. Hello! I, especially, loved when Robinson tells Axi to tell their story and she says  “And I did it; I told our story. You hold it in your hands.”

I dare ask… What’s better than that?

The story follows Axi’s road trip with Robinson, her best friend whom she’s secretly in love with. The road trip for Axi is more than rebelling; it’s escaping her grief and getting out of her comfort zone. It’s exploring life and expanding life’s horizons. And boy, don’t they explore and expand. From the Harley, Vegas, camping to Hollywood and more, what’s not to explore and expand? I was secretly jealous.

The story was from Axi’s perspective, at first I was not happy about that. But as I read more, I got why she told the story. Because it felt like she was telling me face to face and I was listening, instead of reading her (their) story. I could feel the emotions, the surprise, the happiness, the sadness. She made the words come alive.

I loved that it was not predictable. I didn’t read the first two chapters and immediately know the ending. You had to follow what Axi was saying in order guess the plot twists. I say guess because I did a lot of guessing. And many were wrong as I had myriad preconceived ideas. But the realness of the story flushed those ideas down the drain.

What I extremely and tremendously appreciated was you never lost what both Authors had to say. The subject of the novel was perspicuous…absolutely crystal clear! Because Axi Moore was no cliche character on a teenage quest for first love. She was an ordinary young woman, a human being, who had to learn to accept life’s tragedies and live. To love and lose it. And continue to live instead of existing. Live to inspire, to tell her story and to share her wisdom.

I could say that I wished for more. Extra pages. But, I think the story would’ve gotten lost in unnecessary words. It was perfect the way it was. And I recommend it to everyone. Worth five crowns for ratings.

The title may be first love but this novel, in my eyes, was Axi first living. And, of course living results in love. Pshh! Duh!

So, what you can take from this is: Live, don’t exist! Life’s too short.

Yours Truly,

Duchess♥

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