bookdragonheart's review
5.0
4.5 stars! What an interesting, and fascinating story! Childhood best friends, both secretly wanting more, but he’s essentially warned off by her father, making any possible relationship between them beyond friend forbidden. But it’s not just that aspect that makes their relationship so interesting. Their dynamic is just…..for lack of a better word, odd. And I don’t mean this in a bad way, like at all. Josie is such an intriguing character. She’s very logical, blunt, speaks her mind, almost to a fault, brilliant, and very socially awkward. I would even put her character near autistic in mannerisms and behaviors. She’s also very fascinated with death, and completely unfazed and unendingly curious by all things related to it. He’s enamored by her nearly from day one, even if she’s not of the same mind with him.
Colton and Josie become fast friends when he moves to town when they were kids, a meet cute that is adorable, and morphs relatively quickly from enemies to best friends. They go through their high school years, dating other people, sabotaging each other’s relationships in various ways - both purposely and inadvertently, until right before graduation, which brings on a culmination of events that tears them apart, devastating Josie, and forever making him the bad guy in her story. Seventeen years later, when their jobs bring them into each other’s paths, he sees it as a sign of their destiny to be together, while she’s still deeply, desperately heartbroken and angry with how they left things in high school.
While Colton works to regain Josie’s affection, and she fights him tooth an nail, they are thrust together over and over again for work, making it harder for Josie to avoid what Colton believes is inevitable. Then a highly traumatic event flips their lives over, and suddenly Josie finds herself dreaming about and obsessed over a serial murder case from over a century prior. As more and more about their history comes to light, their own personal demons coming to the surface, Josie and Colton find themselves more and more drawn together, all while an unexpected darkness works to pull them apart again. The twist at the end has me reeling, and really excited to see where the second half of this duet is going to take us - I know it’s going to be an absolutely engrossing story!
Colton and Josie become fast friends when he moves to town when they were kids, a meet cute that is adorable, and morphs relatively quickly from enemies to best friends. They go through their high school years, dating other people, sabotaging each other’s relationships in various ways - both purposely and inadvertently, until right before graduation, which brings on a culmination of events that tears them apart, devastating Josie, and forever making him the bad guy in her story. Seventeen years later, when their jobs bring them into each other’s paths, he sees it as a sign of their destiny to be together, while she’s still deeply, desperately heartbroken and angry with how they left things in high school.
While Colton works to regain Josie’s affection, and she fights him tooth an nail, they are thrust together over and over again for work, making it harder for Josie to avoid what Colton believes is inevitable. Then a highly traumatic event flips their lives over, and suddenly Josie finds herself dreaming about and obsessed over a serial murder case from over a century prior. As more and more about their history comes to light, their own personal demons coming to the surface, Josie and Colton find themselves more and more drawn together, all while an unexpected darkness works to pull them apart again. The twist at the end has me reeling, and really excited to see where the second half of this duet is going to take us - I know it’s going to be an absolutely engrossing story!
bookish_jeanie's review
4.0
Jewel E Ann has given us another perfect swoon-worthy man and charmingly odd yet perfect leading lady with Pieces of a Life. This is book 1 of the Life Series duet and it follows the story of Colton Mosley and Josephine Watts from the time they met at 9 years old to the two reconnecting seventeen years later. Colton shattered Josie’s heart when they were 18 years old and nearly two decades later, she hears his voice in a restaurant while on a date. Turns out Colton is now Detective Mosley, and she is one of the medical examiners, so their professional lives intersect on a regular basis, much to Josie’s dismay and the Detective’s delight. One day, Colton saves Josie’s life but now she is plagued with creepy and terrible visions she just can’t shake.
As I mentioned before, Colton is absolutely swoon-worthy, but it wasn’t always that way. When we get the flashbacks of the two when they were young I couldn’t help but think about how toxic the two were together, but I also couldn’t help but cheer for them to get it together and was heartbroken when it was over…. And then 35-year-old Colton opened his mouth and spewed some of the most romantic worlds I’ve read in a long time and I was done for… and so was Josephine Watts.
I am a sucker for second chance romances (give me all the angsty that comes with them) but when you throw in some of the paranormal or unknown aspects of life and I’m a goner. Just when you’re starting to get comfortable in the story and think you know where it’s going the author throws something way out of left field at you and you didn’t realize you needed it but it’s there now and it makes sense. I cannot wait for the second book bc I need answers and I need them bad. I have theories and I need to know if they are right but also, I just need more Dr Watts and Detective Mosley in my life.
As I mentioned before, Colton is absolutely swoon-worthy, but it wasn’t always that way. When we get the flashbacks of the two when they were young I couldn’t help but think about how toxic the two were together, but I also couldn’t help but cheer for them to get it together and was heartbroken when it was over…. And then 35-year-old Colton opened his mouth and spewed some of the most romantic worlds I’ve read in a long time and I was done for… and so was Josephine Watts.
I am a sucker for second chance romances (give me all the angsty that comes with them) but when you throw in some of the paranormal or unknown aspects of life and I’m a goner. Just when you’re starting to get comfortable in the story and think you know where it’s going the author throws something way out of left field at you and you didn’t realize you needed it but it’s there now and it makes sense. I cannot wait for the second book bc I need answers and I need them bad. I have theories and I need to know if they are right but also, I just need more Dr Watts and Detective Mosley in my life.
dragonflyreads's review
5.0
WOWOWOWOWOW
So the vibes for Pieces of a Life are honestly wonderful. Childhood best friends, quirky heroine, hero that would basically do anything for her. Seventeen years of no contact until they’re both working in the same city. The connection! The love!
I adored the chapters of Colten and Josie as children/teens (The innocence! The exploration!). It really brings their story to life for the build up of their mid-30’s reconnection. Bring in the factor that actually ties this book to The Life that Mattered (you do NOT have to read the first duet) and it is WILD. The last chapter left me gasping and I am SALIVATING for book two!
*CW: suicide of a parent (off page), lots of death (forensic pathologist)
So the vibes for Pieces of a Life are honestly wonderful. Childhood best friends, quirky heroine, hero that would basically do anything for her. Seventeen years of no contact until they’re both working in the same city. The connection! The love!
I adored the chapters of Colten and Josie as children/teens (The innocence! The exploration!). It really brings their story to life for the build up of their mid-30’s reconnection. Bring in the factor that actually ties this book to The Life that Mattered (you do NOT have to read the first duet) and it is WILD. The last chapter left me gasping and I am SALIVATING for book two!
*CW: suicide of a parent (off page), lots of death (forensic pathologist)
darknesslighttt's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: childhood sweethearts, enemies to lovers, forbidden, single dad, second chance, law enforcement, slow burn
𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: cliffhanger
This book is unique! It has mistery, suspance, romance, some paranormal elements and that makes it special.
The book presents both scenes from the present and from the past, which shows you the reasons behind the characters behaviour.
Josie works as a forsensic pathologist and Colten as a homicide detective. Both try to solve the mystery behind the murders.
Colten tries his best to convince Josie to give him a chance, but the wall she has built around her feelings is too strong. Every action, every conversation between them, breaks the wall, and in the end Josie lets go of the strong feelings she has for Colten.
Towards the end of the book everything takes a turn. After an accident that happened during an investigation where Josie is saved by Colten, something happens to her. Everything becomes a mystery or paranormal (depending on how you interpret it) both for Colten and for us.
The book ends with a big cliffhanger, making Josie and Colton's story to end in the next book. I can't wait to see what happens with them but also how they solve the mystery.
𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: cliffhanger
This book is unique! It has mistery, suspance, romance, some paranormal elements and that makes it special.
The book presents both scenes from the present and from the past, which shows you the reasons behind the characters behaviour.
Josie works as a forsensic pathologist and Colten as a homicide detective. Both try to solve the mystery behind the murders.
Colten tries his best to convince Josie to give him a chance, but the wall she has built around her feelings is too strong. Every action, every conversation between them, breaks the wall, and in the end Josie lets go of the strong feelings she has for Colten.
Towards the end of the book everything takes a turn. After an accident that happened during an investigation where Josie is saved by Colten, something happens to her. Everything becomes a mystery or paranormal (depending on how you interpret it) both for Colten and for us.
The book ends with a big cliffhanger, making Josie and Colton's story to end in the next book. I can't wait to see what happens with them but also how they solve the mystery.
captivate406's review
4.0
I could not put this down from the start! This was an interesting and complex story. And it definitely doesn’t go we’re you think it is going to go. I can’t wait for the next book to find out where this story is going.
sandizzlereads's review
5.0
Seriously? I mean seriously, if you haven’t read anything by Jewel E Ann you need to, and this series is a perfect place to start. This is the beginning of the second duet in this series, so you don’t HAVE to read the first duet because this one is about a totally new cast of characters, but Jewel writes such amazing stories I think you would love them as well.
This is the story of Josie and Colten, they met at 9 years old and there friendship is timeless. This story bops back and forth in the timeline of their world and it works.
There is so much to this story that of course we need and get a second book to finish this duet but because we get that second book this one does end in a cliffhanger. Of course I knew that but still was so invested by the story that it caught me by surprise. I’m just thankful we don’t have to wait long for the rest.
Jewel writes complex characters with vulnerabilities that make them so human and relatable and that makes the story even more real. These characters are going to stick with me and live in my brain for a while.
All in all I loved this story and I can’t wait to see how it ends!
This is the story of Josie and Colten, they met at 9 years old and there friendship is timeless. This story bops back and forth in the timeline of their world and it works.
There is so much to this story that of course we need and get a second book to finish this duet but because we get that second book this one does end in a cliffhanger. Of course I knew that but still was so invested by the story that it caught me by surprise. I’m just thankful we don’t have to wait long for the rest.
Jewel writes complex characters with vulnerabilities that make them so human and relatable and that makes the story even more real. These characters are going to stick with me and live in my brain for a while.
All in all I loved this story and I can’t wait to see how it ends!
chronicleofreads's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I liked almost everything about this book other than the way the couple get back together. 17 years of hate/grudge, pain and almost just like that, a few really cute words said by our colten and she is back in his arms. Yeh, no not working for me.
Also I am not really a fan of past and present story lines, this has that and most of the time I don't really care for the past storylines, this one was good, loved Josie and Coltens mom.
Also I am not really a fan of past and present story lines, this has that and most of the time I don't really care for the past storylines, this one was good, loved Josie and Coltens mom.
jpechman's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75