greylandreviews's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very good NA novel. It kept my attention and never got boring. Touches your feels a little bit, like a Jessica Sorensen novel. I'll write a review later
xoxotawnydee's review against another edition
3.0
Stubborn Love is the story of Clementine "Emmie" Hayes. Not so much a story of the main guy. It is almost a coming of age story despite the fact that she is twenty-six years old.
Emmie had pretty much been a nobody in high school. One of those "artsy" kids who only had one friend and no prospects as far as boyfriends went. Until Ashton Stirling made his way into her life. She was crazy about him. So crazy that she actually chose him over her best friend. They married right out of high school and stayed together for years. The problem with Ashton is that he had.. problems. A manipulative jerk who wouldn't let her leave because he couldn't stand the thought of being alone. And he had a bit of a drinking problem, so some of those problems turned a little physical. Until finally Emmie had had enough. And she told him she was leaving.
But he couldn't live without her.
Three years later Emmie is starting anew in New York, finally following her dream of getting a Fine Arts degree. New York is expensive though, so when a random Rainbow Brite she meets by a taxi one day offers to let her take a look at her apartment to be roommated, Emmie goes for it. And they become best friends. Which is great. Because Paige is awesome. She is the girl that every girl wants as a best friend. Fun, and out-spoken, not to mention extremely protective.
And finally everything is going right in Emmie's life. No more abuse. Following her dream. New best friend. Enter Colin Bennett, Paige's boyfriend's brother, and their landlord. Neither Emmie nor Colin is looking for love, but Colin's found it finally, and he's not going down without a fight. He will do whatever it takes to get Emmie to give him a chance once he figures out that she likes him too.
I read a review on goodreads that complained abotu the story having nothing memorable about it, so of course I wanted to read it to get a taste myself. I'm strange that way. But I have to disagree. Which is exactly what I was expecting to happen.
I think Colin was an extremely memorable main guy. I think he was perfect and exactly what Emmie needed to try and get over the horror that Ashton had brought into her life. And what made him perfect was that he wasn't the rich little boy that she thought he was at first. He was hard-working and loving and protective of so many people. He was just a beautiful character.
I've already sung Paige's prescence in the book.
My least favorite character was Emmie though. Not because she wasn't a good character, but because I just got sick of hearing about Ashton. I know that ex's, especially horrible breakups, can have an outstanding impact on a person's life. And I know that one simple negative statement from somebody can stay with you forever. I've got a few of them stuck in my head too. But I hated that she just wouldn't let it go. Wouldn't let herself be happy. And fought anybody who tried to help her. Like she was a horrible person who deserved to go to hell and be tortured on the way. I just wanted to shake her and reiterate the fact that Ashton was obviously sick and she couldn't have done anything differently. At the end, when she finally starts coming to terms with it, she says that when she thinks back on it, she thinks Ashton was looking for a way out. Looking for permission, if you will. And I completely agree with that. I think that Ashton was extremely sick and he couldn't take it anymore and he wanted permission from the one person that probably mattered most to him.
In no way do I believe that what he did is a good thing, or that he should be "forgiven" just because of that, but I think in a way that he literally couldn't let her go.. but he knew that she couldn't stay. So he gave her a way out. He wouldn't have known that she would be hung up on it for as long as she was. So I give this book 3.5 stars because Ashton drove me crazy on a page to page basis. Now I'm off to go read Only In Dreams, the story of Paige. I can't wait. I'm so excited!
Emmie had pretty much been a nobody in high school. One of those "artsy" kids who only had one friend and no prospects as far as boyfriends went. Until Ashton Stirling made his way into her life. She was crazy about him. So crazy that she actually chose him over her best friend. They married right out of high school and stayed together for years. The problem with Ashton is that he had.. problems. A manipulative jerk who wouldn't let her leave because he couldn't stand the thought of being alone. And he had a bit of a drinking problem, so some of those problems turned a little physical. Until finally Emmie had had enough. And she told him she was leaving.
But he couldn't live without her.
Three years later Emmie is starting anew in New York, finally following her dream of getting a Fine Arts degree. New York is expensive though, so when a random Rainbow Brite she meets by a taxi one day offers to let her take a look at her apartment to be roommated, Emmie goes for it. And they become best friends. Which is great. Because Paige is awesome. She is the girl that every girl wants as a best friend. Fun, and out-spoken, not to mention extremely protective.
And finally everything is going right in Emmie's life. No more abuse. Following her dream. New best friend. Enter Colin Bennett, Paige's boyfriend's brother, and their landlord. Neither Emmie nor Colin is looking for love, but Colin's found it finally, and he's not going down without a fight. He will do whatever it takes to get Emmie to give him a chance once he figures out that she likes him too.
I read a review on goodreads that complained abotu the story having nothing memorable about it, so of course I wanted to read it to get a taste myself. I'm strange that way. But I have to disagree. Which is exactly what I was expecting to happen.
I think Colin was an extremely memorable main guy. I think he was perfect and exactly what Emmie needed to try and get over the horror that Ashton had brought into her life. And what made him perfect was that he wasn't the rich little boy that she thought he was at first. He was hard-working and loving and protective of so many people. He was just a beautiful character.
I've already sung Paige's prescence in the book.
My least favorite character was Emmie though. Not because she wasn't a good character, but because I just got sick of hearing about Ashton. I know that ex's, especially horrible breakups, can have an outstanding impact on a person's life. And I know that one simple negative statement from somebody can stay with you forever. I've got a few of them stuck in my head too. But I hated that she just wouldn't let it go. Wouldn't let herself be happy. And fought anybody who tried to help her. Like she was a horrible person who deserved to go to hell and be tortured on the way. I just wanted to shake her and reiterate the fact that Ashton was obviously sick and she couldn't have done anything differently. At the end, when she finally starts coming to terms with it, she says that when she thinks back on it, she thinks Ashton was looking for a way out. Looking for permission, if you will. And I completely agree with that. I think that Ashton was extremely sick and he couldn't take it anymore and he wanted permission from the one person that probably mattered most to him.
In no way do I believe that what he did is a good thing, or that he should be "forgiven" just because of that, but I think in a way that he literally couldn't let her go.. but he knew that she couldn't stay. So he gave her a way out. He wouldn't have known that she would be hung up on it for as long as she was. So I give this book 3.5 stars because Ashton drove me crazy on a page to page basis. Now I'm off to go read Only In Dreams, the story of Paige. I can't wait. I'm so excited!
jst1morechapter's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 - some of it was good, some of it not so much... okay for a freebie
amberbehnke2013's review against another edition
4.0
Hooked
I was hooked from the very beginning! I love stories where people overcome something to find love again! Can't wait to read the second book in the series. (Paige's book)
I was hooked from the very beginning! I love stories where people overcome something to find love again! Can't wait to read the second book in the series. (Paige's book)
wperdue92's review against another edition
4.0
Clementine is a bit of a loner in high school, with only her best friend to get her through. When Ashton, a guy to die for notices her, she is thrilled. Life then begins to change for Clementine (or Emmie). She is quickly alienated from her best friend and in a whirlwind romance. She soon finds that married life is not all it was cracked up to be. After tragedy strikes their marriage, Emmie moves away for a fresh start. After spending some time getting herself together, she decides to pursue her art dream in New York. She makes a quick friend with Paige and becomes her roommate. With Paige comes a hot boyfriend with an even hotter brother. Once Emmie starts to develop feelings for Colin, will she be able to love again? Can she get past her feelings of grief and guilt?
I really liked this one. Every girl at some point in her life feels unattractive and alone. It was easy to connect with Emmie and feel the excitement of being noticed. I really felt for her as she took on the feelings of guilt at her lost marriage and learned to love herself. This is a great story that you should not pass up!
I really liked this one. Every girl at some point in her life feels unattractive and alone. It was easy to connect with Emmie and feel the excitement of being noticed. I really felt for her as she took on the feelings of guilt at her lost marriage and learned to love herself. This is a great story that you should not pass up!
waldycab's review against another edition
3.0
A book where you can find death, love, sadness, friendship. It was a nice book but I think the author rush things into the book assuming readers can imagine what happened between characters, I mean she didn't quite explain how she or him developed feelings toward each other, sh just assume we readers knew what goes on during a relationship!
b00kr3vi3ws's review against another edition
3.0
For Emmie Hayes everything happens very quickly. She falls in love early, gets married early and then at 26 she finds herself as a widow. She had given up her dreams and the best years of her life to Ashton and in return all she had was an abusive relationship. She had finally had the courage to walk out on Ashton with him threatening her to kill himself. What she hadn’t expected was Ashton to follow through. And now she feels the burden of it all – the lost years, the abuse and the suicide. Finally she decides that it was time for her to try and move on, and so she moves to New York to follow her dream of finishing art school from there. She is determined and focused about what she wants and doesn’t want in her new life till she meets Collin Bennet!
Emmie is a character that is both annoying and admirable. She shows great strength by walking out of an abusive relationship on her own. It is a very difficult thing to do and she did it with her head held high. But then the rest of the story takes over and she starts to be annoying. I understand that it is impossible to walk out of such a situation without some emotional scars and initially I did feel for her. But then with time when she continues to refuse to believe in the people around her who try to help and convince her that Ashton’s death wasn’t her fault she starts to irritate me. After a point it even feels like Emmie actually enjoys pitying herself and wallowing nature. Colin on the other hand is what every girl dreams of… Handsome, caring, patient and not a nonsensical bone in his body. I loved how he was always direct about everything. The characters compliment the plot which pretty simple and straightforward. The author’s style of narration is pretty easy to like.
Overall, it was an entertaining read!
Emmie is a character that is both annoying and admirable. She shows great strength by walking out of an abusive relationship on her own. It is a very difficult thing to do and she did it with her head held high. But then the rest of the story takes over and she starts to be annoying. I understand that it is impossible to walk out of such a situation without some emotional scars and initially I did feel for her. But then with time when she continues to refuse to believe in the people around her who try to help and convince her that Ashton’s death wasn’t her fault she starts to irritate me. After a point it even feels like Emmie actually enjoys pitying herself and wallowing nature. Colin on the other hand is what every girl dreams of… Handsome, caring, patient and not a nonsensical bone in his body. I loved how he was always direct about everything. The characters compliment the plot which pretty simple and straightforward. The author’s style of narration is pretty easy to like.
Overall, it was an entertaining read!