A review by girlreading
With This Heart by R.S. Grey

3.0

3.75* I think With This Heart is the definition of an emotional rollercoaster. I had high hopes as I'm a sucker for a road trip book but ended up starting this feeling extremely sceptical and admittedly pretty cynical. *Boy basically stalks girl into a funeral home, invites himself on her road trip, she agrees after talking to him once but he's cute so that's totally okay*. It would be hard for anyone not to feel slightly dubious when this all happens within the first few pages. It took a while for me to get over Abby and Beck's odd and pretty unrealistic meeting but once I did (and basically pushed it from my memory) I was totally hooked. There were so many elements to this story. Love, loss, friendship, family and heartbreak. Despite everything Abby had been through in her life, things that I haven't personally been through, at times, I found myself really able to relate to her. She was overwhelmed by the prospect of the future and wasn't entirely sure how to handle it, as a character she had a depth to her which I really enjoyed reading. (Her 'celebrity crush' was also Jim from The Office which I totally approve of.) Beck was gorgeous of course. I loved how he dealt with Abby's illness, he always tried to bring light to the situation but in a way that was sensitive and not over bearing or patronising. I warmed to him the moment I forgot how he met Abby (I still find that whole situation hard to believe and slightly creepy). :') Abby and Caroline's friendship was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, I adored it. This is definitely a book for older readers but despite my early scepticism I ended up really enjoying it.