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A review by trish_beautifulchaosreviews
Never Lasting by Julia Wolf
5.0
We have been getting to know all the characters from Blue is the Color for some time now in this most excellent series. We've seen all the members of the band find their happily ever afters and the only one left is their manager Tali. In Never Lasting we meet Tali as she enters the University of Maryland and meets Jude. And. It. Is. Magic. He is her first love. She is as he says, "...every song I ever wrote." This is a beautiful story of young love. The story of promises and hope birthed by that young love and how decisions and choices can break those promises and leave hopes shattered. We see that tragedy hits no matter the age and the fact that people don't always handle tragedy well. Tragedy often causes those hurt to act in unhealthy ways and there's a hellishly long road to get to the other side. This book deals with a lot of hard topics, and honestly, I cried many times through the book as I read about these young souls dealing with things they really shouldn't have to be dealing with. I watched in sadness as these characters I really care about head down dark dark tunnels and I have to wait to see them come out the other side. I also note, what we think is the road to our dream and our ultimate goal is often lined with temptations and ditches that often can end us. And those temptations and ditches can steer us to ultimate redemption. There is so much promise here for Tali and Jude I want to see them get through. I will have to wait for the second part of the duet to see that promise. Julia has truly stepped up her game here. I thought she knocked it out of the part with "Under the Bridge" and the emotional telling of Ian and Valentina's story. Uh no. I was, in a word, wrecked upon finishing this book, and it is going to be so worth waiting for the second part of the duet.
On a side note, I've always liked the Killers and White Stripes. My daughter and friends have entertained me many times screaming "Mr. Brightside." And one of the first songs she learned to play on the bass was the infamous riff from "7 Nation Army." Julia has nailed it with a playlist to go with the book https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48IpEKcVjfzItwo4A9QSRF?si=9OdvvchlS2yrZrTbg1rk4w
These songs only add feeling and atmosphere to the book. Give it a listen.
On a side note, I've always liked the Killers and White Stripes. My daughter and friends have entertained me many times screaming "Mr. Brightside." And one of the first songs she learned to play on the bass was the infamous riff from "7 Nation Army." Julia has nailed it with a playlist to go with the book https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48IpEKcVjfzItwo4A9QSRF?si=9OdvvchlS2yrZrTbg1rk4w
These songs only add feeling and atmosphere to the book. Give it a listen.