Lovin' los libros

Near & Far (Lost and Found #2)
  by: Nicole Williams

Publication Date: July 30, 2013
 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by AToMR tours and the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 350 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars



My Review:

I am really glad I just recently read and reviewed Lost & Found! See my review here. This way all of the characters were still fresh in my mind and I wasn't struggling to recall the smaller details that I usually forget after reading a ton of other books! Lost & Found ends with Rowen planning on heading to community college in Seattle to study art while Jesse continues working on his family's ranch. In Near & Far their story continues (in dual POV!) with Jesse and Rowen learning to handle a long distance relationship. What I love most about these books is that Nicole doesn't create these unrealistic circumstances and situations for her characters. Long distance relationships take work and effort and Rowen and Jesse really start to see that. In fact, the first line of the book is this:

"Sometimes love was about compromise, and sometimes it was about sacrifice. Most times, it was a little of both. I'd learned that the trial-and-error way."

As I said in my Lost & Found review, Jesse and Rowen's relationship was not easy. They had to work at it and overcome some pretty heavy issues. They had to learn to trust one another and learn not to push the other away when things got tough. Now separated, the two must continue to trust in one another and not let others plant seeds of doubt in their minds. We have a couple of new characters that make an appearance in this book: Jolene, Josie's cousin, who is helping out Jesse's mom for the summer and Jax, a T.A for one of Rowen's art classes. It is clear Jolene has her sights set on Jesse and that Jax wants more than a friendship with Rowen. Garth is back in this book and let me just say: I cannot wait for his book!!! Garth was a straight up douche in Lost & Found: he and Jesse were on the outs due to an incident involving Jesse's ex girlfriend, and Garth really poisoned Rowen's thoughts, making her feel that she wasn't worthy of Jesse and that she would never fit in with his golden boy lifestyle. However, Garth did redeem himself by the end of the book and has come a long way since. Now, (while still an egotistical asshole) he and Jesse are working back towards a friendship and actually has some really great moments.

We don't get as much of the family dynamic that I loved so much in Lost & Found. Instead, we are caught up in the forces working against Rowen and Jesse and watching them believe and trust in one another to make it through. In Lost & Found, Rowen was the one who had to overcome some pretty heavy stuff. Here it's Jesse's turn. Jesse, as we learned before, did not a very good childhood prior to coming to live with the Walkers. We really see the extent of how bad his life was before and just how deeply it did still affect him. My poor heart was absolutely shattered for him. It's very difficult to sit by and watch someone become consumed by their demons and know the only person that can pull them out of it is them.

However, I think for relationships to truly last and survive, they have to be tested. Again, it's about compromise and sacrifice and sometimes the old saying "If you love someone, you have to let them go" really does ring true. Rowen and Jesse's relationship is tested greatly in this novel and being away from one another certainly doesn't help matters. Can their relationship survive jealousy, secrets, and haunting pasts? Guess you'd better read and find out!

About the Author:

I am the New York Times and USATODAY bestselling author of the LOST & FOUND series, the CRASH series, and a handful of others. Basically, I get to do what I love. Every single day. I write romance because I’m a sucker for a good love story, and I write happy endings because there are too few of them in real life.

• 2 Print copies of Near & Far - International
• $50 Gift Card from Amazon.com - International

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