Review: Losing Track by Trisha Wolfe
Losing Track (Living Heartwood #2)
by: Trisha Wolfe
Publication Date: Oct. 15, 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received via the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 252 pages
Order Links: Amazon 
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Sometimes you have to lose your way before finding the right track.
The roar of a bike engine. The vibration between her thighs. The feel of cool darkness kissing her skin as she coasts along twisty back roads at night—Melody Lachlan lives for these things. Ever since Mel and her best friend Darla escaped their small, backwoods town, they’ve traveled the countryside in search of fast rides, tatted bikers, and good times.
A self-proclaimed poet and lover of all things free, Mel views her life as one long bike ride—with pit stops along the way to numb the pain. But she never saw herself as a junkie. Party as hard as you ride. That’s her motto…until a tragic night steals her soul. Then she’s forced to delve below the surface, to where her demons rage.
When she meets recovered drug addict Boone Randall, she’s more likely to deck him than kiss his dimple-adorable face. She doesn’t want his help; doesn’t want to own up to her part in that night. She just wants to do her time and keep her promise to her friend. Yet Boone challenges Mel, and soon she doesn’t mind sharing the road. Only when Boone’s own secret demons threaten their newfound, fragile security, Mel’s course becomes rocky, and she must decide if letting her well-worn track marks fade is worth finding a new path.
Told from Dual point of view from Melody and Boone, this is a New Adult Contemporary Romance intended for readers seventeen years of age and older.
The roar of a bike engine. The vibration between her thighs. The feel of cool darkness kissing her skin as she coasts along twisty back roads at night—Melody Lachlan lives for these things. Ever since Mel and her best friend Darla escaped their small, backwoods town, they’ve traveled the countryside in search of fast rides, tatted bikers, and good times.
A self-proclaimed poet and lover of all things free, Mel views her life as one long bike ride—with pit stops along the way to numb the pain. But she never saw herself as a junkie. Party as hard as you ride. That’s her motto…until a tragic night steals her soul. Then she’s forced to delve below the surface, to where her demons rage.
When she meets recovered drug addict Boone Randall, she’s more likely to deck him than kiss his dimple-adorable face. She doesn’t want his help; doesn’t want to own up to her part in that night. She just wants to do her time and keep her promise to her friend. Yet Boone challenges Mel, and soon she doesn’t mind sharing the road. Only when Boone’s own secret demons threaten their newfound, fragile security, Mel’s course becomes rocky, and she must decide if letting her well-worn track marks fade is worth finding a new path.
Told from Dual point of view from Melody and Boone, this is a New Adult Contemporary Romance intended for readers seventeen years of age and older.
The book alternates between Melody and Boone's POVs. I love when Trish adds a male voice, because she's so darn good at capturing it! Let's face it- not all men wax poetic and are filled with flowery, beautiful words. Boone is a good guy, but he is definitely hardened by his experiences and is a bit rough around the edges.
Melody Lachlan is content living her life traveling the country with her best friend Darla and seeking her next high- whether it be through partying, alcohol, or drugs. After losing part of herself one tragic night, Mel's life spirals out of control and now she must face some very real consequences to her actions. She must complete a 20 day stint in rehab and report to a PO for 5 months. However, rehab isn't a magic cure. People lapse and fuck up. They have to want to change and work hard at it every day. It's not something that just magically goes away and I really like that Trisha impresses that upon us.
Mel is tough as nails and pulls her own weight with the guys. Having grown up hanging around a MC (motorcycle club), she is blunt and unapologetic for who she is. I love that about her. She's not some weak ass pretty girl. She's got quite the mouth on her and isn't your typical heroine.
Meeting 'Good Guy Boone', Melody is determined to keep him at a distance. She doesn't have time to make connections, nor does she see the point. When her time is through, that's it. She's gone. She meets Boone in the rehab facility she is forced to attend, as he goes every week to tell his own recovery story. However, there's so much more to him than meets the eye. Having once battled his own addiction, he has now turned his addiction to anger, using his fists as an outlet instead. He takes a liking to Mel and doesn't see her as this broken addict forced to attend rehab. Instead he sees a vibrant girl who he wants to be able to help, even though she refuses it. He wants to be a part of her life in any way she'll have him.
I liked Mel and Boone together. Both have to learn to accept their pasts and stop feeling guilty for what happened in order to move on. That is the first step to recovery, but it is also one of the hardest to take. Boone's guilt is self-inflicted and feels it is an atonement for the past. Melody lives with the what-ifs- what if she hadn't been doing what she was doing that night? What if she said no to the high? These are just awful feelings to be inundated with, as they lead to self-destructive behavior on both their parts. However, together the two can find the strength to change and be the strength the other needs to make it through.
I was ecstatic that we also get to check in with Sam and Holden from the first book in the series, The Darkest Part. Melody and Sam have kept in touch and they have formed a friendship that Melody really needs in her life. Sam is living proof that life does go on and isn't a bottomless pit of despair. There is hope amidst the darkness.
The epilogue in Losing Track was so fitting and hopeful. I think Trish handled this subject matter extremely well, giving us real, raw characters, but still provides them with the hope that they will be able to make a life and be happy. It won't be easy, but LIFE isn't easy. It takes work and I am glad that she shows us that through Melody and Boone's struggles.
2 comments
This is one I am dying to read-- both books in the series actually. I love it when a book hurts your heart in the best way possible. Great review Jessica!
ReplyDeleteThey are SO good Teresa! Trisha is such a beautiful writer!
DeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.