Lovin' los libros

Welcome to my stop on The Shape of My Heart blog tour hosted by InkSlingerPR!

Today I am excited to share my review, as well as a giveaway with you all!

 

 

Like any final book in a series, its such a bittersweet feeling to let characters we've come to know and love go. I do think Aguirre has done a wonderful job of bringing fans of the series closure in this final book, especially with the epilogue at the end. I do wish she would write Max's brother's story, though. We get a tiny glimpse in the end of how he's doing years later, but his story is one I would love Aguirre to tell. I enjoyed reading Courtney and Max's story, as I really do love a good friends to lovers story.

 

Being such close friends, Max and Courtney's back and forth banter is a lot of fun to witness and I really liked how well they played off of one another. Their snark helped keep the book light, as Max and Courtney have their own emotional baggage they are still carrying. We see Max's early on, as he must head back to his hometown upon his grandfather's passing. He has not spoken to his father, brother, or anyone in the family in years and he is apprehensive on how he will be received, especially with the way things were left so long ago. Max's father is a real piece of work and I felt for Max, as he is really vulnerable when it comes to his family. He feels the weight of blame that is placed on him by his father over his brother's accident and it just isn't right that he is made to feel that way. Thankfully, Courtney goes with him to face the demons of his past and she really serves as an anchor for Max.

 

Courtney hides behind her snarky exterior, making jokes about herself instead of letting her own self-image eat away at her. I admire her for being able to let derogatory comments slide right off her, so when Max calls her beautiful and makes her feel so full of worth, it really made him even more endearing in my eyes. Having endured tragedy at a young age, she had spiraled downward, thus causing her parents to be overprotective of her. I wasn't a huge fan of her parents, as I found them to be judgmental and uppity. Just because they are loaded with money, doesn't give them the right to treat people like trash and have no regard for others' feelings.

 

Max and Courtney's relationship starts changing as they road trip together back to Max's hometown. The book is narrated through Courtney's POV, so we don't get to see Max's inner thoughts, just hers. Watching her struggle with her feelings for him and how she shouldn't be feeling the way she does, really amped up the tension between them. He cares deeply for her though, and I'm really glad Aguirre didn't have the characters go overboard with their fear of ruining their friendship if they let themselves pursue a relationship.

 

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I like Aguirre's writing style and I'm glad we got to see how Nadia and Ty were doing. Aguirre does a great job of capturing that bittersweet moment in life where friends are going in different directions and that they won't always be there together. I also like that I felt this was a realistic read. The characters acted their age, and made mistakes. Life isn't perfect, it's messy and everyone has different reactions depending on the situation on hand. What may seem to be small and not worth getting worked up to some, is a big deal to others and I feel Aguirre really showed that here with both Max and Courtney.

 

I am holding out hope for Michael's book, as I really loved his character and would definitely like to see more of him!