The Boy is Back (ARC) by Meg Cabot and 2016, the year from HELL!
Hello Everyone,
I know I have been absent for a few months now, since the beginning of my school semester. And while school has been keeping me busy, there have been other things that have happened in my life.
So before I go into my last review of 2016, I want to tell you guys something that has changed my life forever.
On Wednesday September 14th around 5:30 pm my entire world was turned upside down. My dad, at the age 46, suffered from a major heart attack. It happened at home, while my brother and him were working on a project together. The ambulance came, and the paramedic were able to resuscitate him; but unfortunately the damage had been done.
On Thursday September 22nd, 2016 at 6:25 pm my dad died from brain damage, caused by the lack of oxygen during the heart attack. My dad is my hero, and will always be. He was the most hard working person I have ever met, and he has always inspired me to go after my dreams.
To say things have been hard is an understatement. I find myself bursting into tears all the time at the smallest memories of my dad. I want to talk to him one last time, even if it is in my dreams. I miss him so unbelievably much. Losing a parent sucks. I know, not the best description, but really it sucks. I find myself fighting for air, it feels like a piece of my chest has been ripped out, and constantly have the most awful feeling in my stomach. It feels like someone has punched me. In the past, when I got this feeling, I was able to change whatever was bothering me, but now...there is no way to change these awful feelings.
However, life must go on, no matter how hard, and I know my dad would have wanted us all to continue working hard and fighting for what we want.
Back in early May, my boyfriend of three years proposed. He has been my biggest rock. He was by my side 24/7 during the week my dad was in the hospital. A god-awful experience that no one should EVER have to experience. He has continued to be there through every tear and is always there to hear any memory that pops into my head. My dad, my fiancé, and I had started planning our wedding. We were about to put the deposit down for our February 2018 wedding. We were going to do a giant family trip to Walt Disney World in Florida, spend an entire week together, and end it with the wedding ceremony in Epcot in the Japanese Tea Garden in the World Showcase. My dad was so excited! He was going to make an entire road trip for my mom and him out of it.
But now that will never happen.
Walking down the aisle without my dad, is impossible to imagine. However, after everything that had happened there was one thing that truly sunk in.
Life is short and can end in an instant.
So on Tuesday October 4th, 2016 my fiancé and I; with his parents, my mom, brother, family friend Mark, and my aunt and uncle who were here from Germany to help with everything; got married in an outside ceremony at the county. While it wasn't the wedding that neither him nor I ever imagined, it turned into an almost perfect moment.
On our way home that evening, after dinner, we drove past the beach, and over the Pacific Ocean coastline there was the most beautiful orange sunset I have ever seen. Tears came into my eyes, because in that moment I just knew that my dad was watching over us and was happy and proud of Vincent and me.
Since then, we have found ourselves settling into the married life fairly easily. He has been the only thing keeping me going through all of this. He encouraged me to keep going to classes, and he helped me get through this semester while still continuing the accomplishment of straight A's.
But anyway, I wanted to let you all know, because for one, I wanted all the readers to know I really appreciate all the support this past six years. December 12th, marked 6 years of the Romance Bookie!! SIX years!! And while life has gotten crazy, and The Romance Bookie has slowed a bit, I still appreciate all the support in the past, present, and future!
If you or anyone you know wants to help in anyway, my mom and brother can use all the help possible to help pay for the upcoming hospital bills coming our way. My dad unfortunately did not have any health insurance, and found out while he was in the hospital that just him staying in the ICU bed each night cost us $7,100 A NIGHT. That does not include any of the medicine, the ambulance drive, the heart surgery my dad had, or any of the other procedures that occurred during my dad's stay. A family friend set up a GoFundMe account to help us. https://www.gofundme.com/jensreupsch.
While I know this is probably one of the most depressing posts ever, I did not want to end this year like this. So I decided to end this post with a review from a book whose writer has continuously gotten me out of some hard times. She was there for me in high school when all of my "friends" abandoned me, she made my first couple of years of college a little less lonely, and she was always there to make me smile through her words.
SO here is my review of Meg Cabot's latest release, The Boy Is Back, which was sent to me back in August, but which I never got a chance to read until now.
So Meg, if you happen to be reading this, thank you again for your support, and I hope I can still receive your books in the future, but if not, you know I will be first in line to buy my copy.
From Goodreads:
My Thoughts:
So it's been quite some time since a new book in The Boy Series, 2004 to be exact. I read the first three books in the series quite some time ago, I want to say back in high school, but Becky and Reed did not disappoint!
When I first read this series, I remember being a little skeptical about whether or not I would like a book written in completely text messages, emails, and other forms of media. I ended up loving it. The stories flowed way better than I ever expected! All questions were answered, the story was explained in a unique manner, while still being thorough!
The Boy is Back, released 12 years after the last novel in the series, brings back a continuation of the series, that can also be a stand-alone, to bring back the flirtatious form of writing we all grew to love with the Boy Series!
Becky, Reed, Marshall, and the other lovable characters bring to life the sense of humor that I have grown to love in Meg's writing over the past 12 years.
Overall Rating:
It's Meg Cabot...enough said! Of course I would recommend anything by Meg Cabot in a heart beat!
I know I have been absent for a few months now, since the beginning of my school semester. And while school has been keeping me busy, there have been other things that have happened in my life.
So before I go into my last review of 2016, I want to tell you guys something that has changed my life forever.
On Wednesday September 14th around 5:30 pm my entire world was turned upside down. My dad, at the age 46, suffered from a major heart attack. It happened at home, while my brother and him were working on a project together. The ambulance came, and the paramedic were able to resuscitate him; but unfortunately the damage had been done.
On Thursday September 22nd, 2016 at 6:25 pm my dad died from brain damage, caused by the lack of oxygen during the heart attack. My dad is my hero, and will always be. He was the most hard working person I have ever met, and he has always inspired me to go after my dreams.
To say things have been hard is an understatement. I find myself bursting into tears all the time at the smallest memories of my dad. I want to talk to him one last time, even if it is in my dreams. I miss him so unbelievably much. Losing a parent sucks. I know, not the best description, but really it sucks. I find myself fighting for air, it feels like a piece of my chest has been ripped out, and constantly have the most awful feeling in my stomach. It feels like someone has punched me. In the past, when I got this feeling, I was able to change whatever was bothering me, but now...there is no way to change these awful feelings.
However, life must go on, no matter how hard, and I know my dad would have wanted us all to continue working hard and fighting for what we want.
Back in early May, my boyfriend of three years proposed. He has been my biggest rock. He was by my side 24/7 during the week my dad was in the hospital. A god-awful experience that no one should EVER have to experience. He has continued to be there through every tear and is always there to hear any memory that pops into my head. My dad, my fiancé, and I had started planning our wedding. We were about to put the deposit down for our February 2018 wedding. We were going to do a giant family trip to Walt Disney World in Florida, spend an entire week together, and end it with the wedding ceremony in Epcot in the Japanese Tea Garden in the World Showcase. My dad was so excited! He was going to make an entire road trip for my mom and him out of it.
But now that will never happen.
Walking down the aisle without my dad, is impossible to imagine. However, after everything that had happened there was one thing that truly sunk in.
Life is short and can end in an instant.
So on Tuesday October 4th, 2016 my fiancé and I; with his parents, my mom, brother, family friend Mark, and my aunt and uncle who were here from Germany to help with everything; got married in an outside ceremony at the county. While it wasn't the wedding that neither him nor I ever imagined, it turned into an almost perfect moment.
On our way home that evening, after dinner, we drove past the beach, and over the Pacific Ocean coastline there was the most beautiful orange sunset I have ever seen. Tears came into my eyes, because in that moment I just knew that my dad was watching over us and was happy and proud of Vincent and me.
Since then, we have found ourselves settling into the married life fairly easily. He has been the only thing keeping me going through all of this. He encouraged me to keep going to classes, and he helped me get through this semester while still continuing the accomplishment of straight A's.
But anyway, I wanted to let you all know, because for one, I wanted all the readers to know I really appreciate all the support this past six years. December 12th, marked 6 years of the Romance Bookie!! SIX years!! And while life has gotten crazy, and The Romance Bookie has slowed a bit, I still appreciate all the support in the past, present, and future!
If you or anyone you know wants to help in anyway, my mom and brother can use all the help possible to help pay for the upcoming hospital bills coming our way. My dad unfortunately did not have any health insurance, and found out while he was in the hospital that just him staying in the ICU bed each night cost us $7,100 A NIGHT. That does not include any of the medicine, the ambulance drive, the heart surgery my dad had, or any of the other procedures that occurred during my dad's stay. A family friend set up a GoFundMe account to help us. https://www.gofundme.com/jensreupsch.
While I know this is probably one of the most depressing posts ever, I did not want to end this year like this. So I decided to end this post with a review from a book whose writer has continuously gotten me out of some hard times. She was there for me in high school when all of my "friends" abandoned me, she made my first couple of years of college a little less lonely, and she was always there to make me smile through her words.
SO here is my review of Meg Cabot's latest release, The Boy Is Back, which was sent to me back in August, but which I never got a chance to read until now.
So Meg, if you happen to be reading this, thank you again for your support, and I hope I can still receive your books in the future, but if not, you know I will be first in line to buy my copy.
From Goodreads:
From New Yorks Times bestselling author Meg Cabot comes the sweetly humorous story of a man who has to face his past in order to find his future.
Sometimes to move forwards, you have to go back...
Sometimes to move forward, you have to go back...
One post. That's all it took to destroy the care free, glamorous life of pro golfer Reed Stewart. One tiny post on the Internet.
Then again, it's not like Reed's been winning any tournaments lately, and his uncle isn't the only one who says it's because of the unfinished business he left behind back home in Bloomville, Indiana -- namely Reed's father, the Honorable Judge Richard P. Stewart, and the only girl Reed ever loved, Becky Flowers.
But Reed hasn't spoken to either his father or Becky in over a decade.
Until that post on the Internet. Suddenly, Reed's family has become a national laughingstock, his publicist won't stop calling, his siblings are begging for help, and Reed realizes he has no other choice: He's got to go home to face his past...the Judge and the girl he left behind.
Becky's worked hard to build her successful senior relocation business, but she's worked even harder to forget Reed Stewart ever existed -- which hasn't been easy, considering he's their hometown's golden boy, and all anyone ever talks about. It was fine while they were thousands of miles apart, but now he's back in Bloomville. She has absolutely no intention of seeing him -- until his family hires her to help save his parents.
Now Reed and Becky's can't avoid one another...or the memories of that one fateful night.
Can the quirky residents of Bloomville bring these two young people back together, or will Reed and Becky continue to allow their pasts to deny them the future they deserve?
This warm, thought-provoking book, told entirely in texts, emails, and journal entries, is as much about the enduring bond of families as it is about second chances at love, and will delight as much as it entertains.
My Thoughts:
So it's been quite some time since a new book in The Boy Series, 2004 to be exact. I read the first three books in the series quite some time ago, I want to say back in high school, but Becky and Reed did not disappoint!
When I first read this series, I remember being a little skeptical about whether or not I would like a book written in completely text messages, emails, and other forms of media. I ended up loving it. The stories flowed way better than I ever expected! All questions were answered, the story was explained in a unique manner, while still being thorough!
The Boy is Back, released 12 years after the last novel in the series, brings back a continuation of the series, that can also be a stand-alone, to bring back the flirtatious form of writing we all grew to love with the Boy Series!
Becky, Reed, Marshall, and the other lovable characters bring to life the sense of humor that I have grown to love in Meg's writing over the past 12 years.
Overall Rating:
I hope everyone has a Happy New Year, and I hope to be back in 2017!
Love from,
The Romance Bookie 💜
This has definitely been a hard year for you <3 congrats again on your marriage, though :) and I love Meg Cabot books as well so I'll have to check that one out.
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