Monday 23 February 2015

Thoughtful by S C Stephens (New Adult, 8/10E, semi short 'n' sweet review)

A strange cover..
24th February 2015, Sphere, 560 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: strong language, adult romance, adult situations

Summary from Little, Brown
The only place Kellan has ever felt at home is on stage. Gripping his guitar in a darkened bar, he can forget his painful past. These days his life revolves around his music and his band mates, and that's the way he likes it. And then one woman changes everything . . .

Kiera is the kind of girl Kellan has no business wanting - she's smart, sweet, and dating his best friend. Certain he could never be worthy of her love, he hides his growing attraction . . . until Kiera's own tormented heart hints that his feelings might not be one-sided. Now, no matter the consequences, Kellan is sure of one thing: he won't let Kiera go without a fight.

Nayu's thoughts
I was intrigued by Thoughtful for broaching music which is an industry I don't know much about. I haven't yet read the prequel trilogy, although I have bought it because I prefer a female protagonist and want to learn about more about Kiera's tale. Although rather mature in language, and romantic content it was fascinating how many misunderstandings occurred and the lack of Kellan and Keira communicating. It was a bit too heavy to read in one hit, so I broke it up with other books and activities, but up until and even after I finished it provided a lot of food for thought. It is a long book, and occasionally dragged in places but mostly I didn't notice time passing between reads. 

Kellan's life is complex, and to some extent a mess. He feels he has to act a certain way to keep up how he thinks people look at him, but Kiera shows him he can act differently, and self-perception can be wrong. The problem is when obstacles disproved the positive changes Kellan made, he then threw them away and went back to previous behaviour, making it harder for Kiera to reach out to him. At the times I felt Kellan was being a dimwit he'd do or say something which would reverse my opinion. He has a small handful of true friends who do help him, but half the time Kellan refuses to either see or accept that help. Stubborn is an understatement in describing Kellan! 

I could see the way Kiera changed him for the better, but I did also want her to stay away as he was unstable and definitely not a good influence on her, although he gave her hope and helped her to change herself. There were some funny moments, but they weren't a constant amongst the angst and self-blame. I will read the other trilogy, but knowing how heavy it will be I need to wait for the turmoil of Thoughtful to lighten before tackling it. Thoughtful is probably not a book I'll reread, but I definitely recommend it to explore the darker side and complexity of human emotions.


Find out more on S C's website.

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