1 November 2013

Book Review: The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

"Ella and Micha have been through tragedy, heartbreak, and love. When they are with each other, anything seems possible. But now they are thousands of miles apart . . .

Ella continues going to school and tries to deal with her past, desperate for Micha to be by her side, but she refuses to let her problems get in the way of his dreams.

Micha spends his days traveling the country with the band, but being away from Ella is harder than he thought. He wants her closer to him -- needs her with him. But he won't ask her to leave college, just to be with him.

The few moments they do spend together are fleeting, intense, and filled with passion. They know they want to be together, but is wanting something enough to get them to their forever?"

Rating: 4/5

You can buy The Forever of Ella and Micha as a paperback or an eBook now.

I first came across New Adult author Jessica Sorensen earlier this year when I read her book The Secret of Ella and Micha. It was one of the first novels I've read in the New Adult genre, and I'm pleased to say I really enjoyed it and it opened up my mind to wanting to read more. I found out shortly after finishing Jessica's last book that it was part of an Ella and Micha series, and so when her UK publishers sent me a copy of the second book in the series to review, I was pleased to carry on with these characters and find out what they would be up to next. As a note, there is also a third and fourth novel in the series, and I'm looking forward to those too!

Ella and Micha are very much in love, and feel that although they are only young, they have been through more than enough together to know that what they have is real, and is forever. However, now they've gone their separate ways to college, Ella is struggling to work their relationship out over the long distance, especially as Micha is so keen to make his band work out. He hates being away from Ella, and worries about her, knowing that her best friend Lila will be watching over her, but for him, it isn't enough. The distance starts to make things feel different, and Ella isn't sure what to do next. Can she go on loving Micha from afar, knowing its forever, or is it just not enough any more to make her want forever?

I really liked reading Ella and Micha's story in the first book. They are a pair of quite tragic teenagers, both having secrets in their pasts which haunt then and force them to be the people that they have become. When they got together, they almost found kindred spirits in each other, and this book explores their relationship further and how they rely upon each other to survive. Ella, I feel, is much more needy of Micha, whereas I feel Micha truly loves Ella. It's an interesting dynamic that the pair have and I feel that Sorensen captures it so well, the teen love and angst that the pair feel, and the conflicting emotions that come with living apart too. It's not easy and that's the way it is in the story for them - they have to settle for what they have rather than what they both want.

I don't want to talk too much about the story because part of the enjoyment of this book is reading the twists and turns along the way, and slotting them in with the pace of the story. I liked both Ella and Micha a lot - they're likeable in their own ways, and I found Ella's story in this book quite emotional and moving - there's a lot for her to deal with and some quite difficult issues are explored here, and I felt Soresen explored them well. Micha has his own issue to come up against, some that I really hadn't expected at all, but certainly make you question parental bonds and responsibilities - this book really was a rollercoaster of emotions and it really made me think as I was reading how I would react in their situations.

Yes, in some ways the book was predictable - for me, there just could not have been any other ending than the one I wanted to happen. But I liked reading the story as it meandered its way to the finish, and I did actually care about these characters too - I felt invested in their story. Not only that, but I really enjoyed reading about the pursuits of their friends Lila and Ethan too, who actually feature in the next book in the series, The Temptation of Lila and Ethan. Ella and Micha really weren't together a huge amount in the book, so we get to find out more about them as separate people - the two halves of the whole - and it's interesting to read about the different ways they cope without each other. This is truly the crux of the story, and Soresen's writing really brings it all to life as you're reading, I found the book very easy to read and to immerse myself in. If you read and loved the first book, you'll definitely want to read this one soon to find out what happens next in the lives of Ella and Micha, I really enjoyed this and look forward to more.

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