Review: Red At Night by Katie McGarry

Book Title: Red At Night

Author: Katie McGarry

Release Date: April 1st, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Special Releases

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone (e-novella)

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In Red at Night, Stella and Jonah are total opposites. She's the girl with purple hair from the wrong part of town. He's a high school senior who hangs with the cool crowd. Until a car accident leaves him haunted by guilt, and Jonah starts spending time at Stella's favorite refuge…the local cemetery.

Stella knows she should keep her distance—after all, she spent her girlhood being bullied by Jonah's friends. Once he's sorted out his tangled emotions, Jonah won't have time for her anymore. Too bad she's already fallen for him.

Disclaimer: This book was a freebie from Amazon.

Review:

So I'll read anything this woman writes. Oh my goodness, I never would have thought that so much emotion could be in a e-novella that was only 87 pages. Clearly I underestimated McGarry's talents in condensing the story but not allowing the emotion to suffer. This book wrecked me nearly on the same level as Pushing The Limits did.

My heart ached so badly for Stella. She didn't think there was any hope for her in life. She was resigned to her fate to work a full time job with no college since she couldn't afford it and she didn't have the type of family support she deserved. She had long ago learned that hoping doesn't change the facts and that it was useless to hope for more. She had learned to be realistic and that dreams were just that, dreams.

"If I don't hope for more, then it can't hurt as bad." -Stella

See, what did I tell you? Feels aplenty.

Then we had Jonah, who had the family Stella deserved but he couldn't get past watching a complete stranger die on the road one night. He hated all the press that came with it. He hated being called a hero, because he wasn't. He was just there at the right time and did what any decent person would do.

"His last words to me and on this earth were that he lived his life wrong."-Jonah

I think everyone has that fear. That fear, that you'll get to the end of your life and you'll realize that you made some mistakes and maybe even lived your life wrong. Dying with regrets has got to be one of the worst feelings in the world because you can't change it.

I loved Jonah and Stella's relationship. I loved that he was willing to tell off his best friend, Cooper for making fun of her. I loved that he sided with her and was willing to defend her no matter what. The chemistry leapt off the page and it made me smile a lot.

"I know who I want to be and I want you by my side as I become that person."

That quote is one of the most beautiful quotes I've ever read in a book. Oh my goodness, just reading it again, gets me all choked up. To have someone feel that way about you, has got to be one of the best feelings in the world.

This book packed an emotional punch from the very beginning and did not let go. I absolutely ADORED this book, and like I said before, I'll read anything this woman writes. She's that fabulous and her books are amazing, full of emotion and always, ALWAYS have amazing, and well written characters. 5 stars to this book that made me think of life, love and the choices we make in this world.