Rachel Higginson

The Five Stages of Falling In Love is a frustrating novel.

I’ll have you know, I’m a sucker for books that make me cry. I love crying for/about characters in books. When It Rains, Me Before You, Clockwork Princess—these are some of the books that stood out among hundreds I’ve read because it hurt, because I cried.

Now, this Rachel Higginson book made me cry. A lot. And when I say a lot I mean every. Single. Freaking. Chapter. There was literally no chapter where I didn’t shed a show more single tear. But, you know what the difference was between this book and the others I’ve cried over before? Crying here made me sick. I grew tired of it. I wanted a break. I wanted to stop crying. Why didn’t I stop reading? Because I like to give this book a chance. And I kept looking for a chapter where I could breathe and stop my eyes from leaking. That’s just me, though. I’m too sensitive with the subject of death. So, maybe it is my fault, my own doing, why I got frustrated with this book but I like to think that maybe, the author could’ve stopped writing about Liz’s grief over her husband and focus on the things she tried to do to move on. Seriously, that woman cried every time about little things that happen because her husband’s not there for her anymore. It’s been almost a year, lady! Dealing with death is hard but people don’t cry for months and months and wallow in self-pity that they forgot stuff as common as buying milk and taking care of their children. I get that people have different ways of grieving, but Liz’s was just too much.

Anyway, so I was already frustrated because I can’t stop crying but if I take that out of consideration, the story was still not good enough. Why? It’s because of the characters. I didn’t really like Ben and outright hated Liz because they said and did some really contradictory things. First, Ben. He said one moment that he’s not asking a lot from Liz but a few pages later he said, “I know we’re asking a lot from each other.” Then, he also said he’s not gonna let her talk him into having sex but oh, surprise! surprise! They did it the following night! Aside from that, I didn’t get much feels from him.

But Liz. Oh my God, I wanted to tear my hair out from frustration because of her! She lost not just her husband but the love of her life, too and I get that, I do! She’s grieving, obviously so maybe I should cut her some slack but puhleeease! She’s just so back and forth with Ben. She tells him she’s not ready to move on from her husband but goes on a date with Ben. She tells him she doesn’t wanna have sex but she’s the one who instigated it. She goes and does it with Ben then gets so sick over guilt and regret a few minutes later. Then they do it again. Then she doesn’t talk to him. Shuts him out. Ends it. Feels miserable. Feels like she still can’t let go of her dead husband. It feels like an endless cycle of back and forth with her. I mean, just freaking make your mind up already! If you don’t want to dishonor your dead husband and you think being with Ben does that then freaking stop. Make it absolutely clear to him (Ben), not say one thing and do another.

So...yeah. This book kinda sucked and not at all what I was expecting because I read some great reviews and before that, I was really excited already. Now I learned that not all books that conjure so much emotion and tears from me have a great storyline. Just because this made me cry so much doesn’t mean I like it like I liked some books that did the same thing to me. show less

My most FAV book so far this year. Which is weird for me cos I don't do paranormal. (Unless its all things JR Ward, of course)

Read this without spoilers. Didn't know what I was getting myself into and I'm glad I did. Totally unexpected. Nothing like I've ever read before.

MY FAV EXCERPTS FROM MY NEW FAV BOOK:

RYDER:
“His gray eyes were heated in the low lights of the bathroom but full of excited adrenaline from being on stage. The ends of his hair were damp from being under the hot lights show more and curled around his neck and over his ears, slick with sweat. His shirt clung to his body, sticking to him from the performance. He was full of feral energy; his presence was completely intrusive and demanding. His energy was infecting the room, reaching every molecule and atom around me, making the air bounce off the walls in excited frenzy.
He was overwhelming.”

RYDER, ABOUT IVY, THE HEROINE'S TATTOO:
“My soul is free,” he whispered into the silence with the reverence the phrase was meant to hold. “My soul is free.” He repeated the words and my heart expanded at the incantation. The words I had chosen so carefully held the deepest meaning of my existence. I loved the way they sounded out loud, how they fell out of his lips and off his tongue with care.”

HE'S JUST HOLDING HER HAND:
“I felt every small connection of his skin to mine, the pads of his fingers, his joints that bent to curve around my hand, the heel of his hand as it pressed into mine. I closed my eyes against the sensation. The feeling was so profound, so all consuming that it intensified until my fingertips tingled and my toes curled. I closed my eyes and prayed this was all that Ryder was, just a rush of feeling, of sensation, that the only pull I felt to him was the rush.”

THEIR CONNECTION:
“All of a sudden the space between us was filled, brimming over with emotion and tension. There had been some of that before; the space between us had never been empty. But now it was completely full, atoms and particles and molecules and whatever else occupied the space between zinged around in a wild frenzy, charged with the growing something that enveloped everything separating us.”

HER LIFE:
“My stomach erupted in nerves. Not nerves like the butterflies Ryder gave me, unless these butterflies had strapped razor blades to their wings and were flying about with the sole intention of shredding me from the inside out until I bled to death.”

THEY SAY SHE'S NOT GOOD FOR HIM:
“Fun fact,” Ryder smirked at me. “Tanner blames that on your terrible influence. Turns out your poison to a good boy like me.”
“Huh, imagine that,” I sighed. “And what do you say to that.”
“I say it’s less like poison and more like kryptonite.” His steady gaze held mine and my heart thumped in my chest, responding to his words, even if I wouldn’t let any other part of me."

RYDER'S RAGE:
"He was a man possessed by rage and retribution.”
“Ryder’s whole body tensed when he realized Taylor was the one that hurt me. It was like he followed that bloodied fingertip up the length of his arm and to his face and put the entire night together in his head.
And then Ryder snapped.
He launched himself forward, onto Taylor and his fist connected with Taylor’s face like a branch breaking off a huge tree during a lightning storm. I heard the crunch of bones from even inside the car and then watched the splurt of blood soil Ryder’s face, hands and chest. My hand flew to my mouth and I gasped against the horror of the moment.”

THE TITLE:
“The way he played his guitar.... the way he drank his coffee.... the way he didn't bother with his hair, the way he laughed at me, the way his silver eyes cut to me from across a room and he could determine in once glance if I was alright or if I needed to be rescued, the way he protected me from everything, even myself.... but most of all the way he made me feel when we're together, when we're not together, hell the way he made me feel anything at all.... the butterflies and blushing.... the rush of it all. Damn it. I'd fallen for the rush.”


Firsts for me:
- Never have I welcomed a hero who is slow to love his heroine like Ryder is. What a relief.
- he has a gf and I was fine-ish with that.
- I was ok with the long wait for the bottom line (I'm sure readers of Paranormal got it waaay before I did.)
- never been exposed to this Siren phenomenon before.

I love the writing style. Truly a gift. I can't explain it so I'm gonna paste some beautifully written quotes here. I hear the YA voices but its not too simplistic or too heavy. Powerful yet young and fresh. A perfect balance.

I didn't want this book to end. I wanted to bask in the intense scenes she depicted. The emotions, the descriptions, the characters. How does she create a hero who says so much without actually verbalizing his feelings? Its entirely in the heroine's POV but I can feel his intensity and how he is drawn, unwillingly, to her, NOT because of who she is but because of a pull within himself and a bond between them that has NOTHING to do with what she is. Maybe it helped that I read a chapter in his POV on the author's blog. Either way, it kept me reading even when my body protested at its lack of sleep, even when I was nauseous with worry and hatred and disgust and wallowing in the bittersweetness.


1 star short of 5 cos:
- its too long
- its an installment read. I prefer closure and a follow up in the form of a series not a cliffhanger with installments to follow
- There isn't enough "together" time for the H and h. (Although I get this, cos its probably a YA Paranormal read before its a Romance)
- it needs some editing although it didn't distract from the impact of the story.
- and it bothered me very much that *****SPOILER******
The h didn't contact the hero's family when he got in a helluva lotta trouble for defending her. She has so many intense emotions and I needed her emotions to be concentrated on HIM and HIS wellbeing when she saw the enormity of the situation he found himself in, because he cares about her. show less

I never reviewed this the previous times I read this But here I go, in this book our Eden has got a bit more sense and has grown a bit more so you get a lot less whining from her, probably because of all her losses she is finally getting it how serious her whole situation is. It made me so happy how she stood up to Kiran, at some point love can only take you so far but at the cost of one's family it just doesn't make sense. I find that the more I reread this series the more I really dislike show more Kiran and wish she continues to stay with Jericho.
I was definitely more emotional in this book and at the same time still frustrated with how easily Eden is misguided but I get it, this is a lot for her and I am trying my hardest to empathize with her, she is really trying and she is only just a kid after all.
I enjoyed the character growth of Eden despite some of her annoying traits and I enjoyed Sebastian's growth as well. I want more of Jericho though, like a whole lot more show less

I love this series however I think this second installment irritated me the most.
Eden is beyond annoying throughout the bulk of this bulk, she is selfish and selectively naive, I say selectively because even at 16 how can you be so clueless. Mind you I have read this serious a few times I just never posted about it.
Eden is still learning about this world, her family, and her magic but she sometimes seems to just see one thing and one and that is Kiran, I don't know how I continued this show more series because to be honest these two pissed me off that I wanted to reach in the book and punch them both. Got to love an author that makes you feel those kind of emotions. Don't worry the series does get better, so don't be turned off by this. Eden and Kiran are so focused on each other it's like who cares about everyone else. The upside this is going to be her wake up call, I won't say anymore as to not spoil it for anyone but believe me it does get better.

I love Eden's friends and family, I do wish there was more character development but overall I enjoyed it all even the frustrating moments.

This second installment can be frustrating but the twists and the ending is one of the reasons I continue to read this series as well as have reread it several times.

if you like teen angst, magic, ruling villain king this is a book for you. Be warn the book was in need of a lot of editing but if you can get past some of the errors you will love this as much as I did. show less