Title: Between Everything And Us
Author: Rebecca Paula
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Cover Design: Maggie Hall
Synopsis
Matisse Evans is determined to make her sophomore year of college successful after failing out of a prestigious art school and spending a horribly boring gap year at home. Despite her focus, time isn't on her side as she struggles to hold down three jobs so she can afford her first apartment while juggling course work. In the chaos of it all, Beau Grady moves in and shakes up her world. A college dropout and tattooed bad boy, the rumors about Beau mean one thing for Matisse—trouble. Paralyzed by the fear that she's missing out on life, Matisse discovers plans may unravel, but what rises in their wake can be worth the uncertainty.
After spending the summer couch surfing, Beau Grady moves into an empty room at his ex-girlfriend’s Portland bungalow, skipping his senior year of college to spend his days working at a Vietnamese food cart instead. Once a star hockey player and gifted student, he’s put his life on hold after receiving a life-altering diagnosis, complacent to live in the moment. Hiding behind false rumors and bad habits, Beau falls for Matisse, letting her believe the worst until their relationship blooms into something they both can’t ignore. Falling for her means having to face a future he’d rather forget, but loving her just might be worth it.
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Excerpt
She grabs my hands and pins them together. I don’t fight off her touch. I let Mati gather them and raise them above my head. “I think it’s so easy to fall into the world when you’re not ready,” she says seriously. Her free hand brushes over my brows, then sweeps down my nose. “It’s such a big place and we’re all very tiny in the scheme of things.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“It sucks being an outlier, Beau. I get it. But in spite of everything, we’re always going to feel a bit lost. It’s the part of growing up that no one ever tells you about.”
“You’re very wise today, Miss Mati.”
“I’m lots things, mister. I’m...” Her voice drops off and she nervously glances down at my chest. “I think I’m a little bit in love with you actually.”
At least I’m sitting. That doesn’t help the way my stomach drops though.
I snake my hands out of her grip and brace them around her face. There’s a reason why outliers exist on the outside—they can’t find their way in.
Mati is no outlier to me.
We kiss for what seems like hours. I don’t care if it’s for days. But we kiss until my mouth wipes away the nervousness in that confession of hers, while I still cowardly hide behind mine.
In the wild, in the sun, Mati and I are...well, we’re something I never thought I’d have or find. And that’s everything.
About The Author
Rebecca writes smart and gritty New Adult romances, as well as historical romances, featuring flawed characters struggling to find their place in the world. She's a lover of rainy days, an unabashed anglophile, and a devote Earl Gray tea drinker. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and their very spoiled cat, Bella. A wanderlust connoisseur, Rebecca can be caught daydreaming about her next travel adventure when not writing.
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Giveaway
3 Stars
This was an interesting take on a romance story.
The failing art student, Matisse, meets tattooed, womanizing, bad boy Beau. Mati is trying to get her bearings while managing various odd jobs and continuing to please her parents. After failing out of her previous school program, Mati now has a plan and she doesn't want to deviate.
“I came out here to get an art degree, to get a god internship. To straighten things out and be focused..."
Beau is her depressed roommate that is hiding a devastating secret and is using everything around him as his form of escapism rather than deal with the situation at hand. He prefers to party, drink and be a worthless bum, so to speak, rather than fight for what matters.
As the story progresses it became difficult to understand what the author was trying to portray. The writing is good and I like her usage of particular phrases and words inserted, however, the book dragged on and on, without any real impact on me as a reader and towards her characters. I felt that the author took tooo long to get to the actual story and there was a lot of running around and hiding between the characters. Poor communication was a major issue for me along with the lack of self confidence by both Mati and Beau. You would think after a few times (very few) they would attempt to get it right. They just kept dancing around and doubting each other. Clearly! something went wrong.
“Water seems so harmless until you’re about to drown—in that moment, it’s made of fire.
When the rapids slowed and I dragged myself to shore, I wasn’t laughing anymore. I laid back on the earthy bank, the pine needles pricking my body as I stared up at the sky. I waited for answers, but nothing happened. Nothing much except feeling overtaken by the infinite blue above, the truth that I was small, the fact that some things are too good to waste.
I fell for Mati the same way—wading in to learn her depths, to navigate her pull over me. I knew it was trouble. I knew once I was in, I was all in.”
I fell for Mati the same way—wading in to learn her depths, to navigate her pull over me. I knew it was trouble. I knew once I was in, I was all in.”
This was simply an O.K. read for me. The author has great potential, her writing style is easy and flowing, however, I believe that the book was too long and there were many things that could have been omitted to give some mystery and ummphh!! to the story.
*ARC provided by Love Between The Sheets on behalf of the author for an honest review* Thanks!
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