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Saving Beck by Courtney Cole – Review by Colleen Noyes

Saving BeckSaving Beck by Courtney Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Several years ago, I saw a cover of this book on Amazon and it wowed me so I bought the book without reading any of the reviews or the synopsis. The first couple of pages dropped my jaw and I went “WTF am I reading?” because I find it impossible to not finish a book I start, I continued reading and to this day it is in my top 5 best books ever. The entire series blew me away and I fell in love with that author, Courtney Cole.

Fast forward a little over 4 years later and I see she has written a new book called Saving Beck. If you have ever been touched by addiction especially as the loved one of an addict then this book will touch you in so many ways. The author takes a very serious epidemic and weaves it into a heart wrenching story on so many levels. This book will showcase how even when you think it can’t happen to your family, you can never predict. It shows that no matter who you are it can happen to you.

This book had me in tears from beginning to end because I could feel the hurt, the questions, the frustration, the pain, the self-questioning and most importantly the realization that no matter how much you love someone, no matter how much you love the addict, no matter how much you give, sacrifice, and try to mend them, only they can mend themselves. Only they can make the end choice to move forward. It reminds you, that it’s not your battle, that you can’t love them out of the addiction, you can’t anger them out of the addiction, you can’t guilt or beat them out of the addiction, and that sometimes all you can do is sit back, love, hope, and most of all pray that it all works out, knowing that not everyone can be saved.
Courtney Cole, writes this story with such truth and gusto. Her words grab you by the heart and squeeze. She brings you to tears and to your knees, and makes you “hear” all the things you don’t want to hear as the loved one.

Some of my favorite quotes were :

“ Doing drugs is easy. Doing life is hard. And sometimes, we have to hide from it in the best ways we can”

“ People like to carry their burdens with them, she said. We feel like if we punish ourselves long enough for everything that has gone wrong in life, we’ll somehow make it right again by our own misery.”

“They have him on medication to help the withdrawal, but it’s still a struggle for him. Beck is the one who has to do the heavy lifting. He’s the one who lives with the constant need to use. All I can do is be there for him.”

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Addiction (Distraction #2) by Angela McPherson – Review by Jana Teppih

Addiction (Distraction #2)Addiction by Angela McPherson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Addiction is the second book in Angela Mcpherson’s Distraction trilogy and she absolutely blew my mind with the second book! I took no breather between the books and it all felt like one long dream (at times a nightmare that you cannot wake up from). Do not read this book as a standalone! You will miss out on so much!
Thank you so much Angela for tackling this horrific and heartbreaking topic, I forgive you for taking it to the direction you did as that is what the real life is about! I was crying so hard; I simply could not stop. I have felt what Elle’s sister Heather felt … It broke my heart but I understand …
The more I read, the more I fell in love with Tristan, he was amazing and I know, we all wish for a boyfriend like him (even if we do not acknowledge it out loud). Also, this book added so many more layers to Elle and got us deeper into some of her behavior and reasoning.
It is crazy what twists the writer threw us into, there were so many secrets and as we all know, secrets have a bad habit of surfacing and biting us in our butt … Angela’s storytelling is brilliant and I knew that I had to go straight to book three when I finished book two as I knew that she would bring the story together, she would not leave us with so much pain, there has to be more!

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Addiction by Angela McPherson – Review by Jenni Bishop

Addiction (Distraction #2)Addiction by Angela McPherson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Heather, Elle’s sister is in Rehab for a drug addiction but Elle doesn’t know, she hasn’t seen or heard from her for months. Months and months of worry over where she is or if she is even alive. Their father has told Heather that he will take her home for christmas but pulls out at the last minute. He pays Heather’s airfare and after much debating manages to catch the flight. Elle and Tristan are finally together, so in love and going strong and they have just arrived home
to celebrate Christmas with family. Heather finally contacts Elle and tells her she will be home for Christmas. After enjoying Christmas day they receive a call that will change their lives forever. Elle is not able to deal with the terrible tragedy pushes Tristan away, the one person who loves her more than anything and vowed to be there if she fell. Tristan tells her he will wait but for how
long? Will Elle be able to forgive and find what she needs to continue a relationship with Tristan? I understand what Elle is going through but I just wanted to smack some sense into her. Having said that I really like this story and the characters Elle and Tristan. Angela has a way of writing that draws you in.

Reviewed by @jennadb

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