Laura’s Review of Torn by S. Nelson

Synopsis

Torn – to be disrupted by the pull of contrary forces; "torn between love and hate"

Eli Warner had his whole life mapped out. He planned on proposing to his girlfriend, earning his law degree, then living happily ever after with the woman of his dreams. But in the blink of an eye, his entire world crashed down around him when the love of his life abandoned him, leaving him with nothing but a note.

Kalista Ellington made the best decision she could at the tender age of nineteen. Afraid and alone for the first time, she left the one person who meant the world to her, believing his future was better off without her in it. Little did she know, fate was ready and willing to step back in and throw them together, no matter how much either one of them resisted.

When Kalista finally returns home after fourteen years, can Eli find it in his heart to forgive her, not only for her desertion, but for the secret she kept which will change both of their lives forever?

What I Loved

          I really liked the prologue because it sets a tone for how this story is going to go.  Eli is on top of the world, head over heels in love with his high school sweetheart ready to start his life with Kalista only to come home and find out she’s left him.  You really get the devastation that Eli is feeling at that moment, and you quickly understand from that event Eli’s life is going to change and he is going to come out of this a different person. 

          The plot zooms ahead a number of years, and see how much that one event in Eli’s life has changed him.  He’s become a sort of emotionless robot not capable of a long term relationship let alone any emotional attachments outside of his family.

           We meet Kalista when she comes back to the town she grew up in and is confronted with the memories of her past, especially her relationship with Eli.  You see that not only has her leaving changed Eli but it’s changed Kalista as well.  She realizes how much of a mistake she made, but as a 19-year-old girl she made what she felt was the best decision at the time.  You immediately feel the loss not only in Eli but in Kalista too and I couldn’t wait for them to reunite. When they finally lay eyes on each other its explosive to say the least.  Emotions bubble up between both of them and pours off the pages grabbing your attention.  It was great to watch these two not only put their lives back together but to build a new relationship as well.  

Not So Much

          I think the overall premise of this story was great, and I am a sucker for second chance romances but there was a lot lacking to me.  There were just massive details missing from the very beginning.  It’s sort of mentioned where this story is taking place but it’s never totally established.  I have no idea what Kalista’s or Eli’s house looks like at all.  I barely have solid descriptions of what Eli’s family looks like or what the main characters look like. 

          Where the foundation and details were lacking, there was way too much inner thoughts going on during conversations.  I felt like there would be a quote followed by an entire paragraph of inner thought followed by the next quote then two more paragraphs of blabbing.  When people are having conversations I get there needs to be explanation but there was way too much of it in between the talking. 

To Sum It All Up!

          I felt like overall the premise was really great, the emotions were there and you could feel how past decisions created such horrible heart break.  You easily see how much Kalista leaving effected Eli’s life and how he viewed love from then on.  On the other end you feel how devastated Kalista was by making a bad decision that she thought at the time was the right one.

 I just felt like the writing could’ve been a lot better.  The foundation was there to create an amazing story but the details were severely lacking and the subplots weren’t strung together or concluded the way they should’ve been.  A lot of the actions of the characters felt robotic and one dimensional at times.  I will saw that I did receive an ARC of this book so maybe many of these elements have changed in the final copy.  But for me, more background details and less inner thoughts would’ve added so much more to overall effect of this love story.