{BLOG TOUR} THE UNLOVED by JENNIFER SNYDER

 

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on The Unloved Blog Tour. The tour is being hosted by the awesome ladies at AToMR Tours. You can find the complete tour schedule here. My stop includes my review and a tour giveaway.

 

 

 

Genre: Mature Young Adult
Publisher: Jennifer Snyder
Publication Date: 7/30/12
Format: eARC
Pages:
Source: Received from author for tour.

Sometimes the love our heart needs to heal can be found in the familiar eyes of a childhood friend...

Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.

Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive.

(Mature Young Adult, contains violence, language, and sexual situations.)

A bittersweet story of the power of true love, The Unloved will leave you shaken, and hopeful.

The Unloved... it was quite a story. This heartbreaking, sweet book pulled me through the wringer, lifted me back up, sucker punched me, kicked me while I was down, then picked me back up, dusted me off, and hugged me. Sounds turbulent, yes? That's an understatement.

Rarely do you find a story as unflinchingly honest, and brutal, as The Unloved. Julie and Nick have been subjected to hard lives from a young age. Their friendship, based on comfort they could only draw from one another, reminded me a bit of Forrest and Jenny. I guess you could say they went together like peas and carrots.

It is a friendship that is cut short when Nick is sent away for his own protection. When he comes back to town, older and stronger, Nick's first order of business is to find his "Jules" and pick up where they left off. But Julie's life hasn't gotten better while Nick was away, and the stress has taken its toll on her. Julie isn't open to picking the friendship back up, she doesn't trust. Bit by bit, Nick works his way back into Julie's heart, but life has a way of getting in the way. Nick's family life is still far from ideal, and Julie still has to deal with her stripper mother's druggie lifestyle and the disgusting men she brings into her children's lives. Nick and Julie's road to happiness will not be easy, but love will always find a way.

From what I've said thus far, I'm sure you've picked up that The Unloved was not an easy read. The horrific moments Nick and Julie go through broke my heart. But...there were also moments that made me smile. Nick when he's getting through to Julie. Nick singing "Stupify", by the band Disturbed, to her (that moment earned Jennifer Snyder 10k bonus points!) Despite everything, The Unloved is ultimately a story in which love conquers all.


Favorite Quote:

  "I wanted to know her. I wanted to know who she was now, two years later. I wanted to know who she would be in the future. I wanted to always know her. Forever."   (eARC, 26%)

 
  "I felt my knees go weak from the intensity of his words and the heated gaze he held me immobilized with. Our lips met and I wasn't sure who had leaned in first, me or him, as my own lips surprised me with their needy aggression. Nick's lips slowed after a moment, forcing me to move mine beneath his at a far slower pace, and I ran my hands along the exposed muscles of his bare back."  (eARC, 54%)


You can purchase The Unloved at:
Amazon  |  Amazon (Paperback)  |  Smashwords

 

GIVEAWAYS

 

There are two tour giveaways, courtesy of author Jennifer Snyder.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is an instant coffee lover with an obsession for spiral bound notebooks and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

Connect with Jennifer at her:
blog  |  Twitter  |  GoodReads