Review: The Wreckage of Us, Brittainy C. Cherry

Never in a million years did I think it would be Ian Parker who saved me...

I know I should stay away from Ian Parker. But when my drug-dealing stepdad kicks me out, I have nowhere to go. Squatting in an abandoned shed on Ian’s grandpa’s farm seems like as good a plan as any. Ian finds me there, of course, and he insists on me moving into his spare room. I should say no, but the appeal of a roof and a warm bed is too much. Not to mention Ian’s brown eyes and strong arms. We’re nothing alike, but the spark between us is undeniable. My life is finally looking up.

Until I call the cops on my stepdad and unintentionally get my pregnant mom arrested. Now I have to sacrifice my dreams to take care of my mom’s baby. She’s the only family I have left. Meanwhile, Ian’s band is taking off; his dreams are coming true. Ian is my one chance at love. I just hope he doesn’t become the one chance that got away.

I just finished reading The Wreckage of Us by Brittainy C. Cherry and I must say I haven't wrapped my mind around it yet. And trust me this is odd, because I'm always so certain about what I feel when I read her books. Don't get me wrong though. I loved it! It's just that I feel like I've missed something I guess. 

I will try to put my feelings to paper and see if I can understand what happened between this book and myself. 

To begin with, the plot is amazing. It tells the story of an eighteen year old girl, Hazel Stone (I love this name btw), born and raised in Eres, Nebraska, that struggles to find a way to leave the miserable life her mother and stepfather has put her into. Her goal is to find a job to save up enough money so she can rescue her pregnant mother from the messy world she's been living since she got involved with the main drug dealer in town, Charlie Riley. One of the last things Hazel wants is to see her mom and the baby suffering in his abusive hands. Since they live in a really small town, finding a job isn't that easy so Hazel is determined to get a position to work at the centerpiece ranch of the town. To sum things up, she gets the job at Eres Ranch, even though everyone doubts she will handle the hard work, and that's when we are introduced to Ian Parker (I call him my cool Nebraska guy), the grumpy and sexy guy who is supposed to show her around the place. 

Like Hazel, Ian is a lonely person. He's passion is to create music for his band, The Wreckage, and again, like her, he's looking forward to finding his way out of that town. Besides his bandmates and grandparents, he has nobody left. His parents had chosen their addiction over him, and because of it Ian has built a wall that no one seems to be able to trespass. 

As time goes on Ian has to put away the hatred he feels toward Hazel, and accept the fact that she's the kind of person you can't stay away from. Her kindness and strength, her empathy and determination is everything he needs to have that very brick wall around his heart broken. 

Moving on a little, besides the lead couple, we are also introduced to very nice, intense and funny characters. That's one of the things I need to highlight here. Even with their tough background stories, the author managed to give them all a sparkle of joy too. My favorite character in this book is without a doubt Big Paw. He's the perfect example for what I just said. Hazel is a very good example too. 

Also, if there were an Oscars' category for best book title of the year, The Wreckage of Us would be a nominee for sure. 

Now that you could get a general glimpse of what I thought about this book, it's hard to explain why I still feel like there was something missing. As I said, the plot is amazing and the only thing that makes sense in this brain of mine that loves drama drama drama and more drama is that I was expecting a hundred percent drama regarding a few situations in the book like Charlie getting caught so easily at second time, for instance. 

Anyhow I will stop right here because I don't want to give too much away. Just go grab this book as soon as possible. I promise you'll love it. 

Just to end this in the best way possible, I couldn't forget to mention just in order to have it registered that I agree with you, My Cool Nebraska Guy. Home is not a place. It's so much more than that.