Review: Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

Publishing Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Genre: New Adult
Summary:  Nova Reed used to have derams-of-becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best as she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next... until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life- but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, and what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life... but then beautiful Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide; does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

Review Note: This is an approved ARC by NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review:

Review:

At first, I had thought I had never read any of Jessica Sorensen's novels, but then I remembered The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden.
From reading the blurb of this book and the first and second chapter in Nova and Quinton's perspectives, I thought it was just another one of those eye-rolling girl-meets-boy or boy-meets-girl-who-are-both-broken-by-their-deep-dark-traumatic-past -and-can't-seem-to-move-on-with-themselves kind of book.
And in a way, it's really like that, and again, it's not.

How do you move on in your life when the one you love decides to leave you?

Nova Reed can't seem to live. She's living, but then again, she can't seem to move forward, for last year, her best friend and boyfriend, Landon, took his life. No warning, no reason. The only words he had said was left in a video and on the wall. She feels she will never feel or be the same again. Certain things- too much to handle, things that hit close that reminds her of Landon, brings back fresh, hurtful memories of her time with him. She doesn't know why Landon left her.Being home in the summer from college brings back memories. The memories are all around her no matter how far they are buried. All she keeps wondering is why? And if there was anything she could have done to prevented it. 

Quinton Carter can't get over the guilt and self-loathing he has for killing his ex-girlfriend and his cousin in a car crash that he was responsible for. As a reminder, he tattooed their names on his arm. Sometimes he wished that he was dead instead of them. He feels as if he doesn't deserve anything; happiness, living, love- anything. He knows that he shouldn't deserve to live. He does only one thing to cope. To get by. To take his mind off of the things, to take away everything he was done. He gets high. Loses himself. And when he does this, things are a little bit more bearable to handle.

  Together Nova and Quinton find each other, trying to figure out who each other is, what their stories are, but all the while, from time to time, shutting each other out; not wanting one to get too close to each other and ask deep questions that hurts to much to remember. They build this relationship with each other, and it always turns out to be friendship. But friendship doesn't last forever, does it? The more they spend time with each other, the more they want to know about each other, want to be with each other. Quinton feels that he can't. He uses girls when in his high, numb state and when this happens around Nova, he sometimes pushes her away.  But somehow, he knows, he knows that there's something different about Nova. And he can't seem to stop... being around her. He doesn't want to feel anything when he's with or around her, he doesn't deserve to feel and do the things that he does, and yet, he can't seem to stop himself.

Nova and Quinton's relationship (first as friends, then... somehow grows a little bit more) isn't healthy. They are both broken and damaged, and instead of trying to help each other, they dive deeper in out of control with drugs and their guilt about their pasts and... eventually Nova realizes she doesn't want to do this: she doens't want to do drugs, like getting high. She wants to get better, she wants to do something better with herself. She.. wants to move on, to forgive and forget everything though she knows it'll take time. And that's exactly what she does... and leaving Quinton and his broken, damaged, numb self behind... only for a moment.

Breaking Nova ends with a cliffhanger. It's not a bad one, but it means there will be a sequel that I am interested in reading for when it comes out.

The only thing that made my heart wrench was in the end when Nova went back to see Quinton, but figures out what he hasn't changed- that's he is doing the same thing since she left. And she wants to try to make him better...



Conclusion:

I will say, in the beginning, I didn't like the book, that I took a few days from reading this book because I felt it wasn't anything new. Just two characters running and moping over their loss loved ones in death, can't move on, find each other and lose control. Drugs. Alcohol. I'm sure you get the idea. And in a way, I still think that's how Breaking Nova is, but somehow, I know there is something more hidden within that I'm just missing?
But overall, I am willing to read the second book for Breaking Nova when it releases. Would I recommend this book? Yes, especially if you're a fan of Jessica Sorensen's books, Breaking Nova is another great book to give a try.