Exhausting. Ugh. I get it, they totally deserve to be a hot mess, but woah. I love that they find each other and I'm completely sure Luke will do the right thing, but that angst I have over the cliffhanger might prevent me from finding out! Grrrrr....

Talk about a cliffhanger. :/

I'm having a hard time with this one. I really like Jessica Sorensen and really liked [b:The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden|16113791|The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #1)|Jessica Sorensen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353550763s/16113791.jpg|21930423]. However, I'm having issues with the fact that everyone in the Coincidence series seems to be seriously fucked up - like serious shit happened to these kids while they were growing up. Everyone has their issues and problems - life wouldn't be life without it. But I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that horrible, completely awful, terrible things happened to everyone in this series. Kayden dealing with abuse. Callie dealing with sexual assault.

Spoiler

Now we come upon Luke who has a drug addict mom and dead sister, and Violet whose parents were murdered.

What are the chances that all of these horrible things would happen to everyone in the same group of friends? Does anyone in this series have a happy childhood?

Then you throw in the fact that

Spoiler

Luke's mom had a hand in the murder of Violet's parents

. It's like, seriously?

I will caveat this by saying that I did grow up in middle class America. But it sounds like these guys grew up in the same type of environment. I do have friends that had messed up childhoods but I also have friends that had a great childhood. And I'm just not buying it.

On top of all this, the book ends on a cliffhanger. Really? To say I'm sick of authors splitting New Adult novels into two books is a massive understatement. What happened to the days when you could read one romance story in one book? It's really frustrating to me - especially when you don't realize this is book 1 of 2 when you buy the book to begin with. I saw no mention anywhere that this was the first book. It wasn't until after the book came out that we found out this was the first book in Violet and Luke's story. Sigh

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, there were a few things I liked about this despite my complaints above. I love the way Sorensen writes. I was kept engaged the entire time and wanted to know what happened next. She did a great job with the dual POV.

I also loved that it wasn't instalove between Violet and Luke. Yes, their relationship is intense, but they were not proclaiming their undying love for each other within days of hanging out. Points to Sorensen for that.

Along with this, I also enjoyed Violet and Luke. Sure, they were slightly depressing and a little psychotic. But I also found them strong, likeable and unwilling to take anyone’s shit. I was rooting for them the entire time to rise above and finally find peace and happiness. While that didn’t happen in this first book, I’m looking forward to them finding their happy ending in book two. And yes, I probably will read book two even given my complaints above. At the end of the day, I am a big Jessica Sorensen fan and look forward to what book two holds in the continuation of Violet and Luke’s story.

I AM LOVING THIS SERIES SO MUCH SRSLY. This one was really predictable though, but based purely on my enjoyment reading this book and the feelings it evoked!

2.5 I need some happyness in my life stars

I'm so damn pissed with this book and the whole "Coincidence" series!!!! I swear I would like to throttle Jessica Sorensen while asking WHY? WHY? WHY?

Her books should come with a warning label: "If you're not deliriously happy, then don't read it. If you're feeling blue, stop reading immediately. If you get too pulled in, close it and take a break. Possibly a break that involves unicors, rainbows and pancakes" Because, damn, these books are heavy and sad. I don't even think sad covers it anymore. They are tragic and believe me, I love a little tragic in my books, but This. Is. Too. Much.

First of all, I have to say that maybe this is all my fault. I thought that the "Secret" series and the "Coincidence"'s one were kind of similar. We have characters coming from the same town. They go to college, they have issues, but let me tell you that there's a world of difference between the two series. The main one being the percentage of happy-sad moments.

Ella and Micha: 60% happy and funny, 40% sad and tragic. Mainly it's a cute, lovely romance. Sometimes the sad part of their past catches up and issues resurface.

Lila and Ethan: here the scales tip and we have 45% happy and 60% sad. Anyway it was only one book and a short story so we still got our HEA without having to wait too much for it.

Callie and Kayden In the first book I'd say it's 30% happy and 70% sad, but the second.... oh, my gosh. The second we were lucky the ending held some semblance of happyness in it or it would have been 100% tragedy. So the second, I'd say a mere 20% happyness.

And now, we have Violet and Luke I'm going with a scarce 10% of happyness, but I feel like I'm being way too generous.

The plot was nothing special or original. It was slow-paced and the characterization didn't keep my interest high. The final "surprise" was so banal and foreseeable that I'd spotted it before the song came into the picture. Also, Ella and Micha had the car-racing, Lila and Ethan had the hikes, Callie and Kayden... well, maybe they had pancakes at the end, but what to Luke and Violet have? An apartment? I don't think it qualifies as "their thing". At the end of the book, you could adfirm without breaking a sweat that they were practically strangers to one other.

It seems to me that miss Sorensen uses the same script with every character.

1: find a traumatic past.
2: find an inappropriate coping method and add some nasty concequences caused by said method.
3: find some sort of "thing" that makes the two MCs feel like they connect somehow and...

Boom. Here you have it. Then paste and copy.

I'm sorry for the bitterness. The thing is I was so glad when I first read the "Secret" that now I can't bring myself to like her books anymore since I've understood how they work, especially those in the "Coincidence." It's a scheme that repeats itself over and over and from page one you'll already know what's gonna come from it.

Want an example? Beware of the sex.

Spoiler

Callie and Kayden's first time ends with his kicking the living daylights out of Caleb, getting himself arrestend and then gutted by his father. And in their second book the night after they finally reconcile, Kayden decides to cut his veins again. And so it goes on. I shiver at the thought of what's gonna happen in the third book. And let's talk about Violet and Luke. They do it and then she finds out the awful, absolutely predictable truth about her parents' murder and she leaves him. And that's how the book ends. No sugarcoating, no trace of "maybe in the future" or traces of hope. No

. So, yeah, instead of waiting for these scenes trepidantely since they're supposed to be turning points in the Mcs relationships, I kind of fear them because I already know that everything will roll downhill from there on.

Personally, I couldn't connect with Violet nor Luke. Undoubtedly their pasts were scary and left deep scars inside them, but in the end they didn't make any progresses. If anything, they only receded and if left me angry with the book. I'm not gonna say I expected a wedding with kids and giggles and golden banners. But at least in Kayden and Callie's story we still knew they cared for each other at the end of book one. Regardless the physical situation, their relationship was fine. Here, I started not caring and hoping one of them would end up dead so the other could commit suicide and we would just get over it.
Violet could have been an interesting character, more indipendent and original than Callie or even Lila, but honestly, she started to get on my nerves when she kept pushing Luke away and still didn't know what to do with him. The central part of the book, like, the 1/3 of it, I can barely remember. Mostly because nothing happens but Luke and Violet bawling about their pasts and being confused by what they feel (and God forbid the word!) for each other.

Also, the romance. In the "Coincidence" series, guys are never sure if they want to commit to the girl, or even if they want to be with her at all because they like her. It got on my nerves, because for 70% of the book I had to read about them getting wasted, or smoking, or punching things and hurting (especially hurting) and I did it all gladly because I thought: "There's gonna be a romance here, somewhere." At the end, love's gonna conquer all and all that jazz. It's what kept me reading and forced me to go through all the depressing parts. This is NA, love stories are a must. Yet, I couldn't see any chemistry between Violet and Luke. They lust after each other, a little. Mainly he does. She sounds sort of confusing when she thinks about him. Also, she's not bothered at all by the fact that Luke is 24/7 drunk and thinks nothing of it. I get she's got her adrenaline-addiction thing too, but saying that you feel safe in the arms of a guy who just admitted to causing a brawl in a strip club to throw some punches is a little bit of a stretch to me.
I don't know you, but I think I would care. Also, she's never really jealous of him and it looks to me like I didn't read a love story at all. Eventually, she refers to him as the best thing ever happened to me but when I was reading about them I couldn't feel the connections. The card game was cool, kind of. Nothing too original or unseen, but still, I liked it.

Violet and Luke were always so secretive with each other. At least, Callie and Kayden kind of opened with one other in the end and made an effort. Instead, Luke and Violet kept lying to each other. Every time they were forced to share bits and pieces of their pasts, in their mind it was always: "I keep the details to a minimum" or "I seriously don't want to talk about it." "It's not gonna help". "I wish he/she would stop asking." Or even, there flat-out: "I lie". And going on like this, it's obvious that their relationship never really evolved. They just kiss, fool around, and then do the nasty. Wow, really profound. There's no talking about feelings or stuff.

What I liked in the "Secret" was that in every couple there was someone who chased the other, namely Micha and Lila. It made the whole romance a lot more realistic and provided good dialogues and connections between the characters, a little: "Please be with me" and the consequent "I can't" and then one would try to convince the other that if could work. And it meant sacrifices and compromises. Here it's all a big: "We shouldn't" and the other: "I think you're right." In the "Coincidence" is a continuous tug-of-war.

1: Both MC seems to not want to be into each other.
2: They have this one or two moments together (the only happy ones), but still be wary.
3: Big section when nothing really happens but everyone broods and drinks and punches things.
4: They admit (to themselves only, of course) that they feel something and go for it.
5: They have sex and something tragic happens
The End.

Satisfying? Not even effin closely!

So, now I'm not saying I'm gonna quit cold turkey with Sorensen. Maybe I should try other series, but for now I think I've had my fill of depressing thoughts and creepy flashbacks with ill-treated kids and monstrous parents.

To end with a silver lining, I loved that we finally got to see and talk to Greyson. He was for Violet what Seth was for Callie, without the friendship thing, but still their interactions felt good, especially after all the gloom of the previous chapters.

It was an enjoyable, sad (in a good way) read, very jessica sorensen!! (would've liked callie and Kayden to be in there more though) I love these characters!!

Luke and Violet could be going for the award of most horrible childhood.

Luke's mother makes him do unthinkable things a small child should never see let alone have to do to their own mother. Violet witnesses the most heinous act against her parents. This sets the tone for most unstable unthinakble childhood a child should endure.

Luke drowns his pain in Jack Daniels and meaningless sex Violet hides her secrets by letting people think she is a slut who deals drugs. By accident their paths cross and as they take sledgehammers to the walls built around their hearts what follows is hope and love for them for the first time in their shattered lives.

But just as they begin to emerge from the darkness of the their paths we are reminded why the author named her series Coincidence.

Seriously!!?? I NEED more!!! :(

Here's the review->Greyland Reviews 4 stars

Actual rating: 2,5 stars