This book left me with a smile on my face. I absolutely loved it. From page one I was sucked into the drama of Jake and Tru and I couldn’t stop reading. I was obsessed. I was thinking about it while at work, wishing it was excruciatingly slow so that I could read.

Jake Wethers is a guy with issues. After dealing with the death of a close friend he goes off the rails and into rehab. He is screwed up and he makes for a great read. He’s a recovering addict, party boy, playboy but he loves Tru above all else and that shows.

I loved the relationship between Tru and Jake. They had been childhood best friends and lost touch after Jake’s family moved away. They reconnect in the beginning of the book and find out that both had had crushes on the other when they were teenagers. The connection was instant and the history between the two really shined through.

Music played a huge part in this book. Both Jake and Tru grew up on music at the hand of her father. Music was instrumental to them. It defined their lives. Since I also grew up that way, I could relate to that. There was a particular passage that brought tears to my eyes just for its meaning alone:

“If you, Jake Wethers, had to pick one song as your title song to describe yourself, what would it be – and it can’t be one of your own,” I quickly add.
“Hurt,” he answers without hesitation.
It makes me hurt inside he picked that song.
“Why?”
He lets out a light sigh. “Some people said Reznor was writing a lyrical suicide note, others said he was writing about finding a reason to live. I think it’s both…it just depends on which side you’re looking at it from.”
“And which side are you looking at it from?”
He stares at me from a long moment. My heart is hammering in my chest.
“Now? …a reason to live.”
My insides start to tremble.
“Reznor’s version or Johnny Cash’s?” I ask quietly, trying to conceal the pain from my voice.
“Johnny Cash.”
“Why?”
He closes his eyes briefly. And in this moment I just want to magic up all the power in the world to soothe his pains away.
“Because I have a few things in common with him,” he answers, opening his eyes.
“Like?”
“The drugs…the women…hanging out for the girl of my dreams.”
I take a sharp breath in. tears instantly prick the backs of my eyes.
He touches my face, his thumb smoothing over my lips. “You’re my June, Tru.”

That same passage comes back at the end of the book when Jake switches the song from Cash’s version to Reznor’s. It left me blinking back tears. Here are links to both versions so you get an idea of the differences:
Johnny Cash's "Hurt"
Trent Reznor's "Hurt"

Just listening to the differences in the songs is enough to make me tear up for Jake. The end was perfect for this couple and this book. Music was what reconnected them in the beginning of the book, so it was perfectly fitting that music would mend the rift between them. When nothing else would show Tru exactly what Jake was feeling, Reznor’s song got through to her.

Another song that Jake sings in the book is Wicked Game by Chris Isaak. A really great version that is perfect for Jake is by Three Days Grace.

This book has definitely earned a place on my “favorites” shelf and I will absolutely be re-reading it. And since the author recently announced that there will be a sequel, I'll be anxiously waiting for it.

Spoiler

And if you’re interested in band photos:

Spoiler

Jake:

Denny:

Tom:

Smith:

Stuart (technically not a member of the band but he's Jake's right hand man):

Jake and Tru: