Left Drowning

Left Drowning by Jessica Park

Age: Adult
Category: Romance; contemporary
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: I'd never really come across the term 'New Adult' before I read this book. It's a pretty new term, defined most notably by incredibly popular books like 'Beautiful Disaster' by Jamie McGuire and 'Slammed' by Colleen Hoover. To me, it's a term to describe the books that fall between Young Adult and more adult fiction, and features a lot of heavy issues. 'Left Drowning' fits perfectly within the New Adult genre, and I truly loved my first foray into it. And when I say truly loved it, I mean 'Left Drowning' is my favourite NA book I've read to date.

My absolute favourite books are always about more than just the romance between the two characters - I want a proper plot to go along with the heart-melting romance! It has to have the perfect balance of both romance and plot-not-involving-romance, and this book has nailed it. Holy wow. From the dedication, I knew I was going to get way too emotionally invested in this novel. Let me share it with you:

“This book is for everyone who has survived. You are not broken. You can love and be loved, despite what may feel like the eternally brutal nature of the world. Even when you're drowning and so far under, there is always time to reach for someone who will teach you how to breathe again.”


Jessica Park, how do you create such words and emotion?! This dedication sets the tone for the entire novel. It is slow and intense, drawing you in until suddenly you can't breath from all the emotion pouring from the words. The twists in this were just insane, especially since I wasn't expecting such a powerful read when I started. Sure, from the blurb you know it's going to be sad-and-angsty, but this is sad-and-angsty on a whole new level. And not to mention, Jessica Park's storytelling skills are just amazing. I can't really build on what the summary has already told you without giving away too much, so hopefully my effusive words of love about this book will be enough!

All the characters were so vivid for me. The side characters are some of the most brilliantly characterised and complex I have ever read. I'm definitely referring most to the Shepherd siblings here - they are such lively, amazing characters that hide a horrible past, as you'll find out later in the story. Of course, the relationship between Chris and Blythe left nothing to be desired for. Not once did I get frustrated or annoyed by Blythe's actions, which is very rare for me when it comes to romance MCs! I really liked how she got into running, strangely, and how it became a recurring theme throughout the rest of the novel (maybe it's because I seriously can't wrap my mind around why some people love running so much, even though I love all other forms of exercise!). The physical side to the relationship was perfect and was well balanced with the emotional aspect. This is where NA differs most greatly from YA - there are explicit sex scenes, but it's nothing like erotica. I loved how Chris and Blythe's relationship wasn't formed on their intense attraction, like way too many romances out there. You can see that they truly love each other, rather than heavily lusting after the other.

Seriously, everything about this book was amazing! Even the ending was perfect, and I generally hate romance endings (they're usually sappy, overly-fluffy, contrived and boring). A fantastic book!