Book Review: But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

Title: But I Love Him

Author: Amanda Grace (AKA Mandy Hubbard)

Published: 2011

Edition Read: Purchased Paperback

Overall: If there was a book that made me put it down, feel sad, toss and turn, then pick it up again it was this book.

Summary (Amazon) :

Sometimes at night, I wake up and stare at the heart for hours. I think of how I collected each piece from the beach, how I glued it all together into one big sculpture. I wonder if Connor realizes what it means, that he'll always have a piece of me no matter what happens. Each piece of glass is another piece of myself that I gave to him.

It's too bad I didn't keep any pieces for myself.

At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved - and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything - and everyone - in its path.

This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong.

The Longer Review: I didn't even want to finish this book. I put it down, stared at it, picked it up, and read. Put it down, stared at it, picked it up, and read. Repeat until the end of the book. I really didn't want to finish this book, because it was a very hard book to read. It starts off at the end of the relationship, one year later, and goes back to that one year mark occasionally. It's hard even writing a review about this book. In fact I've been thinking of how to review this book for a long time now. I didn't like the way Ann was being treated, but at the same time you realize that Connor isn't just an abuser. Connor is also the abused. He has grown up in a world where his mother is verbally, emotionally, and physically abused by his father. Connor swears he'll never be like his father, but you learn very quickly that this goal isn't met.

Mandy Hubbard (Amanda Grace) is a fantastic writer. I reviewed her first book, Prada and Prejudice, and really enjoyed that book. But I Love Him was in a category all it's own. It was hard hitting, and didn't make it easy on the reader. It definitely wasn't easy on me. I high recommend it.

Mandy Hubbard's next book Ripple is out, and I highly recommend reading it. I haven't picked it up yet, but I know I won't be disappointed.

Prada and Prejudice

Prada and Prejudice By Mandy Hubbard

(Amazon) (Author Page)

Callie finds herself on a class trip to London alone and feeling ostracized by her fellow classmates. One night Callie overhears classmates of hers, the popular girls, plan to sneak into a nightclub. Callie decides that she must be one of those girls, and decides that she needs real Prada heels to do so. After spending more then a small fortune on Prada heels and clothes Callie leaves the Prada store feeling empowered. Until she falls head over heels and cracks her head on the pavement.

Callie wakes up in 1815 London, lost, bewildered, and out of her element. She happens across a duke's house, becomes mistaken for a girl named Rebecca, and finds herself a fake guest in their house. Now Callie must not only try to find her way back, but not out herself as a girl from the 21st century.

This book is not a book that should be taken seriously. If I sat here and wrote all the time travel problems this book has I'd kill the book. If I thought about it too much I'd have nit-picked the book to death. This is both good and bad, and for me I enjoyed the book enough to let my nit-picks go. I believe that everyone will like or hate the book because of this though. So I will understand if people will pick out problems with this book and dislike it.

This book is more a long the lines of a fluffy teen read. If you liked books like The Princess Diaries or just in general a romance teen read you will like this book. When Callie starts off hating Alex, the Duke, you know what that hatred really means. While so much of this book predictable, and questionable it is still a good book. It is still a lot of fun to read, and that is why I was willing to over look some things.

I found that Callie was very relate-able. She was a real, normal teenaged girl who cares about what she looks like, and what other people think of her. She cares about other people and she finds her own voice when it comes to defending what she thinks is right. I found Mandy Hubbard's writing fun and light, and I can definitely see this book become a favorite for teenaged girls. I can't compare it to Pride and Prejudice, however, since I've never read it. Still you don't have to be a Jane Austin fan to enjoy this book.

If you like romance, and you like historical settings then this book is for you.