This RITA® Reader Challenge 2017 review was written by JahnaviS. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Mid-Length Contemporary category.
The summary:
It’s funny how a piece of paper can change your life-a diploma, a ticket . . . a plain, white envelope
For as long as I could remember, I was the girl with the plan. Good college, good medical school, good career. I would save lives instead of standing by helplessly, watching while they slipped away.
That was before my father called for the first time in fifteen years to tell me about the terminal illness stealing his life-an illness that might be stealing mine, too. It was before he gave me the name of a doctor and a plane ticket to Italy. Before I flew across an ocean. Before I realized how brilliantly bright life could be. Before I met Lucas.
He’s everything I’ve always wanted, and the timing couldn’t be worse. I can’t do this to him-he deserves so much better. My head tells me I can’t afford to fall in love with Lucas, but my heart won’t listen. Lucas is fearless about the future, while I’m not even sure I have one. There’s only one way to know what’s ahead and it’s waiting for me at home inside a plain, white envelope.
All I have to do, is open it . . .
Here is JahnaviS's review:
Having read numerous RITA guest reviews over the course of these past two years, I was delighted to be able to grab an opportunity to be one of them. Smart Bitches Trashy Books is my go-to blog to know which book is right up my alley and which won’t do at all. Since all the spots of books I had read last year and loved were taken, I decided to go for an unknown author. To be fair to the author I did not even check out its rating on Goodreads which is what I do next after reading SBTB reviews. The Turning Point by Marie Meyer was slow to start, making me dread reading the whole length of it from the beginning. Glad I persisted as it picked up after a while.
Lemme introduce you to the protagonist: Sophia Belmonte has just graduated from pre med and is starting school come summer’s end. She is a planner and her life plans gets derailed after her long gone father tells her the news that he has degenerative genetic disease. Her father also gifts her fully paid for trip to Italy for her to have fun while she can, if she indeed is fated for the same life as him.
During her trip to Naples, Sophia bumps into Lucas Walsh literally. As cliché as it was, it worked for them. I can believe them to be attracted to each other from the get go. Lucas is video game designer from California chasing away his past demon or one particular demon by scouring the sights in Italy. He tags along with Sophia on all the sights, rearranges his plan for own trip to follow hers. Chemistry between these two characters was good. Even though Lucas’s beautiful features and cobalt blue eyes does rendered Sophia mute on way more occasions than I am comfortable with in my fictional heroines. Lucas waits considerable amount of time before progressing full on intimacy to make sure Sophia knows he is not treating it like a summer vacation fling. Needles to say, the sex scenes are Hot!
My whole issue with the book is with the protagonist. She learns she might have a debilitating genetic disease and decides to not even get tested until the end of the book. Ignorance is bliss was her MO in this scenario, but she was going to medical school where they scream from top of the buildings early detection is the key.
Spoilers ahead ….. Avert your eyes… go back to homepage if you want to read this book.
Considering the subject matter of the book, it was borderline light in tone, which felt a little off. I liked Lucas. He was all in from day one of meeting Sophia even though there were geographical and Sophia-created obstacles in the way. He was determined to be with her and had the courage to go for it. Special mention of Sophia’s mom and Nonna who encouraged her to go for the trip. Nobody discusses about Sophia’s father after the initial chapters, and he is all forgotten by the end of it.
“You could have a chance at something normal, Lucas. Why me?”
“Normal’s boring. I want the ten million colors in full, gleaming high definition.”
Go into this book to knowing it will take a while for the build up and by the end you will have the feels. I really liked middle part of the book, especially the details mentioned in the book about the Naples, Sorrento, and various places these two visited. I wished I could jump into the book leaving my monotonous life behind to have a grand adventure in Italia – with of course Lucas *wink wink*.
For Lucas alone I am rating this book B- .
Happy reading everyone!
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Omg–I literally just finished Sarina Bowen’s COMING IN FROM THE COLD, which has the exact same storyline (including the same genetic disease) only this time the genders are reversed and it’s the hero who is afraid that he won’t have a future. I realize there are only so many tropes in romance fiction, but this seems a little too close for comfort! (For the record, I enjoyed Bowen’s book; I also read FALLING FROM THE SKY, the second book in the trilogy, which features a hero in a wheelchair and is even better than the first book.)