Leo Scott is a student athlete under a lot of pressure. Most of that pressure comes from his over-bearing abusive father, and he's pretty much on his own in dealing with that. His mother is disabled and incapable of proctecting him, his brother moved away, and his girlfriend has her own problems to deal with (namely her father being in jail for murder!). After a particularly brutal beating lands Leo in the hospital, it pretty much blows things wide open and sends this family and everyone in their circle on a different path. A path to finding out about love, family, and the truth.

This book was about A LOT of issues... abuse, pregnancy, infidelity, murder, addiction, the military... it's a lot. I enjoyed the book and the murder mystery. I appreciated the way the author the author showed the human side to abusive people. At one point I actually felt bad for the abuser.
I wasn't wild about the girlfriend, Audrey, I'm not sure why. Maybe it was just the way they interacted with each other seemed forced or something. I truly enjoyed the ending and how everything was wrapped up, sometimes it's nice to have a clear ending!
PS- Love the COVER!!

http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com/ ( )

This is going to be a quickie review.

You want to feel ALL THE EMOTIONS????? Read this book. Seriously, go ahead, read it. This book tackles so many hard situations it's unreal. I couldn't imagine going through the obstacles these characters have to go through. One of the biggest issues throughout the book is abuse, followed closely with addiction. If you are queasy about tough subjects, this may not be the book for you. But I do hope you give it a try, you can see just how strong this characters are.

Parts of the book felt drug out, but when I got to the end I was glad the pacing was a little slow. It allowed more time for me to really get to know the characters, and what they are going through. I highly recommend this book if you are wanting something to test your comfort limits. There isn't anything sexually graphic, but some of the images of the abuse Leo goes through can be pretty intense. ( )

Giveaway of this on my blog :)
http://apocketfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/excerpt-and-giveaway-streamline-b...

Two reasons why I love this book:

1. The multiple points of view that it was written in.
2. The fact that this was Leo’s story through and through.

Now, with that said, let me tell you just why else it is that I love this book.

Leo. Plain and simple. He wrapped himself around my heart from the very beginning and never let go. Being from a Military family myself, I understood just about every aspect of this story, so I can relate… but this boy… He goes through so much that only his family knows about, yet puts on this amazing front so others will never know just how much pain is really behind those eyes of his. The amount of abuse he deals with from his father is on a whole new level of messed up. Trying to be the perfect son so he doesn’t have to deal with the wrath that is his father has got to be tiring!

Audrey. Here is a girl with problems of her own. Keeping up with her swim team, the very same team her boyfriend Leo is on, along with maintaining her relationship, school grades and trying to figure out just who committed this murder her father is currently in Military Prison for, is enough to wear anyone out! Having been dating Leo for two years, Audrey has had no clue just what goes on behind close does at his home.

These two were made for each other. Seriously. The two of them together embark on the journey of finding the real murderer and proving her fathers innocence so she can have her family back together. Can they handle it? Will Audrey be able to hold her family together when all is said and done? Will Leo be able to prove himself after all, or will everything come falling around him?

I felt that all issues dealt with in this story were handled and portrayed amazingly. Be it mental and physical abuse, alcohol addictions, pill addictions, or whatever else, it was expressed in an understanding way. Lane delivers an emotional story that has these characters jumping off the pages, grabbing your heart and leading you through page after page by those pretty little heart strings. Well played. ( )