Gems that kept me up all-night!

Enduring the Fire

Blurb:

Chuck Smith has everything he's ever wanted. He's the star QB in 10th grade, and has the entire school eating out of the palms of his hands, including the cheerleaders. He uses them like toys, playing with their hearts and them tossing them to the side when he's done. Yet, they still love him. Chuckie Smith is the complete opposite of Chuck, which no one can seem to grasp, since they're twins. Though he's the starting, varsity running back (in 10th grade), he doesn't boast about it. After all, he's only been interested in one girl since he was eight years old. He's honest in his opinions and is kind towards others. Then, their lives are changed forever. When Chuck falls at a football game, the doctors notice something off about him. Tests, tests, and more tests confirm the diagnosis, yet nobody wants to believe it. Their whole lives are turned upside down as Chuck battles to become what he used to be, to get back on top.

My two-cent:

Twins. High-school drama. Life's painful joke. Family.

That pretty much sums up what this book is about. I liked the plot, wonderfully written about how difficult it gets for the individual themselves plus their family and friends when life throws a curve-ball. It's a test of staying together to fight or break apart. Awesome characters with such a diverse personas that make this story rich. Although it is a sad story, it does have its own moments that brings out a big grin on your face. Now along with all these positive things, there are quite a lot of things that makes this book a bit hard to digest. It has many errors (spellings, grammatical and details) that effect the reading at times. It also has a POVs from different characters which is great but then it got all tangled up and confused me. Quite a few names and settings were changed, which made me go back and forth to keep track of what was happening in the story. I would strongly advise a consideration for editing and revise. I loved the work and could definitely see the hard work that was put in to bring this piece. Although I have to say that abrupt cliffhanger ending ... made me want to chuck my phone out the window.

Status: Completed

Sequel: Ashes

Blurb:

Chuck's been through hell and back  and is slowly making his recovery. After the successful surgery, he's slowly integrating himself back into a "normal life". He's slowly starting to become the pre-cancer boy that the entire school worshiped. Chuckie's stood by his brother the entire time, and he's ready to help Chuck and do whatever he can to get him back on top, while dealing with his own problems, of course. Such as Amber, the Queen Bitch, and his girlfriend. Neither one of the boys expect what's coming, and when it hits, it strikes with a vengeance. Now they must learn to live life a new way, and it takes a toll on the entire family.

My two-cent:

I thought this was sort of unnecessary as a sequel when the author could have just combined both the books into one (with Enduring with Fire, above mentioned). It felt like a story was being dragged. However, I cannot say I didn't enjoy it. The ending was pretty rational even though sad and I loved that about the author. I mean yes the story is all about imagination and miracles happen, but I am glad the author chose to put it more rationally. I found same problems as with the first book. Many errors! Grammatical and details. It made me cringe at times when the story line sort of drifted with the added characters and plot changes.

Status: Completed