Review: AnguiSH by Lila Felix

AnguiSH by Lila Felix

(this book was given to me by the author for an honest review)

"Anguish was the status quo, until she walked in.

Breaker James Collins is confined in a prison of his own making. Scarred doesn’t begin to define his hell since finding out his girlfriend had cheated, stolen, and lied two years ago. It led to a single event—one that would blacken his days and his nights from then on. Since then, he hasn’t left his house, crippled by fear of people and any social interaction.
Ashland talks too much and has the voice of a meth-laden prairie dog, or so she’s always been told. She’s been called annoying and irritating all of her life and gave up on having friends for a long time. College has given her a new lease on a social life and she’s embraced who she is. But now she’s waiting for the one guy who can take her breath away and put up with her antics. 
A simple note pinned to a corkboard will lead Ash right to Breaker’s solitary world and she will learn that just because a guy doesn’t fit her ideal, doesn’t mean she won’t fall head over feet in love."

My Thoughts:

Different and really happy about it...

I agree with Shelly Crane on this one. It is about as good as Emerge. The past few books I've read from Felix have been Love & Skate books, and don't get me wrong, I love them, but I was excited to read something out of the satus quo (see what I did there?). It was nice reading something form the author that was different than the same characters. This story was much more different than her other books. I'm trying to restrain myself from going all out fangirl with this one, folks. Also trying to calm the waves of depression that are caused by the knowledge that I have to wait for another Lila Felix book. Hopefully not for long though.

Anguish starts out with Breaker James, who was left broken from his previous relationship. He is stuck in his house, afraid to leave, and the only way he can socially interact is through the internet. It is apparent right off the bat that Breaker is not a usual male character in Lila Felix's books. He is really quite miserable and he is unwilling and unmotivated to do anything. He is extremely broken and damaged from his previous relationship. The thing I loved most about Breaker was the way that he opened up over the course of the book, but Ash didn't necessarily help him all the way through his quest for freedom from himself. Especially at the end when he really worked hard to become better and less afraid of the world. Breaker is one of the best male leads because of that. I think you have to read Ash in the book to really get how cool she is. Like, I would want to know her in real life. In some ways she's the foil of Breaker at the beginning. Mostly when she's so outgoing and pushing him to do more things (there's a main reason, but whatever). Some of the things that Ash said I really related to and appreciated. Both characters were brilliantly written throughout the book that I must applaud Felix! *clap*

I really liked the journey that Breaker and Ash went through in the book. It felt a lot more like a story than a sequence of events. Character growth was some of the best I've seen from Felix, and this story was truly magnificent. As per usual though, it was a bit predictable, like when and what would happen. There were some grammatical and structural issues, but those were mostly minor.

Overall  really amazing book from Lila Felix that blew me away! I was really impressed and I'm so grateful for all of the books, Lila, and the Rink Rats for being awesome!

5 out of 5 stars

-M

Goodreads for AnguiSH!

Don't forget about the AnguiSH Blog Tour!

The Alternative Kryptonite: 

July 12th, 2013

~Review & Interview~