Review: The Year of Falling in Love by Jessica Sorensen

Title: The Year of Falling in Love

Author: Jessica Sorensen

Series: Sunnyvale #2

Genre: Contemporary Romance/YA-NA/Abuse-Sociology

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: January 6th 2016

Edition: Kindle Edition

Source: Received from publisher for review

Purchase: Amazon US 

Synopsis coming soon
Isabella Anders just found out Lynn and her dad want to send her to a reform school. But with the help of Grandma Stephy, Isa’s dad agrees to let her move in with her grandma.
Isa is more than relieved to be moving out. And after going on an unofficial date with Kyler, she wonders if maybe her life is starting to turn around. But then she discovers the truth about what really happened to her mother.
Not ready to fully accept that her mother is a murderer, Isa turns to Kai for help. Kai is more than willing to help, but to protect Isa, he keeps some of the more brutal details about her mother’s case to himself until he can find out more.

But when a mysterious blue car starts showing up everywhere, and Isa receives a threatening text message from an unknown caller, Kai realizes someone is dead set on destroying Isa. And he might not be able to protect her.

Review:

One of my main gripes, possibly only gripe, is I wish these books were longer, or maybe even just one book. Everything happens so fast, that just as everything starts to get really interesting and I think we're about to learn something about what is going on, the book ends. And now I have to wait who knows how long for the next installment.

I love Isa and Kai. They are so sweet, but  not really a couple. But I hope beyond everything that they become one  in by the end of this series, or by the next book if I had my way. They have really good chemistry, and quite honestly it bothers me so much that Isa has these "feelings" for Kyler when he's never really given her a real reason to think she loves him beyond looking pretty. I get that teens are a little, for lack of a better word, immature in their thinking when it comes to attraction and love. But the guy has barely talked to her once in all the years they've been neighbors. He used to only spend time around her as long as his friends from school didn't see him talking to her. She has no real reason to think she loves this guy, also he's being really weird and sketchy in this book and I am annoyed that she doesn't even question why he all of a sudden is interested in talking to her and hanging out with her. She just thinks it's great that he's finally showing her attention. 

I suppose you could argue it has to do with her dad and step-mom and half sister doing their best to try and whittle down her self-esteem and self-worth. But common sense would, or rather should, make you question things like that rather than just accepting them.

I hope the next book answers more questions than creates new ones. And I really hope this book has the kind of ending I want it to have, or something as close to it as possible. 

A problem I face with books in this genre that deal with this kind of abuse is that it feels unrealistic in the sense that I, and hopefully others as well, question whether a person could get away with that level of abuse over that many years. But the problem is, it is so much harder to prove verbal and emotional abuse that it is physical abuse. Which is why it actually may be more harmful or at the very least just as harmful as the kind that leaves physical marks.  But I am glad this book exists if for nothing more than to talk about the effects emotional and verbal abuse can do to a person. 

I am really looking forward to the next book in this series, and it better have some answers.