I am thrilled to share my review of NORMAL, Book 1 of the Something More box set by Danielle Pearl! This box set is FREE on Kindle Unlimited and contains three amazing new adult books that you need to read NOW!

MY THOUGHTS about NORMAL

I first met Rory and Sam as secondary characters in Danielle Pearl's new adult spin-off novel, IN RUINS. After reading IN RUINS, I had to read the originating story and find out how it all started.

I'm glad to have had some background about Rory and Sam and that I read the blurb disclaimer "This is not a flowery romance - not for the faint of heart" because this book will legit wreck you if you're not prepared. It is brutal and parts were difficult to read, but they are so necessary to the story and understanding Rory and the challenges she faces as she starts her new life.

Oh, how I fell in love with Sam and Rory and how they grew together as a couple. He wasn't always perfect, but he came pretty close. And Rory, I wanted her to find the healing that she needed. She went through traumatic experiences that no one should ever have to experience and my heart hurt for her over and over again.

I liked how the story focused on the various ideas of what is NORMAL. And ultimately the realization that there isn't such a thing as NORMAL. There is just BEING. LIVING.

Favorite Quotes:

" . . Relax," he insists, and with his words, I do, I relax, clinging to the sound of Sam's voice calling me beautiful, and the burst of the emotion that feels an awful lot like hope."

" . . his mouth capturing mine in a kiss that promises love and passion, a future glimpse for the first time with earnest hope."

I love that in these moments Rory is able to recognize hope when in the past there didn't appear to be any.

Even with all of the difficult moments, I really loved this book. I'm excited to know that there are more books in this series AND it's available in a complete set.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurbs:

NORMAL (Book 1)

It's the kind of situation most people would dread. Starting at a new high school, in the middle of my senior year, in a new town, in a new state. I know no one. No one knows me. That's what I'm counting on.

A year ago, Aurora "Rory" Pine was just a normal teenage girl - just as sweet and naive as the fairy tale princess she was named after.

But this isn't a year ago.

Rory is broken, and suffering from a new debilitating anxiety disorder, wrought with precarious triggers, she moves across the country to escape the source of her troubles. Her plan is anonymity, but that's easier said than achieved for the new girl having a panic episode outside of calculus. The worst part? There's a witness - and a gorgeous one at that.

Sam is a walking trigger for Rory. Incredibly handsome, built like the star athlete he obviously is, and undoubtedly popular, Sam outwardly represents everything Rory despises about high school. But as the fates keep throwing them together, a connection sparks that neither ever expected, and certainly can’t ignore.

But Sam has issues too, and Rory's past won't just stay in the damned past. When friendship evolves into something deeper, can a girl utterly destroyed by the worst kind of betrayal and a boy battling demons of his own ever have a normal relationship? Is that even what they want? Find out in NORMAL, a gritty story of trust and abuse, heartbreak and salvation, and if they're lucky - love. This is not a flowery romance - not for the faint of heart.

ReCAP (Book 1.5)

Rory and Sam fell in love in NORMAL, and we all fell in love right along with them. Now see it all unfold through Sam's eyes, and learn just how the new girl with anxiety issues stole the heart of the gorgeous heartthrob, and turned his world upside down.

You already heard the story. The one of how Rory and I fell in love, supposedly, even if she couldn't handle it in the end. You know how it all went.

Or you think you do.

You only know her side. But I have my own point of view, and even Rory couldn't know my thoughts in those few months it took for her to go from being a stranger to my whole entire world.

Every moment is permanently ingrained in my memory. In my goddamned soul. From the moment I stumbled upon the girl panicking outside of calculus - the one with the tight little body, the angelic face, and the fierce attitude - to the night she abandoned me in Miami. It was the sum of those moments that changed me irrevocably.

Our story isn't over. I won't let it be. But this, this is what happened so far, the way I saw it.

I'm Cap. Or Sam, to Rory. And this is my story.

OKAY (Book 2)

After the horrors she’s survived over the past year, Rory never expected to find the one thing she certainly wasn’t looking for – love. But after the painful realization that her past has left her a dangerous liability to the person she cares for the most, she finally understands that for her and Sam, love means letting go.

Can two people hopelessly in love with one another ever revert back into just friends? Neither Rory nor Sam know for sure. But the one thing they do know – it’s the only choice they have.

As Rory recovers from a devastating assault, Sam will do anything to make sure it never happens again. But how far will he go to keep her safe? Their choices will change everything, and they will either bring them back together, or destroy them irrevocably.

About the Author:

Danielle Pearl is the Amazon and iBooks best-selling author of the Something More series. She lives in New Jersey with her three delicious children and ever-supportive husband, who--luckily--doesn't mind sharing her with an array of fictional men. She did a brief stint at Boston University and worked in marketing before publishing her debut novel, Normal. She writes mature Young Adult and New Adult Contemporary Romance. Danielle enjoys coffee, wine, and cupcakes, and not in moderation.

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