Book Review
Great story with a surprise ending, proving sometimes, love isn’t enough!
*Trigger Warning: Addiction, Drug Use, and Teen Sex
The Sidewalk’s Regrets (Release Day: Feb. 1, 2019)
Seventeen-year-old Sacha McLeod isn’t looking for someone to rock her world. But when she hears the boy in the music store play the guitar, the music thrills her and she falls hard for Dylan and his sound.
Sacha finds herself spending less time with her violin and more time with this guy. Her plans for her violin-virtuoso future—and her self-confidence—are shattered when she screws up the audition for a summer music program. Failure isn’t something she’s had to face before, so when Dylan asks her to spend her vacation with him in the city, she lies to her parents, pretends she won a place in the summer school, and secretly moves in with Dylan.
She’s expecting romance, music, and passion, but when she finds herself playing second fiddle to Dylan’s newly acquired drug habit, she realizes despite what the songs say, sometimes love isn’t all you need.
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My Thoughts…
This isn’t your typical teen romance. it seems like it when you first start reading. Boy meets girl, boy plays guitar and girl is entranced, mind you, Sacha is no groupie, and what follows is an intense love story that starts innocently enough, but ends in heartbreak.
I would classify this book as mature YA bordering on NA due to the subject matter. There is sex, drinking, and drug abuse, and it’s more appropriate for the 18 plus crowd. I just want to throw that out there before you recommend it for your 16-year-old.
I myself, obviously well over 18, found the story captivating. The beginning of their relationship was nostalgic and made me long for the throes of first love. Unfortunately, that’s short-lived when Sacha joins her love in the city and finds out he’s developed an alarming habit. What’s a young woman to do? She’s desperately in love and has no experience with any of this. I don’t want to risk spoiling it, but let’s just say I was more than shocked with the turn in direction of the story, but no less enthralled.
I found this book well-written, evocative in the extreme, and refreshingly unexpected. The ending really threw me, and if I have any issues with this story, it’s how things ended up for Dylan. Trust me, it’s not what you expect but it sure is more realistic. Still, I had hoped for something else.
If you like conflict, and realistic drama with your romance, then I think you will enjoy this book too.
Rating… A
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