5 Flames for Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

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I loved this read. It has all the characteristics of a 5 star read for me: I stayed up all night reading it and it ended with me feeling that I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

This is not a story that will appeal to everyone. It deals realistically with some very difficult subjects: suicide, accidental death, hard-core drug use, and depression. If these topics are triggers for you, you may want to pass.

This is the story of Nova. She’s a mess, still grieving after losing her boyfriend and best friend. And there’s Quinton, dealing with same emotions under slightly different circumstances. There’s a lot of pain here. When they meet, neither one knows that they are fighting frighteningly similar demons. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen when so much pain came together. How could these two damaged souls be good for each other?

But they are drawn to each other, and over the summer, their shared experiences may change the course of their lives. Yes, I’m being deliberately vague because this book is a journey and I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you.

There is a lot of drug use in this, but in my opinion it wasn’t glorified.I loved the gritty real feel of this book. It was a realistic depiction of how kids get involved with drugs, and what it takes to get away. I thought this aspect of the book was very well done without preaching about it.

The emotional content in this book is huge. If you like a story that takes you deep into the heart and mind of the characters and like a darker story, this may be for you. The emotions dripped from the pages, but yet I did not find this maudlin. I think that’s pretty darn good writing, because there is so much sad in this.

So for me, this book had a lot of what I look for in a read. It was fast paced, had some interesting multi-dimensional characters, had supporting characters that weren’t just placeholders, and it left me wanting more when I got to the end. I liked the dark realism of this read. Jessica Sorensen isn’t afraid to give the reader a heaping dose of it in this.

I also loved how Nova moves forward as the book comes to a close. It was a very hopeful ending.

I can’t wait to find out what happens to Quinton. Will he pull himself out abyss or will he fall? What will happen to Nova when she tries to help him? I will definitely be making a note of the release date for the next book in this series.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

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