WinterHaven's Cupid Cloud Hop: Review: Unbreak My heart by Melissa Walker

Hello everyone, today as part of the WinterHaven's Cupid's Cloud Hop hosted by ladies over at WinterHaven Books I am sharing with you my review of Unbreak My heart by Melissa Walker. For this part of the hop, I had to review a book with the title heart, love or sweetheart in the title and with the poll on the blog, Unbreak My Heart was the book that came out on top. Here's a bit about the book:

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Publication date: May 22nd 2012
My rating: 3 stars

You can’t help who you fall in love with. It’s a lesson Clementine Williams knows all too well. She’s headed into the summer with a broken heart and zero social life. So even though her parents’ plan to spend the summer (trapped) on their sailboat should make Clem break out in hives, she doesn’t really mind the chance to float away for a while. Even if it means most of her social interaction will be with her nine-year-old sister.

Then she meets James at one of their stops on the Great Loop—a classic sailing track in the US. He and his dad are sailing the same track and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. But will he be able to break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart?

Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story from magazine writer/editor and rising star, Melissa Walker.

My review:

Unbreak My Heart is a poignant read about heartache, testing where friends loyalties lie and trying to leave all the hurt behind and about making a fresh start.

After the great fall out with her best friend Amanda just before school broke out for summer, Clem just wants to get away from it all, she’s become the school pariah, her best friend doesn’t want to know her anymore, so being stuck on a boat with her family for the next three months doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. But eventually that becomes too much after a while too, being cooped up with her jumbled up thoughts all the time, having no communication with the outside world and having her family watching her constantly. And it’s so difficult moving on without knowing if her friendship with Amanda has totally gone. Can they ever go back to what it was? But then Clem meets James, whose taking the same roundabout trip on his boat with his dad, after a few chance meet ups they start spending more time together and Clem realises she likes his out take on life, it’s as though nothing can ever break him, she decides this is what she wants too, to be strong and real, but has she got the right amount of strength to do so?

After reading the blurb to Unbreak my Heart I didn’t really know whether I would like Clem, she lost her friendship of years with Amanda over a guy, a guy who was her best friend’s boyfriend. But the flashbacks gave a great insight into what really happened, and I don’t condone everything that Clem did, but most of all didn’t do, but I think Amanda was a bit rash in her decision, I wanted to shout at least listen to the poor girl before ditching her.

The Lull in pacing in the present tense did make me more eager to get more of the back story in the alternative flashbacks. I think I actually enjoyed reading the back story, watching the friendship blossom between Amanda and Clem, the introduction of Ethan and how he slowly came in between two best friends more than the present story.

James was a refreshing change that Clem needed in her life, he got Clem the real Clem straight away. He could tell something was bothering her and making her sad, but he didn’t push her about it, but was there whenever she was ready to discuss it. He was also always bouncy and full of life and encouraged Clem to make the most of her life too. Even though Clem wasn’t looking forward to this trip with her family it ended up being one of the best summers for her.

I normally don’t mind books that are left with open endings, but I felt with Unbreak my Heart I needed to know how things would end, after Clem’s constant over thinking and worrying I thought it would have been good to know these answers. But overall I still did enjoy reading Unbreak My Heart, I liked how being around James, helped Clem overcome the guilt and find the real Clem that she had lost all those months ago.

As part of the Winterhaven festivities, the lovely ladies at Winterhaven Books are giving away a 3 book YA contemporary book bundle. Just fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway