Special Guest Post: Easy by Tammara Webber

Hello everyone today I have a very special post to share with you. Last month you all voted Easy by Tammara Webber as the book I should read this month, and can I just say thank you to all of those who voted for this book, as it was exactly what I needed! So instead of just giving you a post with my review, the lovely Siiri over at Little Pieces of Imagination who is a huge fan of this book, you can read her review here came up with the idea of doing a question and answer post. Siiri came up with some wonderful questions, which I had a lot of fun answering, before our post here's a bit about the book. 

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life. Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night - but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound. When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

Guest Post with Siiri! 

Siiri: I know I basically forced you into this reading book. Plus, it won with a huge lead in front of the others in your poll on what to read next. What kind of expectations did you have prior reading Easy? Did you feel an obligation to love it? The hype is a dangerous thing sometimes…

Jasprit: I normally hate going into a book which has had so much hype especially more so now because the last couple of books I’ve gone with have been really disappointing. But with Easy it was different. I knew everyone loved it and I was incredibly happy to see so many readers vote for it in my poll, but I decided to go into it with no expectations whatsoever. I didn’t even read the blurb beforehand. But at the back of my mind, I had the small hope that Easy would deliver something different from the NA genre that I hadn’t been enjoying very much lately.

Siiri: Throughout the book, for me, Jacqueline grows a lot. By the time you finished the book, had your thoughts on her character changed from how you saw her at the beginning? How so? 

Jasprit: I think that break from Kennedy, despite it being so heart breaking at the time for Jacqueline, is exactly what she needed. It was like being with Kennedy and his friends Jacqueline wasn’t really being her true self. Without him she was able to find more time for what things mattered to her the most like focusing on being a bassist. Before she decided to do things because of Kennedy, go to this college because of him, but now she was able to think for herself and not feel bad about it. I liked how by being “independent”, (without Kennedy) she was able to meet new people she wouldn’t have normally chatted too. But most of all stand her ground on a lot of things she felt important about. I’d always appreciated Jacqueline’s character in the beginning, I guess by the end I appreciated the direction which Jacqueline decided to go.

Siiri: Girl talk!!! I L-O-V-E a good friendship between girls. That’s hard to find and one of my favourite relationships in this novel was Erin and Jacqueline. How do you feel about their relationship? 

Jasprit: I love a good friendship between girls too, it’s always hard to find one in a YA or NA books these days for me. For me a decent best friend will always have her friends back no matter what and that’s exactly what Erin did. She always wanted what was best for Jacqueline, she rooted for her   relationship with Lucas and she even decided to drop people that mattered a lot to her who questioned Jacqueline’s accusations. Erin was a sweetheart through and through, she would push Jacqueline to go for something which she knew in her heart was right, and she was able to bring light and fun whenever Jacqueline was feeling low.

Siiri: OK. So.. You know that guy Lucas who appears repeatedly in this novel? On the scale of 10, how much did you like him? I think for me it was about 12. You know... that smart brain of his, witty remarks, art skills and of course there is the material arts stuff. What’s not to like! How big of an influence do you think he make on Jacqueline’s growth? 

Jasprit: I simply adored Lucas he would definitely get about a 9 or 10 from me. I love a guy who doesn’t beat around the bush; he was clear from the beginning how he felt about Jacqueline. I also loved how honest he was about how he had felt about Jacqueline before he knew her. He knew it could make her feel awkward around him, but he did it in such a sweet way. I think Lucas being around did contribute significantly to Jacqueline’s growth. She still wasn’t properly over her ex, but indirectly Lucas began helping Jacqueline out of her shell without her realising it. He was the one that helped her when she needed him most, but most of all he continued to give her a helping hand afterwards. Lucas was one heck of a talented guy and definitely one of my highlights of this book.

Siiri: The way attempted rape and rape were included in this novel was portrayed in a really realistic way. We saw reactions from different personalities and also from both genders. What do you think of Kennedy and his influence on Jacqueline’s decisions regarding these incidents? 

Jasprit: Kennedy really left me conflicted, I honestly thought he was a decent guy, okay his decision for breaking with Jacqueline was one of the stupid ones ever. But when she needed him he did come through for her and I thought that his interference would help in a big way. But then at other times I just wanted to slap him upside the head. All the end of the day I think Kennedy was just out for his own interests. (He reminded me a lot of Waver from the film Legally Blonde!).

Siiri: What did you make of the writing style? I think the daily struggles Jacqueline goes through were written in such a relatable way that I felt like I was a friend of Jacqueline and the cast rather than an observer from the outside. 

Jasprit: I definitely agree with you on this Siiri, at times I was so caught up in the story and the characters that Webber had created that I forgot that I was reading an actual book. I love it when an author totally sweeps you into a book that you find yourself continually thinking about the characters and what could happen next in your every spare moment, and this is exactly what happened with Easy. Webber created a story in Easy that I’m sure my individuals could relate to. A story which was raw, honest, but most of all heartbreaking beautiful.

Siiri: Describe easy with 4 words which first letters put together make the word Easy.

Jasprit:

Emotional
Alluring
Strength
Yearning

A big thank you to Siiri for doing this wonderful post for me! If you haven't read Easy, I highly recommend that you do so right away, you can read my review for this gorgeous book here.