BETWEEN EVERYTHING AND US

BETWEEN EVERYTHING AND US                REBECCA PAULA
Posted:  June 11, 2015

Matisse Evans is determined to make her sophomore year of college successful after failing out of a prestigious art school and spending a horribly boring gap year at home. Despite her focus, time isn't on her side as she struggles to hold down three jobs so she can afford her first apartment while juggling course work. In the chaos of it all, Beau Grady moves in and shakes up her world. A college dropout and tattooed bad boy, the rumors about Beau mean one thing for Matisse—trouble. Paralyzed by the fear that she's missing out on life, Matisse discovers plans may unravel, but what rises in their wake can be worth the uncertainty.

After spending the summer couch surfing, Beau Grady moves into an empty room at his ex-girlfriend’s Portland bungalow, skipping his senior year of college to spend his days working at a Vietnamese food cart instead. Once a star hockey player and gifted student, he’s put his life on hold after receiving a life-altering diagnosis, complacent to live in the moment. Hiding behind false rumors and bad habits, Beau falls for Matisse, letting her believe the worst until their relationship blooms into something they both can’t ignore. Falling for her means having to face a future he’d rather forget, but loving her just might be worth it.

MY REVIEW:

     When you have an autoimmune disease/chronic illness it makes it hard to adjust to a new normal.  That is exactly what is happening to 22 year old Beau Grady who found out 2 years ago he has MS.  That day he woke up and he could not move his legs.  It was by far the scariest day ever of his life and still is.

     What makes it even worse is there is only a handful of people that know what is wrong with him.  Boy have the rumors been flying.  He can’t seem to care since he is just trying to exist at this point.  He is trying to work up the nerve to tell one special girl what is wrong but he can’t since he really hasn’t wrapped his own head around it.  So how can he expect her to wrap her head around it let alone her heart?

     That special person would be Matisse (Mati) Evans.  She’s this girl who seems to have her own troubles.  She seems so prim and proper and on a schedule that leaves her so exhausted.  She pushes herself way too hard.  From day one Beau has loved just about everything about her.  From the way she cusses like a truck driver, to speaking her mind, and calling him on his shit.  Yet, she can do it with a smile mostly and kindness.

     Mati is smitten with Beau but knows by all the women he brings home to his bed that she is not his type or even in the girl’s league.  That smile of his and those dimples can cause any woman the big “O.”  Plus for sure the way he makes jabs at her tells her that he sees her as a girl not as a woman on his level.

     There is this force that keeps pulling them together and then rips a wedge between them.  Making you believe that they are beyond hope.  Until Christmas break things change but will it be for the best or will it only cause more doubts and heartache?  For her, if his truth is revealed, are they ones worth fighting for or saving a friendship that could lead to more?  Illness and Heartache… I give this 5 stars.  Provided by Net Galley.  Follow us at: www.1rad-readerreviews.com