Saturday, May 23, 2015

Stealing Harper by Molly McAdams (Review)


Genre:
New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publication.Date  May 21st, 2013
Pages:416
Published By:  William Morrow
WebsiteMolly McAdams

Stealing Harper on Goodreads
My review copy:Bought

Where to get:



This is Chase's POV from Taking Chances.

Chase Grayson has never been interested in having a relationship that lasts longer than it takes for him and his date to get dressed again. But then he stumbles into a gray-eyed girl whose innocence pours off her, and everything changes. From the minute Harper opens her mouth to let him know just how much he disgusts her, he's hooked.

But a princess deserves a Prince Charming who can make her dreams come true. Not a guy who can turn her life into a nightmare.

All good intentions go out the window when Harper starts to fall for the guy Chase has come to view as a brother. He wanted to protect her by keeping her away, but he can’t stand to see her with anyone else, and he’ll do anything to make her his. But when it comes down to Harper choosing between the two, will Chase have the strength to step back from the girl who has become his whole world if it means she’ll be happy?

Lines will be crossed. Friendships will be put to the test. And hearts will be shattered.

(Goodreads)

"You miss me?"
God, yes. "Of course. You're my new favorite, remember?"
"You're okay, Princess, I've got you. Tell me what happened, and I swear I'll do everything I can to make this better for you."
"I can be cool"--he shrugged--"I'll be so cool she'll be like 'man that guy's so fly,' and then she'll leave your ass for me."
What do I have to do to convince this girl that I love her more than anything? Tears suddenly clouded my vision, and my voice cracked as they spilled over. "It is, Harper. I love you so damn much, why can't you see that?"
"Keep her safe."
"Always."
"I love you, Princess, I'll always love you."



If you haven't read Taking Chances yet, I'm about to tell you to go away (because seriously, you do not need these spoilers in your life), but first let me tell ya a few things:

- If you are looking for a swoonfest NA contemp story with a heartwrenching love triangle, yes. You want to read Taking Chances. Do it. DO IT.

- If you're questioning whether or not to buy both right off the bat so you can marathon these babies, YES. Do it. Rip that bandaid off, my friend. 

- If you're wondering whether this is worth reading or if you only need to read Taking Chances... well. You don't NEED to read this one. But this novella is definitely worthwhile. So I say read both. Which brings us back to my last point--grab 'em both, read 'em, and rip off that bandaid.

All right. Now. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ TAKING CHANCES, GO AWAY. Come back once you've read it. I'll still be here, talking about all of the things. But really, you need to read the first book first. No out of order shenanigans here. No, sir.

Okay, so I'm assuming this is just people who've read Taking Chances, yes? Because for real. SPOILERS GALORE for that book, about to start.

Yeah?

Okay?

???

OKAY.

LET'S DO THIS.

I adore Molly McAdams. Her books are like majestic unicorns to me. Or crack. Whatever. I love them and they make me feel warm, swoony fuzzies. Pretty sure I'll read anything Molly writes because I just can't help myself. So of course I picked this one up. Of course.

A little backstory for you--I read Taking Chances forever ago. Probably more like forever and a half ago, honestly. But it's been a while since that first reading. And I've re-read it since then. (You know, that addiction...need to fill the void somehow.) I'm Team Brandon, but I've always thought Chase was a cool guy. My heart always breaks for what could have been for Chase, and everything that he and his little family won't have because of what happened to him.

BUT... I don't think I was ever really on board with him and Harper as a legit couple. Because, as I said, I'm Team Brandon.

AND THEN I READ THIS BOOK.

I read Stealing Harper, and now everything is different. I understand Chase so much better now. I don't agree with a large amount of his actions, but the fact that I see where he was coming from now, what was going on inside his head? It hits me all over the feels.

I got very angry at Harper while reading this. And very in awe of Chase. He was so DEVOTED. I don't feel like we got to see that much in Taking Chances, since Harper was all caught up in Brandon. But while Harper and Brandon were becoming a thing, Chase was in the background waiting. And I commend that--how he changed and bettered himself. He was so self-deprecating, but seeing him acting better and holding out hope for his girl... dang, y'all. It warmed my heart.

Seeing how everything went down from his POV tore my heart and soul to shreds. He was so worried and terrified. His entire life falling apart and he had literally NO CLUE how it happened. All he knew was that he was losing everything he'd waited for, everything he loved.

And. The. End. Dear baby goodness, you better bet that I cried like a baby. I went into this expecting to hurt, but since I KNEW what was coming I didn't plan for tears. Chase's death wouldn't be a huge shock like it was in Taking Chances. I'd probably get angry again (denial WTF anger, not I-hate-this-book anger), but seriously I didn't think I'd shed bunches of tears. But, ahahaha, nope. I cried. I totally, unquestionably cried so hard.

I'm still Team Brandon over here, but I'm also Team I-Freaking-Love-Chase. Because that's a thing that exists, right?

Overall, this novella was so worth reading. Thank you so much to Molly McAdams for writing it and giving us this side of the story. It was painful and downright heartbreaking, but this is a story that needed to happen. Chase deserves to have his say. I will forever be grateful for having the chance to read his words.


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