Title: Chasing Crazy
Author: Kelly Siskind
Release Date: January 12, 2016
"Chasing Crazy is an entertaining and compelling story about owning who you are. With an endearingly awkward female protagonist, a swoon-worthy male love interest, and Siskind's superb storytelling, this is one of the best New Adult contemporary romances I've read to date." ~ USA Today Bestselling author, K.A. Tucker
Dear Mom & Dad, I dropped out of school. I’m going backpacking. Sorry. Love you both.
At nineteen, Nina has endured two lifetime’s worth of humiliation. Tired of waiting for it to get better, she decides to get going—across the globe to New Zealand. There she soon faces what she most fears: a super sexy guy ready to be Nina’s next mistake.
Once Sam’s life was all about having fun. That was before the accident. Now his friends have bailed and his world is broken. But when a gorgeous girl on his flight looks at him with passion instead of pity, Sam feels his old self coming back to life.
Now traveling together, Nina and Sam know this isn’t just a fling. They’re falling fast, hard, and deep. More than anything, Sam wants Nina to forget her fears. But to help her do that he must reveal his own painful secret—and risk Nina never seeing him the same way again.
Every once in a while a book comes along that basically ruins you for all other books—at least, temporarily.
This was one of those books for me.
Nina and Sam are both running away from their lives. Their reasons are different, but the result is that they end up on the same flight from Toronto to New Zealand and fate or circumstance—or Nina's propensity towards catastrophe—puts them in each other’s path.
Nina is mesmerized by the "frickin' hot guy" who bears witness to an unfortunate series of (humiliating) events she experiences on the plane. Unsure of whether the attention he bestows on her is friendly or ill-intentioned (and always assuming the worst), she deems him way out of her league and makes every effort to shake him off.
Sam is drawn to the passion he sees Nina's gorgeous eyes, but he has his own reasons for not wanting to get involved with a woman. His trip to New Zealand is supposed to be a fresh start of sorts, and he's not interested in taking on the baggage of a relationship. Anything beyond a one night stand is not part of his plan. Unfortunately, he can't seem to keep himself away from the lovely, disaster-prone Nina—and the more he's with her, the more he wants her. Regardless, Sam is determined to keep Nina at a distance, not willing to risk his own heart.
A series of events ends with the two traveling together, and the more time they spend together, the more they discover that their resistance is futile. The attraction between them is too strong and there's something much deeper and bigger than either of them pulling them towards each other. As they open up to each other bit by bit—conquering fears and letting go of their baggage along their trek through New Zealand—they must decide if the fall is worth the risk to their hearts, and if the future they may have together is worth risking everything.
Have you ever just read one of those books that made you feel warm and fuzzy all over? The kind that puts a big dopey smile on your face the second you pick it up and keeps it there until the final page? You know, the kind that you read as slowly as you can, because you don't want it to end, or the kind where you desperately wish you could read it again for the first time?
Yeah, that’s exactly how I’m feeling about this book. I’m completely enchanted with it. My heart has wrapped itself around it and isn’t letting me move on. To say I love this book is a tremendous understatement. I (more than) loved Every. Single. Thing. about this book.
I loved Nina, every quirk and insecurity. She was this incredibly buoyant, lovable person despite the trouble that seems to follow her wherever she goes. I loved her innocence and her sense of humor, and her great big beautiful heart. Was she sometimes a little over the top? Maybe, a little. But that's Nina. She's supposed to be that way. It's one of the many things I adored about her.
And Sam?
Frickin' hot guy.
He broke my fucking heart—in the best, sweetest, most achingly beautiful way. He's perfect. Funny and strong, playful and chivalrous, every single thing about him was designed to steal my heart and not let it go. I'm going to love Sam for a very, very long time.
It was literally impossible for me to read this book without smiling, and equally impossible for me to put it down for any length of time. A captivating blend of charming laugh-out-loud humor, scorching kindle-melting heat, and heart-racing swoon, this was one of the best debut novels I’ve ever read. I’m hungry for more from this author! I am still basking in the glow from this book, and I'm not ready to say goodbye to these beautifully written, fully formed characters.
You hear that? That's me shouting from the rooftops, y'all. READ. THIS. BOOK!!!!
~ Review by Shelly
This was an emotional read that had my heart going out to Nina and Sam. They have secrets and are afraid to share them with each other, thinking they won't be able to hand it. As they embarked on a trip of a lifetime, it's harder to keep hanging on to those secrets. The question is, when they come out, will they be able to survive it?
Sam has been through hell, so when Nina catches his attention he's smitten by her. Let me say, their bathroom encounter on the airplane had me cracking up and I knew that's probably what I would be doing throughout the book, and lo and behold, that I was!
These two were a disaster waiting to happen and Nina was just flat-out funny with her spunky personality! Though there was plenty of funny moments, there were also serious ones that had my heart hurting for both Nina and Sam. Right at 59% I was holding my breath because I didn't know how it was going to go and I was hoping it would go Sam's way!
This was such a unique, beautiful story that it had my full attention, and I did not want it to end. Speaking of….that ending. Argh is all I will say on it! I also have to say that the secondary characters were awesome, especially Leigh! My goodness, Leigh was so real and I freaking loved her honesty!! We all need friends like her!
~ Review by Kara
A small-town girl at heart, Kelly Siskind moved from the city to open a cheese shop with her husband in Northern Ontario. When she's not neck deep in cheese or out hiking, you can find her, notepad in hand, scribbling down one of the many plot bunnies bouncing around in her head.
She laughs at her own jokes and has been known to eat her feelings-Gummy Bears heal all. She's also an incurable romantic, devouring romance novels into the wee hours of the morning.
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