*ARC* The Destiny of Violet and Luke - Review

The Destiny of Violet and Luke (The Coincidence #3)

By: Jessica Sorensen

Published: January 7, 2014 by Forever

336 pages

Source: Netgalley ARC given by publisher (Thanks!)

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

Luke Price's life has always been about order, control, and acting tough on the outside. For Luke, meaningless relationships are a distraction-a way to tune out the twisted memories of his childhood. He desperately wishes he could forget his past, but it haunts him no matter what he does.

Violet Hayes has had a rough life. When she was young, she was left with no family and the memory of her parents' unsolved murders. She grew up in foster homes, living with irresponsible parents, drugs, and neglect, and trying to fight the painful memories of the night her parents were taken from her. But it's hard to forget when she never got closure-and she can't stop dreaming about what happened that tragic night. To make it through life, she keeps her distance from everyone and never allows herself to feel anything.

Then Violet meets Luke. The two clash instantly, yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Although they fight it, they both start to open up and feel things they've never felt before. They discover just how similar they are. But they also discover something else: The past always catches up with you . . .

MY REVIEW:
Luke and Violet both come from extremely twisted childhoods. Luke had a drug addict mother, always strung out on heroine or cocaine and then later his sister committed suicide. Violet witnessed her parents be murdered and then spent 13 years being moved from foster home to foster home. Now they both find themselves in college, struggling to make it through nightmares every night and their own personal demons. Both have trust issues. Then both find themselves drawn to the other.

I have read many of Sorensen's books and know that she likes to write about very heavy topics. Drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, abuse in many forms, and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately what I have grown to dislike is the predictability of her stories. At least her NA contemporary stories. (or are these considered YA?) I've grown a little....bored of the emotionally damaged 20 something's who finally find some sort of normalcy in a relationship with someone else, only to then give it up because something comes crashing down and they aren't strong enough to withstand the hard time, so they revert back to their unhealthy coping habits and the cycle begins again until they are willing to face their demons, seek professional help and finally realize the love of their life, that one person they could connect with, was never really going anywhere.

Luke is often described as smelling like beer (or other various alcoholic items), smoke and the musky scent of cologne. Ew! This was really grossing me out. Cigarette smoke alone is disgusting, but mixed with the smell of alcohol - gag! As far as book crushes go, this made Luke fall WAY down my personal favorites list.

Luke and Violet together makes a likable story. You'll read through it quickly. It just didn't blow me away considering all of the stories in The Coincidence series (as well as very similarly Sorensen's The Secret series) are seeming to all run together in likeness of theme.

Favorite Quotes:
I think I might have met my match for the Stubbornest Person in the World award.

Danger. Pushing death. Parasuicidal. Adrenaline junkie. Insane. There's so many different things it could be called and I honestly don't know which one it is. All I know is what I do - what I need - to get through my life.

...when he kissed me in the truck, I'd felt something other than numbness. I felt a spark. Life. Need.

Final Rating - 3.5 stars.

This post is part of the ARC Thursday feature on Words Fueled by Love.