Sadie

Christ is my redeemer, the drive behind my moral compass, he leads me down every road—the righteous road. My heart full of love, my body pure and untouched, my words clean, my body modest. I do all things because I believe in my Christian faith and I believe that my life has been planned out for me. I will meet the perfect man of God, one who will give me a family and a wholesome life. There is no room for anything less, no room for speed bumps or road blocks. Except for the one man who threw a wrench in my spinning tire. The one man who made me question my faith and what true faith really is. Ben Cooper—my very own sinner.

Ben

Each blow to the face feels glorious, I crave the pain of each punch from my back alley opponent. The high I get from each fight that I antagonize is the same high I get when I strum my guitar and hit the high notes in the microphone. That rush is just like the pain I feel with the blows I take. Violence is my decadence and music is my redemption. I love beautiful women, the taste of whiskey on my tongue, and the smell of tobacco on my breath. I’m a man with no morals and no plan to my madness. I’m a man with only the promise of the day I’m in. Until I find the most beautiful melody, dressed in full clothes and a cross around her neck. Sadie McCallister—my very own saint.

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Author CC Monroe is from the hottest city in the world, Phoenix, Arizona. She spends her days working in fashion and her nights with her face in her laptop telling the stories of the voices in her mind. She left Arizona a few years back and now lives in the beautiful snow state of Utah, where she married her true love!

When she isn’t writing or working, she is making people laugh with her mad sense of humor and tip of the tongue one liners.

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First, you may be wondering why I used pictures of Brendan Urie from Panic! At the Disco for my graphics. Easy: It’s Brendan Urie. Also, CC has said Brendan was her inspiration for Ben Cooper, and This is Gospel is used in the book, so why not use the ultra expressive Brendan for my pics? (Also, I’m still going through my middle school/emo phase and love all things P!ATD).

Rock star books are so hard for me, mostly because of the drug use that usually comes with them. Drugs make me uber uncomfortable, both in real life, and when I’m reading about them. Even weed. But I love the broken sinner Ben Cooper. He is struggling, even though he thinks he’s doing just fine. Even though he’s not looking for anything serious, Sadie McCallister crashes into his life with her faith, trying to accept Ben for who he is, even though Ben can’t accept himself. 

Sadie is the total and complete opposite of Ben. The saint to his sinner. She goes to church and Bible study, is saving herself for marriage, and believes God will guide her through all things. In two short days she meets Ben and falls in love with him. She tries to accept his life, his drugs, his belief that there is no God, and tries to make the relationship work. She tries to help him in all things, without losing herself in the process.

One of my favorite things about Sadie is that she gives up a lot to be with Ben when he needs her. She tries to be everything he needs to help him with recovery. But when push comes to shove, she refuses to back down from her beliefs. She tries to learn as much about him and why he feels he needs the drugs as she can. But when Ben messes up, which he inevitably does, one too many times, she keeps her promise to him, but realizes shes too close to losing herself, and straightens her spine. Ben knows his words aren’t working anymore. He knows he needs to get better, but he also knows he’s put too much in the hands of Sadie, and not enough on himself.

Another one of my favorite things is that the common theme in the book is that Ben cannot change unless he wants to change for himself. Neither Sadie nor Ben want to change the other. Sadie wants to help Ben, but he needs to want it. When it’s clear Ben doesn’t want it as much as Sadie believed, she’s done. Ben starts to want to heal for himself. I love the positive view of the use of therapy, group therapy, and meditation, instead of the “I’m not sick, I don’t need it” attitude. There are so many things about Loving Ben Cooper that made me fall in love with both the saint and the sinner, but you’ll just have to get the book for yourself to fall in love with them.

Thank you CC! Your words are amazing ❤