I always knew this day would come – that it would be my turn.
Images of my mother fighting the same disease are forever branded on my heart and soul. Regret and pain her unintentional parting gifts.
That will not be me.
I won’t allow it.
Instead, I will live my life to the fullest for the time I have left.
I accept my fate.
That’s my choice; my right.
Oliver Gentry, my childhood best friend, has other ideas. He wants to give me a reason to stay.
He wants to be the reason I fight.
— Goodreads — Amazon — Barnes & Nobles —
A bestselling and award winning author, Jennifer Miller was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, but now calls Arizona home. Jennifer’s love of reading began when she was a small child, and only continued to grow as she entered adulthood. Ever since winning a writing contest at the young age of nine, when she wrote a book about a girl with a pet unicorn, she’s dreamed of writing a book of her own. Quickly learning that dreams don’t just fall into your lap, she knew she had to chase them herself and not be afraid to dream a little bigger. Most importantly, she is a wife and mother, and is very lucky to have a family that loves and supports her in all things. She also has an unhealthy addiction to handbags and chocolate covered strawberries, neither of which she cares to change. For more information about Jennifer and her books please visit her website.
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I tend to say this a lot with books that I love, the ones that break my heart, but I try to be honest when I write a review. That means being 100% honest with how hard it is to write a review, or how much I laughed or cried, or whatever I was feeling (or not) with a book. It means that reading a rom-com, a dark romance, a novella, a full-length, or a heart wrencher can potentially make me pause and sit at the computer, staring at the screen, waiting for words to come to me. Give Me A Reason did that to me. Even as I am typing now, I’m trying to figure out what to say and how to convey what I want, without giving away the plot.
As much as I’d like to spoil it and gush, I will refrain. (Sometimes I have impulse control! — I actually had to go and look at the other reviews written to make sure I didn’t spoil anything!)
Give Me A Reason will break you into tiny pieces, and just when you think you’ve been stitched back together, it will break you again. This masterpiece touches on themes of death and life, change and staying the same, ignorance is bliss and researching the hell out of something. It deals with topics that are hard to read, let alone write, and I don’t know how Jennifer did that. She literally blew my mind, and if I was allowed to eat ice cream again, I’d be shoveling pint-fulls into my mouth with a shovel.
My heart continues to break for Remy, and for Oliver. The love they shared was ignored for years, as they tried to not mess life up, not rock the boat, and keep each other in their lives in any capacity. But when Remy’s life is threatened, Oliver decides not to waste another minute of their lives. Instead, they try to embrace life for as long as they can. But Remy has a big choice to make and that choice can take her away from Oliver sooner than possible.
Aaaaaand now I’m crying again.
That choice between life and death is one many struggle with in their lives, in different capacities. Remy’s struggle with how to fight something, how to accept something, is something I’ve openly struggled with. Although Remy and I had different paths, and different decisions to make, but there was a conscious effort made, thought put into our decisions. Maybe that’s why this book hit me so hard. The way Jennifer crafted this story truly made you feel what Remy was feeling, every step of the way, every hurtle she faced the reader faced with her. For me, experiencing Remy’s pain felt ten-fold, since it brought me back to the struggle I had.
This was my first Jennifer Miller book, and if she breaks me like this again it’ll probably be my last. I wish I saved a Rom-Com to read, because I absolutely need something to bring me back up. If I could give this book more than five stars, I would. I’d give it ALL the stars. 10 out of 5, 100 out of 5, I don’t care. She deserves them all.
Cait's Creatures 