Review: Collide by Gail McHugh
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Collide (Collide #1) by Gail McHugh
Contemporary
Gail McHugh (January 18, 2013)
Heroine: Emily Cooper – Waitress, In a Relationship
Hero: Gavin Blake – Rich Playboy, Charming
Setting: New York, USA
Review:
If you are a fan of lots of drama and angsty love triangles, you are going to love this book. Actually, you are going to love to hate this book. You will want to throw your reading device into the wall. You will be swooning over Gavin. You will smile, laugh, cry, and scream with frustration. You will want to smack the heroine and kick her douchebag boyfriend's arse. This book will take you on a turbulent, emotional rollercoaster ride from beginning to end.
After Emily Cooper loses her mother to cancer, she decides to move to New York to start over and live closer to her boyfriend - the only man she's ever loved, Dillon Parker. Not ready to move in with Dillon just yet, she decides to move in with her best friend, Olivia (I love this girl!). While looking for a teaching job, she gets a waitress job at an Italian restaurant so she won't have to depend on Dillon for money, since he was the one who paid for her to move. The first day on the job, her boss asks her to make a food delivery.
Until that day, Gavin has never believed in love at first sight. Instead of his normal food delivery man, in walks Emily. She took his breath away the moment he saw her. He knew in that one moment that he had to get to know this woman with the beautiful green eyes and beautiful smile. With determination and persistence, he decides to pursue the one and only woman that he has ever felt magnetically drawn too.
Attracting, compelling, colliding, their chemistry - to say the least - was explosive. He felt it the first time he laid eyes on her, the drawing of energy that radiated from her eyes as she stared into his.
The intense chemistry between these two is palpable. From the moment they meet, they are drawn to one another. But Emily is with Dillon and knows that her instant attraction to Gavin is wrong. So when the meet and greet between Emily and Gavin becomes too intense for her, she decides to put the brakes on the flirting. And, by doing this, she puts Gavin in his place by telling him she is seeing someone. When he ask for her name, she tells him her name is Molly. And with that said, she goes on her way, leaving Gavin behind. Relieved to think that she will never see him again.
But that is not the case. As fate would have it, these two people's paths collide, crash, and sizzle when they see each other again. And this, my dear readers, is how one of the most beautiful, sad, and intense love triangles I've read since Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens begins. Put your seatbelt on, because this is a bumpy ride.
Emily severely frustrated me with her back and forth wishy-washiness. I understood why she felt obligated to stay with Dillon. Dillon is a manipulative bastard. He may not have always been that way. There is a lot about Dillon that was left unanswered. But, before Emily moved to New York, she always thought of him as a sweet and caring guy. He stayed by her side while her mother was on her deathbed. What woman wouldn't fall for this man? But unfortunately for Emily, by the time Dillon shows his true colors, she is completely in love with him. Which also means by this time, she doesn't know how not to let him go. I think she convinced herself to stay with him out of obligation. She feels like she owes him. I would also go so far as to say mentally brainwashed by him. It was obvious she kept holding on to the Dillon she was in love with. But this Dillon is not the same man.
Being inside Emily's head was difficult at times. As she battled with her feelings with Gavin and made excuses as to why she should stay with Dillon, I was screaming, “pick Gavin you stupid woman!” This whole situation was very emotional and frustrating and dysfunctional, to say the least.
Gavin – tall, dark, and f-ckably handsome is...mine, mine, mine. Oh, sorry I digress. I absolutely love Gavin for his kindness, chivalry, and thoughtfulness. He has the biggest heart of gold. He tried to do the honorable thing by staying away from Emily, but sometimes you just can't control how you feel. Gavin didn't exactly pursue Emily. But he doesn't give up on her. He wants her, but he doesn't know how to convince her that he is the man for her. So when she rejects him, he can't just let her go. She's been permanently engrained into his heart. And be still my beating heart, Gavin says some of the most swoon-worthy things to Emily. His beautiful words melted me into a pile of mush.
“Every part of you was made for me. Your lips were made to kiss mine, your eyes were made to wake up to me looking at you in my bed every morning, and your fucking tongue was made to roll my name off of it. I am more certain of us than I'm certain that I require oxygen to breathe.”
This story wasn't always frustrating. There were parts of the story I absolutely cherished. Like, for instance, the friendship between them. It wasn't easy for them to be just friends, but they managed. When they would just talk, it felt easy between them. The way they were with each other was very sweet, real, and comfortable. I loved their flirty banter. And the sexual tension was fierce. Seeing this easy relationship between them made me question Emily's sanity to stay with Dillon. Often. The ultimate question, though, who does she choose in the end?
I'm SO glad I went with the hype and read Collide. My first thought when I started this book was, “Where are my tums?” and my final thought was, “holy hell.” That pretty much sums up the beginning all the way to the end of this book. And, when it ended, the flood gates opened and I couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer. This book should come with a warning label that reads: Your heart will be ripped out, stomped on, and shattered into a million pieces. Oh, and good luck putting it back together. Needless to say, I was a complete and utter mess by the time the story ended.
Miz McHugh did a superb job writing this story. Her words consumed me with every single emotion. Not once did I feel forced to feel anything. When the story came to an end, I literally had to pull myself back into reality. I made the mistake of pulling over in a parking lot to read the last chapter. Big mistake. Huge. Driving after that ending was hard to do, especially with the cliffhanger ending that left me completely unraveled. To say I'm dying to read Pulse is the biggest understatement of the century.
Thoughts While Reading:
16.0% - "I wanted to know what all the hype is about and... Now I think I need a tums. I hate Dillon. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. Pig. Douchebag. I have a feeling the DB is not only going to stay on my shit list, but I'm going to have to stomp his ass into the ground!"
81.0% - "I really don't want to read any further. I know this is not going to end well. My stomach hurts thinking about it. Stupid Gina and Dillon. Those two should hook up and be miserable assholes together. Sigh."
88.0% - "Ah shit... here come the tears..."
100.0% - "Holy hell...”
Great review Paula! Collide is one of my absolute faves! Dillon is a major douche and I was wanting desperately for Emily to kick him to the curb. I agree with you on all you said about Gavin except he's not yours....he's mines! ;) Gavin is just all kinds of swoon and that rehearsal dinner speech by him was priceless! Some funny and swoonworthy moments at that dinner! Just the way he was determined not to give up on Emily was lovely but heartbreaking. Lastly, Wow to that ending! What a way to end a book! So, glad there's a book 2 and can't wait to see how the story continues!
ReplyDeleteHi Keisha! My claws just came out! LOL! I know, the ending was one of the worse and best endings ever. The bottle cap broke my heart. I can't wait for Pulse. I am on pins and needles. I want to see some groveling - if you now what I mean. wink! Thanks for stopping by the blog. :))
DeleteBottle caps :( Yes, the groveling I would love to see. Not too much, but just enough..
DeleteI'm so glad you went with the hype and read it. It's always great to share in the excitement of a book with others! It's such torture having to wait for a follow up to a book you loved. The release of Pulse can't come soon enough!