Changing Forever; Review

By Real Talk Book Talk - June 28, 2014

Lisa De Jong's latest book Changing Forever is now available. I got the pleasure of reading this beautiful book and now I'm going to share it with you.

I’ve always let my past dictate my future, letting it paint a picture of exactly what I don’t want to be. Where I don’t want to end up.

Drake Chambers is as arrogant as I am stubborn. A college quarterback, a national star. I thought he was just another one of those guys … the type every girl should stay away from, but he’s carrying more than the weight of the football team on his shoulders.

He unravels the feelings and beliefs I’ve held onto for so long.

I thought we had it all figured out. Two people who’d finally found their happily ever after, but the past always has a way of sneaking into the present.

With one decision, everything changes … forever.

This is the second Lisa De Jong book that I have read. And it is amazing. The writing is so beautifully done, the story is so heart-touching, the characters are so real. I loved it.

Emery is starting over, she is trying to live her life without the past heartbreak. She set standards for herself to live by. The last thing she needs is someone like Drake Chambers to mess it up.

Drake has everything riding on his football career. That's all he cares about. He doesn't need or want anything like Emery going into his life and messing it up for him.

Drake and Emery aren't exactly friends when they meet. He's everything she doesn't want. And she's a complication that he doesn't need.

But there is no denying the attraction between these two. But of course the pasts they both are running from catch up to them rather quickly.

Drake doesn't want or need any complication. But then he meets Emery. Drake has had to shoulder everything that goes on in his life alone for years. He pushes Emery away and struggles with his feelings for her.

Emery wants to start over, be someone who isn't broken by her past and to go after her dreams. Emery starts to get closer to Drake, but he pushes her away again and again.

There is a lot of back and forth tug-of-war in this book.

Drake and Emery have a hard time getting on the same page.

I felt for both of the characters and I did shed a few tears while reading this. Not a lot but I did cry some.

Drake and Emery work on a school project together that hits close to home for both of them. And the closer they get for each other, the more they fall for each other, the harder they pull back.

I really understood where Drake was coming from after learning from his past, but it still hurt my heart.

Emery and Drake both go through so much emotion in this book. But they figure it out. Their ideas of forever are changed and they don't get what they thought their dreams where but sometimes the things you don't think are ideal for you are just what you need.

This book goes through the emotions on these two young people who really aren't looking for anything. They both have their ideas and standards of forever. But when things come crashing down around them they are forced to make decisions that can change their forevers.

The story of Emery and Drake is one built on the idea of two people who don't want anything that can get away of their plans. But life or fate changes that and shows them that their original plans aren't what they were really meant to be.

Lisa's writing is amazing. I love her style and the way she is able to manipulate her story and characters and make them feel alive. I can't wait to read more from her.

*Quote- "For once, I'd let myself follow my heart, and it led me to her." -Drake

"Trust. It happens easily, but it can be broken even easier. Question is, how easy is it to gain back?" -Emery