Book Review — Changing Course by Aly Martinez

Maybe I say it for her, maybe it’s just for me, but I know it is the biggest lie I have ever uttered. “Just hang on, baby, it’s all going to be okay.”

• Buy CHANGING COURSE (Kindle)
• Buy CHANGING COURSE (Paperback)

SQUEEEEEE!!!!! I loved this book!!!

This was the first book to pull me out of my huge 5-day book hangover and from the moment I started it, I just couldn’t put it down. It had the perfect balance of heart wrenching angst, smoking hot romance, and humor. It was emotional, swoony and had a to-die-for Alpha hero who I fell completely in love with. I’ve always fallen especially hard for the protective, tortured types of guys and Brett was no exception!!

Now, I’m just going to explain a little about what the story is about first because I actually had the wrong impression of the storyline before I started it. I promise I won’t give anything major away, I’m just going to explain the set-up of the story.

Ok, so it’s about a guy, Brett, who fell in love with a woman named Sarah… like really, head-over-heels in love and they were planning to spend the rest of forever together. Tragically, after their marriage, an accident ripped her away from him. But it only took her mind, her body was still behind… She was still alive and still fully functional, she just became a different person — hateful and angry towards everyone, but especially Brett. But because he felt loyalty to the woman he’d given his heart to and because she was technically still his wife, he continued to care for her for four years. During these years though, they were married only on paper. The woman he loved died in the accident but her body remained leaving him clinging to the constant reminder of what they could have had and giving him never-ending false hope.

But eventually a friend of his convinces him to try to move forward… and when he meets Jesse, its the first time he’s ever wanted to. She’s so different than Sarah ever was but she brings light back into his world.

This is their story.

First, before anything else, you should know that despite the fact that the situation the characters are in is heart wrenching, this is not a devastating read. There is a lot of romance, swoon, and serious hotness, and this book had me laughing out loud in so many scenes. So yes, there’s angst and heart ache and emotional pain for sure but it’s very well balanced. There is no drama for drama’s sake. I respected all of the characters’ decisions and felt like each one of them reacted in ways that made sense given their situation (even their mistakes were understandable to me).

Second, this isn’t a love triangle either because the woman who once was his wife ceased to exist after the accident so even though she was still alive, she was no longer the same person. So it was certainly an angst-ridden situation, and he was still dealing with the loss of a woman who he loved, but this is not a triangle. He didn’t live with Sarah, didn’t wear a ring, they were not in a relationship — all of their romantic relations ended after the accident. I just want to be clear that this is Jesse and Brett’s story.

I absolutely loved the writing style. It flowed so easily and kept drawing me further and further into the story while projecting all of the emotions onto me so strongly. Even from the very start, before I’d really had a chance to get to “know” the characters, I already felt like my heart was invested in their stories.

I read this book in one sitting and literally just sat there for a few hours flipping the pages non-stop. The story was just so addictive. I could not stop reading!!

Brett stole my heart. Completely. Utterly. I love him SO much. Everything about him embodied the type of book hero I love most — he was kindhearted, loyal, Alpha, sexy, romantic, protective…. and honestly, he was just a GOOD guy. I could see how hard he was trying to do the right thing even though he was put in such an impossible situation.

I think some people might question why he didn’t just leave Sarah after the accident when she clearly hated him so much, but I have to side with Jesse’s best friend and say that I respected the hell out of him for what he did. He stood by her and supported her even when he didn’t have to and honestly, I think that says everything you need to know about him. What an amazing guy. *melt*

He was so open and honest with Jesse. I loved the way he handled everything but my heart just went out to him. This poor guy had had his life torn to shreds and his heart put through the ringer. You could really feel his conflict as he fought his love for and loyalty to a woman who was standing in front of him but who no longer existed contrasted with his growing feelings as he fell in love with the woman who so clearly loved him back and was so clearly the path to his future. Like I said before, he really was amazing.

Jesse was such a sweet woman too. A little shy and timid at first, but feisty and strong inside. I loved her. I understood her fears and doubts and admired the way she was so understanding of Brett (and Sarah too). She had a huge heart and I’m so glad that Brett was able to find someone like her.

Regarding Sarah, I really just pitied her. After the accident, she was horrid, abusive, and even dangerous, but it was hard for me to feel anything but sadness for her because we were showed the kind of person she was before the accident… I guess to me, it was as though she was mentally ill rather than a bad person.

But guys….. gah, these situations just cranked the angst to the max!!! My heart was just pounding. However, this was GOOD angst. I’ll be honest, since this was my first book by this author and I didn’t really know what to expect, I kept fearing the worst because there were some really epic clusterfucks that occurred…  but over and over again, I had so much respect for the way these characters handled these situations. It’s literally my most favorite thing in books when the author is able to create dramatic situations that make your heart race without sacrificing the integrity of the story or the characters so I was so incredibly impressed with the way this one unfolded. It was emotional overload of the best kind!!!

There were scenes where I would literally sit there just squeeing over what was happening and then there were ones that had me laughing out loud. Oh, and SOOOOO many HOT scenes that had me fanning myself like crazy. I mean wow — the sexual chemistry, heat, and tension was just off the charts!!!

I think what I loved about these characters was that they were so human. They made mistakes, fucked up on more than one occasion, but they worked through things and found ways to fix things and heal. It was a beautiful process to watch and when I finished reading, I literally just could not stop smiling!!!

So really, truly… I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

Was it perfect? No. I do have a few things I could nit pick about but I’m not going to because overall the way this story made me FEEL, the way it captivated my heart, made me care so deeply for these characters, and made my heart race from start to finish has easily put this book on my favorites list.

This is a standalone but the next book is a spin-off about Brett’s best friend Caleb. There was actually a lot of Caleb in this book and I’m already in love with him and will be reading his book next!!

Rating: 4.5+ stars. Standalone Adult romance.

• Buy CHANGING COURSE (Kindle)
• Buy CHANGING COURSE (Paperback)

Oooohh, and here’s my casting for Brett. Did I mention he was a police officer?? 😉

 

*** SERIES READING ORDER ***
Interconnected standalones. Should be read in order.

CHANGING COURSE
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

STOLEN COURSE
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback| Read my Review

AMONG THE ECHOES
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

BROKEN COURSE
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review