✯✯✯✯1/2 Emotional Stars “Every person means the world to someone. That makes us vulnerable, but it also makes life a gift. I had no one who could give me that gift. Now I do.”Well wasn’t this story a surprise and a half! We were really looking forward to getting stuck in after being intrigued by the synopsis. Aimee is on her way in a private jet to marry her best friend Chris on a holiday ranch in Brazil. Sadly, disaster strikes when the jet crashes into the depths of the rainforest taking Tristan – the pilot and Aimee with it. “I used to believe that the experiences life throws at us shape us. Now I think that it’s the way we cope with what life throws our way that shapes us.”Aimee plans everything in her life, but this was one situation no one was prepared for. A rescue seems nowhere in sight and with the dangers of the unknown perils of the jungle; how long will any hope of survival last? Whilst the desperation, the angst, betrayal and the terror is at a high; a sudden protective love of the soul mate kind emerges.‘Being on the brink of losing everything had the remarkable power of setting me free.’Fighting for survival in the jungle brings fighting for the truth; self – realisation and discovery as well as true love and the journey is fraught with a passionate intensity and building emotions. Whilst ‘practical and sensible’ Aimee fights with her conscience she realises she cannot deny her truth. And Tristan, the stoic quiet force of a man who has a secret past and hidden feeling learns to open up and trust. Well, the beauty and the pure romance shone in the latter part of Withering Hope.‘Tristan slipped into my soul the way mist travels in the forest after the rain: unseen, unstoppable, and ubiquitous.’ “You don’t need anyone. You’re like a star, Aimee. Stars shine from within. They don’t need anything else.”So we have to be honest and say that we really struggled with Layla Hagen’s writing style in the beginning. Due to the significant lack of dialogue, the pacing and almost statement like sentences as well as being told the story rather than feeling a part of it, well, we just didn’t connect nor did we feel much of the emotion displayed by the characters Tristan and Aimee. At one point we were even sadly thinking of putting it aside for another day as it seemed we hadn’t actually really learnt anything about our characters which ultimately prevented us to feel anything for them or feel involved in the story….. “Because I’ve found something here I’ve never had before. Hope. You gave it to me. And I have you here. You’re more than I’ve ever had, and more than I’ll ever wish for.”Then…..THEN…..everything changed somewhere around the halfway point. It actually became so incredibly intense and emotional we had tears leading to complete ugly crying which lasted long after finishing. The story became utterly captivating and so powerful an alarm could have gone off next to us and we’d be shushing it so we could finish reading. We cannot express how utterly amazed we were with how a story that wasn’t wow-ing us became everything we love. It grabbed us and demanded for us not to give up; experience and understand just how much love, pain and devotion it had to offer. And it did and we felt it! So, we say to you, if you feel like us and struggle please…please keep going because we promise you, you will fall just like we did. Aimee and Tristan’s love will burrow deep into your heart. “I’m not a star,” I whisper. “I’m a satellite rotating around you. You’re the star. I need your light to shine.”**Reviewed honestly from an ARC copy provided by the author, with thanks.**♥ ♥ ♥✦✦✦ TB Blog :TotallybookedBlog✦✦✦ Come say Hi : TB on Facebook✦✦✦Follow us: TB on Twitter✦✦✦Check out: TB on Pinterest✦✦✦ We're on TSU: TB on TSU
*****5 Dazzling Stars*****(Arc kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review) My heart is swelling with emotions after reading this engrossing and unique story. I wish for everyone to read this book and experience the everlasting love of a couple that had to face really extreme circumstances but their love flourished and shined brighter than the stars.Aimee boarded her fiancé's airplane to go to Brazil and get married in a beautiful ranch in a lavish ceremony she's been planning for months. Her life hasn't been easy, after loosing her parents at a very young age, but her best friend Chris who later became her boyfriend has always been there for her to help her through life and now they are getting married. A few hours into the flight, the turbulence gets very intense and Tristan, the pilot, announces there's difficulties with the plane that are forcing him to make an emergency landing in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.Tristan has been working for Aimee's fiancé Chris for the past two years, the handsome pilot mostly keeps to himself but is clear that he carries deep secrets that still haunt him. Tristan has always enjoyed being in Aimee's presence, she's beautiful, smart and incredibly sweet and she always manages to put a smile on his face. Now that both Tristan and Aimee are stranded in the wild, a deep bond starts to form between them, something that begins as a friendship but will turn into something especial and as vital to them as breathing.It won't be easy facing the forest with the very scarce provisions they have, but these two become a team; their goal is to protect one another from the dangers of the rainforest, both willing to fight anything and always aiming to survive. Day after day, hope of a rescue becomes a distant thought neither of them is willing to torture themselves with. A fierce love is born, desperate and unlike anything neither Aimee or Tristan have ever known, but the guilt and fear of hurting Chris plus all the scary encounters in the wild will make it hard for their love to even have a chance. Will Aimee and Tristan survive? and if they do, will their love continue once they get back into the real world and will they make it as a couple, despite the traumatic circumstances they've been through?This book was an absolute page turner, the story held me captive from beginning to end, never predictable and absolutely romantic, it was everything I hope for in a novel. I've read a few books by this author now and her writing gets better with every story and this time around she delivered a truly original storyline and delightful characters that completely brought out all my emotions, specially the beautiful epilogue that left with with tears in my eyes, amazing!!! My Withering Hope music playlist:*It Was Always You by Maroon 5*Love Someone by Jason Mraz *Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran*Be My Forever By Christina Perry ft. Ed Sheeran
Do You like book Withering Hope (2015)?
::: FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED ::: Wow! I read this in one sitting and finished it with tears in my eyes because of how beautiful the epilogue was!! I'm so glad I decided to try this one out :)Withering Hope is a standalone romance about a woman, Aimee, who was on her way to her wedding when the private jet she was taking crash landed in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. With no communication, no supplies, and no hope of rescue on the horizon, she and her pilot, Tristan, had to work together to survive. And the more time they spent together, they slowly began to fall in love...I loved so many things about this book! "Survival" type romances aren't that common and I jump on them whenever I come across them (On The Island and Surviving Raine being two of my other favorites) because I just find myself so captivated by what these characters decide to do in order to survive.The romantic relationship was understandably slow building, but in such a way that made perfect sense given both their dire situation and the fact that she was initially engaged to another man. I do want to reassure you though that there's no stupid drama or frustrating storylines at all here with regards to the two men. This isn't a love triangle and you don't end up feeling like anyone was cheated out of happiness. Just trust that things work out the way they're supposed to.This is mostly told from Aimee's POV, but we do get a few chapters from Tristan's side of things too. He was a very mysterious character. They'd both been in each other's lives for quite a while given that he was her driver and pilot but they'd naturally kept a certain distance before. Now, faced with having to depend on each other, she slowly began to uncover his past that he tried so hard to keep hidden.I enjoyed the whole book but my favorite part was the epilogue. It's actually a double epilogue and the second one (much later in their lives) brought tears to my eyes because of how absolutely beautiful it was!! I was honestly taken by surprise by how strongly those last lines hit home. I read them, cried, re-read them, and cried some more. It was such a beautiful concept and such a perfect ending for them.If you're looking for a "different" love story, give this one a try!!Rating: 4 stars overall (but 4.5 for that epilogue). Standalone Adult romance._______________________________________ For more of my reviews, book news and updates:✦ Main blog: Aestas Book Blog✦ Facebook Blog Page✦ Twitter ✦ Subscribe by email
—Aestas Book Blog
3.5Se, se, ya sé. Que los clichés, que lo irreal, que lo cursi, que lo obvio, que lo predecile y blábláblá.Soy consciente de todo lo boba e irreal que esta novela es y, sin embargo, con la semana sin dormir (el insomnio ataca de nuevo!) que tuve y la depresión, la ansiedad y la amargura que tengo desde hace días, esta novela me tuvo llorando un lunes a las tres de la madrugada (para que vean el estado mental y el cansancio extremo en el que estoy desde el sábado) cuando, en una escena, que otrora seguramente me habría parecido tonta (view spoiler)[el muchachito llora a su muchachita, a un paso de la muerte los dos y en el medio de la nada! (hide spoiler)]
—La Mala ✌
"Maybe it's true what they say, that without darkness, you can never truly appreciate the light."Oh WOW. I'm breathless, sobbing, so full to the brim of overwhelming emotions. I'm overcome with happiness and sadness at the same time. This book absolutely took me by surprise. Wow. I'm pretty speechless right now. This story was beautiful in its tragedy, stunning in its completion. It has been a long time since I've read something that has made me FEEL so much; I'm bursting with it. I can't tell you strongly enough how much you need to experience this story. The emotions I'm feeling right now are priceless. This is exactly what I search for when I read a book. Something that makes me FEEL, that makes my heart race, ache, and break.... something that fills me with such excitement, fear, joy, dread, and happiness. Listen to me, trust me on this one, read, live, experience this book. "Tristan slipped into my soul the way mist travels in the forest after the rain: Unseen, unstoppable, and ubiquitous."
—Mistress
