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Blurry
Sometimes all it takes is a moment for everything you thought you wanted to change
Ceceila:
I was used to being on my own. Lost and lonely, I couldn’t wait to graduate and watch my judgmental little town fade. All I had to do was survive the rest of high school and I was free. I wasn’t going to let anything hold me back.
Craig:
I’d almost achieved what no one else in my family had—all I had to do was complete my student-teaching assignment and I’d have a college degree. I was ready to put down roots and start my life. Nothing was going to stand in the way of my dreams.
A student and her teacher. A coach and his athlete. An unexpected friendship. Forbidden feelings between an unlikely pair.
Neither is playing a game they can win.
Ceceila:
I was used to being on my own. Lost and lonely, I couldn’t wait to graduate and watch my judgmental little town fade. All I had to do was survive the rest of high school and I was free. I wasn’t going to let anything hold me back.
Craig:
I’d almost achieved what no one else in my family had—all I had to do was complete my student-teaching assignment and I’d have a college degree. I was ready to put down roots and start my life. Nothing was going to stand in the way of my dreams.
A student and her teacher. A coach and his athlete. An unexpected friendship. Forbidden feelings between an unlikely pair.
Neither is playing a game they can win.
Published January 11, 2017
About the author
Carina Adams
23 books833 followersCarina Adams, an Amazon and international best selling author, is an avid reader who loves the epic and unconventional, has an unhealthy obsession with Stanley Tucci, loves the sound of Johnny Cash, is the crazy friend your mom warned you about, has a heart and soul as black as the coffee she drinks, believes you’ll see her compete on Survivor one day, and hopes to go through the stones and find Jamie Fraser.
Carina has been writing and creating characters for as long as she can remember, allowing her to fall in love with the next man of her dreams with every new story. None of which are anything like boring Prince Charming.
Thankfully, fate stepped in and granted her the ultimate wish—a life full of men. Carina lives in a tiny Maine town with her biker-turned-businessman husband who keeps her on her toes and their two heathens who made her realize that wicked chicks do, indeed, lay deviled eggs.
Carina is currently working on two novels: Echoes of Us, the final installment of the Dreams Trilogy and 'Stones' a heartbreakingly beautiful tale of second chance love.
Carina loves to hear from her readers. carinaadamswrites@gmail.com
Carina is represented by SBR Media. For inquiries regarding foreign rights, audio, and other media outlets, please contact Katie Monson at katie@sbrmedia.com
Books:
Bama Boys Series:
Bastards Of Boston MC:
Standalones:
Carina has been writing and creating characters for as long as she can remember, allowing her to fall in love with the next man of her dreams with every new story. None of which are anything like boring Prince Charming.
Thankfully, fate stepped in and granted her the ultimate wish—a life full of men. Carina lives in a tiny Maine town with her biker-turned-businessman husband who keeps her on her toes and their two heathens who made her realize that wicked chicks do, indeed, lay deviled eggs.
Carina is currently working on two novels: Echoes of Us, the final installment of the Dreams Trilogy and 'Stones' a heartbreakingly beautiful tale of second chance love.
Carina loves to hear from her readers. carinaadamswrites@gmail.com
Carina is represented by SBR Media. For inquiries regarding foreign rights, audio, and other media outlets, please contact Katie Monson at katie@sbrmedia.com
Books:
Bama Boys Series:
Bastards Of Boston MC:
Standalones:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
February 6, 2017
I cannot lie, student-teacher stories are my weakness. I love the sneaking around, the lust charged glances over the text books and making out against locked classroom doors. My bad, I know, but it's my thing so don't judge.
This is the prequel to Forever Red, showing the Lia we knew as a thirty year-old as she was aged just 15, full of sass, attitude and piss and vinegar. Oh and crushing wildly on her 19 year-old hockey coach and English teacher, Craig. Not only is he wildly hot but he's also the only person she can rely on, surrounded as she is by her feckless mum, toxic friends and poverty. He starts off innocently enough, making sure she's eating, that she gets to and from school and practice safely but it doesn't stay innocent for long.
I was completely immersed in this, enjoying all of the feels from their initial attraction to the scorching hot smut and yes, the angst really hit me hard, it was a hard read for an angst wimp at times. But despite the arse clenching angst and the uncomfortably young 16 year-old h, I was engrossed and totally rooting for them.
This could be read as a standalone and it's a complete story but I kind of wish I'd read this before Forever Red (doh, well it is a prequel after all!) for I think this would've hit the spot very nicely ending where it did. Problem for me was that I'd had an insight into Lia's future thanks to Forever Red, so that knowledge made this something of a bittersweet reading experience. I have had to go straight to Forever Red for a re-read and I'm enjoying that all the more with the new information I now have.
Recommended, especially if you love taboo, forbidden, angsty and steamy stories you can lose yourself in.
**Thanks to the author for the arc**
This is the prequel to Forever Red, showing the Lia we knew as a thirty year-old as she was aged just 15, full of sass, attitude and piss and vinegar. Oh and crushing wildly on her 19 year-old hockey coach and English teacher, Craig. Not only is he wildly hot but he's also the only person she can rely on, surrounded as she is by her feckless mum, toxic friends and poverty. He starts off innocently enough, making sure she's eating, that she gets to and from school and practice safely but it doesn't stay innocent for long.
I was completely immersed in this, enjoying all of the feels from their initial attraction to the scorching hot smut and yes, the angst really hit me hard, it was a hard read for an angst wimp at times. But despite the arse clenching angst and the uncomfortably young 16 year-old h, I was engrossed and totally rooting for them.
This could be read as a standalone and it's a complete story but I kind of wish I'd read this before Forever Red (doh, well it is a prequel after all!) for I think this would've hit the spot very nicely ending where it did. Problem for me was that I'd had an insight into Lia's future thanks to Forever Red, so that knowledge made this something of a bittersweet reading experience. I have had to go straight to Forever Red for a re-read and I'm enjoying that all the more with the new information I now have.
Recommended, especially if you love taboo, forbidden, angsty and steamy stories you can lose yourself in.
**Thanks to the author for the arc**
February 15, 2017
What a difficult review this is to pen. You see, Blurry really did feel like a book of two halves for us. Had we finished this book around halfway, this would have been a winner in our eyes. However, something happened at a certain point of the story and everything changed, leaving us feeling somewhat bewildered over plot line execution, character introduction/development.
‘The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered.’
We were sucked in by the synopsis for Blurry as soon as we read it. We do love a good forbidden romance and Blurry sounded right up our street. Had you seen the text message exchanges between us during the first half of this book you would have seen how completely engrossed we were. Talk about our stomachs being in knots! We read it with one hand over our eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop in this forbidden teacher/student romance. Carina Adams certainly did an excellent job of building the tension for the reader that’s for sure! The tension was gripping.
Blurry tells the story of Cecilia, she of many nicknames (Cecilia, Lia, Lee, CeCe) Merrill, a young girl who hadn’t copped too many breaks in life. She’s from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t have a lot of friends, except for Missy and Jules. Other than that she’s shunned, tormented (though we didn’t really get to experience this to a degree so we felt her torment) and labelled as trailer park trash. Her mother has no interest in her, her father abandoned her, and Cecilia doesn’t really have anyone in her corner. She needs support and love.
Enter student teacher, Craig Knightly who is assigned as the Hockey coach of the school team in which Cecilia is the star. Craig feels a mixture of irritation, admiration and sympathy for his young student. Those feelings soon turn to something else the more he gets to know her and admire her tenacity. She’s one feisty young lady and Craig tries his hardest to tramp down his feelings for her to no avail.
Their relationship builds in secret (though it's really the worst kept secret around) and this, together with the forbidden aspect of their ‘friendship’ ensured we were always left in a state of anticipation as to where this would go and how it could be kept under wraps, because Craig and Cecilia certainly weren’t discreet with their feelings.
There were times the development of their actions felt downright uncomfortable. We’re seasoned, open minded readers, who love forbidden stories, but we felt the relationship to be a little predatory. We’re constantly being reminded of 20 year old Craig’s life experience and Cecilia being a young 15 year old, complete with frizzy hair and braces on her teeth, we just couldn’t get the image of a young, innocent girl in pigtails out of our minds. Hence our discomfort.
Whilst we initially found the friendship between them to be sweet, it turned to something else. Craig Knightly, the starry eyed teacher/coach began as a sweet and caring character then started to come across a little sleazy, while Lia’s behaviour simply felt quite bizarre.
As stated, we were enjoying this story immensely up until about midway, when the direction changed and Blurry became something completely different. The tone of the story changed, and it began to feel a bit disjointed in both storytelling and character development. Lia changed so much in character, and not in a growth development sort of way, we barely recognised her.
We had issues with not living the story as it would jump, new characters would be brought into play with no introduction or build up as to who they were and why they were introduced, and in some cases, existing characters were reintroduced with complete personality changes. We had questions left unanswered and quite frankly the ending was odd.
It looks as though we’re in the minority with this one as a lot of readers are loving it, so again, it’s up to you, the reader to dive in and make up your own mind. Whilst this one didn’t work for us, it could definitely work for you.
We purchased the book and read the readers note and have to say, this only added to our confusion over the storyline and characters. It was as though all the characters had changed at will in order to suit a certain story with the ending now one of utter confusion as we haven't read the next book. But from the readers note, it now ends completely different to what you're lead to believe in Blurry. Or maybe it's just us who interpreted the ending in a different way? We were left very confused.
‘The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered.’
We were sucked in by the synopsis for Blurry as soon as we read it. We do love a good forbidden romance and Blurry sounded right up our street. Had you seen the text message exchanges between us during the first half of this book you would have seen how completely engrossed we were. Talk about our stomachs being in knots! We read it with one hand over our eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop in this forbidden teacher/student romance. Carina Adams certainly did an excellent job of building the tension for the reader that’s for sure! The tension was gripping.
Blurry tells the story of Cecilia, she of many nicknames (Cecilia, Lia, Lee, CeCe) Merrill, a young girl who hadn’t copped too many breaks in life. She’s from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t have a lot of friends, except for Missy and Jules. Other than that she’s shunned, tormented (though we didn’t really get to experience this to a degree so we felt her torment) and labelled as trailer park trash. Her mother has no interest in her, her father abandoned her, and Cecilia doesn’t really have anyone in her corner. She needs support and love.
Enter student teacher, Craig Knightly who is assigned as the Hockey coach of the school team in which Cecilia is the star. Craig feels a mixture of irritation, admiration and sympathy for his young student. Those feelings soon turn to something else the more he gets to know her and admire her tenacity. She’s one feisty young lady and Craig tries his hardest to tramp down his feelings for her to no avail.
Their relationship builds in secret (though it's really the worst kept secret around) and this, together with the forbidden aspect of their ‘friendship’ ensured we were always left in a state of anticipation as to where this would go and how it could be kept under wraps, because Craig and Cecilia certainly weren’t discreet with their feelings.
There were times the development of their actions felt downright uncomfortable. We’re seasoned, open minded readers, who love forbidden stories, but we felt the relationship to be a little predatory. We’re constantly being reminded of 20 year old Craig’s life experience and Cecilia being a young 15 year old, complete with frizzy hair and braces on her teeth, we just couldn’t get the image of a young, innocent girl in pigtails out of our minds. Hence our discomfort.
Whilst we initially found the friendship between them to be sweet, it turned to something else. Craig Knightly, the starry eyed teacher/coach began as a sweet and caring character then started to come across a little sleazy, while Lia’s behaviour simply felt quite bizarre.
As stated, we were enjoying this story immensely up until about midway, when the direction changed and Blurry became something completely different. The tone of the story changed, and it began to feel a bit disjointed in both storytelling and character development. Lia changed so much in character, and not in a growth development sort of way, we barely recognised her.
We had issues with not living the story as it would jump, new characters would be brought into play with no introduction or build up as to who they were and why they were introduced, and in some cases, existing characters were reintroduced with complete personality changes. We had questions left unanswered and quite frankly the ending was odd.
It looks as though we’re in the minority with this one as a lot of readers are loving it, so again, it’s up to you, the reader to dive in and make up your own mind. Whilst this one didn’t work for us, it could definitely work for you.
We purchased the book and read the readers note and have to say, this only added to our confusion over the storyline and characters. It was as though all the characters had changed at will in order to suit a certain story with the ending now one of utter confusion as we haven't read the next book. But from the readers note, it now ends completely different to what you're lead to believe in Blurry. Or maybe it's just us who interpreted the ending in a different way? We were left very confused.
February 5, 2017
Blurry. I had read the beginning of this story when it was released in novella form in the anthology, A Secret Affair, which donated all proceeds from its sales to The Bookworm Box, a very worthy charity.
The forbidden love story of a student and her teacher/coach was much too big to be told in the novella, so I gave a big old thumbs up when I discovered that Ms. Adams had decided to write a full length story about her characters. The lines certainly do blur when the student athlete in question is fifteen and the coach is twenty...
This was an interesting read for me... because you know you shouldn't want this couple to happen for obvious reasons. Yet the author's compelling writing style, makes you root for them anyway (at least I was...)
I give this one 4 stars and am definitely going to read Forever Red to see what happens further down the road!
The forbidden love story of a student and her teacher/coach was much too big to be told in the novella, so I gave a big old thumbs up when I discovered that Ms. Adams had decided to write a full length story about her characters. The lines certainly do blur when the student athlete in question is fifteen and the coach is twenty...
This was an interesting read for me... because you know you shouldn't want this couple to happen for obvious reasons. Yet the author's compelling writing style, makes you root for them anyway (at least I was...)
I give this one 4 stars and am definitely going to read Forever Red to see what happens further down the road!
February 14, 2017
*****5 ‘Love & Longing’ STARS*****
20 – 15 = 5. Such a small number relatively speaking. How large is that number in regards to love and how do you measure it against it? Can you? Twenty and fifteen. A twenty year old teacher and a fifteen year old student. Five years apart. How do you measure love…by numbers?
“In that moment, she was my everything.”
I went into Blurry biased. Although I hadn’t read anything by Carina Adams I’d heard about Forever Red (Bama Boys #1) and knew a little bit about Craig (H) and Lia (h). You see, I’m a bit of a stickler with romance and the ‘Happily Ever After’ department. I’ll read a tear-jerker every now and again, but I’m in it for the fantasy, the love prevailing, the well…. ‘not real life’ if I’m honest. I’m fine with most taboos; I want to escape reality. Stay with me here, I have a point…once I flipped the page in my kindle, because even though I was disappointed when I realized this was Craig and Lia’s story, and even though I realized this would be a different kind of taboo student/teacher story with less fantasy and more reality, and even though I knew Craig wasn’t for Lia and Lia wasn’t for Craig…I. Couldn’t. Stop. Myself. I ached for them, their love story, and what I knew wasn’t to be. I also laughed and cried and was infuriated at times. Blurry is more than a coming of age tale. More than a taboo student/teacher narrative. It’s an echo of lost innocence, of hopeful rationalizations, of love found…and lost. Told through the lens of ‘wrong’ but making me feel it couldn’t ever be anything but ‘right’.
“The naïve girl who had believed the fairy tale she always made fun of.”
When we meet Lia she’s a sophomore in high school. She’s coming from the trashy trailer park in her small town complete with a neglectful mother and absent father. Full of piss and vinegar she’s got attitude to spare – she’s got her life and the world all figured out. She doesn’t need anyone except her two BFF’s. At least that’s what she tells herself. Admitting that you’re lonely, that you’d like more, would be a crack in the carefully welded armor you designed to keep others out. She’s got a chip on her shoulder (really, what teenager doesn’t) and a plan to get out of dodge upon graduation and show everyone she’s worthy – and better than them. As I learned her life through pieces and chapters something happened. I started relating to this blunt, acidic, mature-beyond-her-years broken teen. There’s more here than typical teenage angst (although there’s a bit of that too) and crushing on the handsome new teacher/coach.
“I was going to do what I could to help that lost girl find her way.”
Craig Knightly’s senior year in college is going to be spent teaching and coaching high school. Seeing a kindred spirit in Lia he’s intrigued. Knowing the value of a positive mentor his intentions are golden, until they start to become tarnished little by little, rule by broken rule in the friendship he’s determined to form with Lia. It all starts out innocent until they make, and break, the rules they defined their friendship by. Telling himself he can make it work – that they can make it work – Craig uses every opportunity to can to spend time with Lia. Falling in love with his student was never part of the plan, but now that the lines are blurred it’s impossible to go back – and he doesn’t want to. It’s only a matter of time…
“ ‘Sometimes I forget, too,’ he whispered. ‘And sometimes, I wish things were different.’ ”
I didn’t struggle with Craig and Lia’s relationship. That’s one of the things that stood out for me, Ms. Adams’ ability to weave and stitch you into this love story making you root for this couple; for their victory. It wasn’t tawdry or ugly; I certainly didn’t think it was dark. It was beautiful even when it was painful – and for me – it was painful, knowing I possibly wouldn’t get the closure I needed. Lia’s grown up fast with a level of adult maturity sprinkled with a bit of riotous adolescence that makes it hard for Craig to remember she’s still just a kid trying to find her way. Even when I saw the peeks of immaturity from Lia it added to the relatability of the story – if I hadn’t seen those normal knee-jerk reactions of teenage know-it-all syndrome I wouldn’t have bought into her story…no teenager has all their $h!t together no matter how fast they’ve had to mature. Add in Craig’s love and palpable longing mixed with his ability to do the right thing for his girl not matter the cost (and it does cost Craig mightily in ways you don’t expect) and it’s a recipe for heartbreak. I was waiting for the inevitable crash…and burn.
“Label didn’t work for us. There was no box we fit into.”
While Blurry isn’t your average normal love story – it IS a love story. Both beautiful and hard to take, painful and tender. Reading a taboo romance with an expiration date should’ve made me indifferent at the very least. Or perhaps outraged. It didn’t. I don’t know that Ms. Adams could have written a better story – other than a future for Craig and Lia. Even that might have damaged the beauty that is their past. I’m left in an acceptable, if not good, place. And waiting, ever so nervously, for Craig’s turn. I’ll absolutely be back for more.
Bravo Ms. Adams, Bravo. Blurry is definitely one of my Top 2017 reads.
“The line was clear. Who we were and who we could never be. A straight, black, think line. Somewhere along the way, our line had gotten blurry.”
K’s Category: 1st date, first novel read by author to date.
Trigger Warning: Yes, underage sexual activity with a legal adult.
Characters: M/F
OM/OW: Yes
Sex: Yes, descriptive
HEA: HFN with assumption of more to come.
Standalone: Yes, this is a prequel to the Bama Boys Series; I read it on its own with no issues.
20 – 15 = 5. Such a small number relatively speaking. How large is that number in regards to love and how do you measure it against it? Can you? Twenty and fifteen. A twenty year old teacher and a fifteen year old student. Five years apart. How do you measure love…by numbers?
“In that moment, she was my everything.”
I went into Blurry biased. Although I hadn’t read anything by Carina Adams I’d heard about Forever Red (Bama Boys #1) and knew a little bit about Craig (H) and Lia (h). You see, I’m a bit of a stickler with romance and the ‘Happily Ever After’ department. I’ll read a tear-jerker every now and again, but I’m in it for the fantasy, the love prevailing, the well…. ‘not real life’ if I’m honest. I’m fine with most taboos; I want to escape reality. Stay with me here, I have a point…once I flipped the page in my kindle, because even though I was disappointed when I realized this was Craig and Lia’s story, and even though I realized this would be a different kind of taboo student/teacher story with less fantasy and more reality, and even though I knew Craig wasn’t for Lia and Lia wasn’t for Craig…I. Couldn’t. Stop. Myself. I ached for them, their love story, and what I knew wasn’t to be. I also laughed and cried and was infuriated at times. Blurry is more than a coming of age tale. More than a taboo student/teacher narrative. It’s an echo of lost innocence, of hopeful rationalizations, of love found…and lost. Told through the lens of ‘wrong’ but making me feel it couldn’t ever be anything but ‘right’.
“The naïve girl who had believed the fairy tale she always made fun of.”
When we meet Lia she’s a sophomore in high school. She’s coming from the trashy trailer park in her small town complete with a neglectful mother and absent father. Full of piss and vinegar she’s got attitude to spare – she’s got her life and the world all figured out. She doesn’t need anyone except her two BFF’s. At least that’s what she tells herself. Admitting that you’re lonely, that you’d like more, would be a crack in the carefully welded armor you designed to keep others out. She’s got a chip on her shoulder (really, what teenager doesn’t) and a plan to get out of dodge upon graduation and show everyone she’s worthy – and better than them. As I learned her life through pieces and chapters something happened. I started relating to this blunt, acidic, mature-beyond-her-years broken teen. There’s more here than typical teenage angst (although there’s a bit of that too) and crushing on the handsome new teacher/coach.
“I was going to do what I could to help that lost girl find her way.”
Craig Knightly’s senior year in college is going to be spent teaching and coaching high school. Seeing a kindred spirit in Lia he’s intrigued. Knowing the value of a positive mentor his intentions are golden, until they start to become tarnished little by little, rule by broken rule in the friendship he’s determined to form with Lia. It all starts out innocent until they make, and break, the rules they defined their friendship by. Telling himself he can make it work – that they can make it work – Craig uses every opportunity to can to spend time with Lia. Falling in love with his student was never part of the plan, but now that the lines are blurred it’s impossible to go back – and he doesn’t want to. It’s only a matter of time…
“ ‘Sometimes I forget, too,’ he whispered. ‘And sometimes, I wish things were different.’ ”
I didn’t struggle with Craig and Lia’s relationship. That’s one of the things that stood out for me, Ms. Adams’ ability to weave and stitch you into this love story making you root for this couple; for their victory. It wasn’t tawdry or ugly; I certainly didn’t think it was dark. It was beautiful even when it was painful – and for me – it was painful, knowing I possibly wouldn’t get the closure I needed. Lia’s grown up fast with a level of adult maturity sprinkled with a bit of riotous adolescence that makes it hard for Craig to remember she’s still just a kid trying to find her way. Even when I saw the peeks of immaturity from Lia it added to the relatability of the story – if I hadn’t seen those normal knee-jerk reactions of teenage know-it-all syndrome I wouldn’t have bought into her story…no teenager has all their $h!t together no matter how fast they’ve had to mature. Add in Craig’s love and palpable longing mixed with his ability to do the right thing for his girl not matter the cost (and it does cost Craig mightily in ways you don’t expect) and it’s a recipe for heartbreak. I was waiting for the inevitable crash…and burn.
“Label didn’t work for us. There was no box we fit into.”
While Blurry isn’t your average normal love story – it IS a love story. Both beautiful and hard to take, painful and tender. Reading a taboo romance with an expiration date should’ve made me indifferent at the very least. Or perhaps outraged. It didn’t. I don’t know that Ms. Adams could have written a better story – other than a future for Craig and Lia. Even that might have damaged the beauty that is their past. I’m left in an acceptable, if not good, place. And waiting, ever so nervously, for Craig’s turn. I’ll absolutely be back for more.
Bravo Ms. Adams, Bravo. Blurry is definitely one of my Top 2017 reads.
“The line was clear. Who we were and who we could never be. A straight, black, think line. Somewhere along the way, our line had gotten blurry.”
K’s Category: 1st date, first novel read by author to date.
Trigger Warning: Yes, underage sexual activity with a legal adult.
Characters: M/F
OM/OW: Yes
Sex: Yes, descriptive
HEA: HFN with assumption of more to come.
Standalone: Yes, this is a prequel to the Bama Boys Series; I read it on its own with no issues.
February 6, 2017
Blurry by Author Carina Adams is a YA/NA student teacher romance novel.
"I had learned my lesson. Never again. Love was for fools."
Lia is entering her sophomore year of high school. Her life revolves around her best friends, her work, and sports. Her home life is fairly non-existent as her mom is absent most times. Because of this, she isn't accustomed to anyone caring about her or her well-being. But, all of that is about to change when Coach Knightly steps on the scene and they become "friends with rules."
"Teacher, student. Coach, player. Friends. I doubted we could ever be more. Everything about us was off limits, forbidden."
I love student-teacher romance novels. I initially read the beginning portion of Blurry in A Secret Affair Anthology. It was the start of something that I hoped to get more of, so I was so excited to be getting the full story from Author Carina Adams. As would be expected in a novel of this nature, there was plenty of angst, the tension between Lia and Craig being strong and tangible and bringing many moments when I had to read holding my breath, afraid of what would happen next. Blurry also had some very unusual twists which I don’t believe I had previously read in other student/teacher romance books; this was a very strong point for me in this regard. However, there were also times when character thoughts and dialogue caused a disconnect with their actions. Overall, this book fed my never-ending obsession for student/teacher trope and gave me a good HEA.
"The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered."
"I had learned my lesson. Never again. Love was for fools."
Lia is entering her sophomore year of high school. Her life revolves around her best friends, her work, and sports. Her home life is fairly non-existent as her mom is absent most times. Because of this, she isn't accustomed to anyone caring about her or her well-being. But, all of that is about to change when Coach Knightly steps on the scene and they become "friends with rules."
"Teacher, student. Coach, player. Friends. I doubted we could ever be more. Everything about us was off limits, forbidden."
I love student-teacher romance novels. I initially read the beginning portion of Blurry in A Secret Affair Anthology. It was the start of something that I hoped to get more of, so I was so excited to be getting the full story from Author Carina Adams. As would be expected in a novel of this nature, there was plenty of angst, the tension between Lia and Craig being strong and tangible and bringing many moments when I had to read holding my breath, afraid of what would happen next. Blurry also had some very unusual twists which I don’t believe I had previously read in other student/teacher romance books; this was a very strong point for me in this regard. However, there were also times when character thoughts and dialogue caused a disconnect with their actions. Overall, this book fed my never-ending obsession for student/teacher trope and gave me a good HEA.
"The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered."
February 6, 2017
I accepted an ARC of Blurry to read and review
When i first read the synopsis i was intrigued. Having never read a novel by Carina Adams i thought, why not.
I'm so glad i decided to take a chance on a 'New-to-Me' Author!
But in being one hundred percent honest, I wasn't going to request an ARC of this novel given the 'student/teacher' trope that was described. I tend to be more harsh when reviewing a novel that has to do with this particular subject. I feel it has to be told a right way to where it isn't considered 'creepy' in my head.
Carina Adams has done the impossible. I enjoyed Blurry and was even intrigued and highly addicted to the student/teacher romance of the novel.
I thought she told Craig and Lia's story perfectly. The creepy factor did not hit me what-so-ever. Their relationship is more emotional rather than sexual. That was perfect in the beginning because Lia is only 15 years old. The other factor that helped was the fact that Craig was only 20 years old, so there was only a 5 age year difference between the two.
I loved Lia and Craigs connection from the start. It all started with a lecture and a ride home which turned into an evolving friendship between the two. You can see first hand how difficult it is to try to stop a relationship that is clearly meant to be, but you know it is one hundred percent wrong and forbidden.
I'm intrigued and am planning on reading the Bama' Boys series soon!!
Also, I'm glad i took a chance on a new author. I found an author that somehow turned a trope that i highly disliked into a novel that i loved!
*Update: After just reading the synopsis to Forever Red, i have a feeling my heart is going to break for Craig, I have no clue...i'm even more intrigued now. Looks like my next read with be Forever Red, I need answers*
When i first read the synopsis i was intrigued. Having never read a novel by Carina Adams i thought, why not.
I'm so glad i decided to take a chance on a 'New-to-Me' Author!
But in being one hundred percent honest, I wasn't going to request an ARC of this novel given the 'student/teacher' trope that was described. I tend to be more harsh when reviewing a novel that has to do with this particular subject. I feel it has to be told a right way to where it isn't considered 'creepy' in my head.
Carina Adams has done the impossible. I enjoyed Blurry and was even intrigued and highly addicted to the student/teacher romance of the novel.
I thought she told Craig and Lia's story perfectly. The creepy factor did not hit me what-so-ever. Their relationship is more emotional rather than sexual. That was perfect in the beginning because Lia is only 15 years old. The other factor that helped was the fact that Craig was only 20 years old, so there was only a 5 age year difference between the two.
I loved Lia and Craigs connection from the start. It all started with a lecture and a ride home which turned into an evolving friendship between the two. You can see first hand how difficult it is to try to stop a relationship that is clearly meant to be, but you know it is one hundred percent wrong and forbidden.
I'm intrigued and am planning on reading the Bama' Boys series soon!!
Also, I'm glad i took a chance on a new author. I found an author that somehow turned a trope that i highly disliked into a novel that i loved!
*Update: After just reading the synopsis to Forever Red, i have a feeling my heart is going to break for Craig, I have no clue...i'm even more intrigued now. Looks like my next read with be Forever Red, I need answers*
November 11, 2016
Luckily this author adores me and I adore her.
I've been lucky enough to read this bad boy chapter by chapter since day 1. Now that I've read all 38 chapters plus the epilogue. I feel sick. I need more. I crave more.
More.
More.
More!!!
Craig is mine. Yes, I hated him through the early days and years of Forever Red. Now I question why the fahk there ever had to be a Neil Kelly. Ugh!
Craig is the shiznit.
Craig needs his own book.
#VoteForCraig
I've been lucky enough to read this bad boy chapter by chapter since day 1. Now that I've read all 38 chapters plus the epilogue. I feel sick. I need more. I crave more.
More.
More.
More!!!
Craig is mine. Yes, I hated him through the early days and years of Forever Red. Now I question why the fahk there ever had to be a Neil Kelly. Ugh!
Craig is the shiznit.
Craig needs his own book.
#VoteForCraig
February 5, 2017
I first fell in love with Carina Adams when I read Forever Red. I loved that book and now, after reading Blurry, I'm so torn. I loved Nate but man, Craig is giving him a run for his money, big time. I loved the chemistry between Craig and Lia. They knew their love was wrong, shit, I knew their love was wrong but there was no part of me saying it needed to stop. They couldn't stop and I prayed they could live their life together forever. Is age just a number? Read this and you will think it is!
April 2, 2017
I originally started reading this story in an anthology of shorts. I felt as though I needed the rest of the short story.
Before I leave my review, lets just say that this is a taboo subject and I'm not going to get into a debate of whether I think it is right or wrong...
Teacher and Coach Craig Knightly started out having pure intentions, he just wanted to keep his athlete safe and out of trouble. He wanted to return the favor a teacher from his past did for him and his friends.
Cecilia (Lia) was a girl from the the poor side of town and gifted athlete. Her father abandoned them when she was young and her mother was basically not existent. She practically raised herself and worked really hard for everything she had.
When Craig realized her situation, he took it upon himself to help her out as much as he could. What he didn't count on was falling in love with her...
I love the way this book was written. I liked having both POV's and the future tense. I felt as though I got the complete story from start to finish.
Before I leave my review, lets just say that this is a taboo subject and I'm not going to get into a debate of whether I think it is right or wrong...
Teacher and Coach Craig Knightly started out having pure intentions, he just wanted to keep his athlete safe and out of trouble. He wanted to return the favor a teacher from his past did for him and his friends.
Cecilia (Lia) was a girl from the the poor side of town and gifted athlete. Her father abandoned them when she was young and her mother was basically not existent. She practically raised herself and worked really hard for everything she had.
When Craig realized her situation, he took it upon himself to help her out as much as he could. What he didn't count on was falling in love with her...
I love the way this book was written. I liked having both POV's and the future tense. I felt as though I got the complete story from start to finish.
February 7, 2017
Blurry brings us Lia, a fifteen year old high school student. She tries to be like any other high school student…she gets involved in sports, field hockey and softball, she has her group of friends she hangs out with. However, she knows she will never be on the same level as some of her peers. Lia lives in Two Lanes, the nearby trailer park, and she spends her free time outside of school working and taking care of herself because her mom isn’t around. Enter Craig, the twenty year old student teacher and field hockey coach. All Craig wants is to help his students and athletes, he wants to be there for them when they need him. As Lia and Craig become friends they fall into a quicksand of emotional feelings. With only five years between them it is hard to remember where the lines are.
Okay, let me start out with a warning, this is a student teacher relationship, it is forbidden and does blur the lines of right and wrong…if you are not comfortable with that, please don’t read this book.
I will be perfectly honest with you guys, I LOVE me a good student/teacher romance. Honestly I really don’t know what it is that draws me to these books wether it be the forbidden element, and the hot sneaking around or what but I am always drawn in. Blurry was no different. If anything this might be the best book I have read dealing with this sort of relationship. Carina Adams did a wonderful job with this book. Yes, at first I was a little skeptical because Lia is SO young, however, as the story unfolded and I grew to learn Lia as a character it was hard for me to remember that she was only 15. Adams wrote Lia as such a fierce and strong young woman that is used to taking care of herself because no one else is around for her. Be that as it may, Lia still has to deal with the typical high school drama such as backstabbing best friends and bullies. She is trying to find herself amidst this world who looks down upon her without even knowing her.
Craig, simply wants to be Lia’s friend…he can tell she is struggling and needs someone to be there for her. He also believes that his actions are 100% innocent, until they aren’t. Craig was a smart, good guy who got fell for the wrong person. We can’t always control what our hearts want. I love how much he loves Lia. As their story unfolds, I was so glad that, even though he might have been her teacher and their relationship inappropriate, he was there for Lia when she needed him. Also he is TOTALLY swoon worthy.
There were just so many elements to this story and Adams did well with every single one. I was completely captured in the forbidden spell of these characters, it was hard for me to put this book down. Now, I understand that not everyone will enjoy this book the way I did, however, if you do like a good forbidden romance this is definitely a book I recommend picking up!
Overall rating: 5/5 Stars
Okay, let me start out with a warning, this is a student teacher relationship, it is forbidden and does blur the lines of right and wrong…if you are not comfortable with that, please don’t read this book.
I will be perfectly honest with you guys, I LOVE me a good student/teacher romance. Honestly I really don’t know what it is that draws me to these books wether it be the forbidden element, and the hot sneaking around or what but I am always drawn in. Blurry was no different. If anything this might be the best book I have read dealing with this sort of relationship. Carina Adams did a wonderful job with this book. Yes, at first I was a little skeptical because Lia is SO young, however, as the story unfolded and I grew to learn Lia as a character it was hard for me to remember that she was only 15. Adams wrote Lia as such a fierce and strong young woman that is used to taking care of herself because no one else is around for her. Be that as it may, Lia still has to deal with the typical high school drama such as backstabbing best friends and bullies. She is trying to find herself amidst this world who looks down upon her without even knowing her.
Craig, simply wants to be Lia’s friend…he can tell she is struggling and needs someone to be there for her. He also believes that his actions are 100% innocent, until they aren’t. Craig was a smart, good guy who got fell for the wrong person. We can’t always control what our hearts want. I love how much he loves Lia. As their story unfolds, I was so glad that, even though he might have been her teacher and their relationship inappropriate, he was there for Lia when she needed him. Also he is TOTALLY swoon worthy.
There were just so many elements to this story and Adams did well with every single one. I was completely captured in the forbidden spell of these characters, it was hard for me to put this book down. Now, I understand that not everyone will enjoy this book the way I did, however, if you do like a good forbidden romance this is definitely a book I recommend picking up!
Overall rating: 5/5 Stars
February 2, 2017
Teacher/student is one of my favorite genres and Burry fit the mold almost perfectly. We are introduced to the young Lia and honestly, a young Craig. She's sixteen and he's twenty, although it felt like he was written to be thirty.
"Sometimes we don’t even know how much we need someone until they’re there.”
Lia was a bit of a little girl lost. Her father took off a few years previous and her mother is pretty much non-existent. At sixteen, she is mature beyond her years having to take care of herself for so long. While she has girlfriends, Lia still feels alone most of the time. Enter student teacher Craig.
Starting college young, Craig is a senior, on the verge of graduating and student teaching at Lia's high school. Sure he's surrounded by pretty girls all day, but there is something more about Lia that catches his eye. She's strong, a survivor and he likes that about her. Getting to know her better while coaching her field hockey team, Craig instantly strikes up an unusual friendship with the teen.
Okay, so twenty and sixteen isn't that much of a stretch (if we aren't talking about my daughter) and I think the fact that Carina Adams wrote Craig to act much, much older than twenty helped. Thinking back and looking at the twenty year olds around me, they are complete immature a-holes at times as compared to Craig. That said, he was the teacher and she's the student, so let the angst begin.
"Coach, player. Friends. I doubted we could ever be more. Everything about us was off-limits, forbidden."
It is obvious that Craig was going to fall for Lia, the surprise was all the baggage they both carried from thier pasts. That kept the angst level high and the story lines interesting. While the book reads as predictable, there are quite a few surprises thrown in to keep us readers off guard.
"The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered."
The book is well written from dual points of view and spans several years. Along with Lia and Craig, we have a gaggle of Lia's girlfriends, the resident queen bee of the school, as well as Craig's college buddies to keep things moving right along. The book reads as a standalone with a nice epilogue.
Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog.
"Sometimes we don’t even know how much we need someone until they’re there.”
Lia was a bit of a little girl lost. Her father took off a few years previous and her mother is pretty much non-existent. At sixteen, she is mature beyond her years having to take care of herself for so long. While she has girlfriends, Lia still feels alone most of the time. Enter student teacher Craig.
Starting college young, Craig is a senior, on the verge of graduating and student teaching at Lia's high school. Sure he's surrounded by pretty girls all day, but there is something more about Lia that catches his eye. She's strong, a survivor and he likes that about her. Getting to know her better while coaching her field hockey team, Craig instantly strikes up an unusual friendship with the teen.
Okay, so twenty and sixteen isn't that much of a stretch (if we aren't talking about my daughter) and I think the fact that Carina Adams wrote Craig to act much, much older than twenty helped. Thinking back and looking at the twenty year olds around me, they are complete immature a-holes at times as compared to Craig. That said, he was the teacher and she's the student, so let the angst begin.
"Coach, player. Friends. I doubted we could ever be more. Everything about us was off-limits, forbidden."
It is obvious that Craig was going to fall for Lia, the surprise was all the baggage they both carried from thier pasts. That kept the angst level high and the story lines interesting. While the book reads as predictable, there are quite a few surprises thrown in to keep us readers off guard.
"The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered."
The book is well written from dual points of view and spans several years. Along with Lia and Craig, we have a gaggle of Lia's girlfriends, the resident queen bee of the school, as well as Craig's college buddies to keep things moving right along. The book reads as a standalone with a nice epilogue.
Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog.
January 3, 2017
4.5 star Review of Blurry by Carina Adams
This is the prequel to Forever Red and I must say that I was intrigued to see how this book played out. I was pleasantly surprised as I really wasn’t sure how I would feel about this pairing considering how much I love Nate and Lia together.
A teacher and a student; it immediately brings to mind angst and drama. This is the story of forbidden love, the anxiety and fear that sneaking around, trying to hide a relationship brings and the impact that it has on those involved.
Blurry certainly answered questions that I had about Lia and Craig’s relationship. It also explained a great deal as to why Lia is the way she is. Craig gave her the self-confidence and support she so badly needed and I admit that I did like Craig and Lia together.
This book evoked a myriad of emotions in me as I read it. I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I wanted to butt heads together in various combinations throughout the book. Ms. Adams created a story within a story, with so many layers, I felt I just wanted to dig in and ignore everything else till I finished.
This book was well written and thought provoking and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Adams
This is the prequel to Forever Red and I must say that I was intrigued to see how this book played out. I was pleasantly surprised as I really wasn’t sure how I would feel about this pairing considering how much I love Nate and Lia together.
A teacher and a student; it immediately brings to mind angst and drama. This is the story of forbidden love, the anxiety and fear that sneaking around, trying to hide a relationship brings and the impact that it has on those involved.
Blurry certainly answered questions that I had about Lia and Craig’s relationship. It also explained a great deal as to why Lia is the way she is. Craig gave her the self-confidence and support she so badly needed and I admit that I did like Craig and Lia together.
This book evoked a myriad of emotions in me as I read it. I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I wanted to butt heads together in various combinations throughout the book. Ms. Adams created a story within a story, with so many layers, I felt I just wanted to dig in and ignore everything else till I finished.
This book was well written and thought provoking and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Adams
February 6, 2017
Multiple Reviews Below
5Stars
I received an ARC for an honest review.
This was my first read from Carina and I'll certainly be going back for more... The lines of what is right and wrong get blurred when student/teacher and field hockey coach Craig sparks up a friendship with Lia, a lonely and lost Sophomore trying to make it through her senior years so she can finish high school and escape her life in a town that sees her as nothing but trailer trash. This book had everything it was heartfelt emotion on every page.. a tale of courage, hope, love, lust and friendship! Also passion, grit and determination I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys reading stories that are captivating and moving as well as a little risqué.
Reviewed by Nat
4Stars
This was my first Carina Adams book and I really enjoyed it. Everything about Craig and Lia was so wrong but I couldn't bring myself to not route for them and want them to work. Carina did a great job of making sure a taboo subject was handled with care and respect and grace. I cannot wait to go back and read her other books.
Reviewed by Kaci
5Stars
I received an ARC for an honest review.
This was my first read from Carina and I'll certainly be going back for more... The lines of what is right and wrong get blurred when student/teacher and field hockey coach Craig sparks up a friendship with Lia, a lonely and lost Sophomore trying to make it through her senior years so she can finish high school and escape her life in a town that sees her as nothing but trailer trash. This book had everything it was heartfelt emotion on every page.. a tale of courage, hope, love, lust and friendship! Also passion, grit and determination I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys reading stories that are captivating and moving as well as a little risqué.
Reviewed by Nat
4Stars
This was my first Carina Adams book and I really enjoyed it. Everything about Craig and Lia was so wrong but I couldn't bring myself to not route for them and want them to work. Carina did a great job of making sure a taboo subject was handled with care and respect and grace. I cannot wait to go back and read her other books.
Reviewed by Kaci
December 22, 2016
Those Bama Boys <3
I think I was one of the rare few that loved Craig early on.
In Forever Red, we didn't get the full back story of his and Lia's relationship, so we were left to wonder and fill in the pieces on our own. When Carina told me she was writing their story I was soo excited. And scared. VERY scared. I knew Lia cared deeply for Craig I was so afraid to see their story play out. I knew I'd love them, love him.
And holy crap do I!
This is such an important piece to our Lia's story. It helps you understand her in a new way. She wouldn't be who she is today had Craig not showed up at the perfect time. He helped her see she was so much more than she thought.
I wouldn't be opposed to throwing Nate under a bridge... and I feel SOOO guilty for it.
Carina's Forever Red and Out of the Blue are so dear to my heart, and now Blurry is right up there with them. I can't wait to see more of Craig in Noah's book <3
I think I was one of the rare few that loved Craig early on.
In Forever Red, we didn't get the full back story of his and Lia's relationship, so we were left to wonder and fill in the pieces on our own. When Carina told me she was writing their story I was soo excited. And scared. VERY scared. I knew Lia cared deeply for Craig I was so afraid to see their story play out. I knew I'd love them, love him.
And holy crap do I!
This is such an important piece to our Lia's story. It helps you understand her in a new way. She wouldn't be who she is today had Craig not showed up at the perfect time. He helped her see she was so much more than she thought.
I wouldn't be opposed to throwing Nate under a bridge... and I feel SOOO guilty for it.
Carina's Forever Red and Out of the Blue are so dear to my heart, and now Blurry is right up there with them. I can't wait to see more of Craig in Noah's book <3
January 11, 2017
I'm absolutely crazy for this book. Just when you think you know characters in a series, a book like this is written. you know that guy you hated in Forever Red? and that girl you loved? Yes Craig and Lia! Well, be prepared to take everything you thought you knew and throw it out the window. I loved Blurry because it was the foundation for the people they became in Red. Characters will cross lines, create relationships that shouldn't be, and destroy eachother all why trying to do what they believe is right and knowing what they are doing is wrong. After finishing this book, I am ready to re-read Red to go at it with the vision Carina had in her head of who these people were. I think it will change everything for me. This is definitely a must read book
August 4, 2017
Find this review and more at Ramblings From This Chick
I will be honest and say that I didn't know how I was going to feel about this book before I started it, and while I was excited I was also a bit scared. If you haven't read Forever Red by Carina Adams, you may want to exit now as there will be some spoilers from that book. Having read and loved Forever Red and Out of the Blue (the previous books released in the Bama Boys series by Carina Adams), I was a huge Nate fan. So when I found out that Carina had written a story about Lia with someone else I just wasn't sure if I could connect or even like the story. Carina is such a talented writer though that I never should have worried about it. Blurry is the story of Lia and Craig, before Lia met Nate.
Cecelia "Lia" Merrill was used to being on her own, lost and lonely she was determined to graduate and leave her tiny town behind her for good. But then she met coach Craig Knightly and everything changed. Craig almost had everything that he had ever dreamed of, but then Lia changed everything that he thought he knew. Soon an unexpected and forbidden friendship between them led to more, and both Lia and Craig knew that their lives would be forever changed in a situation where neither of them could come out a winner.
Like I said, I was worried about being able to connect here, even though I had loved Lia before. I ended up really liking Craig though as well, and surprisingly I found myself liking these two together. Did I think that they belonged together in the long run? No I didn't, because I knew better and she always belonged with Nate. But that didn't stop me from rooting for these two here or enjoying their time together. For those that haven't read Forever Red, this one will probably be a completely different experience than for those that have read FR. I loved the fact that we got to know Lia better here though and see a bit more into her past than just some details we had been given previously. These two had a great connection and strong chemistry, and they needed each other at the time that they were together. Yet they also both were at a place where they couldn't be together long term, and I think that their time together made them into the people that they needed to be later on.
I will say that I actually ended up feeling sorry for Craig here, and it broke my heart a bit to see him here knowing what was ahead for him. These two had genuine feelings for one another, yet Craig definitely was the one that I knew would wind up hurting the most. I felt for him even though he had messed things up with Lia to begin with, and I really just wanted him to be happy. It was easy to see how he as well as Mike and Nate could fall for Lia, and I was glad to get more of all these characters. This was an emotional read, and I really struggled knowing how everything would play out in the long run. But I am really glad that Carina Adams wrote this story and gave us more insight into these characters that I already knew and loved. I hope that Craig might one day get his own HEA as I think he truly deserves one. It was great to read about his HFN with Lia here though, and I think fans of this series will really enjoy getting more in this world.
**ARC Provided by Social Butterfly PR**
I will be honest and say that I didn't know how I was going to feel about this book before I started it, and while I was excited I was also a bit scared. If you haven't read Forever Red by Carina Adams, you may want to exit now as there will be some spoilers from that book. Having read and loved Forever Red and Out of the Blue (the previous books released in the Bama Boys series by Carina Adams), I was a huge Nate fan. So when I found out that Carina had written a story about Lia with someone else I just wasn't sure if I could connect or even like the story. Carina is such a talented writer though that I never should have worried about it. Blurry is the story of Lia and Craig, before Lia met Nate.
Cecelia "Lia" Merrill was used to being on her own, lost and lonely she was determined to graduate and leave her tiny town behind her for good. But then she met coach Craig Knightly and everything changed. Craig almost had everything that he had ever dreamed of, but then Lia changed everything that he thought he knew. Soon an unexpected and forbidden friendship between them led to more, and both Lia and Craig knew that their lives would be forever changed in a situation where neither of them could come out a winner.
Like I said, I was worried about being able to connect here, even though I had loved Lia before. I ended up really liking Craig though as well, and surprisingly I found myself liking these two together. Did I think that they belonged together in the long run? No I didn't, because I knew better and she always belonged with Nate. But that didn't stop me from rooting for these two here or enjoying their time together. For those that haven't read Forever Red, this one will probably be a completely different experience than for those that have read FR. I loved the fact that we got to know Lia better here though and see a bit more into her past than just some details we had been given previously. These two had a great connection and strong chemistry, and they needed each other at the time that they were together. Yet they also both were at a place where they couldn't be together long term, and I think that their time together made them into the people that they needed to be later on.
I will say that I actually ended up feeling sorry for Craig here, and it broke my heart a bit to see him here knowing what was ahead for him. These two had genuine feelings for one another, yet Craig definitely was the one that I knew would wind up hurting the most. I felt for him even though he had messed things up with Lia to begin with, and I really just wanted him to be happy. It was easy to see how he as well as Mike and Nate could fall for Lia, and I was glad to get more of all these characters. This was an emotional read, and I really struggled knowing how everything would play out in the long run. But I am really glad that Carina Adams wrote this story and gave us more insight into these characters that I already knew and loved. I hope that Craig might one day get his own HEA as I think he truly deserves one. It was great to read about his HFN with Lia here though, and I think fans of this series will really enjoy getting more in this world.
**ARC Provided by Social Butterfly PR**
January 10, 2017
Do you know that feeling of wanting more? Of wanting to keep reading?
Here's the thing, I've started to read this story in another book that was a mix of several authors. When I started to read it I knew instantly that I would love it and I did. The major issue was that the story was incomplete and I was insane waiting for it because I wanted to know more. I had so many questions that needed to be answered. And finally my torture ended.
As you know Carina Adams has an amazing way with words. Her writing is simple, pretty detailed and sassy as hell. Wanna find out if want I'm saying is true? Grab your copy and find out.
Blurry tells the stories of Cecelia and Craig and all book is switched between their points of views.
Cecelia is a high school student and an hockey player. She loves it and she's pretty good at it. For all her childhood and teen years she has been neglected and needed to step up to take care of herself. She's super stubborn but a very loyal friend. When her coach enters her life she can't believe it. Can she accept someone who cares for her? Can she enjoy being taken care of?
Craig is a senior student as well as coach. He wants to graduate, become a teacher and then start his life.. But when he's faced with a very stubborn player he can't imagine the turn his life is about to have.
I could say so much more but I really hate spoilers so my mouth is shut. I can't say anything else without mess everything.
The story unfolds in a way that makes you want to keep reading and reading. The meaning behind each chapter makes us question a bunch of stuff in out lifes.
The way I felt when I ended this book I really can describe it. I felt a turmoil of emotions that drived me insane. But in the end I loved it. The ups and downs left me with my anxiety levels super high but it was worth it.
The love, passion, loyalty were very present in this plot as well as madness, envy and jealousy.
I wanted the story to keep going, I wanted more but hey let's face it, I always want more when I enjoy what I'm reading.
Here's the thing, I've started to read this story in another book that was a mix of several authors. When I started to read it I knew instantly that I would love it and I did. The major issue was that the story was incomplete and I was insane waiting for it because I wanted to know more. I had so many questions that needed to be answered. And finally my torture ended.
As you know Carina Adams has an amazing way with words. Her writing is simple, pretty detailed and sassy as hell. Wanna find out if want I'm saying is true? Grab your copy and find out.
Blurry tells the stories of Cecelia and Craig and all book is switched between their points of views.
Cecelia is a high school student and an hockey player. She loves it and she's pretty good at it. For all her childhood and teen years she has been neglected and needed to step up to take care of herself. She's super stubborn but a very loyal friend. When her coach enters her life she can't believe it. Can she accept someone who cares for her? Can she enjoy being taken care of?
Craig is a senior student as well as coach. He wants to graduate, become a teacher and then start his life.. But when he's faced with a very stubborn player he can't imagine the turn his life is about to have.
I could say so much more but I really hate spoilers so my mouth is shut. I can't say anything else without mess everything.
The story unfolds in a way that makes you want to keep reading and reading. The meaning behind each chapter makes us question a bunch of stuff in out lifes.
The way I felt when I ended this book I really can describe it. I felt a turmoil of emotions that drived me insane. But in the end I loved it. The ups and downs left me with my anxiety levels super high but it was worth it.
The love, passion, loyalty were very present in this plot as well as madness, envy and jealousy.
I wanted the story to keep going, I wanted more but hey let's face it, I always want more when I enjoy what I'm reading.
September 27, 2017
"Blurry"...I don't want to include spoilers but for my review to make sense I have to include a few.
I really, really liked this book. I know it was an inappropriate relationship and maybe I've completely misunderstood the H/h dynamic but they loved each other. It should've never happened and I'm not an idiot. I have a 17 year old daughter and I would not condone such a relationship in the real world. However, this is a fictitious novel.
I know this is a prequel to "The Boys of 'Bama" series. And I also wouldn't want the outcome of Nate and Cecelia to change. They belong together. And this review may seem out of order but I read it after I read the first two books. That being said, I realize Craig breaking up with Lia made him a huge asshole. He was blackmailed by his evil, manipulative ex-bitch. And in this twisted turn of events he thought he was doing the right thing. But he never stopped loving her. She moved on to be with Nate. And here is where I have a hard time.
When did Craig become a bad guy? The story continues into the "Boys of 'Bama #1" and now he's a creeper. When did that happen? Mike is now one of Lia's best friends after he was an enemy and is her protector. ? From Craig!! All I see is a man who realizes the one girl he loves he can't have. And shouldn't have been with in the beginning.
I realize he pulled some stupid stuff but is he really all that awful. I guess I just really liked him. And I should probably be ashamed. In the real world he would be a predator who should have his balls cut off. I just liked who he was when he was with her. She needed someone because she had no one to show her that she was worthy of being loved.
There's my sad review.
I really, really liked this book. I know it was an inappropriate relationship and maybe I've completely misunderstood the H/h dynamic but they loved each other. It should've never happened and I'm not an idiot. I have a 17 year old daughter and I would not condone such a relationship in the real world. However, this is a fictitious novel.
I know this is a prequel to "The Boys of 'Bama" series. And I also wouldn't want the outcome of Nate and Cecelia to change. They belong together. And this review may seem out of order but I read it after I read the first two books. That being said, I realize Craig breaking up with Lia made him a huge asshole. He was blackmailed by his evil, manipulative ex-bitch. And in this twisted turn of events he thought he was doing the right thing. But he never stopped loving her. She moved on to be with Nate. And here is where I have a hard time.
When did Craig become a bad guy? The story continues into the "Boys of 'Bama #1" and now he's a creeper. When did that happen? Mike is now one of Lia's best friends after he was an enemy and is her protector. ? From Craig!! All I see is a man who realizes the one girl he loves he can't have. And shouldn't have been with in the beginning.
I realize he pulled some stupid stuff but is he really all that awful. I guess I just really liked him. And I should probably be ashamed. In the real world he would be a predator who should have his balls cut off. I just liked who he was when he was with her. She needed someone because she had no one to show her that she was worthy of being loved.
There's my sad review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2017
4 Secret Love Stars
I’m all over the place on how to review this one. Firstly, I’ve never read such a long prequel before. From what I understand this was originally a novella, in an anthology. I’m one to follow reading order as close to chronological events play out as possible. This one tho, I’m thinking, I may have preferred to have started after Forever Red. This takes you back to the beginning, and gets your heart invested, only to find out things may not always be what they seem.
Blurry, is a taboo/ forbidden story, student-teacher/ coach, with five year age difference, he being twenty years old to her fifteen years. This story focused mostly on their emotional relationship, which started off as an innocent friendship. They did have an intimate relationship but it wasn’t as sexualized, as many of these tropes often are, and happened at the age of consent, in the state they were residing in. I have a soft spot for this trope, when done right. This book certainly falls into that category for me.
Cecilia, or Lia, was such a little survivor, I loved her courage and tenacity. Left alone to fend for herself for most things; she was stubborn and fiercely I dependent.
Craig, a young guy himself, making his way into his career ahead of schedule, trying to do the right thing by the athletes he was coaching over. His protective instinct never seeing any other feelings or emotions coming.
I got sucked into this story! The angst level got pretty high a few times, but I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit too drawn out at certain points. Still struggling with the HFN ending and what it implies.
On to, Forever Red...fingers crossed!
I’m all over the place on how to review this one. Firstly, I’ve never read such a long prequel before. From what I understand this was originally a novella, in an anthology. I’m one to follow reading order as close to chronological events play out as possible. This one tho, I’m thinking, I may have preferred to have started after Forever Red. This takes you back to the beginning, and gets your heart invested, only to find out things may not always be what they seem.
Blurry, is a taboo/ forbidden story, student-teacher/ coach, with five year age difference, he being twenty years old to her fifteen years. This story focused mostly on their emotional relationship, which started off as an innocent friendship. They did have an intimate relationship but it wasn’t as sexualized, as many of these tropes often are, and happened at the age of consent, in the state they were residing in. I have a soft spot for this trope, when done right. This book certainly falls into that category for me.
Cecilia, or Lia, was such a little survivor, I loved her courage and tenacity. Left alone to fend for herself for most things; she was stubborn and fiercely I dependent.
Craig, a young guy himself, making his way into his career ahead of schedule, trying to do the right thing by the athletes he was coaching over. His protective instinct never seeing any other feelings or emotions coming.
I got sucked into this story! The angst level got pretty high a few times, but I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit too drawn out at certain points. Still struggling with the HFN ending and what it implies.
On to, Forever Red...fingers crossed!
February 4, 2017
Unlike most of C. Adams other reviewers, I met Lia and Craig in the Blurry novella in A Secret Affair Anthology, so I didn't have any preconceived notions of him from the other books in the series. And I for one am IN LOVE WITH CRAIG AND LIA! I love the taboo elements of this story and the student-teacher love affair. It's brilliantly written and kept me turning page after page until I'd read all 122K words in one sitting. Mrs. Adams draws the reader in and sucks your heart out through a straw so she can chew it up and give it back to you...in the very best way. Adored this book!
(PS - If you don't like underage student-teacher romance...don't buy this book and then bash it in reviews. It won't be your cup of tea haha)
(PS - If you don't like underage student-teacher romance...don't buy this book and then bash it in reviews. It won't be your cup of tea haha)
February 4, 2017
Unlike most of C. Adams other reviewers, I met Lia and Craig in the Blurry novella in A Secret Affair Anthology, so I didn't have any preconceived notions of him from the other books in the series. And I for one am IN LOVE WITH CRAIG AND LIA! I love the taboo elements of this story and the student-teacher love affair. It's brilliantly written and kept me turning page after page until I'd read all 122K words in one sitting. Mrs. Adams draws the reader in and sucks your heart out through a straw so she can chew it up and give it back to you...in the very best way. Adored this book!
(PS - If you don't like underage student-teacher romance...don't buy this book and then bash it in reviews. It won't be your cup of tea haha)
(PS - If you don't like underage student-teacher romance...don't buy this book and then bash it in reviews. It won't be your cup of tea haha)
February 13, 2017
What a difficult review this is to pen. You see, Blurry really did feel like a book of two halves for us. Had we finished this book around halfway, this would have been a winner in our eyes. However, something happened at a certain point of the story and everything changed, leaving us feeling somewhat bewildered over plot line execution, character introduction/development.
‘The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered.’
We were sucked in by the synopsis for Blurry as soon as we read it. We do love a good forbidden romance and Blurry sounded right up our street. Had you seen the text message exchanges between us during the first half of this book you would have seen how completely engrossed we were. Talk about our stomachs being in knots! We read it with one hand over our eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop in this forbidden teacher/student romance. Carina Adams certainly did an excellent job of building the tension for the reader that’s for sure! The tension was gripping.
Blurry tells the story of Cecilia, she of many nicknames (Cecilia, Lia, Lee, CeCe) Merrill, a young girl who hadn’t copped too many breaks in life. She’s from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t have a lot of friends, except for Missy and Jules. Other than that she’s shunned, tormented (though we didn’t really get to experience this to a degree so we felt her torment) and labelled as trailer park trash. Her mother has no interest in her, her father abandoned her, and Cecilia doesn’t really have anyone in her corner. She needs support and love.
Enter student teacher, Craig Knightly who is assigned as the Hockey coach of the school team in which Cecilia is the star. Craig feels a mixture of irritation, admiration and sympathy for his young student. Those feelings soon turn to something else the more he gets to know her and admire her tenacity. She’s one feisty young lady and Craig tries his hardest to tramp down his feelings for her to no avail.
Their relationship builds in secret (though it's really the worst kept secret around) and this, together with the forbidden aspect of their ‘friendship’ ensured we were always left in a state of anticipation as to where this would go and how it could be kept under wraps, because Craig and Cecilia certainly weren’t discreet with their feelings.
There were times the development of their actions felt downright uncomfortable. We’re seasoned, open minded readers, who love forbidden stories, but we felt the relationship to be a little predatory. We’re constantly being reminded of 20 year old Craig’s life experience and Cecilia being a young 15 year old, complete with frizzy hair and braces on her teeth, we just couldn’t get the image of a young, innocent girl in pigtails out of our minds. Hence our discomfort.
Whilst we initially found the friendship between them to be sweet, it turned to something else. Craig Knightly, the starry eyed teacher/coach began as a sweet and caring character then started to come across a little sleazy, while Lia’s behaviour simply felt quite bizarre.
As stated, we were enjoying this story immensely up until about midway, when the direction changed and Blurry became something completely different. The tone of the story changed, and it began to feel a bit disjointed in both storytelling and character development. Lia changed so much in character, and not in a growth development sort of way, we barely recognised her.
We had issues with not living the story as it would jump, new characters would be brought into play with no introduction or build up as to who they were and why they were introduced, and in some cases, existing characters were reintroduced with complete personality changes. We had questions left unanswered and quite frankly the ending was odd.
It looks as though we’re in the minority with this one as a lot of readers are loving it, so again, it’s up to you, the reader to dive in and make up your own mind. Whilst this one didn’t work for us, it could definitely work for you.
We purchased the book and read the readers note and have to say, this only added to our confusion over the storyline and characters. It was as though all the characters had changed at will in order to suit a certain story with the ending now one of utter confusion as we haven't read the next book. But from the readers note, it now ends completely different to what you're lead to believe in Blurry. Or maybe it's just us who interpreted the ending in a different way? We were left very confused.
‘The lines might get blurry, but as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered.’
We were sucked in by the synopsis for Blurry as soon as we read it. We do love a good forbidden romance and Blurry sounded right up our street. Had you seen the text message exchanges between us during the first half of this book you would have seen how completely engrossed we were. Talk about our stomachs being in knots! We read it with one hand over our eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop in this forbidden teacher/student romance. Carina Adams certainly did an excellent job of building the tension for the reader that’s for sure! The tension was gripping.
Blurry tells the story of Cecilia, she of many nicknames (Cecilia, Lia, Lee, CeCe) Merrill, a young girl who hadn’t copped too many breaks in life. She’s from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t have a lot of friends, except for Missy and Jules. Other than that she’s shunned, tormented (though we didn’t really get to experience this to a degree so we felt her torment) and labelled as trailer park trash. Her mother has no interest in her, her father abandoned her, and Cecilia doesn’t really have anyone in her corner. She needs support and love.
Enter student teacher, Craig Knightly who is assigned as the Hockey coach of the school team in which Cecilia is the star. Craig feels a mixture of irritation, admiration and sympathy for his young student. Those feelings soon turn to something else the more he gets to know her and admire her tenacity. She’s one feisty young lady and Craig tries his hardest to tramp down his feelings for her to no avail.
Their relationship builds in secret (though it's really the worst kept secret around) and this, together with the forbidden aspect of their ‘friendship’ ensured we were always left in a state of anticipation as to where this would go and how it could be kept under wraps, because Craig and Cecilia certainly weren’t discreet with their feelings.
There were times the development of their actions felt downright uncomfortable. We’re seasoned, open minded readers, who love forbidden stories, but we felt the relationship to be a little predatory. We’re constantly being reminded of 20 year old Craig’s life experience and Cecilia being a young 15 year old, complete with frizzy hair and braces on her teeth, we just couldn’t get the image of a young, innocent girl in pigtails out of our minds. Hence our discomfort.
Whilst we initially found the friendship between them to be sweet, it turned to something else. Craig Knightly, the starry eyed teacher/coach began as a sweet and caring character then started to come across a little sleazy, while Lia’s behaviour simply felt quite bizarre.
As stated, we were enjoying this story immensely up until about midway, when the direction changed and Blurry became something completely different. The tone of the story changed, and it began to feel a bit disjointed in both storytelling and character development. Lia changed so much in character, and not in a growth development sort of way, we barely recognised her.
We had issues with not living the story as it would jump, new characters would be brought into play with no introduction or build up as to who they were and why they were introduced, and in some cases, existing characters were reintroduced with complete personality changes. We had questions left unanswered and quite frankly the ending was odd.
It looks as though we’re in the minority with this one as a lot of readers are loving it, so again, it’s up to you, the reader to dive in and make up your own mind. Whilst this one didn’t work for us, it could definitely work for you.
We purchased the book and read the readers note and have to say, this only added to our confusion over the storyline and characters. It was as though all the characters had changed at will in order to suit a certain story with the ending now one of utter confusion as we haven't read the next book. But from the readers note, it now ends completely different to what you're lead to believe in Blurry. Or maybe it's just us who interpreted the ending in a different way? We were left very confused.
March 17, 2017
I loved Forever Red and seeing Nate and Red fall in love. I also admit that reading about Lia's affair with a teacher made me think bad things about her. This novel helped me see, albeit a wrong choice, how Craig and Lia did what they did. His love for her matured and evolved throughout this novel. I enjoyed reading their history and I'm looking forward to seeing Craig move on from this love and onto a woman who will love him as fiercely as Nate and Red love each other. Another great story from Carina Adam's. So much love and angst. Real emotions that make you want to throw the book and turn the page to learn more.
March 19, 2017
OMG! I didn't think this story would be so heart-wrenching... It totally took me off guard. My first thought was that this will be a hot, forbidden romance book, but it turned out to be so much more! I loved it so much, it was a really pleasant surprise. I might want to read more from this author in the future. ;)
UPDATE: I had to take down my rating to 2 stars. I really loved this book to the point I was heartbroken along with the characters, and after searching more from Carina Adams, I saw there's the original Bama Boys series, and that the first book is about Neil and... LIA! Freaking Lia! It tells the story of 12 years later, which means Craig and Lia will split up eventually. Now... I can't even tell you how disappointed I am right now. Why make a story like Blurry, putting Craig and Lia through so much and making people believe they'll be together forever in the end, and then slap them in the face by splitting them up and getting Lia together with Neil in the end... I can't even... I'm majorly disappointed right now. I wish Carina either haven't written Blurry, or didn't make Lia end up with Neil in the end, because now it all doesn't make any goddamn sense...
UPDATE: I had to take down my rating to 2 stars. I really loved this book to the point I was heartbroken along with the characters, and after searching more from Carina Adams, I saw there's the original Bama Boys series, and that the first book is about Neil and... LIA! Freaking Lia! It tells the story of 12 years later, which means Craig and Lia will split up eventually. Now... I can't even tell you how disappointed I am right now. Why make a story like Blurry, putting Craig and Lia through so much and making people believe they'll be together forever in the end, and then slap them in the face by splitting them up and getting Lia together with Neil in the end... I can't even... I'm majorly disappointed right now. I wish Carina either haven't written Blurry, or didn't make Lia end up with Neil in the end, because now it all doesn't make any goddamn sense...
July 27, 2017
Aside from the fact that Craig Knightly is a 20 year old coach and teacher and Lia Merrill is almost 16 years old, I did enjoy the story and relationship development. However, there are times where it's hard to imagine what Craig sees in Lia when she's still awkward and gawky looking while acting somewhat immature. The friendship aspect, where Craig steps in to help Lia, though, is probably the best part of what makes Craig an awesome guy. It started out as a coach aggravated by a player who seems rebellious but then he decides to be the person who will stand by her side since Lia has no one to support her. And from there, they grew into an easy and comfortable dynamic that continued to mature. I was surprised by how much and how deeply Craig felt for Lia because again, I couldn't quite see what he sees given her youth, but there were definite things they shared in common and the connection couldn't be denied. I didn't think Craig was creepy, but he was somewhat needy and despite my reservations about Lia, there's a part of me that wanted to be like Craig and protect her given all of her obstacles. Still, the whole situation was screwed up and when it continued to implode, I wasn't surprised by the aftermath.
March 3, 2017
I received and voluntary reviewed an ARC of this book. This book was read and reviewed by Stacy Aube for Cutting Muse Blog Review.
The lines that should not be crossed. The forbidden taboo relationship. The budding friendship tturned romantic between student and teacher. Lia lives a life where no one really cares what she does. When her coach realizes she has no one to depend he takes it upon himself to be there. When the line between right and wrong blur's the two become closer than they should.
I'm really glad this is the first book I have read and can now go into Forever Red.
The lines that should not be crossed. The forbidden taboo relationship. The budding friendship tturned romantic between student and teacher. Lia lives a life where no one really cares what she does. When her coach realizes she has no one to depend he takes it upon himself to be there. When the line between right and wrong blur's the two become closer than they should.
I'm really glad this is the first book I have read and can now go into Forever Red.
June 18, 2018
I read Forever Red and Out of the Blue quite awhile ago and when I decided to read another Carina Adams book to prepare for a signing, I picked out Blurry without reading the blurb. I was thrilled to find out more about Lia's past with her coach and although I wanted to hate Craig and probably should, I really didn't. A bit taboo yes but some of the best stories are. I loved watching Lia before but reading her true backstory was even better. A great teacher/student story and this makes me want to go back and re-read Forever Red and Out of the Blue since I now know the character's histories.
January 13, 2019
I'm not exactly sure how I missed this book, because I THOUGHT I had read all things Carina Adams, but I came across this and I devoured it in one sitting. This is more like a prequel to Forever Red, which I didn't even realize until I get to the part where Craig comes back and finds out that Lia is dating Nate Kelly. Face palm! After I finished this book I rushed to read Forever Red for the second time and fell in love with Lia and Nate all over again.
December 25, 2017
This was a very angsy book! I knew nothing of the Bama Boys series when I read the short story this was started from. I really liked it and discovered she wrote more.I couldn’t wait to read it. I think I might have been happier if I ended it there. I thought the ending was so-so, but then I read the author’s note and it hurt my heart. After all that! No spoilers, but I wanted to throw the book.
January 16, 2017
5 Beautiful Blurry Stars!
Of course Carina knocked it out of the park with this baby! I seriously love her writing! Craig definitely won me over and I still love Lia!! Everybody should read this. It's phenomenal!
Of course Carina knocked it out of the park with this baby! I seriously love her writing! Craig definitely won me over and I still love Lia!! Everybody should read this. It's phenomenal!
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