Something in the Way: Volume 1

This poignant and touching love story is not your ordinary romance. It is a forbidden tale about Star-crossed lovers and their epic love for each other. It starts at the beginning when a 16 yr. old Lake Kaplan first meets mysterious and rugged, Manning Sutter. Lake has always done what she is told and still idolizes her father. He wants great things for her, so she is totally focused on achieving those goals. Lakes older sister, Tiffany, is rebellious, wild and carefree. She sees Lake talking to Manning and decides that he will be her next conquest. Manning is a flawed and broken hero who works hard and wants to be better. Something about Lake calls to him and he is torn by his need to protect her and stirrings of feelings he doesn't want to acknowledge. Lake has never thought about love and lust, like her sister, but Manning causes sensations to surface that she doesn't quite know how do handle. She does know that they have a special connection and they grow to genuinely care for each other. But there are those that would not understand their friendship and it is dangerous for both of them. I really cared for all the characters, even tho they would frustrate me at times, they were well developed and honest. The story line was so engaging I couldn't put it down. This is a moving and emotional story of love, redemption, trust, sacrifice, and consequences. It brought out so many extreme emotions and I loved every minute of it! I did not see the twist this would take and it left me stunned! I can't wait for the next book!

Welcome back to the 90s, before the widespread use of email, texts and social media. Lake is 16 and in high school, with all the potential in the world for success with her father's grooming and getting accepted by USC is a high priority. Her older sister, Tiffany, is not quite as ambitious, but she's a definite attention seeker who lives by her own rules. The moment that Lake meets Manning, it's obvious that he's not like the other construction workers whom he works with, and the immediate connection isn't like this illuminating spark, but rather, a quietly lit flame that doesn't go unnoticed by either of them. I was instantly attached to both Lake and Manning and loved reading through both of their voices. Lake exudes this innocence and positivity while being intelligent, cautious and obedient. She has her own opinions, but she balances them with her actions, usually careful not to rock the boat because Tiffany does that quite a bit as it is. Manning is the type of hero who is burdened and scarred by his past, but his heart is complete gold. He is very protective of Lake in the most endearing way and is the type of guy who thinks before he speaks. Tiffany is a rather transparent character through the eyes of Lake and Manning. While I wasn't her biggest fan, Jessica Hawkins does a fantastic job of giving her layers, too, where underneath the superficial is a girl who needs to be loved for herself and not pushed away because of what she can't achieve. The delicate balance between Lake and Manning was very well done, they are well aware of their age difference and obstacles associated with it. The dialogue really highlights the personalities of all of the characters and certain scenes give so many strong feels of angst, tension, wistfulness, hard reality and the unfairness of life. And that ending! Because what do you do when you find the one you are meant to be with early in life and it's just not your time to be together yet for so many reasons? I can already tell that this series is going to put me through the wringer, but I welcome it because the writing is brilliant and the characters are so vivid. This will definitely be a top favorite series of mine.

Something in the way by Jessica Hawkins a gut-wrenching breath-taking five-star read. This is the first book in the Something in the way series, the next book isn’t released for a couple of months and Jessica Hawkins has just become number one on my most hated list, she used to be number one on my fan girl list, but agggghhhhhh. I loved this book even though I spent a large chuck of the reading time with that horrid sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I am sobbing like a baby because it’s over!! May can’t come soon enough. I foresee re-reading this book several times before the next book is released. You need this book in your life, especially if you were around in the 90s, even if you weren’t you still need it to understand the pain we went through. (life was hard, no mobile phones (you generally had to talk on the house phone in front of your parents) no GPS, no internet to get more details of your latest crush. ie stalk) Sixteen-year-old Lake Dolly Kaplan is a young woman with a serious head on her very innocent shoulders, she has never been kissed, she enjoys studying and her dad has a plan for her that doesn’t involve unsuitable boys, that’s what her sister is for. Lake has never thought of boys in the way that she starts thinking of him, a hot, dark yummy older man who works construction next door. Him being Twenty-three-year-old Manning Raymond Sutter a man who knows first-hand that life isn’t fair, when he finds up a gold bracelet on site he didn’t realise it would change his life in more ways that anyone would think possible. Manning and Lake have a connection, but he knows she in innocent and he wants to keep her that way. But life doesn’t always work out the way you want, and no matter how hard you want your happy ever after you don’t always get it. Lake may have seen Manning first but her older sister Tiffany sees him next, and Tiffany is a girl who gets what she wants, just ask her daddy. I loved how this book was set in a simpler time, the 90s were my golden era so I loved all the references and remembering just how hard life was without such things as a mobile phone, things like having to rush home to make sure you didn’t miss a call from a boy you like. I was so surprised by the characters in this book, I can’t wait to see Lake come into her own more. I also surprised myself as I saw more of myself in Tiffany than I liked. I will even own up to how much I wanted to change my name to Tiffany when I was younger as mine was so boring, and I used to have a massive girl crush on Tiffany the late 80s pop star, I still sing along every time I hear the song (head hanging in shame). Most of all I want to thank Jessica Hawkins for yet another amazing book, if only she wrote faster, she would be the perfect woman and I could still fan girl over her.