Near and Far by Nicole Williams

Near and Far

Author: Nicole Williams

Published: July 28^th, 2013

Summary:

There's optimistic. And there's Jesse Walker. 

If he wasn't so charming, his sunny disposition and incessant grin would get old. Fast. Falling in love with the broken girl who had at first seemed immune to anything resembling love was the best thing to happen to Jesse since the Walkers adopted him when he was five.

As Jesse's life continues at the ranch and Rowen begins making her mark in the Seattle art community, they wonder where the middle ground is. Or if there even is one.

As push comes to shove, they're forced to make choices neither are eager to make, and Jesse and Rowen have to face what their lives might look like without the other.

Can two people with such tragic pasts and different presents expect a promising future together? Whatever the answer, they'll need a lot more than love to make it.

*Recommended for mature readers due to content and language*

Review:

Okay… wow. I loved Near and Far, the second book in this series. I wasn’t disappointed at all. I loved every little bit. I wasn’t worried about reading it after being so happy with the first one. The story continues with Rowen and Jesse and the next obstacle they had to face. I thought it was a smooth transition and showed that not all relationships continue to be fine and dandy. People go through long distance relationships. They face the loneliness, the fear of losing the one they love, and empty hole that is left when you are separated.

My favorite aspect of this book is the fact that instead of Jesse continuing to ‘save’ Rowen, Rowen is doing everything she can to ‘save’ Jesse from the demons that he is facing. Throughout the book, you begin to see that Jesse is human. Everything is not fine and dandy. You slowly start learning about what happened to him before he was taken in by the Walkers. I like being able to see the back stories of all the characters; whether it’s in a memory or if its spoken from their own mouths. Everyone has a story and deserves to tell it when they are ready too.

You don’t see too much of Josie or the rest of the Walkers in this book and that is a little disappointing because I absolutely loved their characters. You get to see Garth some more and you get to see a new side to him. That was interesting and I was pleasantly surprised with where she took his character and his role in Jesse’s life.  I loved the introduction of Alex and her fun-loving spirit. She complemented Rowen’s personality.

I loved how this book showed that you can come from feeling like you have everything, to having it taken away, but still being able to rise from everything that you are going through and still come out on top. You are going to face trials in your life and you are either going to fail and let it consume you, you’re going to fail and you are going to fix to make it work in a different direction, or you are going to rise above the trial and prove that you are better than it. There is nothing in your life that can cause so much pain that you can’t fight through it and make it better for you.

Rowen and Jesse proved that good people come from shitty old lives and still rise above it all be the person that you were truly meant to be. I can’t wait to read the third book in this series. I hope that it will be just as good as the last two books.

Favorite Quotes:

“I’m the person who’s willing to walk through hell with you because I know the way. I’m the person who will be with you the whole way until you come out on the other side. Got it?” –Rowen

“Sometimes what we think are the giant mistakes in life turn out to be the best decisions.” –Alex

“It seems like if you really love someone, you love them in spite of their f*ck ups” –Garth

“I realized that our past never leaves us. We might think we’ve left it behind, but that’s when it sneaks up and beats the hell out of you. Our past is always a part of us. The key is to accept it, acknowledge it from time to time, pay the piper, and get on with your life.” -Jesse