Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara

Goodreads Blurb

A resonant debut novel about retreating from the world after losing everything—and the connections that force you to rAnd I loveejoin it.Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somehwere she can be alone.
Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

Wow. Just absolutely wowness. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is actually the perfect words to describe it--minus the deep and adding emotional. This is definitely an amazing book to debut with and that cover is just plain gorgeous in my opinion! Seriously. WHAT is with all these beautiful covers, and premises that I just can't resist? 

The writing was so, so, SO stunning. I think it's because McNara decided to use present tense, unlike most books which use past. Personally, I love it when people use present terms. "The snow falls softly" sounds more...poetic, I guess than "The snow fell softly". And I just love how the words seem to flow more like that. So seeing that this was in present tense? Well my expectations went a bit higher and I was a bit worried that it wouldn't quite reach my expectations.

I loved the characters. they weren't necessarily far from perfect, but they had feelings that you could fell with them. They had the reactions some of us would have. Wren was such a real character, you guys. She went through so much, and even though she could be considered " self-centered", everyone has to admit, we'd probably do the same or at least something similar. And that's what I loved! the author captured these emotions, these actions, so perfectly, in my opinion. And that was...that was wonderful, for lack of a better word.

Cal, was, on the other hand, not perfect, per say, but very very close. He did react like some people would too, but...he's like, a mix of all the kind reactions. Nothing he did was ever really mean or even slightly annoying. He was just a character you had to fall in love with, sweet and so understanding, so I guess I can't complain there!

The romance was something I was iffy about. For someone who was heartbroken about her old-ex-now-dead-boyfriend, she fell in love pretty quickly. I guess I would've liked the romance to slow down a bit instead of going as quickly as it did. I expected Wren to feel denial at her feelings, honestly, so when she didn't...well, it surprised me for sure. I'm still deciding if that was a good or bad surprise.

The plot the plot the plot the plot. Lovelovelovelovelove. It wasn't like, full of twists or anything, but it told the story of a broken girl who was looking for her place in the world again. Seriously. What's not to love? The plot was just so emotional and while I didn't cry, Lovely, Dark, and Deep definitely pulled a few heartstrings. It was just...too good for words honestly. It's something you have to read to get!

The best thing was that it didn't have a happy ending after all, no matter what I thought. There's nothing perfect about the world, and there was nothing perfect about how this book ended. Am i allowed to use the word real again? No? How about believable? This story was so believable in so many ways, good and bad. I would've liked a happy ending (I'm a sucker for HEA's) but the way it ended...well, it was infinitely better. LOVE

Pages: 352

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Release Date: October 16, 2012

Rating: 7 stars