Book Info –
Patch Up by Stephanie Witter
Genre: Contemporary New Adult novel with a slow building romance.
Publisher: Anchor Group
Date of Publication: 16 Sep, 2013
ISBN: 9780989707336
Number of pages: 260 pages
Cover Artist: Cover It Designs
Editor: Melissa Ringsted
Length: over 85 000 words.
Due to some shocking scenes, this novel is not intended for readers under 18.
Blurb:
Skye followed her long time boyfriend to Seattle for their first year of college, but he dumped her after only a week. The relationship brought only pain and destruction in Skye's life, and yet, she can't bring herself to open up and live her life.
"What if I am already broken into pieces?"
She hates to be touched, hiding under her oversized shirts and behind her wild frizzy hair. Even her bubbly roommate can't reach her. And yet ...
"I'm the guy who knows how you can hurt so much that your insides feel like they're cut and bleeding."
The tall, handsome, and tattooed TA in her psychology class changes everything when he literally collides with her and confronts her. For the first time in a long time, she wants to try and open up to this guy whose dark, intense eyes can't hide his own pain despite his dazzling smile getting to her.
However, just when she's starting to live again, her ex-boyfriend comes back, breaking her time and time again, making it all the more complicated.
She wants to fight for herself and for this building thing with the TA, even when he pushes her away, but can two broken people patch each other up?
"I never thought colliding with someone could change lives, but it is possible."
Goodreads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon UK / Amazon / Smashwords
Excerpt:
(The first meeting)
Without paying attention to my surroundings, I turn to my left to walk toward the row closer to the door where a seat is available. I take a step and collide with a hard body, almost toppling me over on the ground for the second time in less than an hour. A strong hand grips me firmly by the forearm. My body stiffens and my breath catches in my throat. It’s as if I can’t move besides yanking my arm free without looking up to see who I collided with.
“Are you all right?” he asks me in a deep and calm voice.
My eyes wander from my red Converse to his dark boots. I have to calm down. I’m being ridiculous. Calm down. I take a deep breath and look up slowly. Long, muscled legs in beat up dark blue jeans, an old black leather jacket open over a dark grey V-neck sweater that showcases an impressive tall body with broad shoulders and finally, longish and messy black hair, perfect straight nose, full lips, high cheekbones and expressive soft dark eyes that lock with my bluish-greyish ones. He looks older with his goatee perfectly trimmed. A perfect hot mess many girls would say. I’m just intimidated by this stranger, though.
“I’m fine,” I reply, my voice even. I push away some of my untamed locks and curse my auburn frizzy hair that is always all over the place.
About The Author –
Stephanie Witter is a French dreamer. She started English at three and fell in love with the language. Always with a book - or two - close by, she soon started reading in English when she couldn't wait to see Harry Potter translated in French. After a while, reading wasn't enough and she started writing young adult and new adult contemporary novels always filled with drama. Now she hopes to translate English novels in her mother tongue as her everyday job. By My Side is her debut novel.
Goodreads / Twitter/ Facebook / Blog / Amazon Page
My Review by Fiona Wilson
4 Stars
Skye followed her heart, and her boyfriend, to join the same college. But he broke it off almost immediately after, shattering her into little pieces. Since then Skye has struggled to repair the damage he did. But the damage runs far deeper than even we, the reader, first realises.
Kate, Skye's roommate, tries to involve Skye in the party side of college, inviting her out to social evenings. But it is at one of these we discover her ex is a nasty piece of work, but the author still manages to keep the extent of this hidden until just the right moment.
Skye finds an ally in a TA (teaching assistant) from one of her classes, Duke. We discover that Duke, in his own way, is also damaged from a past experience. He decides he sees something in Skye which makes him want to be her friend, and he goes all out to persuade Skye this is a good idea. But she isn't so easy to convince.
Throughout the story Skye has to put up with a lot from other people. Not only her ex, but from Kate and Duke in different ways. She also has to hide a lot from everyone, including her parents.
What will happen when her secrets come to light? Will she get the support she so desperately needs? Or will her ex have the final say?
This was not an easy story to read due to the content within its pages. There is adult content/abuse and is therefore not for younger people. But the storyline is all necessary to make this a book worth reading.