This book was surprisingly more angsty than I originally thought. The reoccurring theme of the book was grief. Although it wasn’t as prominent as I felt that it should have been, it was present, lingering in the background.

This was not a bad book. However, the pacing was wrong and everything felt crammed in the book. Readers were not given a chance to analyze the situation and develop an emotional connection to the story, romance, or the characters.

It is hard to explain this book without being overly vague and entering spoiler central. The book was around 250 pages. The first half is about Emerson’s past. If I’m being honest, this part should have been shortened. I would have enjoyed more time focused on the present. The past felt repetitive and failed to show the emotional connection between Emerson and the other characters. It also felt vague and left me confused. Although, the second part attempted to answer my questions, it was still confusing or presented weak explanations.

The second is in the present. The second half also is about the emotional impact that the past had on Emerson. However, the event that cause such a toll on her isn’t fully revealed until almost the end. The reveal was anti-climactic because of the predictable nature of it and the book’s inability to pause and let things settle.

Characters

In the second chapter, readers are immediately shown that Emerson had a rough life growing up. She had an absent and awful mother and an abusive step-brother. But despite that, Emerson was very kind, and I really enjoyed her determination. The story about how and why she wanted to be an artist was cute and inspiring. It was a little unrealistic, but that can be overlooked.

One issue that I had with the character is that it was too unbelievable that she was an artist. It was commented on several times that she enjoyed creating, but the book never fully deeply explored Emerson’s emotional connection and true feelings about it. Also, I don’t think it was fully explained her reasoning for stopping.

The romance between Emerson and the leading guy was extremely instalove. Everything happened too fast, and the emotional connection between the two was lost. The chemistry was barely there.

Emerson is dealing with some emotional stuff in the second half of the book. And because readers are in dark about most of the events that lead to the present, the romance felt a little odd and rushed.

It is worth mentioning that their meeting was sweet and original. I really enjoyed that, and that scene was a defining moment in Emerson’s character. I wish that she would have interacted with his mother more in the book. They were sort of dealing it the same thing, and I can only imagine the emotional conversation that could have been born because of it.

Final Analysis

Love My Way rushes its way to finish line, without taking the time to let the reader experience the emotions that the book tries to invoke.