I’m very excited to take part in the Saving Ben tour today! Keep reading for my review and be sure to enter the awesome giveaway!
*Check out the other tour stops!*
Pages: 240
Published: January 31st 2013
Series: N/A – Stand Alone
Source: From Xpresso Book Tours for review
Life is sweet for Katherine Langley. A freshman at the University of Virginia, she is free from the drama of her parents’ dysfunctional marriage and ready to focus on studying to become a nurse. Her brother, Ben, belongs to the hottest fraternity on campus, and her new roommate, Emma, is beautiful and charming, a party girl whose answer for a hangover is happy hour. She is also a psychopath.When Katherine’s obsessive-compulsive overprotective brother succumbs to Emma’s charms and falls dangerously off-track, Katherine must save Ben from himself. Lives are threatened and someone disappears on New Year’s Day. The only evidence left: a single set of footprints in the snow.
From the university campus to a cozy cottage on Carter’s Creek, Virginia, Saving Ben is a haunting tale of love and loyalty, anger management, substance abuse, and betrayal.
Wow. It is very hard for me to put into words what I experienced when I read Saving Ben. This novel is gutwrenching and that is the only true word I can use to discribe it.
I truly felt most of the characters in Saving Ben. Katherine was wonderful. She was so, so loyal and a good person inside and out. Ben, although he also had his fault, just broke my heart and I really felt for him. Despite his poor decisions he honestly loved and cared about everyone that was close to him. Emma… well Emma was a bitch. I hated her, exactly like I was supposed to. OMG I wanted to scream because she made me so angry. My favorite character, was Abigail or Yabba. I absolutely adored her. Her soft-spoken, kind manner was so honest. The characterization for Saving Ben was remarkable. I didn’t feel like these were characters created, I felt like they were real, true people and we were listening to their story.
As this is a mystery type novel, although you don’t find out the mystery until quite close to the end I don’t want to reveal a lot of details. The most important part about Saving Ben is the build up to the ending. I didn’t understand that when I was reading that, until the ending, so I became quite antsy waiting for something to happen. Don’t go into this waiting for the mystery, that’s my advice as because of this I had a few problems with pacing. I thought it was a bit slow at times.
The writing is absolutely phenomenal. As it was for the characters, I felt like this was a story I was in, not reading. I was completed enveloped in the story and I truly felt for the characters.
The ending is bittersweet, as well as several other parts during the novel. I blinked back tears several times and when I finished I had that familiar aching in my chest that I only have when I read books such as Code Name Verity.
I wouldn’t pass up Saving Ben, it’s beautifully written and has wonderful characters.
*3 signed paperback copies (US only), 2 ebook copies (INTL), and a $25.00 amazon gift card (INTL). *
*If Rafflecopter does not load please refresh or click on the link*
Happy Reading!
xo Lauren
This certainly sounds like a fab book and I will be adding it to my wishlist now! I love characters in books, so I’m so thoroughly glad to hear they are great ones in this! And I’m glad the mystery isn’t delivered too soon.
Fab review. 🙂
Livvy @NerdyBookReviews recently posted..A Shade of Vampire
Thanks Livvy! I can’t wait to see what you think. It was really a pleasant surprise(how much I loved it, not the book… pleasant wouldn’t be the word to describe it lol) and it keeps you hanging on to the very end.
Lauren recently posted..Summer of Stand Alones – Mid Summer Check In
Wow so happy you enjoyed it! It sounds like a book that really guts you I’d have to mentally prepare! 🙂 Great review!
Giselle recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday (84)
You would Giselle!! So many sad and twisty things happen that you just want to close it and sob a bit lol.
Lauren recently posted..Behind the Blog: Tips from an Organizer…Introduction
Woah, her roommate is a psychopath? I AM DEF. IN FOR THIS ONE! I have not read that much mystery books so I am looking forward on this one. I’m pretty sure I will hate Emma too lol. Glad you liked it! Hopefully I don’t find the book’s pacing as slow.. cause it just turns me off really quickly.
Leigh @ Little Book Star
Leigh @ Little Book Star recently posted..{Tour Stop} Shadow of the Mark (Carrier of the Mark #1) by Leigh Fallon – Book Feature + Giveaway
I think the only reason I found this slow was because I was waiting for the mystery from the synopsis. Now that you know it won’t happen for awhile hopefully you won’t find it slow 🙂 I hope you enjoy it Leigh!!
Lauren recently posted..Behind the Blog: Tips from an Organizer…Introduction
[…] StarsBarbie World by Heidi Acosta – 4/5 StarsThe Secret Eater by Ros Jackson – 3/5 StarsSaving Ben by Ashley Farley – 4/5 StarsHysteria by Megan Miranda – 3/5 StarsThe Ruining by Anna Collomore – […]