Today’s Second Chance Sunday is brought to you by one of my favorite authors Lauren Barnholdt. I first fell in love with Barnholdt with her quirky story Two Way Street and have been a fan ever since. I have read almost all of Ms. Barnholdt’s books and noticed she has two styles. One, quirky and fun loving and the other, more contemporary, serious. Sometimes it Happens falls into the latter category but didn’t make me enjoy it any less.
Title: Sometimes It Happens [Amazon]
Author: Lauren Barnholdt [website]
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Contemporary
Source/Type: Purchased/Hardcover
Stars: 3 of 5
Publisher’s Description:
This novel opens on the first day of Hannah’s senior year, but the story really starts on the last day of her junior year. That’s when Hannah not only gets dumped by her boyfriend, Ryan, but she also finds out her best friend, Ava, is going to be gone for the entire summer. But Ava’s boyfriend, Noah, is definitely around–and such a good guy that he snags Hannah a job at the diner where he works. Hannah and Noah move from coworkers, to friends….and one night, to something more.
Now it’s back to school, where Hannah will see Ryan, Ava, and Noah all in one place. Over the course of the day secrets and betrayals are revealed, and alliances are broken and reformed. In the end, Hannah will learn a lot about love, friendship…and herself.
My Thoughts:
Barnholdt, you did it again. Honestly every time I read one of her books I walk away wanting more and things were no different with Sometimes It Happens. Just like in all other Barnholdt books I fell in love with the name characters. Hannah, Noah and Lacey were some of the funniest people I’ve encountered in a book in awhile. They all played off each other nicely. I wasn’t a fan of Ava, but that is usually a given for me in a book about stealing your best friend’s boyfriend.
Every time I read a book like this I always find myself finding a reason to hate the best friend, the one that gets her heartbroken and stabbed in the back. I did it in Something Borrowed, I did it with The Unwritten Rule and I did it once again with Sometimes It Happens. The way that Barnholdt wrote this version of a classic plot honestly had me rooting for Noah and Hannah. I mean I’m completely 100% against cheating. I hate it and think there is no need. It is messy and people get hurt no matter how it is justified, but like the title says, sometimes it happens. I know that sounds caviler, but the sad fact is its true. Noah and Hannah didn’t set out to hurt Ava but their circumstances lead them to get closer and for things to get messy. They fought it until they couldn’t fight it any more. However Noah was right at the end, they should have talked to Ava before letting anything happen.
But really, cheating aside, I highly enjoyed this book and would love to read more by Ms. Barnholdt as soon as possible.
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