Book Review: While You're Away (While You're Away #1) by Jessa Holbrook

While You're Away by Jessa Holbrook
Published: October 15th 2013 by Razorbill 
Review Copy: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon -- Barnes & Noble

Description From Goodreads:
Once a cheater, always a cheater?
From the moment Will and Sarah first set eyes upon each other, they know that what they have is special.
There's just one little problem . . . each of them already has a significant other.
After flirting with danger, it becomes clear their passion is too strong to be denied. But even if they make their relationship official, there are plenty of challenges in store. Will leaves for college at the end of the summer, while Sarah faces her senior year of high school in their small suburban town. Long-distance relationships always come with their fair share of troubles—mismatched schedules, jealousy, and temptation are only the beginning.
Can cheaters ever change?
WHILE YOU'RE AWAY is a steamy story about a love triangle, a long-distance relationship, and learning the true meaning of commitment.

My Review:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My thoughts on While You’re Away: Part 1:

It took me a bit to figure out how I felt about While You’re Away: Part 1. I liked it, but I wasn’t sure how much upon finishing it. See, I usually avoid stories about cheating, not because I hate reading them. That isn’t the case. It’s actually nice to read a romance where the relationships aren’t perfect – where they are flawed and realistic. But I need to be able to understand the actions of the parties involved. As far as Part 1 is concerned, I never truly understood the reasoning behind Sarah’s actions.

Still, that didn’t make Part 1 a bad read. I did like the story, and Holbrook is a great writer. I have every intention of reading the entire series (I’ve already read Part 2, and I ended up enjoying that one more than Part 1). I just struggled to connect with Sarah and Will. I know that her relationship Dave isn’t perfect – it has lost that spark and it has entered the comfort stage – but I couldn’t connect with her decision to stay with Dave while seeing Will on the side... especially after her best friend told her how screwed up that was.

Would I recommend reading this series? Even though I had some issues connecting with Sarah in Part 1, I’d still say yes. Holbrook is a great writer, and each installment brings something new for Sarah and company. Each installment is stronger, and I find myself caring about these characters as I delve further into the story. So, if you’re like me and you enjoyed Part 1 but you’re not sure how you felt about it? Still give the rest of the series a shot. It’s worth it, I promise.

If you’d rather read While You’re Away as a single novel, as it is a novel broken into six installments, the full novel will be released on May 1st, 2014. But for right now, you can purchase all six installments for your eBook reader.

View all my reviews