Wash Me Away by Wendy Owens | Book Review

(Stand-Alone)

Published: April 27th 2015

Synopsis:

Monsters have a way of following you.

Immersed in a new world at boarding school, Addy Buckley learns she’s not the only one with secrets. While trying to navigate the minefield of painful lies that seem to be rattling around her family’s past, she meets soft on the eyes and heavy on the heart, Napoleon Blake.

When faced with the darkness, Addy must decide to cling to her new life and friends or let the monster carry her away. The choice is hers, sink or swim.

My Rating: 4.5/5 (Amazing)

Book Information

Publisher: Four Bean Soup LLC

Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Page Count: 239

Format: e-book

Note: I receives a free digital copy of this book thanks to Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I had so many feels reading this book, and this book was so beautiful, telling the story of a girl dealing with suicide and finding love.

Quick Summary

Addison (Addy)’s life hasn’t been easy. Navigating life while discovering shocking family secrets isn’t too simple, especially paired with Napoleon Blake, who Addy finds herself falling for more every day. When it all becomes too much, will Addy be able to make the right choice?

Plot

I actually realized after reading this book that I haven’t read many books dealing with suicide. The most notable one I can remember is All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (which I loved, by the way) and now, this one. I really liked the plot for this book. You know those kind of books that are completely unique to you but still like other books you read? That’s how it is, I kind of had a few John Green flashbacks, but overall Wash Me Away was its own touching story. I loved the storyline, learning about Addison’s backstory, as she falls in love, fights her demons, and my emotions were all over the place when reading this, because the plot really got to me. The climax especially had me on the tip of my toes, I’d become so attached to the story that I was deeply affected with what happens. (I know, I’m very cryptic, aren’t I?).
What I think could’ve been handled a bit better would be the suicide aspect of this book, because even though I knew Addy was dealing with thoughts of suicide, it was a bit less focused on for the first part of the book, and a bit more focused on the romance instead. But overall, the plot was really enjoyable.

Characters

I’m not really sure how to explain how I felt about the characters. I’ll tell you right away that I loved Napoleon Blake, the love interest in the story. His and Addy’s interactions together were just so cute, (especially this one) and their romance wasn’t a fast, hot romance, it was more of a sweet-instead-of-sexy kind of thing. And I loved it! Leo was just so lovable, and full of life, yet he has his own secrets that I really enjoyed finding out.

As for Addy herself, I just loved her as well. I wasn’t expecting to grow so attached to her when I first started the book, but by the end I was rooting for her quite hard. She went through so much and despite her traumatic childhood, remained innocent and so kind. It was truly heartbreaking to read about her pain, her belief that she’s a monster. I was taken on a huge emotional roller coaster as she started to fall in love despite the demons chasing her, watching her heart slowly mend, watching the pain become lighter. Addy wasn’t perfect, but she felt real, and she really touched my heart.

Writing Style

My tears mix with the rain, and I imagine them sinking into the earth, carrying my secrets and shame with them.

Wash Me Away had such beautiful writing, I couldn’t help but love it. Wendy Owens really showed the pain, the feelings of Addison, and did so with prose and a quotable style. Addy’s thoughts were simply so raw, the thoughts of a person who has seen and been through too much. She’s a good and smart person, but broken, and the writing really shows the effects of that. The writing was quite easy to read, and I simply flew through the pages.

Overall…

A remarkable story that not only tells a story of a girl with a traumatic past and dealing with suicide, but also a story of recovery and romance, and how there is hope under all the darkness. An emotional story, this book tugged at the heartstrings, and made me fall in love with the characters, especially Addy and Leo. The characters were so easy to root for, and I just loved the writing style. All in all, a great contemporary romance featuring a touching story with a broken protagonist struggling to fight her demons.

This book is one you don’t want to wash away. Eat it up!

-A