Review: All the While by Gina Azzi

Book Blurb:

Consumed with grief for her twin brother Adrian’s death, Maura Rodriguez is spinning out of control. To cope with Adrian’s loss, she numbs her pain with bottles of vodka and sex with random men.

Harboring guilt over his best friend Adrian’s death, Zack Huntington is yearning for a past that no longer exists. Reaching out to the familiarity and comfort an ex-girlfriend offers, Zack aims to recreate what once was but can never be again.

When their worlds collide while running on the trails along Boathouse Row, Maura and Zack find comfort in each other and in the memory of their shared connection—Adrian.

An unlikely friendship brimming with undeniable attraction blossoms into an unexpected romance. While Maura and Zack struggle to heal, to forgive, to accept, they also learn how to let go and allow themselves to fall in love, a truth they’ve both known but resisted all the while.

My Review:

4 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Romance--

Maura's twin brother Adrian died from an overdose of pain pills laced with something and Maura has been sinking ever since. She and her friends made a pact to do something fun and outside their comfort zone this semester, and for them it is easy since they all went away and left Maura behind. Maura finds herself getting drunk and having random hook-up with strangers to numb her pain, at the risk of her school, rowing and her well-being. The only bright spot in her life is Zack, Adrian's best friend, who is so off limits yet she can't help but want to spend time with him. Can she get through the semester without losing more of herself?

This is the third book in a series, where each book deals with a different friend and what happens to them during the same semester. Technically, they can be read as stand-alone stories, but there are references made to the other girls and the pact they made running through each book, so I suggest that all the books be read to get the complete picture. That being said, I read the first book and was absolutely in love with it so I jumped at the chance to read this book (yes, I have not read book 2, but I want to). I think maybe my expectations were too high since book one could do no wrong (in my humble opinion) but I found this story to be just ok. It was pretty hard for me to read at times, with the way that Maura acted. Full honesty, the girl had no sense of survival or smarts at times. Sure, her spiraling out of control was justified since she had a lot to deal with, but still I wanted her to make good choices (which she didn’t for a long time). This was just as much a healing story as it was a romance, probably more of a learning how to deal with grief than anything else. Romance was just a side effect.

I was really glad to have had the opportunity to read more in the series (and to have a brief moment with Cade and Lila refreshed). Now I definitely need to get my hands on the other two girl’s semester stories. The author has the ability to create emotions and bring to light some hard truths while making realistic characters that you root for. I can’t wait to read more.

I received this title in return for my honest review.