Review: Derailed

Derailed by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, New Adult Contemporary Romance,
Publication Date: September 26th 2012
Review Copy: I recieved this book from FMB Blog Tour for free. All opinions of this book in my review are my own.

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Book Description:

When you're lost, sometimes the only place you can go is home.

Broken over the death of her fiancé, Molly leaves law school to return to her childhood home in North Carolina. Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, she finds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart, the boy who represents everything from the past she tried to leave behind.

Looking for an escape, she instead finds a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and a future she never dreamed possible.

♥ ♥ ♥

I want a Ben. The end...Kidding.

If I could make a list about all the things I loved about this book, it would probably be longer than the actual review. I cant explain how Alyssa Rose Ivy has taken my breath away with Derailed. A lot of the books I read are paranormal in nature, but every once in a while I find a book that's just about life and things people go through and this novel is definitely one of those stories. I'm floored with how Ivy takes us into Molly's world and immediately we know something is wrong.

The story starts off with Molly quitting law school and moving back to her home town in North Carolina. We don't find out until a little bit later that this specific change came about because her fiance killed himself. Watching Molly pick up and leave and come back to a town she had only visited twice in five years is something that so many people can relate to.

We're all running away from something or have at some point in our lives and I think Ivy captures exactly what that's like through Molly's character. Her pain ricochet's off the page with each word and I was desperately on the edge of my seat waiting to see how she would cope with things. I like that the novel was fast paced and didn't have any portions where I felt bored or cheated.



The author did an amazing job describing Molly's emotions and showing the reader what goes through the mind of someone in her situation. Derailed was gritty and real and it evoked emotions within me about certain things that I hadn't realized I felt so strongly about. I teared up more than once at the battle going on inside Molly and I cant fathom being as strong as she was in her situation.

Let's put aside my love for the main character for a second and talk about the plot. I love the whole girl leaves home to find something better only to realize what she had was everything she wanted, plot. Technically that's an oversimplification, but I don't want to give the whole plot away. Anyway I've seen some people call it contrite, but I don't think it is, not even a little.

I love how Molly came home and rediscovered the person she was. When she left to go to Boston she was running away, but when she came back she was coming home again and healing...I digress again. I enjoyed all the characters except Gavin. I honestly wasn't sure what his purpose in the story was.

He wasn't a very three dimensional character and I sort of felt like he was just thrown in there so Molly would have someone else crushing on her. I think that is my only real complaint in this book. I felt like all the other characters had a purpose. Tom and Kelly were adorable. Jake despite his temper was great and Ben, Ben I loved to death.

I don't consider myself a romantic in any sense of the word, but my God I totally wish there was a Ben waiting for me at home. He waited five years for her and just wow. Sure he messed up when he was younger, but he more than proved himself in the end. It was like his love for Molly never once faltered and it makes me wonder if that's what true love is all about. Yes, I went there and got all mushy, sue me.

I would highly recommend Derailed to anyone who likes stories about growing up and finding themselves all over again. Cheesy description, but hey we all have our weaknesses.