Friday 3 March 2017

✪ Lives Collide ✪ Kristina Beck ✪







You can plan your life, but sometimes life has a mind of its own

Following Lisa
s near-death experience as a teenager, she is haunted by the emerald-green eyes of the stranger who saved her life. Her only connection to him is the leather jacket he left behind. Years later, shes still reeling from the aftereffects of her injuries, convinced that no man will love her once he uncovers her secret. She lives a life of solitude and hides behind her days of monotony. And then James storms into her life.

After James helps a young girl in a car accident, he sets his life course
determined that nothing will stand in his way. Once he accomplishes his dreams, one unforeseen event changes his orderly existence into one of chaos. He spirals downward and cant summon the strength to pull himself from the edge of despair. Until Lisa becomes a beautiful distraction.

Familiarity and a sense of peace draw them to one another. They soon discover they lived parallel lives that intertwined at the most crucial points. Can their revelations help them face their fears and move forward, or will history repeat itself?


 

Copy received from author for an honest review

Serendipity. Fate.  Kismet, Destiny.

Whatever you call it, James and Lisa's story is that personified.  Over and over their worlds came together under, and it has taken a long time for them to finally be where they are.

I really liked the story.  The triumphs and the tragedies of their lives kept me intrigued as the story progressed, and I couldn't help but be a cheerleader, hoping they would find what they were looking for in love and life.

I did find for the first part that James and his life may have been just a little bit too perfect (this might just be me though). Everything just fell in place for him, and at times it felt too good to be true and little cheesy.  But as the story progressed, that fell away for me.

Whilst I adored the story, the writing felt too stilted, too formal.  It was also quite wordy at times, and I found myself skipping paragraphs to get the story going again.  The conversations were very formal, often feeling like the characters were talking to strangers rather than their loved ones

But the story content got me through this, and I feel this is something that the author will fix in her writing as her career continues.

For a debut novel, this was a good one, and I look forward to what Ms Beck brings us in the future.







A Jersey girl herself, Kristina was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, for thirty years. After working in the pharmaceutical industry for over ten years, she felt it was time for a change. She moved to Germany and has lived there for over twelve years with her German husband and three children. She lives in the farthest southwest tip of Germany, surrounded by beautiful vineyards and a perfect view of the Black Forest. She is an avid reader of different genres, but romance always takes precedence. Her hobbies include writing, reading, fitness, wine tasting, and forever trying to improve her German-language skills.

She loves comedies from the 80s and 90s. However, her favorite movies are Terminator and Terminator Two. Even though she has lived in Germany for so long, she still downloads all Survivor and Amazing Race episodes. Her favorite peanut butter is still Jif and nothing beats a real everything bagel from the tri-state area.

Her all time favorite music group is One Republic. Coldplay and Walking on Cars are also on the top of her list.