Rabid Reading

**Find this and other reviews @ The Demon Librarian**Brace yourselves - this one's a doozy! Oh, wow. I have been sitting on this review for a couple of weeks now, trying to think of what to write and how to capture in words what it was like to read this book, and honestly, I'm still not sure how to convey my feelings about this book....but I've got to try, so here goes.I love flawed characters. I really, truly do - and I know I am far from alone in that love. After all, if every character we read about was perfect, what would we have to talk about and get all worked up over? Nobody's perfect and life isn't easy, and as readers, we expect the characters we give our time and our hearts to, to reflect that. We want to ride the roller coaster of life with them. Hurt when they hurt, laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry. Sigh and swoon and love and fight - the whole works. Make us feel, we say, and make us feel everything.BREAKING NOVA tested my love of flawed characters in ways it has rarely been tested before. Nova and Quinton were....man, were they were messed up. Seriously, totally effed up in almost every conceivable way. They didn't just make bad choices, they made colossal errors in judgment, and almost the entire book was spent documenting their downward spiral. It was brutal. Heartbreaking. So damn tragic that a few times, I had to put the book down and take a break because it was too painful to continue reading.So why, then, did I rate this book 4 stars? It's simply, really. The story, while tragic and disturbing, was beautifully written, and more importantly, it did its job. This book sank its teeth into me and refused to let go. Much as I hated the self-destructive path Nova and Quinton were walking, I couldn't find it in me to abandon them. I had to stick it out. I had to see how it ended, if they could somehow pull themselves out of the muck and escape the darkness their lives had become.Did they? Didn't they? My lips are sealed. You'll just have to read the book and find out for yourself.I don't want to paint a misleading picture here. The book isn't all moody, gloomy skies. There were moments when the clouds would part and light would shine through, and I soaked up those moments like rain-starved earth. They gave me hope, when hope was desperately needed. The connection between Nova and Quinton is intense, almost visceral, and the characters themselves will forever be branded upon your heart.BREAKING NOVA is amazing and soul-crushing. When you turn that final page, you won't be able to speak, or move, or do anything at all except sit there and mutter "OMG" over and over - and when you are able to think coherently again, your first thought will be, "What the hell did I just read?"This is not a book for the faint of heart. It will wreck and destroy you. If you don't think you can handle that, then don't read it. Seriously, don't. For me, the pain was worth it. I have no plans to re-read the book (I'm crazy, not a masochist), but I have every intention of picking up the next one. I'm in it now, fully invested, and I must see the journey through.4 Stars ★★★★ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.