Let Them Read Books: Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Emerald City by Alicia K. Leppert

From the Back Cover:

Olivia Tate is a broken shell of a girl haunted by the tragic events that fill her past. She has closed herself off from the world, each day grasping at something—anything—to live for. Convinced there will never be a way out, she seeks solace in the depths of her medicine cabinet. When she wakes up days later in the hospital she is introduced to Jude, the quiet stranger responsible for saving her life. She never could have guessed then that her mysterious rescuer would end up saving her life a second time, while simultaneously turning her world upside down.

My Thoughts:

Emerald City is a story of one young woman's struggle to overcome the bonds of depression and discover a life worth living. It's about feeling lost and alone and anonymous in a sea of people, and about the power of love to heal and redeem. Olivia Tate has been living in sadness and despondency since her mother committed suicide. She's never felt more alone or uncared for. She relives her mother's death every night in terrible nightmares. She barely sleeps. She barely eats. She spends her days on auto-pilot at work in the coffee shop. She feels invisible. Then one night in a moment of concession, she takes a bottle of sleeping pills and fades away into peaceful oblivion. But then she wakes up. In the hospital. The doctor tells her how lucky she is her neighbor got her to the hospital in time. Of course, Olivia doesn't remember a thing about that. Angry at failing, embarrassed at being discovered and rescued, Olivia has no idea what she's going to do now. What's going to happen when she goes back to her lonely apartment and to the reminders of what she tried to do, and why she tried to do it? And when her rescuer shows up to escort her home, she's mortified. Jude is gorgeous, tall, strong, blond-haired, and green-eyed, and how appropriate, she thinks, that he's named after the patron saint of lost causes. But Jude makes her feel at ease. He reaches out to her. He's easy to be with and he seems to have made it his mission to pull her back into the living world. And he's the first friend she's had in a very long time.

He seems too good to be true, and she's afraid one more disappointment will send her spiraling back into the dark. But he seems so sincere and he did save her life. Doesn't she owe it to him to show him she's making an effort at getting better? And she does owe it to him. She has no idea how much he's given up to be with her. Under Jude's attentions and a therapist's care, Olivia finds hope, and that's something she never thought she'd find again. And she's both thrilled and terrified to realize she's falling in love with him, and she thinks maybe, despite everything, he might have feelings for her too. But every time she thinks they're going to take that next step, he pulls away. And disappears. She knows he's hiding something--she doesn't have a clue what it is, but she knows it's big--and she lives in fear of the day he comes clean. Will he leave? Will his secrets destroy her fragile grip on life? Will her new-found strength and self-confidence be enough to help her cope with what she's sure is going to break her?

Emerald City comprises a very emotional journey and Olivia's pain is palpable and depicted in such stark, realistic language as to be beautiful even though it's terrible. And the story really grabbed me. I was sucked right in by the first fifty pages, but then the pace just kind of leveled out as Olivia and Jude got to know each other--and it was sweet and romantic--but it was also slow for me. And then just as the story really got going again, with secrets and twists and danger--it was over. So I thought it was a little uneven and I thought some of the more exciting elements could have been introduced earlier and led up to a little more. But overall I thought this was a really impressive debut. It's got everything going for it: it's well written and focuses on some pretty serious subject matter; it's got some powerful emotions and a sweet romance and an appealing twist. And that cover is gorgeous, too.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Wanna win Emerald City?

Leave a comment on this post with your email address, and you're entered!

This giveaway is open internationally and ends at 11:59pm on Friday, April 6, 2012. Winner will be selected at random. Please note: a U.S./Canada winner will receive a print copy; an international winner will receive an ebook.

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected!

Stay tuned for more great giveaways!