Access The Closest Thing To OK Created By Cristy Rey Displayed In Manuscript

story has laughs, pain, and heartbreak,

This is Sam and Jakes story, Sam stepped in to help take care of her brothers children when he lost his wife, Now five years later she is raising those kids, He brother is hardly ever around, So she is raising them alone, When she sees a man she was dating months ago she wants to reconnect but how can she when she is the only one the kids can count on.
The more Sam and Jake talk the closer they get and the more time he spends with her and the kids, But when he wants to help her raise the kids is that the end of the relationship Can Sam finally stand up to her family Is she going to give up the kids to her parents or raise them on her own Sam has to make a decision before she loses not only the kids but also Jake.


I felt I was able to connect with the characters and the story was a great read, At times both the characters got on my nerves, They at times came across whiny,

I recommend this book, This book is packed full of emotion and need for more from life, Our female lead is so caring and giving when she has to put her life on hold and this book made you think about how much you love your family and what would you do if they needed you as much as Sam's brother needed her.
I loved Jake and how he made Sam look a things differently, This is a good solid book packed full of the feels and for those more delicate they may need the tissues, OK is sometimes the best option but this book is more than OK for me, nice change of pace from what i have been reading The book started out a bit confusing.
I felt as though I was walking in in the middle of something, but keep reading, The confusion quickly clears up and the book is so good, The emotions are so complex and the book takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride, The characters are well developed and you keep rooting for Sam, Overall, a really good read, I rated this bookon amazon too, .

You will need tissues, It was fantastic, love, hardship, toughlove, HEA twists and turns i never expected at all, . This is the story about a young woman who goes to help her brother care for his children after his wife passes away.
Everyday the brother becomes more withdrawn to the point he disappears completely, The story line was dramatic but highly realistic, I just hated that Sam, the sister, was so weak for most of the book and didn't demand change sooner, One of the things I like about Rey, is the depth of emotion she captures in her work, It is one thing to tell the reader what a characters is feeling, another to show it but Rey goes one step further and makes the reader FEEL it.
She manages to rip your heart out and twist your guts in knots with each powerful, emotionallycharged scene, In OK, the anger, resentment, and despair Sam feels is palpable throughout the novel as is Jake's devotion and emotional upheaval,

I was given an ARC of this one and I don't know if the problems I found made their way into the published version or not but here is what I found that effected my rating.
In the beginning, some of the paragraphs were confusing and problematic, I'll be honest and tell you it looked like editing issues, Some sentences seemed to have been edited but the original words were still there as well so the sentence had two beginnings or confusing endings.
There were also issues with some of the paragraphs especially in the beginning of the book, On a few of them, I don't know if the paragraphs were poorly structured or if it was a matter of incorrect pronoun usage.
Others, I believe were just poorly edited, The only reason I mention these types of issues is because they were noticeable and interrupted the flow of the story,

I did like the characters and enjoyed being sucked into the emotional rollercoaster of their world even if Sam and Jake's tale wasn't a happygolucky love story.
The dichotomy of Sam's emotions, i, e. determination to be there for the kids vs her desire to escape, is as real as it gets, Anyone who has had to grow up too fast or take on responsibilities before their ready, can relate to these emotions, But despite the difficult path her life has taken and her desire to be free from the unfair burdens, she can't imagine her life being any different.
While poor Jake knows what he wants and what is possible but remains stuck between pursuing what he wants and letting Sam have what she believes is best.


I also love the title, I mention this because it relates so well to the theme of the book, The character aren't striving for the perfect life, they are simply struggling to reach the point where they are OK with their lot in life.
So, it is easy to see the brilliance in the title,

Overall, I say this book is astar read because the realistic portrayal of the difficulties of nontraditional relationships you know the kind that doesn't just effect the two lovers definitely outshines the editing issues.
I have always thought Cristy Rey was an exceptional writer, this book took it to a whole new level of talent, The gift that has been given to Rey is one I am glad she is sharing with the word,
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review, But I must warn you this book will cause tears!
Cristy Rey has yet again captured my heart with this phenomenal story.
The emotions that pour off the pages will grab onto you and not let go, Many times I fought back a flood of tears! People look at you funny if you completely blubber in public
Sam and Jake have the kind of love that is endless.
Beautiful and strong. Their relationship withstood some unbelievable circumstances, Evil and lost are the words that come to mind when I think of Paul, It amazes me how someone can write such beauty and yet still find the perfect nastiness to counter it, This truly is a remarkable story that everyone should read, I received this

book in exchange for an honest review,

Definitely better than OK! This was so hard to put down, This author gives you a strong female lead, Sam, She is supposed to "help" her brother out with his children after his wife dies, However, she ends up being so much more, Sam is in her early's, still a child herself but has been thrown into the roll of sole caregiver for her niece and nephew.
Her brother is more and more non existent, We follow her on her journey in finding herself and the struggle of figuring out what's right, what she wants, and what she needs to do.
She finds strength and friends with some unlikely people, This story has it all, . . family drama, new love, strong friendships, all with real struggles, Her journey is an incredible one and amazing to follow, Here is your one warning, tissues may be required. Must read! Received a copy in exchange for an honest review

“Her pale freckles standing out more, and her freckles. . There was a lot about Sam that Jake loved, and if pressed, he couldnt really think of something he didnt love, but her freckles.
. Those he loved the most, ”

stars. This book was great, it had a strong female lead and the storyline was so well written and such a joy to read.


At eighteen yearsold, Sam DeCastro moved to Tallahassee to lend her recently widowed brother a hand in caring for his two small children.
Five years later, Sam is their sole caregiver, and her troubled brother increasingly fades from their family picture, Not a mother to the children that she raises, Not a wife to the brother that shes shackled to, Not a daughter to the parents that hardly loved her as a kid, Not a cookiecutter example of the perky PTA parentnot with her tattoos and penchant for heavy music, twentythree yearold Sam has practically no social life, no college degree, and no room for love in her life.


Jake Turner is the counselor at Canopy Hopes where Sams niece and nephew attend school, Jake had Sam once, and then he lost her, Six months later, when they reunite for a parentteacher conference, sparks reignite, With Jake back in the picture, Sam must decide what she wants for her own life: Stay trapped in a platonic marriage with an absent husband of a brother Strike out on her own, leave the kids behind, and never look back

Jake isnt sure that Sam sees a happy medium, but he wants her to.
He knows that, if she doesnt, there wont be any room for him in her life,

This book is way better than Ok, The storyline is so wonderfully written and Sam is such a strong female lead character its hard not to love her!! This is such an exceptional book, it was so hard to put down, I read it in one sitting!! I dont even want to give too much away, youll just have to read the book to understand the love that comes from the pages!!!

Received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read and reviewed by Melissa for Alpha Book Club Closest Thing to Ok
by Cristy Rey
,Stars

Sam DeCastro is not your average girl, A partiedout, college drop out with no real goals in life, she lives in the spare bedroom of her widowed older brother.


Taking care of the kids her brother cant seem to notice,

After losing his wife, Sams brother spiraled out of control, He got so caught up in work that he couldnt care for his two young children and needed help, Desperate to get out from under her parents thumb, Sam stepped in as legal guardian for her niece and nephew,

Its been five years,

“Dont make me choose, Ill always pick them. ”

Jake Turner works for the school and after a failed first attempt at a relationship with Sam, hes not taking no for an answer.
He wants to be in her life but needs to prove to her that she can have more than being a caregiver.


“Doomed to life of surrogacy, she could never truly have anything for herself, On the other was Jake, full of possibility but deserving of so much more than she could give, ”

I was really torn on how I wanted to review this book, So Im going to try something a little different:

The Good:
Rey has a knack for the killer one liners.
After finishing the book I went back to view my highlights and it was incredibly hard to pick just a few to use in terms of a reviewstraight for the heartstring jugular!

“Like an oversized jacket shed inherited, the role never quite fit, even if it defined her.
”

Jake is an absolutely sweetheart, even when I just wanted to simultaneously shake the entire DeCastro family Sam for being blind to his commitment, her brother for being such an ungrateful AHOLE and her parents for supporting her brother in his gallivants, while not appreciating that Sam gave up her life to take care of these kids.


The Bad:
While I loved the one liners, the actual narration of the story was really hard to follow.
The point of view switched from Sam to Jake and not always at obvious spots sometimes even midpage, I caught myself having to reread paragraphs just to clarify who the narrator was talking about,
I think this book was mislabeled as a romance, Yes, it was a story about two people trying to find a way to love each other despite their situations, but this wasnt so much a romance, as it was just a really sad story.
I teared up! And thats a lot coming from me,

“Like an oversized jacket shed inherited, the role never quite fit, even if it defined her, ”

All in all, had I known more about where this story would go, my expectations would have been a little different.
If you need a good gutwrench, or you just want to be angry at nonexistent characters, this is the way to go.


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