Review: Storm Shells by G.J. Walker-Smith

Goodreads summary:
The only way to move forward was to go back to the very beginning….
After three miserable weeks without Charli, Adam makes the decision to follow her, desperately hoping to find a way of following through on his promise of a happy ending.
He finds her back in Pipers Cove, healing her broken heart by spending time with the one person who never lets her down.
Both know nothing has changed. They're desperately in love, hopelessly stuck in limbo, and unable to find common ground.
When fate offers them a chance at a different kind of ending, it’s a one-shot deal. Running with it means changing their plans – something neither of them has ever been willing to do before, even for each other.
Just as one begins to find their way, the other completely loses direction – and neither of them realise that time is running out.

My review:
And so my love affair with Gemma Walker-Smith's Wishes series continues. First, there was Saving Wishes. Absolutely sublime. Next came Second Hearts. An emotional rollercoaster of the very best variety. Then there's a little aside in the form of Sand Jewels - a novella telling Gabrielle and Alex's story, which I haven't reviewed, but loved the socks off of. Now, finally, we have Storm Shells. 

I don't know how to talk about this book without revealing spoilers - at least from the first two books. So I'm going to tell you now, if you've not read them, go away now. Read them, love them, then come back to me. So now it's just us, the Wishes fans, and I know that you know who I'm talking about when I say...
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Much as I still love Charli, it was Alex, who really made this book for me. Because everything that Charli is, was put together by Alex. I think I might love him. He's a free spirit, someone who is happy in his own skin, content with his small life and big horizons. He has so much love and respect for Charli, that I, having grown up mostly without a father, feel inordinately jealous of Charli for having him. Yeah, I know he's not real, but I'm pretty sure there must be flesh-and-blood dads out there who are equally as awesome. 

Alright, that's my Alex love-fest dealt with, so let's look at Charli and Adam's story - the continuation. Throughout the 3 books, the Wishes series covers a fair period of time, and it's interesting because Charli and Adam are at such impressionable ages, we get to see them change quite a bit in that time. They grow up, they expand their horizons, they become bigger and better (eventually). One thing that never changes through it all though, is their love. Walker-Smith has created the perfect depiction of true love. I know this, because I'm lucky enough to have it myself, and when things are going bad and no-one understands the way Charli feels and berate her for being willing to accept his return into her life, I understand. That kind of pure love might not always be good for you, but there's no denying it. 

Saving Wishes was about fate, Second Hearts was about life, and Storm Shells is about love. 

Loose ends are mostly tied up, with a few surprises along the way. Supporting characters we've come to know and love get to shine (I still desperately want a Ryan spin-off!), and the Charli-and-Adam showboat doesn't let us down. Walker-Smith truly has created something to be proud of in this series. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll never want to leave La La Land. Oh yeah, and I just checked - there's another book in the series still to come, and I've got a rather lovely feeling that this one's Ryan's. Happy dance!

New Adult Monday: Second Hearts by G J Walker-Smith

Published by: G. J. Walker-Smith
Release date: 4th April 2013
Series: Wishes Series #2
I got it from: ARC from author
Goodreads summary:
Charli Blake's high tolerance for risk doesn't always work in her favour.
After a year of living out her dream of travelling the world, the sunny West African village of Kaimte would be her last stop.
She's bound for New York, in search of the boy she'd let go of long ago.
For Charli, nothing has changed. She's travelled thousands of miles but hasn't moved an inch. Adam Décarie still means everything to her.
But reality soon hits hard.
For Adam, everything has changed.
Memories of the best love she's ever known is all she has left, until Charli makes a shocking discovery. None of it had ever been real in the first place.

My review:
Oh, boy. Someone please tell me that the next book is out very soon, because I need it!

I was totally hooked by the end of Saving Wishes (see my review), and now I've been sucked in even further. Second Hearts has a different kind of feel to it, but I expected that. Saving Wishes was about the magical beginning of a relationship, while Second Hearts is about what happens next. There are still hints of magic here and there - when Charli arrives in New York she's full of hope and her usual impulsive self. Fate isn't going to let her have it easy though, and it's not too long before she starts to lose sight of La La land.

Oh no! Charli can't lose it. La La land is my favourite place to be. I adore Charli's tales of random fairies and nonsensical folk-lore. But when everything you believed has been torn apart and you're in a strange city, it's difficult to maintain your optimism. I feel like I'm speaking in riddles a little here, but I'm loathe to give anything away. You have to want to read it yourself.

Then there's that moment. That part in the book where everything is as happy as can be, and you just want things to stay like that forever. Unfortunately, at this point there's still a couple of hundred pages to go, and you now deep down that it's not going to be plain-sailing.

In a way, what happens is an echo of the story of Saving Wishes, but it's on Adam's territory this time and that makes a big difference. Can he make Charli want to stay, or can she make him want to leave with her? It seems cruel of fate to bind two people so tightly when they have such different dreams and goals. Are either of them weak enough to give in? Weak, I hear you ask? Is it weakness to give up your dreams to be with the one you love? Yes it is, because no matter how deeply in love you are, if you're not where you want to be, doing what you want to do, you're never going to be completely happy and that can turn love sour.

I fell in love with Charli all over again. She can be evil, bolshy and whimsical, and she drives most people nuts, but she's all kinds of amazing. We get to see a different side of Adam too, one that I'm not loving, but one that's more realistic. When Adam met Charli, he was on holiday - from himself as well as his life. Seeing him on home turf, back in his own habitat, of course he's going to be different. Some other great characters are introduced too, to replace the ones Charli left behind in Tasmania. Adam's brother Ryan has to be my favourite. He's the archetypal man-whore with a secret romantic heart. I would love to see a spin-off of his story. Fiona, Adam and Ryan's mother, is another great character. She's so aloof and proper most of the time, but then she lets go occasionally surprising bitchiness! Even dim Whit is an interesting addition to the cast.

If you haven't read Saving Wishes, I implore you to go and do so. If you have, what are you waiting for? Get Second Hearts right now and prepare yourself - there will be tears, and you will be mad at Walker-Smith's audacity in leaving us on our knees, begging for more!

New Adult Monday: Saving Wishes by G J Walker-Smith

Published by: G. J. Walker-Smith
Release date: 8th June 2013
Series: Wishes Series #1
I got it from: Netgalley
Goodreads summary:
For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.

She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.

Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls.

When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.

Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why.

My review:
This is a book about fate, and I think you need to believe in it at least a little bit to really enjoy it. Luckily, I do believe, and I did enjoy - a lot!

I see a bit of my younger self in Charli, though I wasn't quite as impulsive as her. I did give up a potential career, change uni course and move half-way across the country to be with my true love. I would have moved half-way around the world if that's what it took. 18 years later we're still together, still in love and still happy. I got my happy ever after. Unfortunately I don't yet know whether Charli got hers, because this is book one of a series.

Charli is an utterly charming protagonist. We should all spend some time in La-La-Land. It's good for the soul. She can be evil sometimes, but is there a 17 year-old girl on earth who isn't? She's also brave (though not always), smart, funny, I already mentioned impulsive, and she sees the world in a wonderful way. She takes photos of time. Charli explains this much better than I ever could, so you'll just have to read the book if you want to get it.

Adam  is a guy who finds what he wasn't looking for. He travels to Tasmania because of fate. He doesn't even really realise it until he gets here. He goes on a whim, something he's never done before. Until that point, his life was ordered and completely under control. Charli turns him upside-down the moment they meet. In turn, his utter belief and trust in Charli amplifies everything she is.

Charli is too big for the small town she lives in. She's just biding time until she can finish school, escape and follow her dreams. She loses sight of those dreams for a while though when she falls in love with Adam. Adam is only in town for two months, before he goes back to America and starts law school. Neither of them planned on falling for someone that winter, and as much as Charli tries to resist her feelings and Adam tries to bury his head in the sand about the future, eventually they're going to have to face up to it...

I took a chance on Saving Wishes - there was no summary on Netgalley, and I didn't look for one anywhere else. You could say fate chose for me, and I'm so glad I did. This is an amazing self-published first novel, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!