Megan's Musings - Landslide by Jenn Cooksey Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Landslide by Jenn Cooksey

New Adult. Standalone.

For Erica and Cole, the bond of friendship was forged in childhood.

Now, torn and broken by grief, that bond will become paramount as two friends look to one another for comfort, strength, and hope in the aftermath of loss. On a journey taken both together and alone, Erica and Cole search for healing and life born anew. Although when mistakes, secrets and betrayal are revealed, the two must each learn to accept that even saints and some angels are human and people aren’t always who they appear to be.

But in the age old struggle to forget and forgive, realization dawns. And with it, so does the understanding that sometimes, the sturdiest foundation for the future lies buried in the dust of the past.

Because, for some people…love is friendship caught on fire.

This is a very difficult review to write because I don’t want to give too much away. I went into this book completely blind. I didn’t even read the description. And honestly, I think this made the book that much better for me. However, I want to make sure I do this book justice…and I’m sure I won’t, because it’s impossible….but I’m going to try!

This was a heart wrenching, yet beautiful, story about grief, sacrifice, healing, trust, and most of all love. And it rocked me to the core. In all honesty, the story started off a little slow for me, but all I can say is I am SO GLAD I stuck with it because it was way more than worth it in the end. By 20%, I was hooked and unable to put it down. In fact, I was up until 5:30AM reading!!! My girls came in to wake up mommy at 7:00AM…YIKES! I was tired! But, alas, there is no sleep for the wicked. I messaged Jenn and blamed her for my 1.5 hours of sleep and the bags under my eyes. And even though I complained, it was worth every second of lost zzz’s.

A really cool thing about this book is that each chapter is linked to a song, and listening to those songs as you go along adds so much dimension and depth to the story. The songs are PERFECT…enhancing the feel of the chapter. I am a HUGE music lover, so this was an extra special treat.

This book is real… not a fluffy love story. It evokes powerful and raw feelings within as you live through this journey with the characters. And that’s exactly what this was for me, a journey. There were many moments of humor…both of these characters are sarcastic and hilarious. I would totally be friends with them in real life. Here is a tiny example of Cole’s inner thoughts…

A dog could also explain my crazy dream. I was hanging out in the Mystery Machine with Scooby Doo and the gang. Except for Scrappy because that’s when the show took a dump and I have too much respect for myself to let that little punk-ass puppy into my dreams.”

But humor aside, there are all of the raw emotions that go along with sorrow, betrayal, and of course soul changing love. These two are passionate people…they FEEL HARD.

I can’t tell you why because there’s no reason to explain why or how I love you the way I do. I just do. Everything in me feels it. It lives deep inside me and has sharp claws, and it shreds my insides to ribbons so that I feel like I’m drowning in my own blood whenever I’m not with you. It’s something that’s so much stronger than I am, that no matter what either of us does, it won’t stop.”

“Because that’s what being in love is. It’s a brutal, bloody fight and what everyone hopes for is that it endures until death, even though the kind of love worth dying for usually hurts like a mother fucker at one point or another.”

Rating: 5 Stars, 4 Heat

This book gutted me raw. The whole time it has you on your toes because the layers just keep peeling back, revealing yet another piece to this complex puzzle. I finished this book and just sat there…breathing….taking it all in…trying to wrangle in my emotions…because there were A LOT of feels in this story. Huge book hangover after this one! So do yourself a favor, get this book, grab a drink and some tissues, and settle in for a brilliant ride. You will not be disappointed.