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Take It All (2000)

by Emma Grayson(Favorite Author)

4.01 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Romance

series

Blinded by Love

review 1: Lennox is a pretty simple girl. She has two best friends, Londyn and Tatum, and she works at one of her parents gas stations that she will most likely run one day. She still lives at home, because as she states she is not ready to leave the nest yet. Tatum is the party girl, who would be happy going home with a different guy each night, where Londyn is the total opposite in a relationship and still a virgin. Her friends decide to hit Lennox with a surprise date. It happens to be with the guy she has been talking to online through a music site of band that they both like. Lennox is shocked that they would do this to her, but she agrees to go not realizing that this one meeting is going to have a huge affect on her life, heart and her future. Caleb Kingston he has a cr... moreazy life. His life all changed when he was younger and had to move away from his best friend. He knew he would never forget her. He is supposed to be meeting a girl for a date from his on line music site, he is running late and afraid she has left when he arrives. But is utterly surprised to see that she is still there waiting on him and her eyes he knew he would never forget those eyes, it was his ‘Lox’.After their first meeting is cut short, Caleb asks Lennox out on another date the next week. This is just the start of a crazy; mixed up, heart wrenching romance of two souls that seem to be destined for a relationship full of trials and tribulations that would break the strongest relationships. This book was amazingly written, it is very hard for me to explain just how much I was touched with the story of Lennox and Caleb. Lennox has the most forgiving heart and soul; she is loyal to a fault and would stand by her friends and family no matter what. Caleb is a troubled individual who is living on the edge, he has friends that support him but his family seems to have written him off. Lennox is lucky with the support she has from her parents and her friends. Along the way in the book, she adds a friend to this list Raine. All I can say about Raine is that he is the kind of guy that everyone needs in their life, he is there for Lennox no matter what, they develop a bond, like siblings, that is unbreakable. Throughout the book there are symbols or past experiences that Caleb refers to and they are always so touching and heartfelt, but one time in particular when he calls Lennox Dove for the first time I was really blown away at the underlying meaning:“My Dove, so beautiful, so perfect, and all mine.” Lennox asks, “Why Dove?” His response is, Doves symbolize many things, but the one thing that stood out to him was hope. “Hope, Lennox. You give me so much hope.”This book touched my heart. Addiction is something that is not only a problem for the addict but everyone involved. The lying, cheating and disappearing are just a part of the experience. It is true that you cannot help anyone that does not want to help themselves and sometimes tough love is the only way to help. But that doesn’t make it easy and it doesn’t help with the people left in the wake of the addict. Thank you Emma for such an amazing story with one heck of an ending, I am glad I have the second book to start right away.
review 2: The fact that the situations and heartbreak explored in Emma Grayson’s Take It All are inspired by real events illustrates how devastating addiction is not only for the person with the compulsions but also for those who love that person and must watch him suffer through the ups and downs without being able to offer any assistance because he refuses to take it.Lennox Ward finds herself in this exact situation when she quickly falls in love with Caleb Kingston, and despite the hell that Caleb puts her through and the many times she’s left wondering where he is or even if he’s still alive, her love for him never waivers. She stands by him even when everyone around her feels like she should let him go. But Lennox understands that life isn’t supposed to be perfect and that love shouldn’t come with ultimatums. She’s completely invested in her relationship with Caleb and even though for a lot of their time together, it is an uphill battle, she won’t give up on him or their love. She’s not a quitter, especially when the person she’s supposed to get away from is the man that owns her heart.Take It All was a hard read for me. It was difficult to watch Lennox take hit after hit when it came to Caleb and his addiction, and even though Emma writes in a way that clearly shows how Lennox is feeling throughout all of the drama and why she makes the choices that she does, I still didn’t understand it. I didn’t want Lennox to get pulled down with Caleb, but I felt like that was exactly what was going to happen if she stayed on this path with him.Caleb aggravated the hell out of me. His choices clearly show what happens when someone succumbs to addiction and its tight grip. Despite how much everyone tried to get him to see what he was giving up by allowing drugs to dominate his life, he couldn’t see past the high he received.Overall, I did enjoy reading Take It All. I just had a hard time wrapping my brain around Lennox’s selflessness and persistence to stand by Caleb despite how often he lets her down. But being consumed and blinded by love may be exactly what keeps Lennox fighting for the man who doesn’t seem to want to fight for himself. It will be interesting to see if Lennox and Caleb can find a way back to each other, especially after the cliffhanger that readers are left with at the end of this book.A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.3.5/4 poison apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews) less

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