Title: As You Turn Away
Author: Molli Moran
Published: March 1, 2014
Publisher: Self through Amazon.

Rating:

Synopsis
Two hearts, one life-changing summer, and a long-awaited second chance…

When Quinnlan Reynolds left home at 18, she escaped her small, Georgia town and her suffocating upbringing. She started a new life as a ballerina, and tasted freedom for the first time. But four years later, her first visit home turns tragic. Reeling, Quinn tries to piece her life back together again. But doing so is easier said than done when sexy Jonah Walker saunters back into her life.

Quinn shattered Jonah’s heart once, so getting involved with her isn’t something he’s sure he’s ready to do again. He became someone he didn’t recognize when he left home. He’s spent the last years burying his pain by keeping everyone in his life at arm’s length. Now he needs to get to know his family again, and finally become who he wants to be.

But neither Quinn or Jonah can stay away from each other, especially when old feelings resurface. Something is pulling them back together, and they can’t deny their chemistry for long. One Georgia summer could change both their lives forever, if they can work through their past to have a future together.

I participated in the cover reveal for this a couple of months ago, and I was really excited and interested by the blurb I got to post along with the beautiful cover. (I’m supposed to be posting another blurb, but I can’t. I can’t. I just wanted to get this review up and my thoughts out before my brain melted.) I sat up and read this after a very long day at the hospital with my mom–it’s way past my bedtime but yeah. As You Turn Away is the debut book from blogger turned author Molli Moran.

It’s a bittersweet story of good girl meets baddish boy and they fall in love and break each other’s hearts. Our story picks up after not seeing each other for four years, finding themselves back in their small town in Georgia. Tragedy brings them together once more, and I like the slow build of their relationship. Their fear is real, their pain is real, and Molli did a good job addressing both aspects of this. There’s drama in this story, but it’s not over the top. It feels real and organic and isn’t in there just to throw a wrench into Quinn and Jonah’s lives. There’s building of trust, both with each other and their respective families–again, making this seem so real. The characters are believable and I connected easily with them. One thing I did like that Molli did was weave together present day narrative with flash backs that told more of Quinn and Jonah’s story. It added a depth to it and made it all that more richer. I would have liked the story to go on a little longer.

Overall: . There’s a down home genuine southern feeling to this story. I felt as though I was coming home along with the two main characters. It’s a great read, a wonderful story and I like that the ending is happy and positive without throwing a massive bow on the end of it (HAHA no spoilers.) And I did notice the little “Walker boys #1” tagline under the main title. I want more. I love Jonah, and I love Ethan but let me tell you Reece stole my heart. I’m sorry. I’ve always had a thing for the older brother type and Molli wrote him well.

You can reach out to Molli through various social media:
Twitter
Website

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Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of As You Turn Away by the author for review.