Title: When Life Gets in the Way

Author: Ines Vieira

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

A wise man once said that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. 

Determined seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mackenzie has her whole life planned out to the very last detail. Nothing and no one will stop her from getting what she wants, and that is out of her hometown. Her life would finally begin once she moves from the quiet streets of Plymouth, Massachusetts to the sunny hills’ of San Francisco to attend her dream college, Berkeley. 

However, life has a way of pulling the rug from under your feet. Her family is falling apart, and she’s powerless to stop it.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only fallback to her carefully laid out plans. If cocky Isaac Silva gets his way, the future she so meticulously set out for herself will crumble at her feet.
But Isaac has secrets of his own. Dark and twisted secrets.

Their attempts to break from their tortured reality result in strengthening their unlikely friendship and awakening feelings each one isn’t prepared to face.

So when crossing that line means more heartache and pain, will they be strong enough to pick up the pieces after all is said and done? Or will love be their ruin in the end?

“When Life Gets in the Way” is a story about overcoming diversity and the grueling challenges that illness and violence can cause. However, it is also a story of experiencing that one feeling that surrounds us all. 

Love

It can either make you or break you.

Short Review

When Life Gets in the Way by Ines Vieira is a heartbreaking YA/NA romance that reaches into the souls of readers of all ages.

Long Review

Heartbreaking and gritty romances are my cup of tea, and I jumped on When Life Gets in the Way as soon as I discovered it.  Sometimes I find that YA/NA novels can be even more emotional than adult novels, and this one sure packed a punch.

When Lifes Gets in the Way is an excellent look at how love can be traumatizing to some teenagers, but how that same love can open feelings within them that they haven’t experienced before.  First love is always a bittersweet event in someone’s life, and Ines Vieira captured the pain and brilliance that first love brings through her beautiful language.  Even though she switched point of views throughout the story, the plot moved seamlessly.  The more I read, the more connected I felt to Cassandra and Issac.  The diversity that Vieira presented in the novel brought the characters to life, and I couldn’t help but empathize with them.

Bittersweet romances are some of the finest elements in literature, and Cassandra and Issac’s story is on the top of my list.  I was astounded by Vieira’s seamless writing, and how quickly I became engaged in her story.  When Life Gets in the Way is not for the faint of heart, but it will leave you changed if you decide to pursue it.  The book has a minimum reading age of 18, but I found that it connects to older generations as well.  Vieira’s writing is timeless, and I highly suggest her work if you like to read realistic, painful love stories.