Just Like Heaven Review

Just Like Heaven by Clarissa Carlyle
★★★☆☆
Release Date: July 2012
Age: YA
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction
Format: ebook
Source: Author for Review
Buy it: Amazon

Arthur Cooper is the star quarter back and all round heart throb of Collinswood High School. Demi Mitchell is the A-student girl who likes poetry and dreams of following in her lost mother's footsteps of becoming a nurse. When Arthur and Demi's worlds collide they touch each others lives in a way neither of them could ever have expected.
But what happens when you don't get the happy ending? When the love of your life leaves...can you pick up the pieces and is there any hope for a future?
In this heart warming and sometimes tear jerking story, follow the lives of these 2 young adults fresh out of high school as their lives intertwine with each other and touch those around them, finding true love in each others arms, promises hard kept and ultimately coming to grips with the difficult decision on what is truly the most important thing in life.
This is a story of young love you will not soon forget.

Just Like Heaven is a good read filled with a light romance that blossoms over time and some emotional turns. I did feel disconnected from the characters and felt that the descriptions could've been more elaborate. I enjoyed the change in POVs from Arthur's to Demi's, but overall there was just a little something missing for me; I like to get lost in a book and I just couldn't seem to immerse myself into this one. If you're looking for a fast paced romance about young love, then check it out!

Demi's life is turned upside down when she falls in love with Arthur, they experience a fast romance that escalates quickly. Arthur's parents, father mainly, were the villains in this story, by not allowing Arthur to mature the way he should. But, Arthur is an adult at 18 and really should've been making his own decisions about things. Responsible is definitely not a defining characteristic of our main man.
 I'm torn when it comes to his role in the book, he just wasn't enough of a man for me, but I like where the author took the story.

I found the dialogue in the book to be forced and general. Some of the lines I felt could be said by either character, there seemed to be no individual voices. The story line is one I found myself really enjoying, as it takes place and then goes to the future which I love in books.

My favorite character was definitely Arthur's little brother Jared. He is this loving and attentive soul in a sea of sometimes pure craziness. And, Demi's dad, who supported and loved her throughout the story.

Not going into detail about specifics in this story is hard, because I don't want to spoil anything. There's a lot I'd like to discuss with other readers and I know a lot of readers will enjoy this book. It will make you think about what you would do in this situation and a lot about forgiveness. It's a fast paced story that will leave the reader feeling complete and satisfied, a solid ending and new beginning.