Glass Paper Ink Bookblog: Where The Road Takes Me by Jay McLean

Blurb:

Chloe has one plan for the future, and one plan only: the road. She’s made a promise to herself: don’t let anyone in, and don’t let anyone love her. She’s learned the hard way what happens if she breaks her rules. So she’s focused on being invisible and waiting until she can set out on the road—her dream of freedom, at least for a little while.

Blake Hunter is a basketball star who has it all—everything about him looks perfect to those on the other side of his protective walls. He can’t let anyone see the shattered pieces behind the flawless facade or else all his hopes and dreams will disappear.

One dark night throws Chloe and Blake together, changing everything for Blake. For Chloe, nothing changes: she has the road, and she’s focused on it. But when the so-called perfect boy starts to notice the invisible girl, they discover that sometimes with love, no one knows where the road may lead.

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Credit Emma Kay

Kristine's Review:

Reviewed: January 2015

There are some books that come along at precisely the right time, when you need to be reminded by the good in this world, the strength of the human spirit, the heartbreaking fragility of trust, of life.
Jay McLean's books have a sense of coming home for me, they have kind of come to remind me of Christmas with my family, a little crazy, a lot of laughter and more often than not a few tears.

Where Chloe and Blake seem like polar opposites at first, the sides of themselves they keep hidden, the parts of themselves that are true, these parts are the sides that recognise one another when their worlds collide.

Chloe has a simple plan, graduate high school, and get the hell out of town, hit the Road, wherever that may lead, leave behind all those she knows, and make a fresh start, her solitary journey is the only thing she's known for longer than she can remember.

Blake is the king of his school, talented basketball star, the world lies at his feet, his choice of sporting scholarships at prestigious schools, or follow in his fathers footsteps and join the Armed Forces. Two options and one seemingly impossible choice.

For me this story is about so much more than a road trip, more than distancing yourself from slimy friends and vapid girlfriends, more than breaking away from what your parents want for you, it's about finding the you, you want to be, it's about looking at everything you've ever thought or believed about yourself and throwing it out of the window, it's about letting someone in, letting them be the change you need, allowing them to be the catalyst for you finally seeing yourself clearly.

There is so much I loved about this book, I loved the quiet fragility of Chloe, I adored the silent strength of Blake, I loved the fierceness in which Blake fights to show Chloe she's not invisible, she deserves to be seen, and that the world is a better place with her in it. I adore that I see red everywhere I look, that this book took my heart, wrapped it in cotton wool before shaking it around, because I felt stronger reading this, I felt secure in a way very few books have ever made me feel before.

Sitting here writing this review with tears in my eyes, I remember words and quotes, I smile remembering how McLean's words made me feel, I think about how I read this book cover to cover twice in one day because I couldn't bare to let these characters go just yet, I think about how sometimes it's the thing or person you least expect can be your unexpectedly phenomenal.
#TurnMyWorldRed may have been your tag line Jay McLean, but there is so much more than just black or red in your words, this book, these words, you've turned my world technicolour.

"Because over the years of building walls and living my life one day at a time, I’d learned to accept my fate and never hope for more than what I had. I’d never questioned the way I thought about my life. But Blake—he made me question it. He made me want to change it. To change my outlook. And to change myself. But I couldn’t. And I wouldn’t. Because one day, sooner rather than later, I’d be gone. And I’d leave them all behind.”

Jay McLean

Credit Emma Kay

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Credit Emma Kay

Excerpt

Chloe lifted her gaze and locked it with mine. She shook her head again and groaned, “Fine.” Then she took off her shirt.
My jaw dropped.
My hands had touched her bare skin, the curve of her hips, and her tiny waist, but I’d seen her body only once, when she was in a bikini, and that had been for only a minute. But that was nothing compared to seeing her like this. Up close. So close her sports bra–covered breasts were just under my nose.
“Blake?” she whispered.
I struggled to take my eyes off her chest, but I finally made it to her face. She had her hair tied up in a messy knot on top of her head, like she often did. But a few strands were stuck on her neck and on her face . . . and a little sheen of sweat covered her arms and her stomach, her chest, her breasts . . .
“Blake,” she repeated, and I trailed my eyes back to hers again.
She pouted before she said, “Give me the ball?”
I shook my head and hid the ball behind my back.
She pouted again. “Please?” she whispered. Then a hint of a smile broke through.
“Are you trying to seduce me into giving you my ball?”

About The Author

Jay McLean is the author of the More Series, including More Than This, More Than Her, More Than Him and More Than Forever. She also has two standalones coming soon titled Where The Road Takes Me, and Combative.
Jay is an avid reader, writer, and most of all, procrastinator. When she's not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her two little boys, or devouring some tacky reality TV show.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her smile, make her hurt, and make her feel.