Together We Caught Fire by Eva V. Gibson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
A forbidden attraction grows even more complicated when the guy Lane Jamison has crushed on for years suddenly becomes her step-brother in this sexy and gorgeously written debut novel about the lines between love, desire, and obsession.
What happens when the boy you want most becomes the one person you can’t have?
Lane Jamison’s life is turned upside down the week before her senior year when her father introduces her to his new fiancée: mother of Grey McIntyre, Lane’s secret, longtime crush. Now with Grey living in Lane’s house, there’s only a thin wall separating their rooms, making it harder and harder to deny their growing mutual attraction—an attraction made all the more forbidden by Grey’s long-term girlfriend Sadie Hall, who also happens to be Lane’s friend
Torn between her feelings for Grey and her friendship with Sadie—not to mention her desire to keep the peace at home—Lane befriends Sadie’s older brother, Connor, the black sheep of the strict, evangelical Hall family. Connor, a metal working artist who is all sharp edges, challenges Lane in ways no one else ever has. As the two become closer and start to open up about the traumas in their respective pasts, Lane begins to question her conviction that Connor is just a distraction.Together We Caught Fire
Tensions come to a head after a tragic incident at a party, forcing Lane to untangle her feelings for both boys and face the truth of what—and who—she wants, in this gripping and stunningly romantic debut novel.
Fantastic storytelling!
This book had a ton of angst, so much it was almost painful. Despite all the angst I still liked it. The characters are well thought out and the places are described beautifully. The book is about a girl named Lane Jamison, who just turned eighteen at the end of the summer before her senior year. Lane’s mother killed herself by slitting her wrists in the bathroom when Lane was five years old. Her Dad recently got married and his new wife has a son Lane’s age who just happens to be Greyson McIntyre, the boy Lane has been crushing on forever.
Not only does Lane have to see the guy she has loved for years and not be able touch him, but she is now his stepsister. To make things worse, Sadie, Grey’s girlfriend is religious and nice and happy all the time and they plan to get married right after high school. Sadie and Lane have become friends so they all hang out together sometimes along with Sadie’s brother Connor who is gay and has a boyfriend named Paul.
Connor is very interesting and cool. According to gossip at school, he was kicked out of his home by his straight laced father who is a preacher. He was kicked out at sixteen for being Gay and he lived on the streets. He learned how to fight and nearly starved. Now Connor is living with Paul in a huge warehouse that they turned into a workshop where different types of artisans go to work on their art.
The main room is full of easels for painters to work and the rest is a maze of rooms dedicated to different types of art. There is a room for pottery and ceramics, beading and engraving, metal works, woodworking, and fiber arts including a loom for weaving. At home, Lane helps her Dad’s organic soap and lotion business and they sell their goods at a farmers market. She also helps by knitting and crocheting, so she likes what she sees at the warehouse. Connor and Paul have a huge room in the back as an apartment of sorts.
Connor works with metal, making jewelry and other things. He is designing and making wedding rings for Grey and Sadie. Lane starts to spend time at the warehouse as a way to escape from Grey. I won’t give away anything else but there is angst everywhere. Lane and Connor become friends and they each have terrible stories from their past.
The story and the girl are tortured in parts. It is hard to see her yearning for Grey. Lane has other issues as well and isn’t in the best state of mind. She has to balance wanting Grey, being in close contact with him, being friends with him, a sister and also she likes Sadie, who is a bit superficial but genuinely a good person.
Towards the end, Lane was waxing poetic about everything in her life and filling it all with imagery, symbolism an metaphors that were dark and a bit hard to grasp at times. Also, a few places throughout the book the author used huge words for things that would better be explained in plain english. I actually had to use the word lookup a few times. It is one thing if the protagonist is supposed to be a genius, but really no need for it when she is barely making it through high school. For example, lapidary, which is engraving and pranayama which means yoga breathing techniques. Overall, it was good and held my interest throughout.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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