Reclaim

The Release Series, Book 2

By: Aly Martinez

Narrated by: Erin Mallon, Jason Clarke

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.

My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father. My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate. Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.

It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged. A friend who was always waiting for me. A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.

He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.

Choices. Everyone makes them. But mine would ruin us all.

Reclaim is a stand-alone that can be listened and enjoyed independently. However, it will contain spoilers for Release.

©2020 Aly Martinez (P)2021 Aly Martinez

LIKED.. BUT SADLY NOT LOVED

Again, as with Book 1, this story starts off with a wonderful childhood friendship but, for me, there was just too much of the sweet ‘then’ and too little of the adult ‘now’. Also, the years of miscommunication was so fixable with one phone call from either one of them. Yes, it’s a sweet, beautiful story that turns tragic, but sorry I wanted more adult time. Erin and Jason were faultless with the narration of course and handled the character’s various ages and stages well. WORTH A CREDIT? For me, it scrapes by with an iffy yes.. but that might just be me.. or maybe it's because I listened to this straight after Book 1 with its same timeline and main devastating event.

Enjoyed the book, but......

Aly is by far one of my favorite authors and I buy everything she writes and will continue to do so. This one wasn't my favorite for a couple of reasons.

The good things about the book are many. It is very well written, I loved the characters and the story has nice depth

One of the problems for me was that half the story takes place when the main characters are children and I don't enjoy reading about children. I found myself skipping parts because I got bored reading about children. I think she could have given us background without day to day living. The skipping I did may have caused my other major problem which was that I thought the reason the H and h spent so much time apart was just stupid. I got to the end and felt like saying finally! You twits, work it out.

BEST LISTEN

I don't even know where to start with this review other than to say this book was utterly AMAZING!!!
Jason and Erin brought this to life so much. They did a fantastic job with the narration!!
The connection between Camden and Nora is undeniable and your heartbreaks for them. To read the struggles and everything they go through is heartbreaking!!
But if you want all the feels in a book, this one gives it to you.
You really feel that connection to the characters and you feel all the emotions they go through.
This has been one of my favorite books that I have read.

Many heart aches and heart pounding moments

This is a more serious story. We meet the two MC early in their lives. How they met and the little rituals they set up and carried throughout their life is one thing that makes this book special.

I had so many ups and downs in my heart and emotions while reading. At times I couldn’t believe S/He did or said something to the other. I thought they would never end up together over the years.

This is a wonderful suspenseful romantic story. I was shocked more than once. I did listen to this on audio. The narrators did a great job portraying their characters.

One of her best!!

This one was one of her best books by far. Loved it!! Sad, happy, scared, my emotions were all over the place. I feel like I got to know the characters over the years and could really share in their joy and experience their sorrow with them. I usually don’t go in depth in reviews but I had to on this one. So good.

Loved it!!

Thank you, Aly Martinez!!! Thank you for a wonderful series. Definitely one of my favs - not just the series, but the author too!

I also appreciated Leo James and his Guardian Protection Agency men jumping in to help.

Very happy for Nora and Camden! Someone's story might be a bit longer than others or much more difficult - which just makes the ending all the more worth it.❤

Another Aly Martinez HIT!

Loved the story .. enjoyed every moment .. Sweet story .. with just the right amount of twists, turns and justice.

A rollercoaster ride

I loved the first book, but this one killed me. Mostly because, instead of discovering how the relationship starts through flashbacks, we read about the burgeoning love right from the beginning. The playful banter and innocent games between young Nora and Camden were adorable. And it made what happens later even more depressing.

This book isn’t for the faint of heart. There’s nothing extremely graphic, but we aren’t spared any of the emotions that the terrible events cause to the characters. And they aren’t happy feelings. Bullying, domestic violence, psychological abuse, rape, persecution, murder… The strong connections between brother and sister and between friends, the same that help the character face their misfortune, make those events also bearable to read.

The love between Nora and Camden was beautiful though painful at times. Forced to live apart most of their lives, they still manage to keep those feelings intact. Also, can I have my own Camden? He was one of the most devoted, kind, honest, male characters I’ve read about. He wasn’t perfect, he made mistakes, but he was a compelling character. Nora too was interesting, as a headstrong and ultimately generous woman.

The narration was perfect, with both narrators able to convey the fun between young children as well as the utter agony of later events. Think of this book as a rollercoaster ride–the elation as you get to the top, the fear as you go down, and down, and down, and the relief after.