A Bookish Escape: Book Review: I Surrender (I Surrender Trilogy) by Monica James

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I Surrender

(I Surrender #1)

By: Monica James

Published: July 30, 2013

Publisher: the EDGE books

Source: Publisher

Mature Content: 18 & Up

GR's Summary:

Singapore has stolen a piece of Ava Thompson.

It took one life shattering moment, for her to realize, her EX is not the man she believed him to be. Returning home to Los Angeles was never going to be easy for Ava. Her heart has been shattered to smithereens and she’s convinced it’ll never heal. Or, so she thought.

Enter Jasper White.

Unbeknown to Ava, Jasper White will change her life forever.

The attraction is instantaneous which troubles Ava, who has sworn off men indefinitely. But, she is finding resisting Jasper, with his tousled bedroom hair and piercing cerulean eyes, harder than she ever imagined. And that’s because Jasper knows what he wants, and he wants Ava.

But, can Ava surrender to her feelings for the one man who compels her to love again? Because, what happens if love does not triumph all? What happens if love isn’t enough?

My Thoughts:

Whew! Monica James has impressed me, and completely captivated me with her debut, I Surrender. This year most of the books that I have been impressed with have been polished authors with years of experience. The only debut author that has completely made me fall in love with her storytelling this year has been Victoria Scott, author of the Dante Walker Series, and now I'm adding Monica James to my very exclusive list. Ms. James is very talented. I was hopeful that I Surrender would be a good read, but let me tell you, it completely blew me away! I loved this story so much and once I started it I could not put it down.

I Surrender is about the two main characters, Ava and Jasper. Ava was in a serious, and monogamous, long-term relationship with her boyfriend Harper. She had a real talent, and passion for the culinary arts, and was in the top of her class. Harper had dreams of becoming successful in the business industry, and was offered an opportunity for upward mobility, if he moved to Singapore. Ava gave up her dream to follow, and support the man that she loved. Then, in a cold and callous manner, devoid of emotion, compassion, and sensitivity, he broke up with her. Harper told her that he was not in love with her, and their relationship wasn't going anywhere, and he couldn't be with a woman lacking ambition. Ava returns home to Los Angeles, rooms with her best friend Veronica, and mourns the loss of Harper, and the life she once thought she was going to have. Veronica pushes Harper to go to a local hangout, to meet her boyfriend, Lucas, and listen to his band. While Ava is there, she makes eye contact with a stunningly gorgeous man. She is immediately attracted, and introduced to Jasper, the singer of the band. Ava begins to run in the same circles as Jasper and they see one another frequently. The attraction, and chemistry grows between the two of them, but they have many obstacle's and challenges standing in the way of a relationship.

There are so many reasons that I loved, I Surrender. For one, it was very realistic. Ava and Jasper didn't experience insta-love, nor start having sex immediately. Even though Ava was extremely attracted to Jasper, and felt a strong connection to him, she was still heartbroken over Harper. She dealt with self-doubt, insecurities, depression, and hopelessness. The friendship was well-developed, and once Ava and Jasper got together, it was believable. Ava and Jasper were both extremely well-rounded characters. We got to know about Jasper's haunting past, and why he was such a tortured soul. I could feel Jasper's pain, and wanted to take it all away, and make everything better. Ava was a little too emotional for me, with all of her crying and I thought she was too hard on Jasper. She needed to trust him more, and stop doing the back and forth thing so much. There was a lot of character growth, especially with Ava, when she realized that she needed to live her life for herself, not a man. The plot was full of angst, drama, and plot twists, which left me with a story that hooked me, and completely held my attention. The descriptions played like a movie reel in my head, They were perfect. The passion, the possessiveness, and the temptations between Ava and Jasper completely captivated me! I need the sequel, Surrender to Me, right, now!!!

My Rating:

I give I Surrender, by Monica James, an Intense, Dramatic, Angst-Filled, Explosive, and Passionate 4.5 Stars! This was a roller-coaster ride of a romance. Ava and Jasper shared many of the highest highs, and the lowest lows, that a relationship can experience. Self doubt was their largest enemy, and I wanted Jasper and Ava to surrender to their feelings for one another, letting go of their fear, jealousy, insecurity, and feelings of inadequacy. For a story that will hook you and brings sexual tension, intense chemistry, passion, romance, love, and drama, I highly recommend I Surrender.

My Favorite Quotes:

"Never apologize for being you Ava. True feelings that are raw, no matter how messy they may be, I will gladly take over superficial, insincere actions. You told me so much about yourself; about your vulnerability and your heartache and you didn't even utter a single word. Your tears told me everything." (ARC, pg. 54)

"He smirks and I squirm as I know where his thoughts are headed. He senses my embarrassment and softly cradles my face in his hands like I am a baby bird. Ava we will take this wherever, however you want it to go. I am here for the ride and at the moment, I don't want to get off. I want to hold your hand and follow you. I will follow you wherever you want to go. You decide what path we take, I'm your passenger." (ARC, pg. 148)

"Jasper pulls me back to look into his beautiful face. Are you series? You don't realize how sexy and daring and beautiful you are to me Ava, you're perfect. All those other girls, they don't know me, they just see this, he says motioning to his face and body, and it's all superficial. But with you, you see me, you really see me and that to me is more attractive than you will ever know." (ARC, pg. 166)

"I love you so much. I surrender everything I am to you, Ava Thompson. All the good, all the bad I give to you. I surrender myself to you. Do what you wish me, I submit to you, I am yours. Whatever choice you make, I accept it, I support you and I will love you forever and a day." (ARC, pg. 353)

Excerpt:

***Courtesy of Ms. James' Blog***

“Holy shit, you’ve got it bad!”Her comment snaps me out of my daydream.

Is she right?

It was never my intention to have it ‘bad’ for anyone after Harper, but Jasper is not just anyone. In your lifetime, there are a small handful of people you’ll meet and have an instant connection with. You may read about it or watch it play out on TV, but actually experiencing it, that’s a whole different story.

No movie or book can prepare you for that feeling of completeness with another.

I was never a believer in kismet, but meeting Jasper White has altered that belief. Suffering the loss of Harper is something I will never fully recover from, but what if it was my destiny to experience that defeat to become victorious?

What if Jasper is my victory prize?

Book Trailer:

Picture Teasers:

***Courtesy of Ms. James' Blog***

Purchase At:

Amazon | Kindle

About the Author:

Monica James spent her youth devouring the works of Anne Rice, William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson. Listening to the likes of Elvis to Fiona Apple and everything in between has been her inspirational tool to write. Her varied musical and literary tastes have shaped her into the writer she has become. Monica partook in extra Literature and Writing studies in High School. She studied a Bachelor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University Victoria, Australia, majoring in Philosophy and Cinema Studies for three years. When she is not writing she is running her own business, but always finds a balance between the two. Monica enjoys reading honest, heartfelt and turbulent stories that leave an imprint on her. She put pen to paper because she wanted to write a book that she would want to read. She draws inspiration from her surroundings, hopeful others enjoy reading about the world as she sees it.