Book Review: Finding It

Finding It (Losing It #3)

By: Cora Carmack

Published By: William Morrow Paperbacks

Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Page Count: 320

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher via Edelweiss

Audience: NewAdult - Contemporary Romance

Read my Review of Book #1: Losing It

Read my Review of Novella #1.5: Keeping Her

Read my Review of Book #2: Faking It

First off, I’m going to say that it seems like Finding It is a Marmite book. Brits will know what I’m saying, but for the rest of you – you will either love it or hate it. A lot of that will depend on how you feel about Kelsey, the heroine of this tale.

 

In Losing It, Kelsey was the BFF who gave Bliss the kick up the rear she needed to go out, do a few shots and find a guy. Kelsey hasn’t changed a lot since graduation; she is still a party girl, but now she is backpacking around Europe. Kelsey doesn’t really have any aim in life except to lose herself in the moment. She uses alcohol to deaden her thoughts, and a lot of readers won’t appreciate that as she isn’t a great role model. I did find her interesting though. I wanted to know why she was so afraid to think. I understood her reluctance to think about the future, as I’m sure many readers will too. When you don’t know what to do with yourself, it is just too much to think about. Her past though was definitely intriguing. Kelsey also isn’t that brave really. She comes off as a girl who is up for anything, but really all she does is all she has ever done.

That’s why I loved it when she met Jackson Hunt. He isn’t the usual guy who falls all over himself trying to impress Kelsey, and that annoys her. Normally she can get any guy she wants with a pout, wiggle and a flash of her ‘girls’, Marilyn and Monroe. (Side comment, so like Kelsey to name her breasts, so unlike anyone else I know!!) Jackson isn’t impressed and, in fact, he laughs at her which drives her mad. From then on, he is all she can think about, and it is easy to see why. She can’t have him and he is insanely hot. Now the fault in Kelsey is that she doesn’t think much. She isn’t stupid; she just isn’t used to it. She is very instinctual, and that is like my polar opposite. That’s why I enjoyed reading about her because it was like a lesson in how the other half live. So she doesn’t really micro analyse what’s going on, and she doesn’t ponder Jackson’s depths all that much.

 

Jackson Hunt is a mystery though. He moves through Kelsey’s world in glimpses across busy night spots, always somehow managing to surprise her. She doesn’t understand his dilemma either – he seems interested, but he holds back. This infuriates Kelsey. She can’t work out what he wants with her because he is so unlike every other guy in her life – they either use her or ignore her. So she gets drawn into him more and more.

 

Jackson has a very nice line as a ‘guy in charge’. He looks after Kelsey when she needs him most, and he glimpses the real her, someone no one sees, not even Kelsey herself. This is enough for him to ask her to give him a week; a week to show her life, because he realizes what no one else does – for all her party girl, wild child appearance, Kelsey is just sticking to what she knows and the real adventures are passing her by as she numbs herself with fake friends, alcohol and conquest after conquest.

 

So you might not identify with Kelsey, but I, like Jackson, became enchanted with the few glimmers of the real girl. The girl who hasn’t got much real self esteem, she only acts the part. It may take quite a leap of faith too to accept that two people who don’t really know each other would go on this journey together, because maybe that isn’t something you would do. But once I was ‘with Kelsey’ it seemed natural to me. No one takes care of her normally, and so it would be quite intoxicating when someone wanted to. Kelsey’s family are pretty superficial, it seems, and all they care about is appearances. So she doesn’t feel bad for spending as much as she can during her trip – that isn’t something I can particularly identify with, but it seemed to me to be the only way she could really hurt them, and as you will find out, she has her reasons for that, which I think were pretty solid.

 

I just adored the journey that Kelsey and Jackson went on. I felt her fatigue when she had to keep going longer than she ever would have before, with her heavy backpack. I felt her sighs at all the trains, over night sleeping and exhaustion the following day, and then I felt her wonder when she saw what Jackson was showing her. Cora painted such a beautiful vision of Europe that I felt like I was there, and I fell in love. In those settings, I felt every little shift in Kelsey and Jackson’s relationship and ached for them to admit their feelings. For Kelsey, that wasn’t a problem. She was quite upfront in trying to break Jackson’s resolve, using her old reliable tricks. I just loved how he didn’t fall for them though – it made Kelsey be a bit more genuine and started breaking through to the real Kelsey. That was another thing that I loved too – how little by little she let herself become very vulnerable with him.

 

I won’t spoil the details or the ending, as I have already gone into Finding It quite a bit. I feel that some will judge Kelsey harshly, and that is a little unfair. She isn’t like Bliss or Max, but she has good reason, and she does indeed find herself in the end. This was a journey of self-discovery and it wouldn’t have been half so satisfying if she wasn’t so outlandish to start with. I came to love Kelsey, and I hope you do too. I think my favourite Cora leading man is still Cade, as Jackson is still a little mysterious right now. But I am really looking forward to his novella, which is out next year, as there is a lot left to find out about him. I anticipate a lot of swooning going on then. One final word – so far I haven’t mentioned hotness. It was scorching; Cora gets better and better and hooking me with every book, I was positively writhing along with Kelsey!! *blush*

Summary:

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life...or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.