Book Review - See Through Me

See Through Me
Author: Sera Bright
Series: Lose My Senses #1
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult, New Adult
Release Date: 8th May 2014
Publisher: Createspace
No. Pages: 222
Source: Review Copy - Createspace
Rating: 
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There's only one person I want to see when I return home. But I know he won't be waiting. It's the reason I feel safe enough to come back. I’m so wrong.

Ash Townsend isn't the same quiet boy from next door. He's tall, dark and demanding answers. He wants me, but he doesn't trust me. Why should he? When his own family tried to break him down, he still sheltered me in this town full of liars. And I repaid it by leaving him without a word. But I'll do anything to protect him. I have the scars on my wrist to prove it.

This book and/or review may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due its use of language, sexual content, drug and alcohol abuse and/or violence. Please bare this in mind before reading.

See Through Me is one of the most impulsive requests I've ever made on NetGalley. I fell in love with the cover, which surprisingly for a NA cover, doesn't feature a half naked kissing couple, and the model actually portrays the leading lady perfectly, and found the synopsis a little confusing and alluring, so I requested it, received it, and read it, all in two days. It was far from perfect for my liking, but neither do I regret it; I got a lot of entertainment out of it, and Katie's character was wonderful to read about. I would like to mention however that while this book is labelled New Adult, it crosses dangerously into erotica land, and does have some very vivid scenes that are not advisable for anyone under the age of 17.

I feel like the plot in See Through Me is a little, unclear. As I was reading the synopsis, it leads to you believe that it's all about romance and long lost lovers, and some self harm and mutilation in there too, but there's a lot more to this book that first meets the eye. This book covered the harsh truths about domestic violence, child neglect and conspiracy in a close nit neighbourhood, as well as societies acceptance over public abuse, rape and GBH. I know what you're thinking; how can a book so short cover all this? Well, for one, it's written in past and present perspectives, which in the past have annoyed me and made me feel disjointed from the story in question, but See Through Me's case, it only helped to improve the depthness of this story of Ash and Katie, and how their past and present intertwine and affect their futures. Some of the issues I've mentioned have, for the characters, happened in the past, and while they're not the focus of the story, nor developed hugely within the story, I feel they are mentioned enough, and highlight what needs to be said. I also surprisingly like how the style of writing; there was no superior wording, but it didn't feel drab or as if it was written with no effort, is was clean, clear and really had this crisp passion to it that made the sweet scenes so beautiful, and the not so sweet but 'romantic' scenes just as entertaining.

Katie and Ash could quite possibly be accused of being your typical characters for a New Adult novel. Katie is a young lady who doesn't know what she wants form her future, drives a big truck and has bright hair and tattoos over her body. Ash is an artist who is tall, dark and brooding, handsome and charming, but for me, the difference between their relationship and others I'd read is that it was a story from friendship to relationship. No more 'my best friend likes me, but no' rubbish, a full on, mutual and extremely steamy relationship between these two was what made it so believable. The support they gave one another, the sacrifices they made for each other and how they felt safe with the other was really kind of wonderful. Simple scenes of hand holding and cuddling on couches was enough to make my heart flutter, but then, the dreaded curse of New Adult found it's way in and the personality traits of Katie and Ash being obsessive and possessive over one another would sometimes be too much. She would get unfairly and immaturely jealous, while Ash wouldn't even let Katie walk home on her own without thinking she was going on a 500 mile trek across the states; it definitely became a relationship that I found myself both swooning over and feeling very distressed over. I don't particularly want to delve into the sexual nature of their relationship and of this book too much, but to me, there's a line between talking about sex in books and writing an erotica, and sometimes, only faintly, See Through Me would just slip over the line and be a little too graphic for what I expected, or a be little too clumsy with the writing, and use phrases I didn't particularly want used, but this was a personal preference, and overall, I found the use of sex in this book to be realistic and complimented the relationship well.

There isn't much else I can really say about See Through Me; I feel like there's a real mystery to come in this series or collection of standalones, and I feel there's a lot more room to grow and develop the characters more, and the intrigue too, but I just don't feel that it's had a lasting impression on me. I feel like it's a book a may forget in a week or two, and who's details will become blurred and misplaced, and while I loved Katie's personality and Ash's compassion, I can't help but feel like I've not connected to them quite enough. Whether I continue with this 'series' is still unknown, but I do think this could be a real winner for New Adult fans, and even some Young Adult fans who aren't afraid of some steamy scenes.