Blog Tour! Checked by Jennifer Jamelli
Callie spends countless hours staring at appliances to make
sure they are really unplugged. She wastes obscene amounts of time checking for
murderers in various corners of her house and entire sleepless nights
performing pointless checking rituals. Then every spare minute is filled with
inspecting doorknobs, chairs, floors, etc. for minuscule traces of germs. Oh,
and she does all of this as she counts to three over and over again in her
head. She does this every day. Without fail. Dr. Blake just doesn't fit into
her schedule. Until he does. Until Callie begins to trust him. Until she starts
to need him. And want him. And . . .
5 stars... 5
stars... 5 stars... must do this in
threes! You know... for Callie!
:)
Nothing makes me happier than picking up a book and being
taken by surprise... and this book did just that! I think it was because it was
refreshingly different and the character of Callie and her life of living with
extreme OCD was perfectly written. It was so interesting being inside her mind
and I was feeling her struggles and frustrations right along with her. I
actually think I have a much clearer understanding of OCD and the impact it not
only has on the person with it... but also how it affects those around them.
They live in constant worry and it can be exhausting.
Callie has an amazing family who supports her and looks
after her very carefully, especially her sisters... but at the same time they
live with the hope that she will find a way to overcome her OCD issues so that
she can live a more fulfilling life. She is a prisoner to this affliction...
her fear of germs and of all things dirty makes it difficult to enjoy even the
smallest trips out anywhere. Her world is all about routine, obsessive cleaning
and avoidance of anything that might make her sick. Even though she knows that
most of her fears are ridiculous, she can't seem to rid herself of them. She
has a running dialogue of music in her head... I didn't recognize a lot of the
music... but, if you do then that part of the story will be very entertaining.
She decides to begin seeking medical treatment for her OCD
and this leads her to Dr. Blake. Dr. Blake takes an invested interest in
helping Callie because he has quite a lot of experience with living with
someone with OCD. I fell in love with
this guy very quickly... his patient and understanding ways were the best
medicine for Callie. Callie develops a rare trust in him, their attraction to
each other grows and you begin to see a light of hope for her.
And then, we have that ending... sighhhhh... why???? It is a
bit of a cliffhanger... I do hope the way it ended means we are getting a
second book! Normally I would rate a bit lower because of this... I hate
cliffies. But, I can't ignore the fact that these characters were so well
written, the story was very engaging and original and it left me wanting more.
So, I do think that it is deserving of 5 stars for that alone.
So glad I decided to pick this one up...
ARC was provided by the author via "I Heart
Romance" Book Tours
Jennifer Jamelli has spent most of her life reading and writing; she holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in English, and she is an 8th grade English teacher.
She, like the main character in her debut novel, has a rather hopeless case of OCD.
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