Sparkles and Lightning

****FINAL RATING: 4.40 STARS****CATCHALLNew Adult is a relatively new genre, and even though I love it I actually don't read a lot of it because in the hands of the wrong author the story lines often get very repetitive and formulaic. I am happy to say that that was not the case here! Wait For You was a fun, original New Adult story that focused beyond the romance and was a deeper story than I first expected.THE HEROINEAVERYAvery actually really annoyed me sometimes, but despite that I did my best to sympathize with her. I know that she was suffering a lot, but there were so many times where she had a chance to say something and she didn't and it just got old. She had a really, majorly vulnerable side, but at the same time, she got really good at putting on a strong front. I really wanted her to grow a backbone, though. She turned out all right in the end, however.THE LOVE INTERESTCAMCam, in my opinion, is an awesome character but nowhere near realistic. He's a player, but when he meets Avery it's like an instant change and suddenly he's Mr. Pure and Amazing. Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever. Plus, he's way too patient and puts up with way too much. Any guy would have left, and who the heck could've blamed him? He's clearly an awesome guy, and don't get me wrong–I do love him. But that doesn't mean he was convincing.THE PLOTWait For You was a sweet yet sexy love story. But it's so much more than a love story at the same time. From the very first page, it's clear that something in Avery is broken, and she's running away from the past.Boy meets girl. Girl pushes boy away. Boy keeps coming around. Girl finally lets boy in. You get the idea, right? It all felt a bit cyclical and frankly wasn't the met effective in holding my interest. Furthermore, it took for-freaking-ever for Avery's past to come out. It's not like I expected to be told right away, but by the middle of the book I was bored and just wanted to know what it was already.Plus, it got really confusing at some points. There were times when I had no idea what the heck anyone was talking about and just felt totally lost.But don't get me wrong, I loved this book even though I had issues with it.I loved that it went deeper than the romance. The romance was important, but it wasn't wholly the focus. In order to come to terms with the present, Avery had to face her demons. And it was a painful experience, but in the end she gets through it.The pacing was slow, but at the same time there was a lot of story to tell. Some things felt extraneous, but I still enjoyed most of those parts.THE ROMANCEWell, an NA book is a romance. That's pretty much the definition. So of course there was a lot of romance. And from the very first page, sexual tension was crackling between Avery and Cam, yet they still took the time to build a mature relationship. So, no complaints there. Now, my main issue with the romance. Look, I'm not a prude, and I can handle fairly graphic sex, but it got to the point where this entire book started to feel like sex scenes and that was just really annoying. Jennifer had a good things going and then she went and just totally overdid it. I love Cam and Avery together, but seriously, I don't need to hear about every one of their trips to the bedroom.THE WRITINGJennifer's writing is beautiful as always. I honestly don't know how she does it. Avery's voice is both broken and courageous, and somehow she can make so much emotion come across in so few words. It's nothing short of genius. Sometimes the way she phrased things was really confusing, though, for some reason, and it was difficult for me to get a really secure grip on the different settings. It was a bit distant.THE ENDINGThe ending was sweet in a way I didn't expect after the contents of the book, but I loved it. You can feel the connection between Avery and Cam and it doesn't feel cheap or contrived. The conflict's been evened out, and the best part is that although there's a happy ending you can tell the story goes on, that the characters continue living.WRAPUPOverall, I really enjoyed Wait For You and if New Adult's your thing, I'd absolutely recommend it. Like I said before, it is a bit heavy on the sex, though, so if you do read this you should keep that in mind. I'm a huge fan of Jennifer Armentrout, and though this was my first J. Lynn book I can guarantee it absolutely will not be my last.FINE.Find more of my reviews on Sparkles and Lightning!