Hi guys! I’m so excited to be on this amazing tour, and to spotlight one of my most anticipated reads, Unforgivable by Amy Reed. After the ending of Invincible, I was just stunned. This is a continuation, but it’s all Marcus, and I am here to say, READ THIS BOOK! I thought that Evie’s story was full of angst. Nothing prepared me for Marcus’ story. NOTHING. BTW, don’t forget to look for my secret word in this post.
I present to you……
Title: Unforgivable (Invincible #2)
Author: Amy Reed
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication: May 3rd, 2016
Genres: Young-Adult, Contemporary
In this raw, gut-wrenching, and beautifully written sequel to Invincible, Marcus continues Evie’s story of their intense romance, a la Gayle Forman’s Where She Went, after saving her life only to find his life—and their relationship—falling to pieces.
Marcus knows pain. The kind that swallows you like a black hole. His brother committed suicide, his mother left him, and his dad mostly ignores him. Relief only seems to come from drugs, alcohol, and secret acts of self-destruction.
Until he met Evie. Together, they lived in the moment. They fell in love—hard—creating their own beautiful world. But they each had their own secrets, their own pain, hovering like a thick fog, suffocating them in a world too small to share.
Unforgivable takes off where Invincible left us—with Evie drowning in San Francisco Bay. Marcus finds her just in time, but her survival is not the happy ending he was hoping for. Forbidden from seeing Evie by her parents and unable to reach her, Marcus learns of a pain that might break him completely.
Marcus spirals into an even deeper darkness and is forced by new events to face the demons of his past. The pain of losing Evie becomes tangled with the loss of his mother and brother, and he must finally face the ghosts he has been trying so desperately to outrun or risk losing Evie forever.
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Review
Unforgivable is a companion story to Invincible. Whereas Invincible was all about Evie; Unforgivable is Marcus’ story. It’s a very quick read, but full of all the things I love when it comes to YA contemporary – love, family, and absolution. This story is dark, as it revolves around the lives of characters who abused drugs & alcohol, are depressed, suicide recollection, and abandonment issues. Marcus’ story tore at my heart strings the entire time that I was reading. If you have read the first book, then there is no way that you can miss this next chapter. This is the story of a boy lost in his head about everything that has happened since he was a little boy. The chapters are short and are written in either present or past tense.
You- Marcus is struggling with his guilt at not being able to stop Evie from self destruction. His words are almost poetic and you can feel his pain oozing from just a simple word, or sentence.
There- Marcus recalls childhood memories, his brother’s suicide, and his mother’s choice to leave. It is heartbreaking!
Here/Now/Us- Present tense and the aftermath of what happened in Invincible. I much rather preferred this tense, as it continues the overall story. The ending surprised me, but it wrapped up the story.
Marcus’ and Evie’s relationship started out rocky, but they were two people who were bent on easing the pain and depression. They may have done bad things on the way to find the answers, but their problems defined them, so they saw no other way to cope. They fell in love, and that love consisted of toxic things that almost caused more problems than they had combined, but they had to figure it out without being in each others lives. His mom made him see that very thing in herself and the way that she took off. Interesting family dynamic at the end, but I think it worked itself out.
Overall, I really liked this book. More so than the first one. I recommend this to lovers of contemporary YA and realistic fiction.
Perfect song that I would add to a playlist for this duology?
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About The Author
Amy Reed was born and raised in and around Seattle, where she attended a total of eight schools by the time she was eighteen. Constant moving taught her to be restless, and being an only child made her imagination do funny things. After a brief stint at Reed College (no relation), she moved to San Francisco and spent the next several years serving coffee and getting into trouble. She eventually graduated from film school, promptly decided she wanted nothing to do with filmmaking, returned to her original and impractical love of writing, and earned her MFA from New College of California. After thirteen years in the San Francisco Bay Area, she now resides in the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and dog.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Now, for the giveaways…..
#1 – A Harper Teen Summer 2016 Catalog prizepack of 45 books*.
*Titles not included: The Crown by Kiera Cass, Escape from Asylum by Madeline Roux, Sing by Vivi Greene, The Countdown by Kimberly Derting, & United As One by Pittacus Lore. In addition to the one massive prize winner, we will also have 4 winners who will be able to select 3 titles they want from the Summer 2016 Catalog. US Only
#2 – 5 Finished Copies from the Harper Teen Winter 2016 Catalog
5 books are: Front Lines by Michael Grant, Revenge & the Wild by Michelle Modesto, The Lifeboat Clique by Kathy Parks, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin, & The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig. US Only
How to enter:
Collect the daily word from each blog stop during the Harper Summer 2016 Tour (a total of 50). Once you’ve collected them all, email the complete saying to: HarperTeenTour@gmail.com
Prize Rules:
-Winner must have a valid US mailing address to receive the prize
-Winner must be over 13
-Only one (1) entry per person for Prize #2 – duplicates will be deleted.
-Only a completed phrase will be accepted as an entry – do not email each word/phrase daily. Wait until you have the complete saying and then email in.
-All email submissions must be received by 11:59 PM EST 3/31/2016.
-Winners will be selected 4/1/2016 and will have 48 hours to claim their
-Participating blogs and bloggers are not responsible for unsent, damaged, and/or stolen prizes offered by the publisher.
Lekeisha The Booknerd 
I haven’t read the first book, but this series sounds interesting.
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I really love the cover of this series! But the darkness of it doesn’t seem like it’d be for me. I’m a girl who likes a light contemporary full of fluffiness, hehe. Either way, awesome review!
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This book/author is new to me! I’ve read four of Harper’s Summer ’16 books and really enjoyed them.
Fantastic post, Lekeisha!
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
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You have me curious as I have not read book one,…but the characters and story sound amazing. It looks like I might need truffles and tissues though 🙂
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Thanks for the intro to the series. Unforgiveable and Invincible look interesting and important.
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Not gonna lie, the song selection totally upped my interest in the books. I mean, they already sounded good, but knowing that song fits … yeah.
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Thanks for the review and didn’t even know there was a second one (I thought the author was going to leave us there at the end) but I really like Marcus and would love to learn more about him.
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Haven’t read the first book in this series, but this sounds like an awesome! I can’t wait to read this!
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I haven’t read the first one in this series but it sounds great! I will need to catch up!
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Hope you love them!
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It sounds like an engaging series!
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It really is. I wish more readers would try it.
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I haven’t read much YA lately
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It’s not for everyone. You couldn’t pay my cousin to read a YA book. I guess you have to really like the genre to continually read it.
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Wow! Such high praise. I’m adding this to my TBR for sure. Thanks!
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Thanks for stopping by!
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I am glad you were able to enjoy this book even more than book one! It seems like the different point of view worked well here for this one and that it brought something new to the story. I haven’t read the first one yet but they’re both on my to be read list and now I can’t wait 😀
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I love that Marcus is a POC, so that is always a plus one in my book. I really hope you enjoy them. Don’t let Evie piss you off in book one. LOL!
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I haven’t read the first book either! Putting them on the list..
Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
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I hope you love them!
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I haven’t read the first book, but both sound great!! 😀
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They are!
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A switch in POVs! That’s always a treat. It helps you dig in to the story better and get to know other characters intimately. That’s a great move on the authors part
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I actually love Marcus’ voice better than Evie’s.
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I haven’t read this series, or anything by this author, but this sounds great!
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If you like YA contemporary, you should check it out.
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I still need to read this series! But I’m afraid it’ll be like The Fault in our stars, where you know everyone cries!
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It’s not the same outcome as TFioS. It’s emotional, but I didn’t cry.
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I loved Invincible and am glad to learn that you loved Unforgivable. I’m adding it to my TBR list now. Thanks.
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Enjoy!
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I haven’t read the first book yet, but these sound like they are full of the feels. I like a sense of family in a story, but the absolution idea is intriguing too. Nice review, Lekeisha!
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Both are very quick, emotional reads. Marcus almost broke my heart.
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