Review: Near & Far by Nicole Williams

Near & Far

Lost & Found #2

Author: Nicole Williams

Publication Date: July 28, 2013

Genre: New Adult/Contemporary

~Synopsis~

There’s optimistic. And there’s Jesse Walker. 

If he wasn’t so charming, his sunny disposition and incessant grin would get old. Fast. 

Falling in love with the broken girl who had at first seemed immune to anything resembling love was the best thing to happen to Jesse since the Walkers adopted him when he was five. 

As Jesse’s life continues at the ranch and Rowen begins making her mark in the Seattle art community, they wonder where the middle ground is. Or if there even is one. 

As push comes to shove, they’re forced to make choices neither are eager to make, and Jesse and Rowen have to face what their lives might look like without the other. 

Can two people with such tragic pasts and different presents expect a promising future together? Whatever the answer, they’ll need a lot more than love to make it.

*Recommended for mature readers due to moderate content and language.*

~Prelude~

Lost & Found was the first book I read by Nicole Williams and I fell in love. I absolutely adored everything about that book, especially Jesse Walker. I was so close to heading to a ranch in Montana after reading it. When I found out there would be a second book to the series, I was jumping up and down with excitement. Near & Far was highly anticipated for me and it didn’t disappoint.

~Review~

Rowen & Jesse are probably one of my favorite couples. They are so different and such a contradiction and I adore that. Rowen is the tough city girl and Jesse is the down to earth cowboy. You would never put them together but they have this amazing attraction and chemistry that works so well. They balance and bring out the best in each other. Rowen is the only one who can bring Jesse back from the brink of darkness and his past and Jesse inspires Rowen to be a better artist and person.

“We took normal, average, and what was expected… and turned it upside down.”

It has been a year since the summer that Jesse and Rowen fell in love and she is studying art in Seattle while Jesse is still working the ranch in Montana. They both travel back and forth to spend as much time as they can together. Despite the distance, it is obvious that their feelings are still very much alive and they still have the connection that brought them together. However, outside factors including Jesse’s past demons and Rowen’s insecurities about happily ever after, threaten to destroy everything they have built.

“Because, Rowen. Because the day you don’t miss me is the day we’re doomed.”

In Lost & Found, Jesse is so strong and put together. He is the light to Rowen’s darkness and he helps bring her out of the pain and loneliness she has always felt. However, in Near & Far, he isn’t quite so put together. He has a vulnerable side we haven’t seen before and I liked that. He was almost too perfect before but now it’s clear he is human too and he has experienced darkness in his past as well. I didn’t think it was possible to fall for Jesse more but I was wrong. He has a past that was mentioned in the first book but is really delved into in the book and it is understandable that he would eventually crack. When he does, I was so heartbroken. He pushes Rowen away in order to protect her because he is so used to being cool and collected and he is afraid to break down again and let her down. What he doesn’t understand is how much Rowen loves him and how much he really needs her.

“Sometimes the only way we can protect the ones we love is to protect them from ourselves.”

Rowen has her share of issues in Near & Far too. She has spent so much of her life lonely and sad that she lets her insecurities eat away at her. She refuses to believe that she is capable of having a happy ever after ending and she is just waiting for the ball to drop. Obviously, that will only lead to problems that would never occur otherwise and we see her slip away from Jesse just a little. Her insecurities really come into play when she meets Jolene, the new summer help for Rose, who is clearly into Jesse. She’s a gorgeous blonde country girl trying to get her claws into Jesse and Rowen sees her as the type of girl Jesse belongs with. What she seems to forget is how much Jesse loves her and that she is the only women he ever sees.

“There are high points, and there are high points. That was mine, having a man like Jesse Walker to love and love me back, and knowing that no matter what came our way, we’d be ready for it.”

While this book is all about Rowen and Jesse, we still get a little bit of Garth and Josie, who are still as fabulous as ever. Garth is his usual “dick” self but he is much more tolerable and really grew on me. I loved seeing him rebuild his friendship with Jesse. Josie wasn’t as prevalent as Garth but it was great knowing that her and Rowen maintained their friendship and I still loved the fact that she was such an amazing person, considering her former relationship with Jesse. It wouldn’t be the same if there weren’t a few new characters to love or hate. I liked Rowen’s roommate, Alex. She was a little crazy at times but she was a great friend to Rowen and really there for her when she needed someone the most. Then we had Jax and Jolene, the “villains” of the book. When I first met Jax, I was afraid he was going to get inside Rowen’s head and come between her and Jesse. Believe me, he tried but Rowen proved how tough she was and she never let him succeed. Jolene was a whole other story because Jesse is a true gentleman and she exploited that with every opportunity. Her affections for Jesse were so blatantly obvious but Jesse only has eyes for Rowen and he was the only one oblivious to her attraction. When he became aware, I loved the way he handled her and didn’t let her disparage Rowen’s love for him.

“What bound us together couldn’t be seen or put into words. It was invisible. No word had been created for it.”

I finished Near & Far in a single day and could not put it down until I knew how Rowen and Jesse’s story turned out. I was an anxious mess through out the entire book with all of the obstacles threatening to tear Rowen and Jess apart. However, I knew they had a love that was made to last and if I could just get myself to the end without losing it, I would be satisfied. I was completely right. I couldn’t imagine a better ending for Rowen and Jesse.

~IPOD Picks~

“Give Me Love" Ed Sheeran

“Crash My Party” by Luke Bryan

“If I Lose Myself” by One Republic

PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE