How to Love
By Katie Cotugno
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.
After:
Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?
In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.
Review: This book. I was so, so excited to read this one. I got it for Christmas last year and have been dying for the chance to read it. I finally decided to sit down and see what all of the hype was about and, I must say, I was very disappointed.
Reena has always loved Sawyer, so when her best friend starts to date him, Reena withdraws and throws herself into school and work. But when Sawyer finally notices her, they enter a heartbreaking, whirlwind romance that ends with Sawyer leaving without a goodbye. Three years later, Reena has been raising her daughter, Hannah, and gotten used to life without Sawyer. But when he shows up unexpectedly and isn't leaving again anytime soon, Reena's entire world is turned upside down.
The main reason I didn't like this book was Sawyer. The whole story revolved around how Reena was absolutely in love with him and let him run her life. She was doing fine the three years she was raising their baby but the moment he comes back, she just lets herself become lost in him again. Personally, I just couldn't see the appeal of Sawyer or why Reena was so in love with him. Maybe we didn't get to see a lot of the good parts of Sawyer, but I was just so annoyed with how selfish and awful of a person he was. Reena put up with so much from Sawyer and I just wanted her to grow a back bone and find someone better already.
While I thought it was interesting that the chapters alternated between the "before" and "after", it was hard to connect with Reena and her feelings for Sawyer. I had a pretty bad impression of Sawyer from the start and it just got worse instead of better as the story went on. And the ending? It was a bit unbelievable and I don't think it was realistic seeing as Reena had a daughter and responsibilities.
In the end, I was expecting a lot more romance and I wanted a story I couldn't put down. Instead, I got annoying characters and an attraction that I just couldn't understand. I really did not like Sawyer and did not feel any emotion for Reena and her situation. I know that a lot of people have loved this book, but it just wasn't for me.
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