BLOG TOUR # 23 - BOOK REVIEW - STREAMLINE by JENNIFER LANE

Today on the blog tour stop I have my review of Streamline. This was a very well written story, filled with a lot of emotion and an unfair amount of pain.

By: Jennifer Lane
Published By : Omnific Publishing
Released : 27th March 2012
Details: Digital, 460 Pages

RATING : 5 HEART BREAKING STARS!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He’s captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother’s crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father’s abuse, battered and alone.

Leo’s girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida’s top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there’s an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number-one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder.

Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything’s on the line . . . streamline.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle :

WOW! What a read! There was not a vampire or paranormal creature in sight, just two boys that were born into a family that caused them so much pain.

This is a tale of so much physical and mental pain, abuse, love, betrayal, fear, regret, addiction, secrets and tissue worthy moments.

I had to sit for a bit after reading this book. Jennifer has managed to really bring the broken, damaged characters to life before your eyes.

Leo Scott and Jason Scott are brothers. They have been beaten many times by their father a Commander in the Navy. This is their story. It is mostly told from Leo’s POV, but Jason has his moments to share with us, his heartache, and what drove him to his addiction.

We work out pretty early Jason’s very broken. It takes the reader longer to see how broken and damaged Leo is. He hides his pain and punishment very well and mentally it gets buried deep. It is heart breaking reading about a father who is so violent he puts Leo in the hospital .

He loses his spleen.

He is a tortured soul who is crying out for help and making a lot of mistakes along the way.

Leo does not realise it’s ok not to be perfect. It’s ok to muck up. A mistake does not warrant a fist, a split lip, black eye, repeated kicks to the stomach......hospitalisation. Leo has no choice. He knows when he will get a beating and there is nothing,  he can do about it, but take it until his body gives out, he goes unconscious . Then the pain is gone....... for a little while.

We follow Leo and his journey from the swim team to the Naval Academy. This is where his story really unfolds. Jennifer writes life in a naval academy very real, to me. I have not ever stepped foot in one, but I got the feel of the discipline and strength these kids must have, to last. This is a tough, tough academy, I wouldn’t last five minutes.

Audrey is Leo’s girlfriend. They are both on the swim team, this is how they met. Swimming is Leo’s outlet. He feels good when he is swimming. Audrey and Leo have a deep love. Their love shines through this story. They also have a secret that nearly gets Leo killed.

I love the sub characters who are in Leo’s life and who are rooting for him, Matt the swim coach, Marcus the councelor, Dr Ina who wants to understand Leo and Jason who wants to now be there for his little brother. Jason is older, and made enough mistakes of his own. He has a life to get back on track and his girlfriend Cameron is there for him.

The people who care, no matter how much you don’t care about your own life, are the angels of these types of stories.

It’s easy to judge why their mother didn’t put a stop to the beatings, I am trying to understand. The Commander is a very strong, fierce character, and one to be feared. I think mentally she was just beaten. I just have trouble with Leo lying in a pool of blood, it took near death for her to step up and do what she should have done years earlier.

Jennifer pulls on the emotional strings hard, in this book. It’s impossible not to feel your heart break for the unnecessary pain a father repeatedly, put his sons through.

This is a story of damaged lives that find each other, and they come together to reveal a deathly secret.

FAVE QUOTE:

“I miss my father too,” Leo rasped, then forged ahead. The words tumbled out as his voice hitched with tears. “I wanted you to do the right thing for once. You always told me to do the right thing, but you never did — you never thought about anyone but yourself. You beat me when I needed a hug. You criticized me when I needed praise. I just wanted you to be proud of me. It was stupid…a stupid little-boy wish that will never come true.” 

Michelle

BLOG STOPS

This is the link so anyone can enter for the $25 Gift Card of their choice. People can enter at any time throughout the tour.

http://jenniferlanebooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/streamline-blog-tour-may-7-12.html
Jennifer's Goodreads