My review of Wide Awake

Wide Awake (Wide Awake #1) by Shelly Crane

Release Date: March 22, 2013
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A girl.

A coma.

A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

Wide Awake pulled me in with its intriguing premise and the hint of an epic romance just waiting to happen. It follows the life of Emma Walker as she wakes up from a six month coma with amnesia. She has parents, a boyfriend, and friends all expecting her to embrace her past; the way she used to be. But Emma wants to be herself, and only her amazingly-gorgeous-only-23-years-of-age therapist understands. You see? Romance just waiting to blossom.

I felt quickly drawn by Crane's writing style as it was easy to follow with enough description to be satisfied and not overwhelmed or lacking. The whole idea of the book just sounded too good to pass up. Imagine waking up from a coma and having no recollection of who you are. All the while, having a smoking hot therapist as your savior? 

I liked our protagonist Emma. I felt that she was strong and very likable. Of course, she had moments where she broke down, but she always remained headstrong and never gave up on the things that she felt passionately about... like Mason. Mason is the hot therapist, guys. He is one of the sweetest sweetie pies I have ever come across in a story. He is also the only guy I've read about who is ticklish... which made him so much more appealing too. HE'S TICKLISH! IT'S JUST SO REALISTIC. I LOVE HIM. Come on, you never hear about the masculine and strong guy in the story being ticklish... it just works.

Through the book Emma has to put pieces together of who she wants to be, and the people around her have to decide whether they can accept her even if she doesn't regain her memories and change back into the person they once loved. I was engaged throughout and didn't want to put it down. Luckily, there is a sequel Wide Spaces, and a companion novel about one of the other characters featured in this book called Wide Open.

This is a solid four for me. I would recommend Wide Awake to those contemporary junkies out there who can completely engulf themselves in a beautiful, I-wish-this-were-real kind of romance. I haven't read anything else by Shelly Crane but I sure will soon!

Rating

A review copy was provided by the author