Chapter by Chapter

Originally it was the cover for authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings (writing under the pseudonym Christina Lauren) novel Sublime that piqued my interest. Afterward it was the opening sentence that had me hooked and I knew that if I didn’t read this now I would end up reading it at some point in the near future. Sublime sounded like a paranormal romance that would leave me with some unanswered questions that would drive me to keep on reading right to the very last page. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from the novel, but went in ready for anything.

 Sublime begins with Lucy who wakes in a forest wearing nothing more than a dress and sandals, with no recollections of who she is, how she got there, or where she’s supposed to go. That is, until she sees Collin. Collin has ensnared most of the girls from Saint Osanna’s, and since a tragedy that changed his life forever, Collin isn’t exactly the same guy he used to be. But when he sees Lucy all of that changes. The two of them uncover the mystery behind Lucy’s identity and the details behind her death. Whatever Lucy is now, being together suddenly seems very, very impossible—and when the two of them uncover the possible reasons why Lucy has returned it becomes evident that the two of them can’t be torn apart.

Sublime is told in the third person and alternates between Collin and Lucy’s point of views. The story’s focus does shift between both of them, telling two different stories that still coincide. I absolutely loved this. Getting to see details from both characters was a nice advantage to have, and learning about backstories without dramatically over-detailed scenes was something refreshing.

The writing in Christa Lauren is very lyrical. There’s a lot of it that is written just so pretty and it gave me little shivers. The novel is written in a way that gives off mystery and makes it instantly haunting. However, when I began to look past the beautiful writing in this read, I noticed that there were a lot of inconsistencies both plot-wise and just description-based. This was something that I couldn’t overlook while reading and gave me a bit of an ‘itch that I can’t scratch’ sort of feel.

The characters in Sublime are very typical YA characters. They’re in love. But there doesn’t seem to be much more to that. I do wish that in Sublime there had been more build to Lucy and Collin’s romance considering that does get very insta-lovey. I think that fans of novels like Fallen or Twilight will like Lucy as she’s very reminiscent of Bella Swan and Luce—if you like your protagonists to act that certain way, then Lucy is definitely a right fit for you.

I do have a lot of questions in terms of plot details that have been left-over after having finished the novel. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this was dome in such a way that I might receive some answers should I get to see a book 2 for Collin and Lucy’s story. There’s a lot of room for expansion and I’m eager to see where this story might go.

I would recommend Sublime to any readers who are looking for a novel that is all about the romance between two characters, to any readers who are looking for a paranormal romance that is written to capture your attention. Readers who are looking for a novel that focuses on the limitations of dating someone who isn’t quite alive, but pushing past them should also give Sublime a read.