Nadia Simonenko

I enjoyed Lost quite a bit and was extremely surprised by how much more I enjoyed Found. I only wish that Amazon would allow me to give this book 10 stars, it deserves so many more than five. Once again the writing was extremely beautiful and the characters were perfectly flawed. Found drew out so many emotions from me: Anger, sadness, pain, joy, loss, happiness, hope and more joy. I can't even come up with enough words to describe the full range of how I felt reading this book. Owen and Marie were so broken and lost and so very perfect for each other. Both managed to come away from their past with love in their hearts and were such kind caring people which is no small feat even without their past. I admired both characters very much and I enjoyed the fact that every moment together wasn't a bed of roses. They had their share of ups and downs and both of them did things that they shouldn't have but in the end their love for each other kept them going. Without giving anything away I just want to say that I'm very glad that certain things happened with both characters. After a certain event they made a huge decision and much like in real life I believe that neither one of them would have been able to move forward or to truly learn about love without making that decision. Although love is all you need sometimes love isn't enough. Relationships where each partner has to constantly lean on the other for support and strength can turn quite toxic really fast. And although love can heal anything it's also very important for people to learn that they must love themselves before they can experience the true joys of love with other people.

I love the fact that the author took on such a hard subject as abuse without sugar coating it in the slightest way. Without relying on the whole "all we need is each other" because even though they took their first steps together and do need each other they also need to live in the world, around other people and be a part of society so kudos to Nadia Simonenko for giving proper justice to these issues the characters had to deal with. I wish I could say more, I want to so bad but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone. If you enjoyed Lost then you'll love Found. The ending was perfect, the story was great, the characters were so real that I wouldn't have surprised if I found out the book was actually a autobiography of the two of them at the end lol. Simply incredible and I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you for sharing such an amazing story of hope and love with us.… (plus d'informations)

I was in the process of reading a different book but just wasn't into it and really wanted some type of romance book. I've just recently become addicted to romance novels thanks to Elle Casey's Shine Not Burn and so I went to Amazon and ended up downloading Lost. I really like romance books that have a bit of a darker edge. Books like this and Find You in the Dark by A. Meredith Walters. I guess I just relate better to broken people being one myself and although I've never been abused by anyone but myself I can still relate to these types of characters but it's not so much that I like reading about abused or broken people, I enjoy the whole aspect of redemption, light and finding love for those who are different, messed up or have had a lot of problems whether they are self inflected problems, abuse by others or mental problems. I just really enjoy that light at the end of a dark tunnel and Lost gave me exactly that.

Nadia Simonenko writes beautifully and it's obvious she takes her writing seriously. There wasn't a typo or error to be found in this book which is always nice. The characters were very fleshed out and were easy to relate to, care about and root for all the while you're anger at what was done to them just grows and grows with each page. Each time Maria fumbles around a stranger or becomes scared it just made me angry that someone would do this to her just like each time Owen relives his past I just wanted to teleport into the book and beat his father black and blue. Both characters have many scars, some of them are flesh deep and others are much deeper. Their nightmares haunt them both in their sleep and in the waking world and you can't help but to root for them with every tiny baby step they make towards each other and embracing a life without pain and horror. The author does a lovely job of letting you into the characters head and it's as if you're right there beside them through the whole journey. The author deserves some major props for tackling such tough subjects as rape and abuse and for not sugar coating anything. There's nothing nice about abuse whether it's mental or physical and there's no easy way to talk about it sometimes but she handles the subject with a deft touch. I only wish someone had called the cops on Owens dad when he showed up. That creep should be in prison but unfortunately much like in real life a lot of people do not do this. I imagine that it's very hard when someone you love is the one who is abusing you. There are a lot of conflicting emotions but when it's a parent there's still some love no matter how horribly they've hurt you. Even though they're not deserving of that love it's hard not to want acceptance and love from a parent or sibling and you can't just turn that off even if it's in your best interest.

I've already started the second book, I just had to see what was going to happen next. There were a lot of very sweet moments to counteract the darker moments in the book and I highly recommend Lost. If you're a fan of romance, of redemption and happiness no matter how bleak things may look or if you've ever dealt with these types of situations personally then I think you should read this book. There's a lot of good things to take away from it. I think Owen and Marie could probably use a lot of therapy but finding each other has been really good for both of them. Such a good book and I enjoyed it a lot.… (plus d'informations)

I loved the brokenness of Maria and Owen and how they appreciated and accepted each other the way they were. They didn't expect them to change, but in fact, connected more because they saw that hesitation, the freezing up, and uncertainty around others, it opened up those channels of trust.
Both had such hard pasts that still effected their lives and how they interacted with each other.
Loved Tina and the friendship there. How she protected and understood her. That she wasn't perfect herself, she had a mouth, that they were close and open with each other.
The parents in this one infuriated me, as well as the bullies. I hate it, but I loved watching Maria and Owen rise above their past, and learn to heal.
This is such a realistic story, and I appreciate how just because they were together, it didn't mean they were automatically healed, it just meant they had more support and incentive to work on it, getting a little better.
The emotions in Lost are well done. There was so much terror, dread, pain and also love, acceptance and hope.
I was caught up in Lost, and didn't want to put it down, and I am very eager to read Found!

Bottom Line: Realistic, gritty and dark with steamy romance.… (plus d'informations)