Book Title: Progress
Author: Amalie Silver
Genre:New Adult/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 15, 2016
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions
Jesse
I admit, I didn’t think much of Charlie at first. She was rounder than the girls who usually caught my eye. Not my type. But when I saw her sitting in that booth alone, for the first time something in my mind or my instincts or my heart told me to join her.
She defied me.
She challenged me.
She gave me hope.
Before I knew it, moving forward was my only option.
Charlie
I couldn’t tell you when it happened, but it had to have been a gradual change; I never moved too quickly.
If someone would have told me earlier that year what I was going to go through, I wouldn't have believed them.
Jesse was so different from anyone I’d met before. And everyone I’ve met since. He sucked all the life out of me, in the best—and worst—ways.
We don’t get strong overnight. For most of us it takes time. Strength isn’t measured by how high and fast our walls go up, but how easily we can watch them fall.
Warning: This book contains material that might be a trigger for some readers. Abuse and rape are implied, but not described in detail. Discretion is advised.
“Is this why you are what you are?” she asked innocently, but I heard the threat behind it.
“What am I?” My irritation rising, I spoke loudly. “Am I a monster? Is that what you see?”
Please don’t do this.
There were a lot of things, despite my desire for her to know, she had no business asking. Dragging Charlie through my past wasn’t something I had any intentions of allowing.
“You’re my friend. And these are things I should know about you,” she said.
I licked my lips, feeling the adrenaline spike through my veins. My knee bounced, my head shook on its own accord, and my throat was dry. “Then maybe we shouldn’t be friends. If this is the shit you think you need to know, then I’ve got nothing to offer you. So just go back to your little world where you eat your ice cream at ?xml:namespace prefix = "st1" /midnight and stroke your clit over the thought of a man who will never actually have a shot at getting you off.” My voice was shaky. But I hoped to God she didn’t notice.
Her shoulders dropped and her mouth flew open. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Get used to it, sweetheart. The world is full of them.”
“Maybe, but you’re one of the worst I’ve ever met.”
“That’s a lie. I say what everyone is thinking but are too afraid of the consequences of saying it out loud,” I said.
“You know what I think? I think you thrive on being miserable. Maybe if you stopped ignoring all the shit from your past by drinking and smoking your life away, you might actually have a shot at being a relatively normal human being!” she cried.
I laughed, throwing my head back. When I returned my stare to hers, I added, “And maybe if you started forgetting a little about your past, you’d start living some semblance of a life. Get over it, Charlie. The world doesn’t owe you anything, and you aren’t entitled to shit.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” She rose from the seat and gathered her notebook, glasses, and purse. “I’m entitled to walking out of this restaurant and never speaking to you again. You can be a miserable piece of shit when you want to be.”
“Oh, you’re going to play mad? You’re going to pretend that I’m a douchebag for telling you the truth? Go ahead.” I waved my hand, taking a sip of my beer. “Until tomorrow when you realize that just because I pissed you off doesn’t mean I wasn’t right.” I lifted an eyebrow.
She threw the strap of her purse over her shoulder and laughed nervously. “I’ll tell you one other thing I’m entitled to: being happy. And if you have nothing to offer in that department, just watch how long I can play mad, motherfucker.” -Jesse, Progress
This book was great and very sad. Charlie is a big girl and has been picked on
by others for almost her whole life. Her
parents are fantastic and love her so much.
Charlie is twenty-two and has never been on a date or been with a
guy. Jesse is messed up from his
passed. He had a fairly normal childhood
until disaster struck his family. He
blamed himself and his family blamed him as well. He was abused, then put into foster care and
abused there as well. Since then he has
become bipolar; he goes through all the phases that entails. He meets Charlie because they work at the
same restaurant. He knows from the first
time he sees her that she is different for some reason. At first Charlie thinks he only talks to her
because he is up to something, that in the end she is going to get hurt by him
like she has by almost everyone else.
Jesse can’t explain it but Charlie makes him feel normal, takes away to
emptiness he feels and calms him. He is
an ass to her most of the time and by the time he wants to change it may be too
late for it to matter. Since meeting and
becoming friends with Jesse, Charlie has begun to change. She has started losing weight; she is also
becoming more confident. Charlie is the
eternal optimist and Jesse is a pessimist.
Where Charlie sees the good in everyone and can’t really be mad at them
for the way they treat her, Jesse sees how bad the world is. Will they be able to have any kind of
relationship with all their differences and complications? This book was a great read; very emotional
for sure. I am not a crier at all and I
did a few times during this book. Both
Charlie and Jesse have been through so much.
They would be great for each other but Jesses because of his illness
can’t stop some of the things he does or says from happening. He truly does love her but not for what he
can do for her, but what she does for him.
Jesse helped Charlie so much but she realizes she hasn’t helped him as
much or at least she doesn’t think she has helped him. This book is just so emotional and tears the
reader apart. I connected so much with
the book and the characters. I wanted to
comfort Jesse in a way he probably wouldn’t appreciate or allow. I wanted to tell Charlie how great she was
and that she didn’t need to lose weight to be accepted. I can’t wait to read the second book when it
comes out. This is the first book by
Amalie Silver I have read but I look forward to reading more works by her in
the future.
Amalie Silver resides in Minnesota with her husband, two toddlers, and German Short-haired Pointer, Saba. She consumes approximately three pots of coffee a day, and credits this for her survival over the past decade.
When not completely consumed in her writing, she can be found taking road trips to northern Minnesota, engaging in fierce Scrabble games, or reading a good book. She’s a sucker for all romance genres, literary fiction, and psychological fiction.
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