Blog Tour: Out From Under You by Sophie Swift - Review

Out From Under You
By: Sophie Swift
Release Date: August 1, 2013
Series: Smart Girls Finish First

Description:
“Love is an earthquake. It comes when you least expect it. It rips the ground clear away. Right out from under you.” The day Lia Smart met Grayson Walker, eight years ago, was the day she fell helplessly in love with him. Coincidentally, it was the same day Grayson fell in love with someone else: Lia’s smarter, sexier, superior-in-every-way older sister, Alex.

Now, nearly a decade later, Alex and Grayson are long over and twenty-two-year-old Lia has finally managed to forget all those lonely nights she spent pining after her sister’s boyfriend. But when Grayson unexpectedly arrives back in town with Alex for Labor Day weekend and the two announce that they’re not only back together but engaged, all the feelings that Lia buried suddenly come bubbling back to the surface.

But Lia is no longer the awkward, gangly tomboy she was at fourteen. Far from it. And Grayson is conflicted by the lustful thoughts he’s now having for her. He knows he could never act on those thoughts, however. Grayson has always prided himself on being one of the “good guys.” But as the weekend wears on, he’s finding this new grown-up version of Lia more and more impossible to resist...

Heartbreaking and sexy with a dash of humor, Sophie Swift crafts a passionate, unforgettable tale about desire, growing up, and the kind of love that shakes us to the core.

*Contains adult situations and explicit content. Recommended for ages 17+

Review:
Have you ever loved someone so much that you've built them up in your mind and you hope and you wish that one day they will look at you the same way you look at them?  That is unrequited love, and this book was phenomenal at showcasing that.  Is it realistic? It could be, and many will hope it can be but even if it isn't it was an amazing story. 

We meet Lia who is currently at her mother’s abandoned restaurant and is trying to keep it afloat when she gets news that her sister is in town and is coming to meet up with her.  They haven’t always gotten along because Lia has always felt like she was in Alex’s shadow.  Alex was perfect and always got everything.  This is a typical sibling rivalry where one thinks the other is best and vice versa they just don’t know it.  But in walks Grayson Walker – someone Lia has been in love with for the past 8 years but he chose Alex. 

Standard unrequited love story of any young teenage girl, but when the surprise hits her that Grayson is back together with her sister and about to get married she just can’t let this go.  She’s tried but then Grayson begins to show interest in her and one thing leads to another.  But let me tell you the power of their connection was amazing!  The author did a really great job of setting them both so free when they were together.  It was like magic on paper.  But still their actions caused certain consequences and the tired tale of will he leave his fiancé for the new love interest.

It’s all very back and forth with yes I will, no I can’t, yes I will and so on and so forth and it makes you angry because you just want Grayson to grow a pair and get out from under that spell of Alex’s.  It’s heartbreaking at one point and I can completely sympathize for Lia and her situation but she makes the best of it and of course everything works out in the end, almost everything.  Again there are always consequences for your actions. 

Overall this book was a really great read; I loved every minute of it and was hooked immediately after the first sentence.  The author did a fabulous job of highlighting her characters, both the good and the flawed.  I will definitely without a doubt read another book by this author in a heartbeat.  The steamy scenes were very well written and not vulgar at all and it was refreshing to see such a great story. 

I know some might not like this book because there is obvious cheating in here, but sometimes I have to say you just can’t help it.  That saying where once a cheat always a cheater is just not true in my opinion because sometimes it just turns out that you haven’t found the right person for you and when you do then you wouldn’t dare think about cheating and I think that’s exactly what happened with Grayson in this book.

The cover is great too but I didn’t really connect it with the story that much, it just didn’t seem right maybe they should have been in a kitchen or just three people on the cover, something different. But I will say this the title of the book is so perfect because it has so many different meanings that relates to the book.  Out from under the mother leaving, out from under her sisters shadow, out from under a bad relationship, out from under not pursuing your dreams, just so much meaning.

I love the very beginning of this book because they don’t try to sugar coat anything, here’s a great sneak peak into this book.

No one ever tells you the truth about love. It’s a massive conspiracy and the entire world is in on it. They make love look like a brochure for a tropical island vacation. All gentle breezes and warm waters and happy endings tied up with string. But in reality, it’s not like that at all.
 (Kindle Locations 41-44)